Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
Author\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Ebonclaw Pack dining hall was unusually quiet that morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alpha Alaric, Luna Zara, Kael Vale, and Scarlett had already taken their seats-but none of them had touched their food yet. For once, the usual clatter of silverware and forced pleasantries was absent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Riley finally emerged from the corridor, the atmosphere shifted. Luna Zara immediately stood, walking briskly toward her with a strained smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley, you must be starving. Come, have some breakfast,\u201d she said warmly, grabbing her hand and guiding\u00a0<\/p>\n
her to the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alpha Alaric occupied the head seat. To his right sat Kael; to his left, Zara. Scarlett, as always, nestled close to her mother.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only remaining seat was between Kael and Scarlett. Neither of them were welcome options, but if Riley had to choose, she\u2019d rather sit beside Kael.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At least she knew his malice was honest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley sat down silently, expression unreadable. She picked up her spoon and began eating the small bowl of dumplings in front of her-delicate wolfbone broth with wild herbs, prepared by Mia. She didn\u2019t say a word. Didn\u2019t look at any of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All four members of the Alpha family watched her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alpha Alaric\u2019s eyes were hard, his jaw clenched tight, restrained only by Zara\u2019s silent warning glance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara, for her part, wore a tight, polite smile, clearly torn between managing appearances and managing the brewing tension. She opened her mouth, likely to remind Riley to greet her elders, but whatever she had planned to say died on her lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett, ever the peacemaker, tried a softer approach. \u201cSister, Mia made this especially for you,\u201d she chirped, forcing a sweet smile. \u201cIs it good?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley didn\u2019t reply. She didn\u2019t even glance at her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael drew a sharp breath through his nose, clearly struggling to keep his temper in check. His lips curled into a tight, disingenuous smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley,\u201d he said, voice low but tense, \u201cwhen you\u2019re done with breakfast, take that damn bandage off your head. You\u2019re not actually injured. Walking around like that makes it look like someone in this house abused you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s hand paused slightly, spoon mid-air. The corner of her lips twitched-not in amusement, but in bitter contempt. Then she resumed eating, as if he hadn\u2019t spoken at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She finished her meal quickly. After wiping her mouth with a napkin, she stood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m done,\u201d she said coldly. \u201cEnjoy the rest of\u00a0<\/p>\n
your breakfast.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u767d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael slammed his palm on the table. \u201cWhat the hell is your problem, Riley? Do you think we owe you something? You walk around with that miserable face like the whole Pack has wronged you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley turned to look at him, eyes like cracked ice-void of warmth or expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That look only enraged Kael further.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stood, grabbed her arm, and with a sharp, angry gesture, ripped the bandage from her forehead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll prove you\u2019re faking,\u201d he growled. \u201cYou\u2019re addicted to playing the victim.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment the gauze came off, the scab beneath tore open. Fresh blood gushed from the wound, sliding down Riley\u2019s face in thin, crimson rivers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room fell silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s hand dropped like it had touched fire. His pupils contracted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hadn\u2019t expected real blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara gasped, eyes filling with tears. \u201cRiley\u2026 What happened to your head?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett\u2019s eyes gleamed for a heartbeat with something unreadable-satisfaction, maybe-but she quickly masked it with a frightened expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay, sister?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
But Riley didn\u2019t flinch. Didn\u2019t cry out. Didn\u2019t even blink. The blood streaked down her pale cheeks, soaking into her collar, but her gaze remained hollow, unflinching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked at them like they weren\u2019t her family at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like they were monsters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this what you wanted?\u201d Her voice was hoarse, distant. \u201cDoes this satisfy you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alpha Alaric\u2019s face didn\u2019t even twitch. \u201cIt\u2019s just a scratch,\u201d he said gruffly. \u201cNo need to be dramatic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The silence that followed was deafening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s fingers curled around the edge of the table, knuckles white with pressure. The table creaked under her grip, threatening to buckle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael, Scarlett, and Zara all immediately moved to steady the table-clearly remembering the last time Riley lost control and flipped it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCalm down,\u201d Zara said quickly. \u201cYour father didn\u2019t mean it that way. He just-he just didn\u2019t realize it was that serious. He cares. We all do\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even she didn\u2019t seem to believe her own words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 337\u00a0<\/p>\n
3 Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley stared straight through her, gaze sharp enough to pierce bone. Zara looked away, unable to meet her\u00a0<\/p>\n
eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The air was thick with tension.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blood continued to drip from Riley\u2019s head onto the tablecloth, bright and vivid against white linen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCare?\u201d she echoed. \u201cWhat a lovely word.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned slowly, her voice quiet but soaked in contempt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you so much for your concern, Alpha Alaric. Luna Zara. I\u2019ll treasure it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Without giving anyone the chance to respond, she turned and walked out of the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael sat back down, jaw clenched. He shoved his bowl away, appetite gone. \u201cI\u2019m heading to the office,\u201d he muttered, already storming out the front door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside his car, Kael leaned back in the leather seat, staring at the blood-stained gauze in his palm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something twisted deep inside his chest-tight, unfamiliar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley had left the house just fine yesterday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that night, she returned with a head wound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What the hell happened?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes, mind flashing back to her pale face and dead eyes. His stomach churned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s still my sister.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No matter what she did five years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s still a Vale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hands clenching on the wheel, Kael finally reached for his phone and made a call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRonan,\u201d he said through gritted teeth. \u201cWas it you? Did you hurt Riley?\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a beat of silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then came the voice on the other end-calm, emotionless, unreadable. \u201cIs that why you called me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m warning you,\u201d Kael snarled. \u201cI don\u2019t care what she did in the past-she\u2019s paid for it. She\u2019s the daughter of Alpha Alaric. If you ever touch her again-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Click.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan hung up without a word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael cursed and hurled the phone onto the passenger seat. \u201cFuck!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
FRY\u00a0<\/p>\n
26\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\u00a0<\/p>\n
R\u00a0<\/p>\n
He sat in the car for a long time, jaw clenched, throat dry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finally, he started the engine and drove to the Pack\u2019s central tower-but work was impossible. All he could see was her face. Her blood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After nearly an hour of fidgeting and frustration, he picked up his phone again and dialed Mia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMia. How is she? Did someone treat her wound? Riley\u2026 is she okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
730\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry, young Alpha,\u201d Mia\u2019s voice came gently through the phone. \u201cI\u2019ve already cleaned and dressed Miss Riley\u2019s wound.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMm.\u201d My voice came out flat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hesitated for a second, then added, \u201cClear out my bedroom. Riley\u2019s not staying in that damn storage room anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a pause on the line. Then her voice softened with relief. \u201cYes, young Alpha. I\u2019ll get started right away. Miss Riley has truly suffered these days\u2026 it\u2019s time she had a proper place to rest.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I hung up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My phone screen stayed dark in my hand for a long time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s my sister. My blood. No matter how difficult she\u2019s become, that bond still exists. Still matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019ll understand this, won\u2019t she? She\u2019ll see I\u2019m trying.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe she\u2019ll even smile again. Maybe things will go back to the way they used to be-when she\u2019d bring food to my office without fail, no matter how tense things got between us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even when I snapped at her. Even when I defended Scarlett and hurt Riley in ways I didn\u2019t realize at the time\u2026 she still came, lunch in hand, with that quiet little smile that didn\u2019t quite reach her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luca would knock and say, \u201cMiss Riley is here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d pretend not to care, keep typing like nothing happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I always waited for her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Always.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That memory sat heavy in my chest now, warm and hollow at the same time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe tonight, she\u2019ll do it again. Mayb\u00a0<\/p>\n
she\u2019ll see I\u2019ve changed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the sun went down and the headquarters started to empty, I stayed. Staff filtered out one by one, footsteps fading into silence. I remained in my office, tapping at meaningless reports, checking the time every few minutes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Any moment now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Luca came in, knocking lightly. \u201cAlpha Kael, everyone\u2019s headed out. Aren\u2019t you going to dinner?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned back in my chair. \u201cMy sister\u2019s bringing food.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He grinned. \u201cMust be nice,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cVing a sister who dotes on you. I wouldn\u2019t know.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t respond. Just offered a lazy shrug and a half-smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as the minutes dragged on\u2026 then an hour\u2026 then two\u2026 my smile faded.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The building started to refill with night shift staff. Still no Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A cold weight began to settle in my gut.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I called home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a few rings, Mia picked up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMia,\u201d I said tightly. \u201cWhen did Riley leave the house?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She sounded confused. \u201cShe didn\u2019t, young Alpha. Miss Riley has been in her room all day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My grip on the phone tightened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She never left?\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t bring me anything?\u00a0<\/p>\n
That can\u2019t be right.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She used to love doing that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even when I hurt her without realizing-taking Scarlett\u2019s side, saying the wrong thing at the wrong time-she still showed up with food. Like nothing had happened. Like some part of her still believed in me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now\u2026 she didn\u2019t?\u00a0<\/p>\n
That stupid hope I\u2019d been feeding all day suddenly turned bitter in my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It had all been in my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A delusion. A fantasy where she forgave me, where things could go back to normal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019s not coming back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not to me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not like before.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia\u2019s voice broke through again, cautious. \u201cWould you like me to fetch her?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I said quickly. Sharply. \u201cForget it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ended the call.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A minute later, Luca walked back in-damn good timing, as always.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d he said, half-laughing. \u201cWhat did Miss Riley bring you today? Don\u2019t tell me she made you wait again-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shot him a look that could\u2019ve frozen fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/5\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 337 Chapter 337\u00a0 Author\u2019s POV\u00a0 The Ebonclaw Pack dining hall was unusually quiet that morning.\u00a0 […]<\/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-20610","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20610","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=20610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20610\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}