Free Web NovelChapter 60: Chapter 60 Blackmail
Third Person POV
After leaving Ysolde’s party, Niall and Beatrice didn’t exchange a single word.
Neither had the energy to pretend anymore. The night had been one long marathon of humiliation, and they were both too pissed to bother hiding it.
At the curb, Niall pulled his coat tighter and grunted, "Wait here. I’ll get the car."
"Fine," Beatrice muttered.
He’d barely turned the corner when some guy jumped out from behind the flowerbed, nearly giving Beatrice a heart attack. freewebnovёl.ƈom
"Bea!" the boy hissed.
He couldn’t have been older than twenty, wearing a security guard uniform that hung on him like a coat rack. Beatrice recognized him instantly and dragged him right back behind the bushes, her claws almost breaking through her fingertips as she gripped his sleeve.
"Are you insane?" she snarled, eyes wild with panic. "I told you not to contact me! How did you even find me? If anyone sees us, I’m completely screwed."
He shook her off and flicked a half-smoked cigarette onto the ground.
"Couldn’t reach you on the phone," he said with a careless shrug. "Had to track you down myself."
Her lips twitched like she was contemplating violence. "What do you want?"
"Money. What else?"
She froze.
"Dad’s getting worse.Doctors say surgery is non-negotiable.It’s gonna cost two hundred grand. You’re going to give it to me."
Beatrice’s expression shifted rapidly.
She’d just been forced to pay Ysolde fifteen grand for that stupid dress. Another two hundred thousand? She didn’t have that kind of money just sitting around.
She eyed him, arms crossed, one perfectly shaped eyebrow arched high. "Is he really that sick? Or did you gamble yourself into another hole?"
The boy’s jaw twitched.
He hesitated just long enough to confirm her suspicions. "Of course it’s Dad. You think I’d lie to you?"
She didn’t bother hiding the disbelief in her voice. "You’ve gambled it away again, haven’t you? I told you, I can’t keep bailing you out. If you’re not going to quit, then I’m done. I’m not your personal ATM."
The boy yanked out his phone and shoved it in her face. "Look! The doctor messaged me!"
She didn’t even glance at the screen. Could’ve been porn or pizza coupons for all she cared. "I don’t have the money."
"Bullshit!" he shouted."You’re Niall Granger’s side piece. One of his gifts to you probably costs more than my old man’s surgery!"
That hit a nerve.
Beatrice’s face drained to a pale, waxy white. "I’m not—"
"We spent so much on you back then," the boy spat. "And now when it’s me and my dad needing help, you’re suddenly broke?"
Her lips parted, trembling slightly, like she’d been physically struck. "I’m not... not a side piece. Niall and I, we’re together. Properly."
"Even better," he scoffed. "Thought I heard he ditched Christina Vance. So what’s the holdup? Why hasn’t he claimed you as his Luna yet?"
Beatrice took a sharp breath, her wolf whimpering at the reminder of her uncertain status. She took another breath, clearly trying to contain her panic.
"I’ll send you the money. In a few days. Just go. If anyone sees you, everything I’ve worked for is ruined."
The boy didn’t budge. "A few days? How many’s a few?"
"Ten."
"That’s too long!"
"Fine! Three. Now go!"
"Deal. But if that money’s not in my account by day three... you know what I can do." He bolted before she could answer, disappearing down the street.
The second he vanished, Niall’s car rolled up to the curb.
Beatrice clenched her fists. She forced her wolf to settle as she slid into the passenger seat like nothing had happened.
Niall glanced at her lazily as he pulled back into traffic. "Saw you talking to someone just now. Friend of yours?"
Beatrice took a controlled breath, smiling like she hadn’t just been blackmailed behind a hedge.
The music in the car helped mask her racing heartbeat, which she knew Niall could hear with his enhanced senses if he bothered to pay attention.
"No. Just someone asking for directions."
"Right," Niall muttered, eyes on the road. "Figured. No way you’d associate with someone wearing those cheap knockoff shoes."
Beatrice bit down on her lip, nodded, and forced a laugh. "Yeah. Exactly."
To Niall, Beatrice was still the same perfect Luna candidate from a respectable wolf family, born to designer clothes and Sunday brunches with pack elders.
The idea that she might know someone outside his carefully curated social circle was simply inconceivable.
They drove in silence for a while.
She stared out the window, her mind racing with possible solutions to her problem.
Finally, she spoke. Sweet. Careful. Like someone testing the temperature before wading into dangerous waters.
"Niall... I saw this necklace the other day. Absolutely gorgeous. But I’m short on cash right now."
"How much?"
"Two hundred thousand."
That got his attention.
His head snapped toward her, brows pulling into that tight little furrow he always wore when his mood soured.
Which, lately, was practically his default expression.
"I just paid fifteen grand for Ysolde’s stupid dress. What the hell do you need two hundred grand for?"
Beatrice pouted, putting on that innocent, helpless look that usually worked on him. "But it’s the last one, Niall. Limited edition. They’re not making it again. I’ve literally never wanted anything more in my life."
Niall didn’t budge. "You don’t need jewelry that costs two hundred grand."
Beatrice leaned in closer.
Close enough that her scent enveloped him, her breath warm against his ear.
She murmured something low that only he could hear.
His mouth twitched. "With your mouth?"
"And anywhere else you like. I’ll wear that red lingerie you bought me in Paris."
He exhaled hard through his nose. "Yeah, alright."
