Nathan’s POV
The warm yellow light inside Rowland’s car fused their silhouettes together. They wee too close, too intimate.
My wolf snarled.
I felt the joints in my fingers crack under the strain of holding myself back.
Aria... leaning toward another man... my mate leaning toward another male.
My wolf paced within , my shoulders lowered, my teeth bared.
A soft footstep approached. I blinked and tore my gaze away, locking down my aura. The cold I exuded made the air around drop several degrees. Sophia shivered violently beside .
She rubbed her bare arms, glancing around as if the night wind was to bla.
It wasn’t, it was .
“Nathan,” she said softly, stars in her eyes, “could you give a ride ho?”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t trust my voice.
She fidgeted, anxiety flickering across her features.
“My friend dropped off. It’s late... no cabs around.”
After a long breath, I nodded once.
“Tell Collins to drive you ho.”
Her hand froze just short of reaching my sleeve. When she saw my expression cold as the northern frost, she dropped it completely.
For once, I felt nothing at her usual clinging. My wolf didn’t even twitch..
“Nathan,” Sophia said softly, “Aria is out of line, but don’t be too mad. Maybe... you don’t know everything. Don’t get worked up. I’m worried about you.”
Her voice was gentle, caring and sweet.
But when I looked into her eyes, a strange thought cut through like a blade:
Why isn’t it Aria saying these words?
Why isn’t it my mate looking at with concern?
I stiffened.
What the hell was wrong with ?
I pressed my thumb into the throbbing vein on the back of my hand. My wolf clawed within , restless, growling at the empty stretch of road Rowland’s car had disappeared down.
They were gone.
My nephew, gone with my mate.
I felt a sudden weakness in my knees, a rare, unfamiliar loss of control, powerlessness.
I hated it.
“It’s late. Go ho.”
My voice was flat and final.
Sophia’s heart skipped, I could hear it clearly. This ti, her fear wasn’t an act.
Collins stepped forward and opened the door. “Ms. Sophia Darvin, please get in.”
She obeyed, though reluctantly.
Her fingers reached for the velvet gift box Collins held, the necklace I’d paid a hundred million for.
She brightened, thinking it was hers.
That was clearly a mistake on her path. Collins pulled the box back.
“What...” she started, but his glance at shut her up.
I didn’t move. I didn’t need to.
My authority filled the air like a storm cloud.
“Nathan... w-what does that an?” she whispered.
I looked at the gift box, the relic. Aria’s grandmother’s relic.
“It’s not for you.”
Her shock was palpable.
“Didn’t you bid for it because I liked it? It’s my grandma’s—”
I didn’t bother responding.
My wolf bared his teeth within at her words.
I raised my hand slightly.
“Drive her ho.”
Collins ushered her into the car. When it pulled away, her wide, frightened eyes were still watching through the window.
The wind howled across the empty parking lot as I stood alone.
My wolf didn’t bother hiding his grief anymore, or his fury.
By the ti Collins returned, the night felt heavier. My chest was a cage too small for the beast inside.
When we reached Hemsworth Villa, only one room glowed softly.
Aria’s room.
My mate... was ho.
I tightened my grip on the gift box.
The edges bit into my palm, grounding .
But the ache in my throat grew, raw and suffocating.
Aria’s POV
The pillows propped up like a fortress, but they couldn’t shield from the storm brewing in my chest. Lana lay curled against the soft sheets, her tiny breaths rising and falling like the gentle waves of a lake at night. My motherly gaze clung to her, but even her warmth couldn’t soothe the ache inside .
The auction replayed in my mind like a vicious loop. Nathan’s cold, unyielding, and unrelenting profile haunted . His wolf radiated dominance, a predator staking claim with teeth and claws, and I had been powerless to stop it.
A flicker of fury ignited inside , sharp and raw. My wolf howled in the silence, bitter and frustrated, I sat frozen in helplessness. I hated him. And yet, I hated myself even more for feeling so weak, so incapable.
Sleep refused . My eyes traced the shadows in the room, landing on nothing. My phone buzzed relentlessly on the bedside table, It was Rowland. Apologies, promises, gentle reminders that he had noticed my silence on the drive ho. My wolf could sll the sincerity in him. It was intoxicating, maddening, and painful all at once.
I laughed bitterly, a sound that felt alien in my own ears. A man I barely knew, Alpha Rowland, was willing to throw fortune at a pearl necklace just for , while my so-called husband allowed Sophia to flaunt herself in front of and claid ignorance of my rightful desires. My wolf bared its teeth in frustration, snapping at the invisible injustice.
And then, there was a sound.
A knock at my door.
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