Chapter 359\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley Karl\u2019s voice unapped across the room like a whip\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think this is strength Kael spar, voice shaking with fury: \u201cYou think flashing claws and a bit of borrowed aura makes you unstoppable?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s not real power, Riley Ir\u2019s desperation. And it reeks\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
He pointed at me, eyes narrowing Just like I told them-you probably used some kind of black magic tonic to force your wolf out. That scent? It\u2019s unstable. Fading. A trick.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wolves bir us earn power through blood, through battle, not shortcuts. Keep chasing easy paths and you\u2019ll destroy yourself\u00a0<\/p>\n
His words were like a desperate mantra, a way to comfort himself-denying the truth of my strength while trying to shove me back into the box they\u2019d always kept me in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at him coldly and said quietly,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen pray I don\u2019t take the hard path. Because if I do, you\u2019ll be the first one down.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKeep dreaming. Riley, Scarlett sneered from behind him. \u201cWhatever you took to summon that wolf of yours? It won\u2019t last. You\u2019ll burn out within days.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara\u2019s voice followed, soft but sharp like the edge of a poisoned dagger. \u201cNo amount of dark magic can rewrite fate. You were born to kneel, not rule. And when that twisted power turns on you-don\u2019t expect anyone to catch you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMark my words,\u201d Scarlett added, eyes gleaming with bitter fire. \u201cThat wolf will devour you from the inside out. It\u2019s not strength. It\u2019s a curse.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t even flinch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I walked straight into the dining hall, pulled out a chair, and sat down like I hadn\u2019t heard a damn thing. I picked up my fork and started eating slowly, deliberately, like their panic and screeching didn\u2019t exist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The roast venison was delicious-tender, marinated just right, juices still warm from the hearth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Funny, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve lived twenty-three years. And this was the first time I\u2019ve ever tasted meat this rich, this full of flavor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the orphanage? We were lucky to get dry bread and overcooked stew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back at the Ebonclaw estate? I only got cold leftovers-sometimes even discarded bones scraped clean by\u00a0<\/p>\n
others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was only when I was thrown into prison that I tasted actual warm, decent food.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Ronan hadn\u2019t ordered the guards to \u201clook after me,\u201d I would\u2019ve sworn that a cell was still better than this\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
13.13 Mon, Dec 29\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 359\u00a0<\/p>\n
damn house.\u00a0<\/p>\n
B\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
I chewed slowly, savoring each bite, letting the flavor sit on my tongue before swallowing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I finally spoke, my voice was calm and crisp, cutting like ice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think your opinions matter to someone who crawled out of a grave you dug?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Save your breath. You\u2019ll need it for the next time I knock the air out of your lungs.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy heart? You\u2019re asking if I have one? That\u2019s rich, coming from a family that trampled mine until there was nothing left. Why? Because I\u2019m treating you the same way you treated me, and now it\u2019s suddenly a problem?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara\u2019s tears flowed freely now. \u201cRiley, how can you be so heartless? Your father\u2019s barely breathing, and you still have the nerve to eat?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t even look at her. I stabbed another piece of meat and placed it in my mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They say when you\u2019re dying, your senses sharpen. I remembered that from prison. I\u2019d almost died there too. But here, in this dining room, surrounded by people who called themselves family, I realized something else:\u00a0<\/p>\n
My soul died long before I ever set foot in a cell.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed and met Zara\u2019s tearful gaze with utter indifference.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to talk about heartless? Let me remind you what heartless really looks like.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the Spring Moon Festival during my final year at Mooncrest Academy. I was burning up with fever- three days and nights of pure hell. I couldn\u2019t shift, couldn\u2019t move, couldn\u2019t even crawl from the freezing storage room they locked me in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one came.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No water. No food. Just cold shadows and silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Mia hadn\u2019t returned from her holiday and found me half-dead on the floor, I\u2019d be rotting beneath the Ebonclaw Pack\u2019s sacred tree by now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And when she confronted Alaric and Zara?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric shrugged. \u201cShe\u2019s faking it. Always is. Trying to win sympathy again. I know her game.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara sighed, ever so gentle. \u201cRiley really shouldn\u2019t stay in her room three days without eating. It\u2019s not healthy for a young girl.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She knew. They knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But they didn\u2019t lift a claw.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remember dragging myself to the kitchen to find water, and I overheard everything.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That night, the frost in my veins was no fever-it was the truth finally settling into my bones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 359\u00a0<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t care if I lived or died.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hell, even Scarlett\u2019s mutt was worth more than me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
When that decrepit old hound fell ill weeks later, the entire family went into mourning. They spent tens of thousands on herbal healers, rune-charged diagnostics, moonstone therapy-you name it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dog died of old age, obviously. It was eighteen. Could barely walk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But they cried like they\u2019d lost a firstborn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They held a moon-blessed funeral. Chanted prayers. Burned sacred sage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And then Scarlett said it was my fault.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That I\u2019d \u201ccursed\u201d her dog by being sick near it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, Alaric believed her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He forced me to kneel barefoot in the snow to \u201crepent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was during my heat cycle. I was still a late bloomer, barely had my moon blood then.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I fainted. Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia saved me. Again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That sickness lingered for weeks. My cycles were delayed for months after. And when they returned, they brought pain sharp enough to make me wish I never shifted at all.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All of that-because of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And like a fool, I used to still want their approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett\u2019s voice snapped through my haze. \u201cIf anything happens to Father, I swear I won\u2019t forgive you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I set my fork down-hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The clang echoed in the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cForgive me? You must be delusional.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood and walked slowly toward her, every step deliberate, steady.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou think I don\u2019t remember? You broke into my room first. You threw the first punch. You ran to Zara, sobbing lies. Your precious father saw your crocodile tears and flew into a rage. Now he\u2019s collapsed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised my voice with each word.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s suffering from aura imbalance and spirit chamber overload because he lost control of his wolf. Because you set the fire and watched it burn. And now you want to pin the ashes on me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I reached her and, without warning, slapped her across the face-hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:15 Mon, Dec 29\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 35\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another neat red prim bloomed beside the one I\u2019d left earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perfect symmetry.\u201d I sneered\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara screeched and lunged at me, but I stepped aside. She tripped and hit the ground hard\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael finally snapped. He shoved me backward, fury in his eyes. \u201cThat\u2019s ENOUGH!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stumbled, but Mia caught me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s hand hovered midair then dropped. So did his concern.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pulled his hand back slowly, like I burned him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou still think I\u2019m the villain here?\u201d I laughed bitterly. \u201cAlaric\u2019s turning purple on the floor, and you haven\u2019t even summoned a healer. You\u2019re just standing there waiting for him to die so you can finally take his place as Alpha, aren\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
SHUT UP!\u201d he roared, voice cracking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen make me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we traded barbs, Alaric\u2019s limbs began to stiffen. His face twisted, eyes rolling back. The telltale signs of lunar suffocation-when a wolf\u2019s spirit detaches from their breath due to emotional overload. The sacred breath stops syncing with the body, and without swift intervention-\u00a0<\/p>\n
Death follows.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett screamed. \u201cDo something! He\u2019s going to die!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael fumbled with his comm, trying to reach Theo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara was pacing, hands shaking like brittle leaves in the wind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood above them all, watching it unfold like a bad dream finally coming true.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A part of me wanted to let him go.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But if he died, they\u2019d blame me. Take my money. Hunt me like prey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed and turned to Mia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBring me a stormleaf sack from the kitchen,\u201d I ordered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She blinked. \u201cA what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTop shelf. Behind the healing salts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mia ran and returned moments later with the woven dark-blue pouch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:15 Mon, Dec 29\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 359\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped forward and pulled it open, placing it gently over Alaric\u2019s face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone lout their minds\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett screeched. You\u2019re killing him! You witch-you\u2019re trying to suffocate him!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I shoved her back. Be quiet if you don\u2019t know what the hell you\u2019re talking about.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They gaped at me in silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStormleaf is a grounding herb,\u201d I explained coldly. \u201cIt traps a wolf\u2019s own breath aura. He\u2019s over-ventilated- his body\u2019s expelled too much primal energy and lost balance. He\u2019s not dying. He\u2019s resetting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced at Scarlett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t you place top ten at Halston Academy? What, no basic understanding of wolf physiology?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She flushed but said nothing\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few tense minutes later, Alaric stirred.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He ripped off the sack and gasped for breath, his pupils finally returning to center.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, like the brute he was, he launched up-trying to attack me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCareful,\u201d I said icily. \u201cLose control again, and next time, I\u2019ll let the spirits finish what they started.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou ungrateful-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned away, already heading for the stairs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStay out of the upstairs rooms!\u201d he bellowed. \u201cYou belong in the storage den!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stopped halfway up the steps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then turned slightly and looked down on him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore, I stayed out of guilt,\u201d I said. \u201cNow, I stay out of pity. I saved your pathetic life. That room? It\u2019s your debt to me. Be grateful I don\u2019t charge more. Because if I did\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled coldly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Td be taking this whole damned house.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s eyes bulged. \u201cYou-!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael hurriedly shoved the stormleaf sack back over Alaric\u2019s head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched him wheeze into the bag, the pouch inflating and deflating like a balloon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was almost funny.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smirked to myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
5\/6\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u307e\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chogner S\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bloch He Has Made the bidd\u00a0<\/p>\n
How Whated the pabadustel\u00a0<\/p>\n
Vended dish there whence. The will for me, aming en\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bastos gesen heeft I heard she b\u00a0<\/p>\n
These wins Conde Predictable\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blue como gagged inside, careful as ever, heliling a bowl that steamed like a dream. The unell hit me to ach\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWalery,\u201d she said softly, \u201cyou should eat something. You barely Ruched your dinner earlier\u00a0<\/p>\n
I saw accepting the bowl with and, but duto eat right away. Instead, I glanced at her\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey all think iny wolf showed up because of some black magic tonic,\u201d I said, voice low and alert hatten Ten Lal No one\u2019s asked how or why. Not even you\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
her way yes, unflinching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIeded to ask,\u201d she said simply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blood \u201cWhy now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Shar sat ferite me, hants folded in her lap. Because the day you took that belt for me.. the day you rent you want your claws came out just to shield me. Her voice trembled, just slightly. \u201cThats when I knew\u00a0<\/p>\n
You wit ever left.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1 Sawalod away. Sweething hot and sharp twisted in my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I quedat\u00a0<\/p>\n
ko\u00a0<\/p>\n
what they did to you,\u201d she continued, quieter now. \u201cWhat they put you through as that penas 30 kur kant of pain would make an Alpha wolf go so quiet. so will \u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sharpen and gently touched my barbagest hacist\u00a0<\/p>\n
as as a barbersand she wore grine Chify that you were protecting her Oe muy be the was protesting\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:15 Mon, Dec 29\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joseph King is an editor and storyteller who ensures every chapter is clear, polished, and engaging for readers.<\/p>\n
Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe 359 Chapter 359\u00a0 Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0 \u201cRiley Karl\u2019s voice unapped across the room like a whip\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-20632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20632","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=20632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20632\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}