Chapter 894\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
The more Riley held it in, the more it hurt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u6839\u6df1\u00a0<\/p>\n
She finally broke down, leaning over the edge of the Moonbridge railing and sobbing uncontrollably under the silver light of the waxing moon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien Duskgrave-Alpha Prince of the Stormridge Pack-froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In all his twenty-eight years, never had a woman cried in front of him. Not like this. Not raw, broken, and loud enough to shake his composure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With a long sigh, he pulled out a cigarette and offered it to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWant one?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley lifted her tear-stained face, her voice thick and nasal. \u201cAre you trying to comfort me?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he answered plainly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t even like smoking,\u201d she hiccupped between sobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a beat of silence. Lucien\u2019s brow twitched as if instinctively reacting, but then smoothed out again-as if afraid she\u2019d think he was annoyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His lips parted. \u201cThen let me buy you a drink.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWaaah-\u201d Riley cried harder, her voice trembling. \u201cWill drinking stop it from hurting?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay\u2026 I\u2019ll drink. But I don\u2019t have any money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fine,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ll cover it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re such a good man\u2026\u201d she mumbled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien blinked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Good man?\u00a0<\/p>\n
That was the first time anyone had described him that way.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had always seen himself as cold. Detached. A creature who acted solely on intent and\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0aa6\u0ab0\u00a0<\/p>\n
16:29 Fri, Jan 2 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 394\u00a0<\/p>\n
58\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
strategy, not sentiment. He didn\u2019t care for opinions, reputations, or anyone\u2019s approval. In his eyes, there were no true \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d people in this world-only shifting interests and\u00a0<\/p>\n
necessary means.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those whispers about him being ruthless, calculating, merciless?\u00a0<\/p>\n
He never denied them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were how he survived. How he maintained control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But in this moment, the words \u201cYou\u2019re a good man,\u201d spoken through a girl\u2019s drunken sobs, landed like a strange force pressing directly on his chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He allowed a faint smile to touch his lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Well, if the little she-wolf had already given him a \u201cgood guy\u201d badge\u2026 he might as well play the part to the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWait here,\u201d he said, turning away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley leaned back against the rail, watching him with bleary eyes. She saw him stride across the bridge and pop open the trunk of a sleek obsidian car parked nearby.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His gaze landed on two bottles of wine tucked neatly in the back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were meant for a business deal in the East District-a rare vintage, expensive even by Alpha standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He grabbed one and returned to her, holding it out like a peace offering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDrink.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley didn\u2019t hesitate. She uncorked the bottle and took a long, unapologetic swig straight from the mouth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Watching her gulp like a warrior, Lucien\u2019s lips quirked into something close to amusement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From the car, his Beta-Duke-nearly dropped his tablet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Was she seriously drinking that wine like it was water?\u00a0<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t just any bottle-it was a blood-aged Romani Conti, worth more than half a million credits. A treasured bottle that some Alphas would offer as a dowry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And she was guzzling it like ale.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Duke\u2019s mouth fell open. His Alpha\u2026 wasn\u2019t stopping her. In fact, there was a ghost of a smile on\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
16:29 Fri, Jan 2 M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 394\u00a0<\/p>\n
his usually frozen face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
38\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had never, in all his years of service, seen Lucien show even the slightest softness toward a\u00a0<\/p>\n
woman.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Quickly, Duke pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of them-Riley standing beneath the moonlight on the bridge, drinking straight from a priceless bottle, while Lucien stood beside her, silent but protective.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He sent the photo to Matriarch Duskgrave immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Back at the Stormridge estate, Matriarch Duskgrave had been on the brink of losing her mind.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She wasn\u2019t alone-Mrs. Beck, Mia, Kael Vale, Maddox, and Ronan Duskcliff had been frantically searching for Riley since her sudden disappearance. For two hours they\u2019d scoured Mooncrest, afraid she might do something irreversible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When Matriarch Duskgrave\u2019s phone pinged, she nearly dropped it. The moment she opened Duke\u2019s message and saw the photo, her lungs filled with air again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She saw the girl\u2019s face clearly in the photo-it was Riley. She was Riley!\u00a0<\/p>\n
So Riley was the mate her grandson had chosen. Matriarch Duskgrave\u2019s eyes welled with tears. She thanked the Moon Goddess, grateful that her own kindness had ended up saving her future granddaughter-in-law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then she saw Riley\u2019s flushed face, the sorrow in her body language, the desperate way she clung to the bottle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Matriarch Duskgrave\u2019s eyes welled up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat poor girl\u2026\u201d she murmured. \u201cHow much pain must she be in to drink like that\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tradition dictated that nobleborn girls-especially those of Luna lineage-should never drink in public.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she could only feel pity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet her drink,\u201d she whispered. \u201cIf it dulls the ache even for one night, let her forget everything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wiping her eyes, she quickly called her grandson.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By now, Riley had nearly finished the first bottle. Her face was red, her breathing unsteady, but there was a strange liveliness in her cheeks-a pulse of warmth that hadn\u2019t been there earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She picked up the second bottle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
16:29 Fri, Jan 2 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 394\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien-still silent, still watching-opened his mouth, about to tell her to slow down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His phone rang.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLucien, is Riley with you?\u201d Matriarch Duskgrave\u2019s voice rang through the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley? he thought. So that\u2019s her name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
He glanced at the girl, who was already working on the second bottle like a seasoned fighter downing her potion before a battle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s a good girl,\u201d the Matriarch said firmly. \u201cAnd I love her like my own. She\u2019s just\u2026 suffered too much.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A pause.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTake her home with you tonight. To your place. Stay with her. Don\u2019t let her be alone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another pause-then steel edged into Matriarch Duskgrave\u2019s voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd don\u2019t you dare hurt her. If you do, you\u2019ll have to answer to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t answer right away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His eyes lingered on the young woman now sprawled on the bench beside the bridge, still gripping the bottle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moonlight caught her dark hair, her flushed cheeks, her raw vulnerability.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her name was Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
#\u00a0<\/p>\n
856\u00a0<\/p>\n
4\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
16:29 Fri, Jan 2 M\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Pack\u2019s Daughter\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 394 Chapter 894\u00a0 Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0 The more Riley held it in, the more it […]<\/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-20668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20668","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=20668"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20668\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}