Aria’s POV
I chuckled at his words.
He shook his head in amazent. “I still cannot believe that I just hired Asterfell’s youngest chief attorney.”
His hand landed briefly on my shoulder. That was who I used to be. Maybe who I could still beco.
Chief attorney.
For a mont, my breath hitched. mories rushed in—the courtroom lights, the adrenaline, the thrill of a perfectly tid objection, the electric awareness of victory humming beneath my skin. Those days felt like another lifeti. A different version of . One who hadn’t been broken, betrayed, or forced into a life that didn’t fit her anymore.
My lashes fluttered as I pulled myself together.
“When you told you were ready to take on my offer and work with , I was over the moon. This is going to be a very pleasant experience”, he smiled.
“I’ll do my best,” I said quietly, more to myself than to him. I’ll fight my way back. Claw my way up if I have to.
Francis watched carefully, he always read people too well. He saw how my expression shifted, and I caught the faintest spark of satisfaction in his eyes. Then he handed a file.
“You’ve got perfect timing,” he said with a laugh. “Here’s a case that needs your expertise.”
I opened it. It was a plagiarism dispute. Simple on the surface—yet complicated enough to make my wolf perk up with interest. The institute had solid proof of originality, but the opposing side accused them of exceeding production standards and using rare materials. Not illegal, but enough to throw suspicion at a new research institute in the US.
“So, I’m counting on you,” Francis said, giving additional docunts.
When it ca to law, sothing in shifted automatically. My spine straightened, my lips tightened, and my wolf went still and focused. “I understand,” I said. “Give so ti.”
Francis didn’t doubt for a second. He trusted more than I currently trusted myself.
We talked until evening. He planned to take to dinner, then ho, but an ergency call dragged him away. He apologized, telling to take a cab. I didn’t mind. After all the chaos in my life, a quiet ride back to Hemsworth Villa felt like a blessing.
By the ti I returned, the sky was fully dark, moonlight softening the edges of everything. My wolf stretched within , restless from being out all day. As soon as I stepped inside, I headed straight for the bedroom. Guilt pricked my chest.
I didn’t spend any ti with Lana today.
My girl...My little wolf pup.
With my own childhood scars carved deep inside , missing even a single mont with her felt like a betrayal.
I hurried past the living room, already reaching out with my senses to check if she was awake—
And then a deep male voice sliced through the silence, stopping cold.
“Over here.”
Nathan’s POV
I looked up the mont I heard Aria’s light, quick footsteps. They were edged with caution. I called out to her.
My gaze locked onto her, sharp and instinctive, and I caught the faint hitch in her breath as her eyes landed on the scene before her.
and Lana, together on the sofa.
Her expression twisted with confusion first, then sothing like disbelief. I felt Lana shift in my arms, her tiny mouth babbling nonsense, her bright eyes narrowing with pure wolf-pup delight. The scent of her happiness lingered in the air.
Aria knew her pup better than anyone. Lana was content, very content.
And she was in my arms.
Her eyes snapped to mine, suspicious. Always suspicious.
Her child—so small against my broad chest—looked like so delicate carved moonstone. The contrast was... striking. Even I could see that. Sothing tight and unfamiliar, tugged at my chest.
Is this the power of blood? Or sothing else entirely?
Her eyes flickered with surprise that she quickly buried.
“Sit,” I said, jerking my chin toward the sofa across from .
She didn’t obey imdiately, of course she didn’t. Instead, she crossed the room like a protective she-wolf and scooped the pup out of my arms. The warmth vanished instantly. My arms felt strangely empty and cold.
My instinctive growl almost slipped out, but I clamped it back. And yet... when I looked at her again, sothing softened in anyway.
“I don’t have much free ti, so you better have found the mastermind,” she said, her chin tipped up, defiant.
Her boldness shouldn’t surprise anymore, but it still tugged at my wolf sotis. The fact that she had Francis tie soone up in an alley ant she knew that I had my n follow her from a distance to protect her.
I hid my amusent behind a flat expression. “Grayson—that’s the na of the man who kidnapped you—his ntal health certification is fake.”
For the first ti, her composure slipped. She stared at , waiting, expecting more. I continued.
“Rember I told you Crescent City has a port that handles overseas operations?”
Her eyes widened. “They wouldn’t be planning to throw into the ocean to feed the fish, would they?”
I didn’t answer.
I didn’t need to. She saw everything in my eyes...the possibility... and how close she’d co.
Her breath hitched. A chill clung to her scent, sharp like frost. Even Lana shifted uneasily in her arms, sensing her mother’s fear.
“If Grayson was sane, he wouldn’t do sothing that extre just because he doesn’t like ,” she said, her trembling fingers tightening around the pup. “There must be soone behind this.”
“We do not know yet,” I admitted, jaw tense. “We found their phones, but there’s nothing concrete.”
Her heart dropped...I could hear it in the way her pulse faltered. In Asterfell, very few people could evade . Whoever this was... was dangerous.
“But I’ve already sent soone to give them a warning,” I added, letting a sliver of my authority bleed into my voice. “The imdiate threat has been neutralized.”
She looked at —briefly.
There was no warmth...no gratitude, but she didn’t doubt . Not when it ca to protection.
My dark eyes bore into hers as I changed the subject.
“You t Francis today,” I said. It was a statent, not a question.
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