Chapter 323\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
After ending the call, Kael Vale sat stiffly in the high-backed leather chair in his study. The lights were dim, but his thoughts were darker.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had just learned what truly happened to Riley during her five years in the rogue prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And it was worse than anything he could\u2019ve imagined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stood up slowly, as if gravity had doubled its pull on him. Step by step, he walked to the door of the guest room-his room now, where Riley lay unconscious, healing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But he couldn\u2019t bring himself to open it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That single door might as well have been a mountain. A barrier between his cowardice and her pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She had always been a problem to him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A burden.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A threat to Scarlett\u2019s place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So why was his chest tightening like his wolf was clawing at his ribs?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just then, a young servant wolf came running. \u201cAlpha Kael, the banquet is starting. The Luna\u2019s celebration is about to begin.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett\u2019s birthday banquet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned and left Riley behind again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ballroom inside the Ebonclaw mansion gleamed like a dream. Light from hundreds of crystal orbs rained down in gold hues. The air was thick with perfume, status, and perfectly polite deception.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett stood at the center, wearing a shimmering pale pink gown. Her golden hair curled like a doll\u2019s, and her smile was delicate and soft. She was surrounded by noble wolves-Alphas, Betas, even pack Elders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of them adoring her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 323\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of them blind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finched\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blew out the candles on a six-tiered cake shaped like a blooming moonflower, Glittering ribbon cannons exploded, and the room erupted in applause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael stood in the crowd.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But all he could see was Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Curled up on that narrow bed. Her body frail. Her leg bent at a painful, unnatural angle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He reached for a glass of sparkling wolfwine and downed it in one gulp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The laughter faded around him. Every cheer felt like claws against his ears. His vision blurred, and his feet grew heavy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stumbling out of the hall, he found his way to a washroom and collapsed over the sink, emptying his stomach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stared at his reflection-wet hair, pale skin, haunted eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn\u2019t do this,\u201d he whispered to himself. \u201cYou didn\u2019t hurt her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that was a lie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d let them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned on the tap, washing cold water over his face until his skin stung.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then his phone rang.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luca.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael snatched it up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTalk.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have the full report,\u201d Luca said, voice low. \u201cBut\u2026 Alpha, you might want to sit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m standing. Say it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luca hesitated, then began.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley was regularly beaten. Slapped. Denied sleep. Forced to drink toilet water. They made her crawl through dominance rituals. Sometimes they\u2019d stab her with silver needles meant for\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 323\u00a0<\/p>\n
embroidery training. When she disobeyed\u2026 they broke her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s fists clenched.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNeedles?\u201d he bit out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
81 D\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey had her doing \u2018rehabilitation work\u2019 in the stitching units. That\u2019s where they came from.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGo on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe worst incident-six wooden batons, thicker than a grown male\u2019s forearm. Snapped across her legs. Her tibia was shattered. She was hospitalized, barely conscious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s jaw clenched so tight, his teeth groaned under pressure. His claws unsheathed without him realizing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd\u2026 the inmates who did it were rewarded with sentence reductions.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s voice dropped to a growl. \u201cSomeone ordered it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. We traced it. It was Alpha Ronan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s blood turned to ice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Alpha Heir of the Blackmaw Pack, Tessa\u2019s elder brother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael knew that Ronan was doing this to Riley in order to avenge his sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael didn\u2019t speak for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlpha?\u201d Luca prompted softly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s voice, when it came, was dead calm. Cold as the Frostfang borders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTerminate all contracts with Blackmaw Pack.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAlpha-our trade lines will suffer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI said do it. And those rogues who laid a hand on Riley-make sure they never leave prison alive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, Alpha.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael hung up and dropped the phone to the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 323\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned forward, his breathing heavy. Memories of Riley laughing, once. Then screaming. Then begging, in her dreams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He staggered out of the bathroom and back down the hallway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stopped in front of her door again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His hand reached for the knob.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then-\u00a0<\/p>\n
He heard her voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A whisper.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry\u2026 please don\u2019t hurt me\u2026 I didn\u2019t mean to\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His heart shattered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He turned away again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And this time, he ran.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Later That Night\u00a0<\/p>\n
The mansion was still.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11\u00a0<\/p>\n
His phone rang,\u00a0<\/p>\n
and rang, and rang.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until it cut off.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the estate, Alpha Alaric-Kael\u2019s father-was jolted from sleep by the sound of his own device.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He picked it up, groggy. \u201cHello?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something was said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then he sat up like lightning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you say?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His mate, Luna Zara, groaned beside him. \u201cWhat is it now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKael just canceled the Ebonclaw-Blackmaw Pack alliance. Ebonclaw Pack lost ten billion\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:01 Thu, Dec 25\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 323\u00a0<\/p>\n
credits in less than a night!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s impossible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just called me himself demanding answers.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Snarling, Alaric threw on his robe and stormed down the hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With a loud crash, he kicked open Kael\u2019s door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKael Vale, are you trying to destroy the Ebonclaw Pack?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
730\u00a0<\/p>\n
A\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
81\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
5\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 323 Chapter 323\u00a0 Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 After ending the call, Kael Vale sat stiffly […]<\/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-20596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20596","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=20596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20596\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}