Free Web NovelChapter 16: Chapter 16
"I don’t know why you keep mistaking me for your wife," Fleur said, her voice trembling despite the steel she tried to lace into it. "Do I resemble her that much? If fate gave me the same face as your wife, that is hardly my fault. But I am not her. My name is Fleur Swann... and you need to accept that."
Fleur held his gaze stubbornly, though her pulse battered against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Christian stared at the woman before him as if the world itself had cracked open beneath his feet. She looked exactly like his dead mate. Every curve of her face, every flicker in those hazel eyes, every breath she drew—it was Odette.
Yet she stood there denying him.
No.
His wolf rejected it with savage certainty.
Perhaps his eyes could be deceived, but not the bond carved into his soul. Not the instinct that had recognized her the instant he touched her.
When he had kissed her, his beast had awakened after six endless years of silence. He had felt her heartbeat fall into rhythm with his own, the ancient pull of mated wolves humming beneath their skin.
He had seen the storm of emotion hidden inside her eyes when he begged her not to leave. And his body—cold, numb, dead to desire since the day Odette disappeared—had come violently alive the second she melted into his arms.
Every instinct screamed the same truth:
Mine.
So how could she possibly not be his wife? freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
"Odette," Christian murmured hoarsely, stepping closer. "Don’t be so cruel to your husband."
Before she could retreat, he seized her wrist and pulled her flush against his chest.
Fleur struggled immediately, twisting and pushing against him, but his arms locked around her like iron chains. The heat of his body surrounded her completely, overwhelming her senses.
"Please, Mr. Wayne... let me go," she pleaded breathlessly. "My family will be worried about me."
Family?
The word struck Christian like a blade. Odette had been alone in the world before him. An orphan. He had been her only family.
So who was this woman?
For the first time, uncertainty crept beneath his skin. His wolf snarled in denial, but icy disappointment darkened his expression.
Meanwhile, Fleur’s thoughts were nowhere near him.
She was worried about her children.
By now, Lea and the others would have realized she was missing. They would be searching frantically for her. If the authorities became involved, questions would follow—and questions were dangerous. One wrong discovery could destroy everything she had built to protect her twins.
Suddenly, Christian released her. Fleur stumbled backward, sucking in air as though she had nearly drowned.
"I’ll let you go," he said coldly, "on one condition."
Suspicion flickered across her face. "What condition?" fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm
"You will personally design my new estate in Paris."
Fleur froze. Working for Christian Wayne was the last thing she wanted. Staying near him was like standing too close to a starving alpha wolf—one mistake and he would tear through every secret she carried.
But refusing him again might only deepen his suspicions. After several tense seconds, she forced herself to nod.
"Fine, Mr. Wayne. I’ll take the project."
"Good."
The clipped response carried the authority of a born alpha.
"Come," he added. "I’ll drive you home."
"No." Her answer came too quickly. She shook her head firmly. "That won’t be necessary."
There was no chance she would risk him discovering the twins.
Not yet. Not ever.
"And... thank you for bringing me to the hospital," she said carefully. "I’ll repay the medical expenses."
Christian’s piercing gaze settled on her like heat against bare skin.
"There’s no need," he replied. "Consider it compensation for the trouble my people caused you."
The intensity in his silver-gray eyes made Fleur’s knees weaken. She could feel his wolf watching her beneath the surface, circling her like prey it refused to lose.
Unable to bear it any longer, she turned and hurried toward the hospital exit.
This time, he didn’t stop her.
Just as Fleur reached the doors, Syrus entered the lobby. The moment he saw her, he stopped dead. Shock drained the color from his face as he stared at her like he’d seen a ghost rise from the grave.
"Odette..." he whispered under his breath.
Fleur’s pulse skipped, but her expression remained perfectly calm. Though she recognized Christian’s beta, she looked at him with complete indifference, as though they had never met before.
Without hesitation, she stepped outside, hailed a cab, and disappeared into the night.
Syrus spun around and rushed toward Christian.
"Christian—she’s alive," he said breathlessly. "That was Odette. I swear it."
Christian remained motionless, his eyes fixed on the hospital entrance long after Fleur vanished from sight.
Then, with a heavy exhale, he turned away.
"No," he said flatly. "She’s not Odette."
Syrus stared at him in disbelief. "You can’t seriously believe that. She looked exactly like her."
Christian’s jaw tightened. "She is Fleur Swann," he said coldly. "An interior designer. Not my wife."
Though his face remained emotionless, fury and longing churned violently beneath the surface. He slid on his sunglasses, hiding the storm raging inside his wolf.
Syrus shook his head slowly, unable to understand how two women could be so identical.
"What are you doing here?" Christian asked sharply as they walked toward the parking lot.
Syrus blinked, finally remembering why he had come.
"Right. Sylvia called me. She said you ordered Carrie punished." His brows furrowed. "I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer. Then your guards told me you brought a woman to the hospital."
Carrie was Christian’s fiancée—or at least, the woman the pack expected him to marry. Syrus still couldn’t understand what she could have done to earn the alpha’s wrath.
"What does Sylvia want?" Christian asked impatiently.
"She wants Carrie released," Syrus answered carefully. "She said if something happens to her, she’ll have no way to answer to her sister."
Christian opened the car door without hesitation.
"Fine," he said indifferently. "Tell them to release that idiot."
Syrus nodded, though confusion still clouded his features. One moment Christian had been ready to throw Carrie into the dungeon, and the next, he no longer cared.
None of it made sense.
But then again, nothing about tonight made sense.
As Christian slid into the back seat, his expression hardened into something dark and predatory.
"I want every piece of information you can find on Fleur Swann," he ordered coldly.
His wolf was already going berserk. And it had no intention of letting her escape again.
