Chapter 363\u00a0<\/p>\n
Author\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside the auction hall, the atmosphere was electric.\u00a0<\/p>\n
35%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
A massive screen projected the blueprint and development plan of the East Ridge territory-land that had become the centerpiece of tonight\u2019s bidding war. The crowd leaned in, eyes blazing with ambition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The auctioneer\u2019s voice rang out clearly, \u201cUp next, we present the most anticipated item of the evening-the East Ridge territory. Located near Moonshade Bay, this and boasts exceptional spiritual energy and strategic significance. Starting price: 10 billion lunar stones. Each raise must be no less than 100 million.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Whispers turned into murmurs, and murmurs into tension-soaked silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone knew: securing this land meant controlling the beating heart of East Haven\u2019s future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael Vale, heir to the Ebonclaw Pack, was the first to raise his paddle. \u201cTen point five billion,\u201d he announced with calm authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Representing the Vale family, Kael had been sent with a clear directive from Alpha Alaric: win this auction, at all costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before his voice had even faded, Ronan Duskcliff, the brooding heir of another powerful Blackclaw, raised the stakes. \u201cEleven billion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
With two Alphas-in-waiting taking the lead, the crowd\u2019s blood heated. Paddles flew up like war banners, each bid more aggressive than the last.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But as the numbers climbed past 20 billion, smaller families and corporations began bowing out, resigned to watching the titans clash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then, just as the bidding showed signs of slowing, a voice rang out from the front.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThirty billion,\u201d said a man with calm detachment, holding up his paddle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gasps rippled through the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was Lucien Duskgrave\u2019s assistant-Stormridge Pack\u2019s right hand beta, speaking on behalf of the enigmatic and feared Northern Alpha heir.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien himself sat relaxed in the front row, draped in a ailored steel-grey suit that clung to his broad shoulders like it had been woven for a god. His silver eyes were unreadable, his presence as cold and commanding as the northern snows he hailed from.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Ebonclaw Pack looked stricken.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They\u2019d expected the Stormridge Pack to show strength-but this was annihilation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Everyone else had raised their bids in cautious millions or single billions. Stormridge raised it by ten.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s face darkened. He leaned toward Ronan, voice low. \u201cWe\u2019ll need to combine resources.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan gave a short, reluctant nod.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael stood and raised his paddle again. \u201cThirty-five billion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tue, Dec 30\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 363\u00a0<\/p>\n
35%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
He shot Lucien a defiant glance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien didn\u2019t even spare him a look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His assistant raised the paddle. \u201cForty-five billion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The room fell into stunned silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael\u2019s knuckles whitened around the bidding paddle. \u201cFifty billion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Assistant: \u201cSixty\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael: \u201cSixty-five.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Assistant: \u201cEighty.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gasps erupted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan and Kael both stood up. Their stunned expressions were mirrored across the entire auction hall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Eighty billion?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael growled, \u201cLucien Duskgrave, are you insane?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At last, Lucien turned his head slightly, his gaze as glacial as ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBid again,\u201d he said calmly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t a challenge. It wasn\u2019t a threat. It was a fact.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bid if you dare-but I won\u2019t stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sheer confidence in his tone sent a chill down Kael\u2019s spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even united, Ebonclaw and Blackclaw\u2019s war chests wouldn\u2019t stretch beyond a hundred billion-not without crippling their packs financially.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alpha Alaric sat like a stone statue in the back, lips pressed into a tight line. His fury was palpable, but his hands were tied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan, too, looked pale beneath his steady exterior. His pack had liquidated assets just to fund this one shot at expansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael gritted his teeth. \u201cEighty-five billion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The assistant didn\u2019t even blink. \u201cOne hundred billion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silence fell, absolute and final.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kael and Ronan exchanged a long look-defeat written clearly on both their faces.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They had lost.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne hundred billion once. One hundred billion twice. One hundred billion-sold!\u201d the auctioneer called out, dropping the hammer with a thunderous clap.\u00a0<\/p>\n
213\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u68d2\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 363 Chapter 363\u00a0 Author\u2019s POV\u00a0 Inside the auction hall, the atmosphere was electric.\u00a0 35%\u00a0 Finished\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-20636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20636","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=20636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}