My fingers tighten around the phone 62

Aria’s POV
“No, I need you to take me to the hospital.” Emma clutched Ethan’s arm tightly, tears glistening in her eyes as she looked
up at him. “I’m so scared… I only feel safe when you’re with me.”
I watched this pathetic performance with a cold smirk forming on my lips. Emma always knew exactly how to play the
victim, even when she was the one orchestrating the entire scheme. The scene reminded me of that rainy night six years
ago when she had looked at my father with those same pitiful eyes, telling him I had been behaving inappropriately.
Ethan’s brow furrowed, his alpha energy growing heavier in the air around us. I could feel his patience wearing thin,
though he maintained his composure.
“I’ll have my beta take you for a check-up, Emma,” Ethan insisted, his voice leaving no room for argument. The
authoritative tone sent an involuntary shiver down my spine, even though his words weren’t directed at me. “It’s for your
own safety.”
“If you don’t come with me, I won’t go.” Emma’s voice took on a stubborn edge as she tightened her grip on his hand.
Her perfectly manicured nails dug into his skin slightly. “You’re my Alpha. You’re the only one who makes me feel secure.”
I took a deep breath, my lungs burning with the effort to contain the fury boiling inside me. My hands trembled at my
sides as I watched this pathetic manipulation unfold. The transparency of her act made bile rise in my throat.
“Then don’t go,” I snapped, the words cutting through the air like shards of glass. I crossed my arms tightly over my
chest, partly to appear defiant and partly to stop myself from slapping that fake concerned look off her face. “Ethan and I
have important matters to attend to.”
Emma’s face drained of color so quickly I could almost see the mask slip. A flash of raw fury darkened her eyes for a
heartbeat before she blinked it away, replacing it with something even more revolting.
“I feel… unwell…” Emma’s voice quavered dramatically as she clutched at her chest, her perfectly manicured nails digging
into the expensive fabric of her blouse. Her eyes rolled back in her head with such theatrical timing I wanted to laugh.
Then, like a wilting flower, she collapsed against Ethan’s chest, her body going suspiciously limp in his arms.
The sheer audacity of her performance made my stomach turn. I bit the inside of my cheek hard enough to taste blood,
trying to stop myself from calling out the absurdity of it all. Despite the obvious fakery, Ethan’s alpha instincts triggered
immediately—his strong arms catching her before she could hit the ground, his forest-green eyes darkening with genuine
concern as he adjusted his hold to cradle her weight.
“I have to take her to the hospital,” Ethan said, his gaze meeting mine with real apology swimming in those verdant
depths. The sincerity there only made me angrier. How could someone so intelligent be so easily fooled? “I know you
don’t believe her, but if something really is wrong…”
“Fine.” The word shot from my lips like a bullet, cutting him off mid-sentence. I couldn’t bear another second of this farce. My voice came out razor-sharp, slicing through the tension between us. “I’ll take a taxi back to the training facility.”
Before Ethan could respond, I spun on my heel and went away, each step pounding against the asphalt like a drumbeat
of rage. The cool mountain air slapped against my flushed cheeks, doing nothing to cool the inferno of emotions blazing
inside me. I yanked my phone from my pocket with trembling fingers, punching the screen to call for a ride.
Ethan’s POV
The antiseptic smell of the hospital made my wolf Felix restless beneath my skin. Emma sat perched on the examination
bed, the doctor having just confirmed that apart from mild shock, she was perfectly fine. No injuries, no elevated heart
rate, nothing to indicate she’d been through any kind of traumatic experience.
“You really scared me,” I said to Emma, unable to keep a note of reproach from my voice. The words came out more
clipped than I intended, but my mind kept replaying Aria’s expression as she walked away.
Emma lowered her head, letting her blonde hair cascade forward to partially hide her face. The gesture seemed
calculated, just like everything else about her.
“I was just so frightened,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. “And then seeing Aria treat me that way…”
At the mention of Aria, my attention sharpened instantly. Felix perked up inside me, suddenly alert. “What exactly is
going on between you and Aria? I can sense there’s more hostility there than simple dislike.”
Emma lifted her head, her eyes filled with carefully crafted sorrow. “We used to be best friends, until that night…” She
paused, as if the memory was too painful to revisit. Her fingers twisted nervously in the hospital blanket. “I was cornered
by a group of drunk wolves at a resort. I messaged Aria for help.”
My heartbeat accelerated, Felix pacing anxiously within me. Why did this scenario sound so disturbingly familiar?
“She came to rescue me,” Emma continued, her voice dropping lower as though sharing a terrible secret. “But she ended
up being… assaulted… by some drunk man.” Her blue eyes filled with tears. “Afterward, she always blamed me for getting
her involved in that situation… but how could I have known what would happen?”
My heart seemed to freeze in my chest, then burst into a thundering rage that threatened to overwhelm my senses. The
very thought of Aria being violated by some filthy, drunken stranger made acid rise in my throat. The wolf in me wanted
to hunt down this nameless, faceless attacker and tear him limb from limb, regardless of how many years had passed.
Could Lucas—that bright-eyed, intelligent little boy with eyes so like my own—be the child born of that assault? Was this
the reason Aria guarded her son so fiercely, why she never spoke of his father, why she flinched away from any offer of
help or protection?