Chapter 443\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lucien\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
5\u00a0<\/p>\n
70%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as Riley stepped into the bathroom, I turned toward my men without missing a beat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cClothes. Salve. Surveillance,\u201d I ordered. \u201cLast two hours Every hallway. Every private room.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t need clarification.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When a Duskgrave speaks, especially the Alpha Prince of Stormridge, you move.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Within minutes, everything was delivered to the suite-soft robes spun from moonweave silk, formulated for sensitive wolf skin. A case of high-grade healing salves, aced with wolfsbane extract for inflammation and rapid recovery. And a tablet with the hotel\u2019s surveillance footage already queued.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I dismissed the rest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I needed to see it with my own eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I sat, the screen lit up, and the first flicker of movement sent a slow burn through my chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Scarlett.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Snarling like a feral pup, dragging Riley by her hair, expression twisted with malice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Ronan Duskcliff-gutless little coward-just watching Not just watching. Shoving her. Locking her in. Feeding her to the pack like prey.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next frame hit harder than any punch. Scarlett, ripping apart the ceremonial embroidery from Matriarch Duskgrave\u2019s hand. The very crest meant to be gifted before the Elders\u2019 Council. A direct insult to our bloodline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then came the worst part.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seraphina and her clique of overdressed vultures descending on Riley like she was meat left in the woods. Blows, claws, fury. And Riley-gods, she didn\u2019t even fight back at first.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rage coiled in my chest, silent and lethal. I felt my fangs begin to press against my gums. My grip on the tablet turned my knuckles bloodless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then I saw it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan\u2019s face-split lip, blood dripping.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Good girl, I thought, pride and fury mixing like wildfire in my veins. She\u2019d gotten one hit in. Just one. But I could smell it-the shift in her. She wasn\u2019t going to be anyone\u2019s chew toy ever again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was about to rewind, to memorize every face that would pay, when the soft click of the bathroom door pulled my attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked up-and stilled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wrapped in white, her robe clinging to her damp skin. Her hair, dark and still wet, framed her face like ink\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:56 Wed, Jan 14\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 443\u00a0<\/p>\n
F%u\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
against parchment. Her eyes, gods above-those eyes. Tied, wary, but unbroken. Long lashes still kissed with water droplets. Her lips, too red. Slightly swollen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My wolf growled low inside me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The thought alone made my vision tint with red.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCome here,\u201d I said. My voice was quieter than I intended, but it came out rough, commanding. There was no room for refusal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She obeyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not out of fear, but instinct. The way a true she-wolf responds to a tether she doesn\u2019t fully understand yet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She sat on the edge of the bed, fingers gripping the hem of her robe like it might shield her from the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I approached with the salve and a sterile pad. Dipped it. Reached for her face-and froze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her scent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t just soap or oil or steam.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moonlight and moss, pine needles after rain. A scent touched by the gods, meant to haunt. It wrapped around me, quiet and constant, and for a moment, I just breathed it in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLucien?\u201d she whispered. Fragile, unsure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at her, the bruise blooming across her cheekbone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll sting,\u201d I warned, voice like gravel scraping stone. \u201cBrace yourself.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I bent close. Closer than I needed to. I wanted her to feel my breath. My presence. I wanted the scent of me to wrap around her too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment the salve met her skin, she flinched. Just a little. She didn\u2019t pull back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched her lashes tremble. Her breath catch. The way she clutched her robe like it was a shield and I was the storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t know it yet-but I was the storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And she was the only one I would ever protect from it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid that hurt?\u201d I asked, my voice brushing her throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cN-no,\u201d she said, eyes darting away. \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I murmured, \u201cI\u2019ll be gentle.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I treated each bruise like it was a wound carved into my own flesh.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
14:56 Wed,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 443\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I finished with her face, I didn\u2019t stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a towel, gently pressing it to her hair. Then I pulled out the dryer-Alpha Prince or not-and began drying it myself. My claws retracted as I ran my fingers rough her damp strands, careful not to pull or rush.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t flinch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Didn\u2019t protest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She just sat there, eyes closed, as if trying to memorize the feel of peace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of care.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019d never had this. That much was obvious. No one had ever treated her like she was sacred.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But she was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And under my protection, no wolf would ever touch he again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wrapped a blanket around her shoulders once her hair was dry and took a seat beside her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She turned her face toward me, voice like wind through ash leaves. \u201cThank you\u2026 Alpha Lucien.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
It hit me harder than I expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She hadn\u2019t said it like a title.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She\u2019d said it like a vow.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked at her-not just as a victim or a survivor-but as mine. Not in chains. Not in possession. But mine in\u00a0<\/p>\n
purpose.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She would not walk this road alone anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was pack.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was Stormridge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And anyone who laid a claw on her would feel the full weight of a Duskgrave\u2019s wrath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ronan. Scarlett. Lee. Every smug face on that screen. They thought this night would end like the others.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it wouldn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not with me here.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not with Riley under my protection.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This was no longer about justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was about retribution\u00a0<\/p>\n
And I\u2019d burn the world to give it to her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
wed,\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 443 Chapter 443\u00a0 Lucien\u2019s POV\u00a0 5\u00a0 70%\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 As soon as Riley stepped into the […]<\/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-20718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20718","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=20718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20718\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}