Chapter 268\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was Magnus truly bewitched by Aysel Vale? Did he not fear the old flames that lingered in Damon\u2019s presence? Would he not sense the precariousness of Aysel\u2019s loyalty, the risk that fissures could form between them?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet his demeanor spoke volumes. Calm, unyielding, and certain, he strode forward, every movement measured like a predator claiming his territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celestine\u2019s amber gaze flicked sourly toward Damon, standing a distance away, yet still unmistakably centered on Aysel. Luck seemed to favor Aysel like a wolf always finding the choicest prey-first Damon, and now Magnus. Why was it always her who received the pack\u2019s favor?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus\u2019 patience had run thin. With a commanding tone that carried the authority of a pack leader, he called, \u201cAysel.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aysel spun around, and a smile lit her face. \u201cFinally,\u201d she murmured, pouting slightly, her voice carrying the soft lilt of playful complaint. \u201cYou\u2019re late.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus allowed the rebuke, stepping close enough to drape a protective arm around her shoulders. \u201cMy fault, little wolf,\u201d he murmured, slipping her coat around her. \u201cForgive me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As her small hands brushed his face, testing the warmth of his skin, Magnus\u2019 brow furrowed. \u201cCold\u2026 too cold,\u201d he murmured, entwining his fingers with hers. \u201cBack to the den-we\u2019ll have them brew you ginger broth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aysel laughed, slipping easily into his embrace. \u201cNo need. This will do.\u201d The wind tugged at her fur lightly, but she was stubborn, unwilling to cede to the mundane comforts of hot drinks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Satisfied that she was well, Magnus kissed her hands, waited until her warmth returned, then exhaled in relief.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet even as the embrace deepened, the wolf within him stirred, uneasy. Aysel had just spoken with Damon Blackwood and Celestine Ward\u2019s venomous words had reached Magnus\u2019 ears. \u201cShe\u2019ll never forget her first mate. I\u2019ll always be second,\u201d Celestine had said, cunningly, twisting truths into knives.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus\u2019 wolf bristled. The deception gnawed at him, the idea that a she-wolf\u2019s envy could weave such lies. Damon? That impudent Blackwood Alpha! Aysel deserved no such torment from fools!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nearby, Serena-responsible for overseeing the gala\u2019s security-finally found a moment to breathe. Just minutes before, she had been managing Olivia\u2019s sudden outburst, rushing to ensure the Ironhowl Pack\u2019s guests were protected, and now she glimpsed Aysel and Magnus, moving through the deck with that effortless, predatory confidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Serena\u2019s sharp jaw clenched. \u201cNow? What time is it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zane Draven, late to the scene, glanced at his timepiece. \u201cFour in the afternoon. Why?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Serena ground her teeth. The two-day, one-night excursion had barely begun, and yet chaos already ruled. Her wolf growled, impatient and righteous. She would kill whoever had sent these invitations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNow! Immediately! Get everyone to the deck!\u201d she roared, her voice slicing through the wind like a hunting cry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The yacht staff scrambled in panic, only to hear the thud of splashes-two distinct \u201cplops\u201d-followed by gasps of horror from the other pack members and guests. \u201cSomeone jumped!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before the staff could react, Serena\u2019s roar cut through the confusion. \u201cMove! Save them!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She gritted her teeth, claws of frustration extending metaphorically. Withdraw the investment! This yacht, she thought, had yet to earn a shred of profit, and here she was, nearly succumbing to a wolfish heart attack. She had intended only a small wager, a playful gathering with friends\u2026 not to orchestrate life-and-death rescues on a vessel adrift in the pack\u2019s territorial waters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If anyone had truly died today, Serena\u2019s reputation as a competent strategist would be shredded forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The yacht erupted into chaos. More splashes of \u201cplop, plop\u201d sounded as the crew and guests, trained in etiquette but not in the ways of wolfish survival, jumped overboard in panic. This gathering had drawn the young heirs and heiresses of wealthy packs; any casualty would spark investigations and furious pack councils.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Amid screams, the scramble for lifeboats, and frantic barking orders, a few nearby fishermen lowered their rods, exchanging glances. The sudden tumult had likely scared all the fish away anyway, and the last thing they wanted was to reel in a thrashing human-or wolf-instead. Better to remain spectators to the chaos.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the center of the storm, Aysel\u2019s golden eyes met Magnus\u2019s, his presence like a shadowed Alpha claiming his territory. Her expression was a mix of exasperation and incredulity. \u201cThat\u2026 wasn\u2019t me who pushed them, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus\u2019 lips curved in a faint, predatory smirk as his fingers ruffled her hair. \u201cOf course not. They\u2019re just clumsy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aysel blinked. The scene had been so theatrically perfect-the two plunging into the dark waters with almost cinematic timing-that she momentarily doubted herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Five minutes earlier, she had sought out Celestine and Damon, who had been lingering too close, drawn together by pack tension and old instincts. Confronting the interloper Luna and the Eastern Alpha, Aysel had sharply reminded them that her allegiance was solely to Magnus. Any imagined entanglements they concocted were theirs alone, not to meddle in her pack bonds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celestine\u2019s jaw dropped. She hadn\u2019t meant for Aysel to be so direct. A few whispered provocations, meant only to sow doubt in Magnus\u2019 mind about Aysel\u2019s feelings for Damon, had backfired spectacularly. Bold, yes -but saying a word against Magnus in his own presence? She had underestimated the wolf beneath the Alpha\u2019s calm exterior.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damon, the Blackwood Alpha, had watched the exchange, his pulse quickening with a mixture of wounded pride and possessive instinct. \u201cI think there\u2019s no need for further discussion,\u201d he said, shaking off Celestine\u2019s hand with a clipped, controlled movement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celestine\u2019s panic surged. She had hoped to use this encounter as an excuse to dine privately with Damon, to commemorate Dariusz\u2019s upcoming birthday\u2014but Aysel and Magnus had intervened, their dominance unshakable, their bond unspoken yet glaring. She cried out, rushing toward the yacht\u2019s railing in a desperate, melodramatic gesture to leap into the sea and \u201cjoin\u201d Dariusz.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damon reacted instinctively, chasing after her. But the railing was low, the momentum misjudged, and\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 268\u00a0<\/p>\n
Celestine tripped. In a tangle of limbs and instinctual pulls, both Alpha and the she-wolf tumbled into the ocean together. The fluid, almost choreographed chaos left even Aysel momentarily stunned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Magnus\u2019 lips curved into a cold, wolfish smile. That Blackwood brain? Only suitable for disaster with Celestine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the yacht\u2019s small medical bay, rarely busy, now housed three humans sprawled from minor injuries, each attended to by panicked medics adjusting their glasses nervously. Even the ship\u2019s owner, normally precise in selecting auspicious dates for pack gatherings, might have erred in judgment this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
622\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 268 Chapter 268\u00a0 Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0 Was Magnus truly bewitched by Aysel Vale? Did he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20542\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}