Nathan’s POV
I sat back, cold and composed, though my heart hamred a feral rhythm, like paws pounding across the earth.
“Speak.”
Rain hamred harder outside.
“Asterfell’s known for its dical advancents,” she whispered. “I ca here, to this country for my mother’s treatnt.”
I watched her closely, my wolf scrutinizing every word.
“A year ago soone approached . They forced out of the company using my mother’s life as leverage. I discovered data had been tampered with in the archives... and I suspected the target was Luna Aria.”
A growl slipped out before I could stop it.
Collins stiffened.
The waitress continued, her voice hollow, like she was confessing to sins before a priest.
“They... wanted her imprisoned. They wanted her gone.”
My wolf roared so loudly inside that it drowned out the storm. The room tilted. I gripped the armrest until the leather creaked under my claws.
“Why,” I forced out, “why should I believe you?”
The waitress t my gaze, barely.
“Because Luna Aria saved . And I betrayed her.” Her tears weren’t borne out of fear now. They were from remorse.
“But before I left... I buried sothing in the archives. A dossier. Her case files. It was to serve as proof.”
Her voice broke.
“If you really intended to look Alpha Nathan... you would have found it.”
I sucked in a sharp breath.
A mix of Ice, fire, guilt and rage crashing into .
She bowed her head, like a wolf accepting judgnt. “Almost two years of regret, of nightmares. Thank you... for letting finally tell the truth.”
She stood, barely. She was shaking.
I leaned back, my eyes burning amber as my wolf’s power surged forward, restless, ready to hunt.
“People who benefited from Aria’s kindness have been gathering evidence quietly,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “Peter ntioned giving you half the dossier.” Peter had ntioned having just half and giving soone else half of it. It was a way to protect it and make sure it doesn’t fall into wrong hands.
The waitress didn’t flinch. Her gaze t mine without wavering. She was either very brave or stupid.
“Alpha Nathan,” she said, “over a year ago, you didn’t trust Luna Aria. We knew our efforts might be in vain... but I wanted to make ands. I never imagined you’d seek the truth soti later.”
Her words hit harder than claws to the ribs. It was ironic, almost mocking. Over a year ago I had turned my back on my mate, I had let my wolf howl for her in cages of silence, I had chosen to believe lies, and the world punished her in my place.
My wolf snarled inside . You should have known. You should have protected her.
My jaw tightened. “Do you know who threatened you?”
My fingers cracked in the air, my bones shifting, warning a shift wasn’t far.
The waitress swallowed. “I have a suspect.”
“Who?” The air grew sharp, like broken glass.
“...Sophia.”
At the ntion of that na, there was silence.
Complete, total, suffocating silence.
My wolf’s fury blackened my vision at the edges.
Sophia?
The na tasted like iron and deceit on my tongue.
Rage burned within . I rose to my feet and grabbed my jacket and left Hemsworth Group with one destination in mind.
Asterfell Prison.
I soon arrived. The scent of disinfectant and fear hit the mont I stepped inside.
Every guard, every inmate within range, stiffened like prey sensing a predator.
They knew who I was, every last one of them.
All staff gathered in a circle, their eyes lowered.
I sat in the warden’s chair, my elbows on my knees, my gaze sweeping across them like I was counting sheep before slaughter.
“Alpha Nathan,” the warden stamred, sweat dripping down his temple, “w-what brings you here?”
His pulse thudded erratically, I could hear it like a drumbeat in a quiet forest.
He was afraid. Good, he should be.
“Do you have the surveillance footage from about twenty months ago?” I asked, my voice flat. That was about the ti Aria was imprisoned.
He blinked, confused. “...twenty months ago?”
“Don’t make repeat myself.”
My wolf prowled just beneath my skin, pacing.
The warden scrambled for an answer. “We keep surveillance for five years, so yes, we should have—”
“Let see it” I ordered. In a matter of seconds, a tablet was in my hand.
I slamd it onto the desk.
The screen soon lit up. I saw Aria, my mate, on her knees with bruised wrists, red welts across her back. Her wolf suppressed.
Her spirit crushed. Her body bearing severe wounds that no one of her status should bear.
The warden’s jaw locked. He recognized what he was seeing, everyone did.
“I want the entire eighteen months she was here,” I growled.
The waitress had only provided "Sophia" as a suspect and so leads. I had already briefly reviewed the footage Collins provided for because I needed to understand what had happened to Aria while she was in prison.
But most of what I saw were scenes of her being bullied by fellow inmates.
I needed more, which was why I decided to co to the prison myself but I wasn’t getting much of what I expected.
“This... this is all for the whole eighteen months Luna Aria was here...” the warden stuttered.
I looked up slowly. “Hmm?”
It was just a sound, but it promised violence.
Collins stepped forward. “The whole eighteen months is just this?”
My guards surged like a pack at my command, their teeth bared. The warden shrank back.
“You’re on your own turf,” Collins said coldly, “and yet here we are. Interesting.”
The warden’s breath hitched. I slled panic. It clung to him like sweat.
“Alpha Nathan...” he whispered.
I stood.
My power filled the room.
“If you can’t provide the footage,” I said, my voice dropping into my alpha register, “I will make you and everyone you care about suffer pain worse than death.”
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