Nathan’s POV
The mont the nurses words reached , the tension draining from my muscles was almost embarrassing. My wolf, who’d been pacing and snarling inside my chest since the call ca in, finally eased back.
Moon above... she was okay.
The relief hit harder than any blow I’d taken in a fight. As the adrenaline ebbed, exhaustion pressed against my bones. I rubbed my temples, surprised to feel them throbbing. Only then did it really sink in how scared I’d been. How violently my wolf had reacted the second we heard Aria was hurt.
Just a minor scrape, the nurse said.
I lowered my head, thoughts tangling like brambles. My brow furrowed, not because of pain, but because my mind wouldn’t stop replaying worst-case scenarios. My wolf kept pushing images at , Aria bleeding, Aria unconscious, Aria not getting up.
Then soft footsteps stopped in front of .
A pair of white canvas sneakers, scuffed, worn in all the places I rembered ca into view. And then a scent drifted toward . Her scent.
My lungs stilled.
My wolf surged forward so fast it knocked the air out of .
“I’m fine,” Aria murmured.
Her voice brushed against like cool fingers tracing through fur. My wolf whined softly, sothing I would never admit out loud. Just like that, the tight knots inside eased, unraveling with embarrassing speed.
I cleared my throat, lifted my gaze, and forced myself to look composed, calm and controlled.
“Good,” I said evenly, “As long as you’re okay.”
“Nathan,” she called.
Just my na, in a simple and soft tone, but it hit like claws dragging down my spine.
My fingers twitched. My wolf’s ears shot up.
She had disappeared after the trial. Served over a year behind bars. Then walked out without a word, no visit to the husband she had wronged, no explanation, no chance for to see her. When I tried to reach out later, she shut out every ti. My wolf had taken each rejection like a wound.
So hearing her say my na now... gently... willingly...
It threw completely off balance in a good way.
Athena’s POV
My heart was fluttering so hard it felt like the wings of a trapped bird beating against my ribs. I tried to steady my breathing, but the mont my eyes drifted to the line of Nathan’s bodyguards standing behind him, each radiating dominance, the unease inside sharpened.
Alpha Rowland had bolted from the hospital the second he confird my injury was only minor, but not before I ensured he got treatnt for his hand injury too. He’d mumbled sothing about urgent business, but even with the little I knew about him, I could read that man like an open book. He was up to sothing.
And the nurses had been whispering nonstop about the golden retriever Alpha Rowland brought in for a full dical check. A dog in a werewolf hospital. That alone was strange. But combined with the way that poor creature had suddenly snapped, lunging as if possessed...
No, none of this was random.
A cold shiver crawled up my spine, dragging icy nails along my nerves. My wolf lifted her head inside , her ears alert and uneasy. Sothing was wrong.
Today’s incident didn’t feel like coincidence.
It felt like being hunted.
I swallowed hard, my throat tight. I couldn’t shake the sense that an unseen force was slithering through my life, twisting normal monts into nightmares, deliberately shoving off balance. Soone wanted to drive out of control, maybe even out of my mind.
But who?
My heart thudded unevenly, fear and suspicion mixing like poison in my chest.
“Did you do this?” I asked. My voice ca out sharper than I intended. My wolf leaned forward inside , bristling. I lifted my chin and t Nathan’s eyes. They were cold, stormy and impossible to read.
“Nathan,” I said again, because if I looked away even for a second, I’d crumble. “Was it you?”
Surprise flickered across his face, only to tighten into irritation. His nostrils flared, and his wolf surfaced in his eyes, dark and offended.
“What?” he snapped.
“This is the third ti,” I pressed, heat rising in my cheeks. “Like you said yourself, you’ve been there every single ti I’ve gotten hurt. So?” My heartbeat roared in my ears. “Was it you? Or...”
My stomach twisted as another na clawed to the surface.
Sophia.
Could he have done it? Forced into danger just to pull back to Hemsworth Villa? If Nathan wanted back so badly, he usually didn’t bother with subtlety. He’d just drag ho over his shoulder like a barbaric alpha. He didn’t need elaborate sches.
Unless... No. No, that wasn’t him. But Sophia?
The thought made my face drain of color.
Nathan’s eyes flashed with fury. A low growl vibrated in his chest, soft, but unmistakable.
“You think I’d stoop to such a cheap trick?” he bit out, his voice low and lethal. “Aria, you’re way off base.” A humorless, cutting laugh escaped him. “I’m not going to break the law for you. You’re not worth the risk.”
The words sliced deeper than I expected.
“Why would I ruin my reputation and jeopardize the entire Hemsworth Group just to get you back?” His aura flared, his wolf rising fully to the surface. If another wolf had been near, they would’ve cowered.
He looked terrifying, but... truthful.
My wolf exhaled. The tension in my shoulders loosened slightly.
So it wasn’t him.
A shaky sigh left my lips before I could stop it. And then another thought burst out of like a spark hitting dry grass.
“Then... was it Sophia?”
User Comments
0 comments from readers