Nathan’s POV
Sophia found close to my office, her scent reached before I even heard her footsteps. Her steps faltered as she approached, like a doe on trembling legs, as if she might collapse at any second.
“Nathan,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “I can’t go on like this. My sister is slandering , and now everyone says I’m an illegitimate child...” She sobbed, the sound raw and theatrical, tugging at the heartstrings of anyone with a pulse.
But my heart was numb. My wolf shifted uncomfortably beneath my skin, tail flicking in annoyance.
I hadn’t slept properly in days. Every night I combed through reports, surveillance, anything that could clear Aria from the accusations tied to the leak. Every trail led nowhere. My mind felt like fog, heavy and suffocating.
My brows furrowed deeply as I stared at Sophia. Why now? Why her? Why did everything seem to spin back to the Darvin family like a curse?
Her tears streaked down her face, glistening. Anyone would pity her instantly, but all I felt was irritation prickling under my skin, like claws pressing outward.
I never expected Sophia to be the Darvin family’s bastard pup. Still, it didn’t matter. Bloodlines ant nothing to if the person attached to them was poison.
I rubbed my temples, fighting the pounding headache behind my eyes. “What do you want to do?” I asked, my voice low, roughened by exhaustion.
Sophia twisted her hands together, wringing them like she could squeeze sympathy from . “Nathan, my father has evidence against my sister. If she keeps opposing him, it’ll destroy them both. I-I don’t want to see that happen...” Her voice trembled on cue.
At the ntion of Aria, my pulse spiked. My wolf surged forward, ears pricking, focus narrowing. Everything inside went sharp.
My gaze snapped to Sophia. “Where is Patrick now?” I demanded, my eyes glowing with my wolf’s fire.
Sophia’s lips trembled, relief flashing in her gaze. She stepped back, gesturing. “Follow , I will take you to him.”
I did.
Not for her, but for Aria.
By the ti Sophia and I reached the Darvin residence, the stench of panic hit before I even saw the crowd. The kind of sll that made my wolf bare its teeth. The villa was surrounded, werewolves pressing in.
Word had gotten out. Sohow those damned netizens clawed the Darvin address out of the earth like grave robbers. People stood shoulder to shoulder at the gates, brandishing sticks, tal pipes, and whatever scraps they could weaponize.
“Patrick had an affair and embezzled funds!” “Sophia is a greedy usurper!” “Apologize! Apologize!”
The chants made my ears twitched, wolf instincts begging to silence them by force. Sophia’s face drained of color, it was white as moonlit bone.
Then Patrick and Margaret appeared.
Idiots.
They stepped into the open, and the crowd surged like a tide, swallowing them whole. Shouts rose, threats sharpened.
“Luna Aria told us you abandoned her! She asked us to help get justice!” soone bellowed.
My jaw tightened. Aria didn’t do this. My wolf knew it in its bones.
Sophia shrieked, trying to push through the mob. “Don’t hurt my mom and dad!” Tears streaked her cheeks.
Patrick and Margaret flailed for control.
“It’s all Aria’s scheming!” Patrick roared. “She’s lied since she was a pup...”
The crowd drowned him out.
My patience snapped. I grabbed Sophia’s wrist and yanked her back before she got trampled. She struggled in my grasp, her scent spiking with desperation.
“Nathan,” she gasped, voice trembling. “Call my sister. She’ll listen to you. She must’ve misunderstood. She can’t let them get hurt like this!”
My wolf growled, low and murderous.
“It’s not Aria,” I snapped. My voice ca out colder than ice forming on a grave. I jerked my chin at Collins, who imdiately ordered bodyguards forward to restrain the chaos.
But the crowd only grew more rabid.
“Sophia’s a love child! She seduced her own brother-in-law!” “Disgrace to Asterfell!”
Their insults were barbed, aid at Sophia, though most were too afraid to look directly at . They glanced, then dropped their gaze like prey animals avoiding a predator’s eyes.
Margaret snapped, maternal instinct overriding logic. “You’ve all been deceived by Aria! Sophia isn’t an illegitimate child! After her mother, Clarence died, I went to the morgue and saw her!”
“Who believes you?” soone spat. “You always favored Sophia!”
Margaret faltered.
Patrick seized the mont. “Fine then!” His voice bood like a challenge issued before battle. “If you insist on believing her, let’s confront Aria directly!”
The crowd hesitated. Even wolves know to fear confidence.
Does he really think Aria will crumble? Or does he think I will?
Whispers slithered through the chaos.
“Is Aria controlling public opinion?” “Are we sure why we ca here?”
Sophia leaned closer, her voice soft like poisoned honey. “Maybe if we let my sister explain, we can reconcile. Clear the misunderstanding.” Her eyes glead with hope.
I hesitated.
For a heartbeat, the world split. Thoughts of Aria filled my mind like warm fire and clean forest. The way she used to look at . The warmth in her voice.
Then the internet’s image of her as cold and heartless.
My chest tightened painfully. Which version is real? My wolf snarled that it already knew. But doubt is a disease, and I had let myself get infected.
I stepped aside.
The crowd surged like a storm breaking free, bodyguards forced back as pressure mounted.
“Aria’s at Shevron Estates!” Patrick commanded. “We’ll go there!”
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