Aria’s POV
Jonathan nodded in agreent. “About that, they were set aside because you insisted on personally overseeing them. But then...” He stopped, choosing his words carefully. “We lost contact with you.”
A shadow crossed my mind.
Prison. That was where I had been for eighteen months. I rembered the cold floors, the scent of despair. My wolf trapped behind silver-strength bars.
I never told Williams about my real na until few days ago. He only knew by my alias, Selena. Maybe if him and his brother, Alpha Jonathan knew my identity, who knows, they would have interfered and helped resolve my case and set free. They were powerful alphas afterall.
I swallowed, lifting my head.
“Do you still have the design drawings?” I asked, my voice softer. “If so, I can speed up the samples myself and hand everything off to your team.”
Jonathan’s composure cracked just a little. His excitent rolled off him like heat waves, strong enough that even my wolf perked up.
“I carry your original drawings with ,” he said.
Originals?
My heart thumped once...hard.
Even my wolf stilled, stunned by such devotion.
“But they’re at the hotel where I’m staying,” he continued. “If you don’t mind, I can take you there.”
“That would be wonderful,” I said, unable to hide my smile.
Jonathan’s pulse spiked at my expression.
We drove to his hotel, retrieved the portfolio, and talked through details. His scent filled the car and my wolf kept puzzling over him, circling the edges of my instincts.
We parted outside the boutique Kara had renovated.
“I’ll leave the designs with you,” I told him. “Tomorrow, if you’re free, we can et here to discuss the new designs.”
Jonathan bowed slightly, his hand over his chest in old-world elegance. “My schedule revolves around you, Aria,” he said.
My wolf raised a brow, flattered but a bit wary.
After he left, the evening wind slid icy claws across my shoulders. My breath fogged in the air as I rubbed my arms, scanning the dim edges of the street.
My phone buzzed with an incoming call.
It was Williams. I smiled and imdiately answered the call.
“Aria! Your news is blowing up again!” he groaned through the speaker, his voice exhausted.
Still scanning the shadows, misunderstanding him, I smiled, “I have you and your brother to thank for that Williams.Thanks for clarifying everything.”
“That’s not the news I ant. You should check the entertainnt news. They’re accusing you of having an affair...they say you were caught in the act!”
“Caught in the—what?” I blinked. My wolf growled in warning.
Then my phone vibrated with a trending alert.
#AriaSuspectedOfAffairWithCelestyrBrandCEO.
My jaw clenched...Hard.
The comnts were worse than venom...they were ignorance sharpened into weapons.
“So that’s why the CEO rushed to defend her!”
“She’s two-timing Alpha Nathan!”
“She’s shaless...he’s old enough to be her uncle!”
“Of course she wanted sothing from him!”
My vision flickered, my wolf rising, fury burning under my skin. My claws threatened to slip out.
They didn’t know .
They didn’t know Alpha Jonathan.
They didn’t know anything.
I inhaled deeply, forcing my wolf back, preparing to ssage Alpha Jonathan and tell him I would handle it.
But before I could type anything...
A ssage popped up from him:
“I’ll clarify things. Don’t worry.”
My eyes lingered on the screen, I inhaled once then made my decision.
“There is no need,” I murmured, my voice low with finality before sending him a ssage.
“I’ll take care of it this ti.”
Williams’s voice chid in next, dramatic as always. He was still on the line “Aria, are you listening? Should my brother step in to clarify things? If he does though, there’s a price. You owe another design. The more the better.”
His excitent thrumd through the speaker like a pup shaking its tail.
“I already have a plan to resolve this,” I said quietly.
Williams’s sigh of disappointnt was comically loud. Then ca the inevitable curiosity: “Yeah? What’s your plan?”
My wolf prowled with irritation.
“If soone insists on digging up dirt on ,” I said, my voice turning to frost, “the best counterattack is to openly prove my innocence.”
A humorless laugh escaped . My eyes locked on the drafted statent glowing on my phone. I hovered over “Send,” my thumb trembling with restrained fury... then saved it instead.
“You two don’t need to get involved, Williams. Thanks for the offer though, I appreciate” I said firmly and hung up before Williams could whine again.
This is my ss and my fight.
I flagged down a taxi and pulled up the trending reports. The mont I did, I saw so photos. They crystal clear, zood in, far too perfect...my blood ran cold.
“Oh, so that’s what they’re using against ...” I muttered, a cold smirk forming on my lips “No wonder people think Jonathan and I are... sothing.”
My wolf snarled softly at the implication. She hated being misrepresented, hunted and cornered.
I zood in on the photos. They were photos of dining with Jonathan, walking into the hotel. The angles were perfectly taken.
Soone stalked . I had felt a bit uneasy earlier when I was with Alpha Jonathan. I felt like I was being watched. This explains it.
That made my skin prickle. My senses were razor-sharp; they had been after the kidnapping.
Was it a Journalist? A Spy? Or Soone trying to tarnish my na?
My heart thudded once, then twice, heavy and warning.
I typed out a long statent for the public, my tone firm, direct, unapologetic. When I finally hit “Send,” my chest tightened.
If it were only , I could endure the slander. But Jonathan had helped . Wolves protected their allies....always.
The driver’s voice jolted back. “We’re here, ma’am!”
“Thank you,” I said, stepping out of the car.
But the mont I faced Hemsworth Villa, my wolf stirred, my hackles rising.
The villa lood against the night sky like a massive beast crouched in silence, watching and waiting.
I inhaled again, trying to settle the unease. You’re stressed, Aria. Too many fights, not enough sleep. That’s all.
But as I walked through the living room, the sensation grew stronger.
Soone was watching.
And then I saw him.
Nathan.
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