Chapter 362\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t spare the driver another glance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
35%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Turned around and walked straight back into the Ebondaw estate, heels echoing against the marble like a declaration of war.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He\u2019d barked at me like a mutt, thinking just because herove for Alpha Alaric, he could speak down to me. Guess he forgot-I\u2019m not a dog. I\u2019m the daughter they buried and now suddenly need.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Let him sweat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Which he did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t even take a full minute before I heard his panicked footsteps behind me. Gone was the arrogance- he was all smiles now, practically groveling.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss, please-Alpha and Luna are waiting for you at the summit. If you don\u2019t come now, we\u2019ll be late.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sat down on the leather couch, poured myself a cup of jasmine tea, and sipped it slowly. Deliberately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The driver hovered like a fly in summer heat, pacing and fidgeting like a rogue in heat season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease,\u201d he tried again, nearly begging, \u201cit\u2019s my fault. I spoke out of turn. But the summit\u2019s already begun-if we don\u2019t leave\u00a0<\/p>\n
now,\u00a0<\/p>\n
we\u2019ll miss it entirely.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I finally looked up, locking eyes\u00a0<\/p>\n
with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKnow your place,\u201d I said quietly. \u201cYou\u2019re a driver, not a lack Elder. If it\u2019s not your concern, stay out of it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He paled. \u201cYes, Miss. I understand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
No, he didn\u2019t. But at least he pretended to.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I finished the last sip of tea and checked the clock. 8:00 PM sharp. The summit must\u2019ve already started.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let another thirty minutes tick by just to be petty. Then I rose, set the cup down gently, and said, \u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked like he\u2019d just been pardoned from a death sentence. Practically sprinted to the SUV to open the\u00a0<\/p>\n
door for me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time, I didn\u2019t argue. Slipped into the back seat, one leg crossed over the other, and leaned back with my eyes closed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nyra stirred faintly inside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou should\u2019ve made him crawl,\u201d she growled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo,\u201d I answered silently. \u201cThat comes later. After I\u2019ve won.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:35 Tue, Dec 30 GGD.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 362\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the same time, the summit was already halfway through.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Ebonclaw delegation sat clustered in the front row the Silverfang Auction Hall-Alpha Alaric, Luna Zara, Kael Vale, and of course, Scarlett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alaric\u2019s jaw was locked tight, face stormy with barely leashed fury. \u201cWhere the hell is that ungrateful brat? It\u2019s been over thirty minutes!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zara twisted her hands in her lap. \u201cAlaric, do you have her number? Just call her.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I had it, don\u2019t you think I would\u2019ve already tried?\u201d he napped. \u201cYou don\u2019t have it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought you had it,\u201d she hissed, visibly flustered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael groaned and pulled out his phone. \u201cI\u2019ll call the driver.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The line connected quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you?\u201d Kael barked. \u201cThe summit started half an hour ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The driver\u2019s voice was hesitant. \u201cWe just left the estate, Young Alpha\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou what?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s voice exploded like a whip crack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe told you to pick her up before the summit began!\u201d,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2026 refused to leave. I tried-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care what she did,\u201d Kael growled. \u201cShe better be Here before the final lot is announced.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hung up without waiting for a response.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Across the row, Scarlett was paying attention to something else entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her gaze had been fixed all night on one man-the Storm ridge heir from Northhaven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien Duskgrave.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He stood alone, detached from both council and crowd like a phantom who tolerated no presence but his own. There were whispers everywhere, of course.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That he was cursed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That he couldn\u2019t bond with a mate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That every Luna chosen for him either ran, died, or lost her mind before the mating bond could fully seal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They said he was born during a blood eclipse-an omen doom-and marked by a red peony on his chest, one that no healer could erase and no silver could scar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The blood peony. The mark of the Lonely Alpha.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They said he was destined to live without love. To rule without mercy. That even the Moon Goddess herself turned her face from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:35 Tue, Dec 30 GGD.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 362\u00a0<\/p>\n
35%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett had believed the stories.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Until she saw him in the flesh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was\u2026 breathtaking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Angular cheekbones, piercing silver eyes, a jaw carved like it belonged to a god of war. And that suit-gods,\u00a0<\/p>\n
that suit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t just expensive. It was divine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Midnight-black. Hand-stitched. And across his chest, a single, blood-red peony embroidered with such precision it looked alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett\u2019s breath caught.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No one who dressed like that-no one who looked like that-could be as monstrous as the rumors claimed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Could they?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jealousy twisted in her gut like poison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That monster\u2026 was supposed to marry Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley, the forgotten daughter. The girl who\u2019d spent half her life in chains, then returned like a ghost the Pack wished would disappear again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Why should she be gifted a man like that?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett\u2019s lips pressed into a thin line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If the Stormridge Prince was truly as cruel as they said-so be it. Let Riley rot in that marriage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But if the rumors were wrong\u2026 if this Prince was powerful and desirable\u2026 then Riley didn\u2019t deserve him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett wouldn\u2019t stand by and let Riley get a single shred of happiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not when she\u2019d spent her whole life stealing scraps of attention that rightfully belonged to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She grabbed her phone and typed out a message quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The driver glanced at Riley through the rearview mirror. She was leaning back in the seat, eyes closed, serene and composed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But in his eyes, a cold glint flickered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had just received the message.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And it came from Scarlett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\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 362 Chapter 362\u00a0 Riley\u2019s POV\u00a0 I didn\u2019t spare the driver another glance.\u00a0 35%\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 Turned […]<\/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-20635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20635","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=20635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20635\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}