Aria’s POV
Of course, there it was. The possessiveness, the jealousy which can only be an Alpha’s instinctive response.
I frowned deeply. “We’re just friends. And what does it matter? Since when do you get to ddle in my life?”
“Friends?” he repeated, his voice dangerously low.
His wolf surged behind his eyes, furious.
His grip tightened and pain shot up my arm.Anger exploded in . My wolf snapped. I yanked my hand free with a forceful jerk.
Nathan stumbled back two steps, caught off-guard.
I didn’t wait. I went straight for the door and wrenched it open.
“Take the necklace back,” I bit out.
My voice was a blade, my disgust was another.
That necklace, and everything it symbolized, cut a clean line between us.
Nathan’s gaze sharpened. “I don’t take back what I’ve given.”
His Alpha aura pulsed, pressing against , coercing, pushing.
I held my ground.
Our eyes clashed, heat against frost, fury against resolve.
Then he broke eye contact first, turned away and said, his voice cool as moonlit ice, “Keep it. I have one condition.
Stay in Hemsworth Villa until you can protect yourself and the pup.”
He walked off without waiting for a reply, disappearing into his study.
I shut the door, my chest heaving, my wrist throbbing. Anger roared through .
What the hell was wrong with him tonight?
When I turned, my gaze landed on the jewelry box.
My steps halted, my heart did too.
I bit my lip, torn.
I’d already decided to sever everything between us. To walk away, to free myself.
But then I opened the box.
And saw her necklace, my grandmother’s heirloom. Pearls like frozen moonlight.
The only relic I had of her.
My fingers trembled. My throat tightened.
A sting of tears blurred my vision.
A hundred million dollars...
Nathan’s foolish, stubborn, infuriating way of buying back ghosts.
Fine. Then I’d buy it from him one day, pay him every cent.
Because this...
This was mine.
Wiping my eyes, I placed the necklace gently back in its box, right where it belonged.
Nathan’s POV
The study was the only place still lit in Hemsworth Villa. I leaned against the wall, my breath heavy, the scent of my own blood sharp in the air. A streak of crimson sared across the plaster. It was my doing.
My right arm hung uselessly, knuckles raw, cracked, and steadily bleeding.
I slamd my fist into the wall again.
Thud.
The impact reverberated through my bones, but the pain wasn’t nearly enough.
My wolf paced inside , restless, snarling. He hated this, hated her distance, her cold eyes, her rejection.
“Aria...”
The na ripped from my throat in a rough whisper.
“Aria...”
Each ti I spoke it, my chest tightened until it felt like claws were raking across my heart.
I hated weakness.
I was an Alpha, Nathan Hemsworth. n bowed before . Packs fell in line.
But she—one tiny, infuriating woman, or so I thought...could bring to my knees without lifting a finger.
My phone shrilled, shattering the suffocating silence.
I shot it a cold look, the glow of the screen reflecting in my vision.
It was Rowland.
My jaw flexed. The man had good timing, or terrible timing, depending on how you saw it.
Still, I answered.
“Uncle Nathan, I need a favor. Please.”
His voice was rushed, the kind that ca only when a man was swallowing his pride. Interesting. The boy who grew up dripping arrogance was actually begging.
I closed my eyes, exhausted. I said nothing.
He hesitated, probably catching the edge of my rough and unsteady breathing.
“Spit it out,” I growled.
Even to my own ears, my voice was darker, laced with a feral edge. My wolf was too close to the surface.
Rowland gulped. “I’ll pay ten tis the price for that pearl necklace you bought at the auction.”
A humorless chuckle escaped .
“For your date, huh?”
He paused. “...Yeah.”
My wolf bristled. His date, the woman he’s trying to impress.
Aria.
Cold jealousy pooled in my gut before I could stop it.
“Does she know you’re doing this?”
“No, she doesn’t gotta know.”
“When’d you two et?”
“We’ve known each other abo—”
He cut himself off abruptly.
Suspicion sharpened his tone. “Uncle Nathan, why are you asking so many questions? You... know Aria?”
My heart thudded once, hard.
This was how disconnected and distant my own nephew was from . He knew I was married but didn’t even know the face of my wife. Aria is a private person who doesn’t put herself out there on social dia, I get it...but shouldn’t he at least make efforts to know what my wofe looks like?
I moved toward the desk, lowering myself into the chair. The wood creaked beneath my weight. I inhaled deeply, letting smoke slowly escape my lips, watching it curl into rings that hung stubbornly in the air.
Jealousy roared inside my chest, hot and vicious, drowning the rational part of .
My wolf snarled violently.
She’s mine.
Ours.
But no, Aria didn’t want that anymore. She hated . She wanted divorce papers signed. She wanted freedom from .
Why did the very thought tear sothing inside ?
“Uncle Nathan?” Rowland called again, confused.
I stared at his na on the screen, my thumb hovering over the end-call button.
My voice ca out low, almost a whisper.
“She’s got the necklace. She’s married Rowland—keep your distance.”
A beat of silence passed.
Then:
“Aria?” Rowland blurted.
But I didn’t let him continue.
I ended the call.
If he didn’t stay away from my wife, I would make sure to teach him a lesson he would never forget.
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