Chapter 29 CHAPTER 029
Stone POV:
I hadn't given much thought to my verdict, but I said it anyway.
Ari would live in my room and that was final. She would stay where I could keep my eyes on her, so she wouldn't try to escape again.
"Right." My wolf seemed to stir mockingly.
Or I just wanted to put as much space between her and Harry as possible. I remember being young boys and friends with Harry. We were different in so many ways. While I spent all my days clubbing, having sex and doing drugs, Harry spent his whole life in the library with little time for frivolities.
His shirts were always neatly ironed and his hair would be shiny from all the gel used to style it to perfection. Compared me, Harry had all it takes to become a leader.
I simply became one by default, also by the command of the Moon Goddess and the Goddess of Venus.
Maybe I was seeing the past here again. Something I wanted to being taken away by someone who knew how to swoop every woman's heart with his charm and smile.
As if on cue, his voice reached me from behind.
"Alpha!" Harry's voice rang out, pulling me from my thoughts.
I didn't slow my pace, but Harry matched hmy stride effortlessly, falling into step beside me. "I need to speak with you."
I exhaled through my nose, irritation simmering beneath my skin. "Make it quick."
Harry hesitated only a moment before plunging in. "You can't keep treating her like this."
I was confused for a second, but I didn't stop walking. "What do you mean?"
"Ari." And so, I stopped to face him.
The name alone made my jaw tighten. Harry didn’t flinch, but I saw the way his fingers curled at his sides, like he was bracing for a fight. "She’s not a prisoner, Stone. She’s a person."
I exhaled sharply through my nose. "Did I ask for your opinion?"
Harry’s gaze hardened. "No. But you’re making a mistake." He stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You want her to stop running? Then stop treating her like some pet you bought at an animal store."
The words hit me like a humiliating slap. My wolf snarled under my skin, his claws scraping against my ribs. "Careful," I growled.
But Harry didn’t back down. "You think locking her in your room fixes anything? She’s not a toy. She’s terrified." His voice dropped further. "And if you keep this up, she’ll hate you forever. Aren't you worried about what that might do to your wolf?"
Something hot and jagged twisted in my chest. The thought of her hating me shouldn’t matter, but it did. And that pissed me off more. "You seem awfully invested in her feelings." My smile was all teeth. "Tell me, Harry. Is this about her... or you?"
His eyes flashed. "This is about you being too damn stubborn to see what’s right in front of you."
I leaned in until my breath ghosted over his face. "Back. Off."
For a heartbeat, neither of us moved. Then Harry exhaled, shoulders slumping in defeat. "Fine. But don’t come crying to me when she’s gone for good."
I watched him walk away, my pulse hammering in my temples. By the time I reached my office, my phone was buzzing. Rob’s name flashed on the screen. I snatched it up. "What?"
"Real nice, asshole," Rob drawled. "You ghost me after I treat you to a nice, warm welcome. Then you let that girl you abandoned come to meet me in the palace? Are you insane? My wife thought she came for me."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "I was handling it quite alright, until something happened."
"Bullshit. You’re losing it." A pause. "Talk to me, Stone. What the hell happened?"
I sank into my chair, staring at the ceiling. "I fucked up, I know. But, after she came to me, I felt something I had never felt before."
Rob snorted. "You fell in love with her?"
I didn’t answer because the truth was worse, and I didn’t know how to fix it. "You remember how I said a girl could control my wolf?"
"Yes. Did anything bad happen to her?"
"For fuck's sake, just listen." I grumbled. "When that girl touched me, my wolf got triggered and I almost lost it. People could have died, Rob. But then she came. Ari came, and everything stopped."
Rob listened intently for me to speak, after which I continued. "Why will this happen to me? I'm already on the edge of being pushed away due to my madness. Getting tied to some stranger, who is most likely an enemy is not something a pack wants for an Alpha."
"Hey. Hey. You are overreacting. You will get to see a powerful witch, she will separate you from her without issues and both of you can live freely. Away from each other." I ran a hand over my face. "Okay?"
"Okay, man. I just...thank you."
When I hung up, I leaned back to think about what life would be like having a woman who hated my guts in my room. Perhaps, I misjudged my decision.
Just then, a knock sounded on the door witgh a soft and hesitant beat. Before I could answer, it creaked open, and Ari stepped inside, her shoes clicking against the hardwood. The dim light from the fireplace cast long shadows across her face, making the bruises under her eyes look deeper than they were. She clutched a crumpled piece of paper in one hand, her knuckles white from the strain.
"How can I help you?'"
"Do you truly want me gone?" she asked, her expression nothing short of seriousness.
I leaned back in my chair, watching her. The question wasn’t unexpected, but the directness of it caught me off guard. She wasn’t looking scared or angry like she often did. I tilted my chin, motioning for her to continue.
She exhaled, her shoulders squaring as if she was bracing for a fight. "I’ll agree to leave the pack without a rejection. I will cause no fuss and no resistance." Her fingers tightened around the paper. "And I’ve spoken to Perri. There might be some neurotechnology, something experimental that we can try. A stabilizer for your wolf that doesn’t require me to be here."
My brows lifted. Neurotechnology? That was new. Perri hadn’t mentioned anything about that when we last spoke.
Ari stepped closer, placing the crumpled page on my desk. "She thinks it’s possible. The procedure might be dangerous, but possible. If we work fast enough, I could be gone before the next full moon."
I picked up the paper, skimming the hastily scribbled notes of chemical compounds, electrical impulses, and something about synaptic suppression. My wolf stirred uneasily at the mention of being tamed by machines instead of her.
"You’d really do that?" I asked, tapping the edge of the page against the desk. "Just walk away?"
Her lips pressed into a thin line. "You don’t want me here. Your pack doesn’t want me here. I’m not stupid enough to think that will ever change."
I opened my mouth to respond, and to argue, maybe, when a sharp pain lanced through my skull. My vision blurred, and for a second, I saw flickers of blood streaking down her face as she screamed into the night.
Then it was gone.