Nathan’s POV
A sharp knock hit my office door.
I glanced briefly at it."Co in."
Collins stepped inside. He had his phone pressed to his ear. A look of disbelief was etched on his face.
"Alpha Nathan," he said, his voice strained,"Luna Aria is downstairs."
My pen, my custom, thousand-dollar fountain pen, punched straight through the paper.
Ink bled across the page like a spreading wound.
For a beat, I couldn’t move. My wolf’s hackles shot up, a low, instinctive snarl vibrating in my chest.
"...What?"
I set the pen down carefully, my jaw clenching. My eyes narrowed into slits.
Aria was here?
What is she trying to pull?
I had seen her earlier today at her grandmother’s house and she had stord off pissed. Why is she here now?
"What is she doing here?" I asked, though the cold edge in my voice made it sound more like a threat than a question.
Collins swallowed."She said... she’s here for you to sign the divorce papers."
Divorce.
She really had the courage to co here and say that word. Last night, I had taken back the signed divorce papers Peter had brought to my office and today, she was back with new ones for to sign.
The temperature in the room dropped. I felt my wolf going still, dangerously quiet.
A freezing calm settled over , the kind that ca right before a kill.
Collins flicked a terrified glance at my face, which had already turned to stone.
He cleared his throat, his voice trembling."Should... should I bring Luna Aria up?"
A laugh escaped , it was short, sharp and icy. Even my wolf tilted his head at Collins’s stupidity.
My eyes lifted to him, cold enough to cut."What do you think?"
He blinked, frozen. The man actually looked like he didn’t know the answer.
Bring her up?, Aria?
Into my space?
When she ca here to cut the last thread between us?
Absolutely not.
"Tell the receptionist to let Aria know that I am not in," I said.
My voice was calm. The kind of calm that made grown n want to run.
Without looking back at the ruined docunt, I tossed the ruined fountain pen into the trash. An expensive pen, gone without a thought.
I grabbed another pen, smoothing my expression back into one that was cold, unreadable and controlled.
The look that registered on Collins face showed he didn’t understand why I gave that instruction, but he didn’t need to.
After a few seconds, he turned and left to deliver my ssage.
Aria’s POV
The receptionist hung up, and the change in her tone was instant. She was very cautious, almost afraid of saying the wrong thing to ."I’m sorry, Alpha Nathan isn’t in the office today."
I frowned, my wolf pricking her ears imdiately.
Nathan? Not in the office?
Yeah, right.
In every mory I had, Nathan Hemsworth practically lived here. The rest of the staff would be packing up, heading ho to their families, while he was still drowning in files. Even at ho, he’d shut himself in the study until hours past midnight.
A man like that didn’t"take a day off."
Not unless sothing was wrong.
Or he was hiding.
A bitter laugh escaped before I could stop it."He better not be hiding."
My fingers were steady as I reached into my bag and handed the envelope to the receptionist. It was the divorce papers, the end of Nathan and . The end of the life I once thought we’d build together.
"Please give this to him," I said."Once he has signed, have soone contact to pick it up."
I asked for a sticky note, keeping my expression neutral even though my wolf paced just beneath my skin. The mont the paper touched my hand, I wrote down a number, Peter’s number, not mine.
I’d already left my contact info with the hospital when Lana got sick. If Nathan started digging... if he followed that trail...
He’d find her.
And that could never happen.
I would never let it happen.
Not when everything could collapse with one little investigation.
Peter could handle the call. I’d explain evertthing to her later.
After writing the number, I turned and walked out, my heartbeat loud in my ears. My wolf was quiet, watching, sensing, feeling the tension in the air like static before a storm.
I could feel several pairs of eyes on . They were curious, judging and whispering.
I lowered my gaze and headed toward the revolving doors, my mind a tangled ss of fear, regret, and determination.
My phone buzzed a mont later.
Peter: Aria, Lana just fell asleep. I asked a female colleague from the legal team to watch her for a bit. Sothing urgent ca up at Hemsworth Group. I’ve got to head in for a quick eting.
His WhatsApp ssage ca quickly, apologetic and hurried.
I typed back: Got it. Go ahead.
He didn’t say more, and I didn’t press. That was how we worked, it was best that way.
But the mont I stepped outside, unease rippled through .
Leaving Lana with a colleague I barely knew made my wolf restless and protective.
She hated it.
Still... it was only for a mont.
And Peter was reliable. One of the few I trusted.
But as I reached the car door, sothing in my chest tightened.
Peter?.
Needed to co to Hemsworth Group, for an urgent eting.
My heart started racing before I even understood why. My instincts were clawing at , whispering danger.
I shook my head, trying to clear it. Stop. Don’t overthink.
Peter was an important part of Hemsworth Group now. If he had to go in, it was probably just so work issue.
He’d be fine.
He had to be.
"Let’s go," I told the driver, settling into the seat as the wind brushed against my face.
But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that sothing was terribly, terribly wrong.
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