Chapter 496\u00a0<\/p>\n
Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
To Elira, Alpha Alaric was never deserving of love-only manipulation. A heart as black as his was made for using others, not for receiving true loyalty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She couldn\u2019t comprehend what kind of cursed bloodline had given rise to such a monster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dean Elira Blackthorn composed herself quickly. Her gaze sharpened as she turned toward the stunned medical staff.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWell? Don\u2019t just stand there-save him!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Snapping to attention, the medics rushed to Alaric, fumbling to stabilize the blood-soaked Alpha and wheel him out of the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not far away, Luna Zara collapsed to the floor, unconscious and drained, her rage having consumed the last of her strength.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dean Elira ordered her taken to the operating room as well-not out of mercy, but because the medics were watching. As the Dean of the Mooncrest Medical Wing, even she had to pretend she cared about saving the disgraced Luna.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once the chaos cleared and silence returned to the hallway, Caelum Knox stepped to the side, revealing Riley, who had been shielded behind his tall, imposing frame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you tell Alpha Alaric the truth?\u201d Caelum asked quietly. \u201cThat Scarlett isn\u2019t even his blood? If he knew\u2026 it\u2019d destroy him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley gave a soft, cool smile. \u201cThat\u2019d be letting him off easy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe loves draining people dry. So I\u2019ll play by his rules-let the she-wolf he loves bleed him of every ounce of value he has.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She folded her arms, her eyes calm yet icy. \u201cScarlett\u2019s locked in a cell now. He\u2019ll do anything to get her out. Even if it means selling off what remains of the Ebonclaw legacy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd just when he thinks he\u2019s sacrificed everything for his daughter-\u201d Her voice dipped, poisonous sweet. \u201cI\u2019ll tell him the rest of Dean Elira\u2019s pups? Not even his.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sent his real son, Kael Vale, to prison for them. Imagine how that will taste when the truth\u00a0<\/p>\n
hits.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Caelum arched a brow. \u201cYou don\u2019t pull punches.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:30 Fri, Jan 16 T\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 496\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d Riley replied, her tone casual.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The two exchanged a quiet smirk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
m\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
They left the medical wing, heading for the parking lot. But just as they turned a corner, a figure rolled toward them in a rusted wheelchair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man was barely recognizable. His once-polished appearance was gone, replaced by sunken cheeks, hollow eyes, and tattered clothing. He looked like a wolf who\u2019d been cast from his pack and left to rot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was Maddox-Riley\u2019s former mate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hadn\u2019t seen her in nearly two months. And now, suddenly, here she was-transformed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley looked different. Her face was fuller. Her hair sleek and glossy. Her skin glowed. She was no longer the girl who had once cowered beneath the weight of the Ebonclaw name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked\u2026 free.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And Maddox? He was nothing but a shadow of who he once was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The difference between them was humiliating.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had once been proud-commanding courtrooms, respected across Mooncrest and beyond. Now he couldn\u2019t even walk.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And standing next to Riley was a towering, broad-shouldered male whose presence radiated raw dominance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A surge of jealousy roared through Maddox\u2019s chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho is he?\u201d he growled, eyes burning as he looked at Riley like a wolf who\u2019d just caught his mate in another male\u2019s bed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley didn\u2019t even flinch. She glanced at him with chilling detachment-as if she were looking at a stranger begging on the street-and then turned her gaze away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maddox had lost control of his emotions ever since those two guards at Silverfang Den shattered his legs under orders from Duke.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After that came the disbarment. His license revoked. His career annihilated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The last pieces of his life-his car, his condo, his savings-all gone in days.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now he lived in a damp, mold-infested basement, the stench of decay and failure clinging to\u00a0<\/p>\n
him like fleas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
15:30 Fri, Jan 16 T\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 496\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u05de\u05dc\u00a0<\/p>\n
Finished\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even during his worst years, he had never known this level of shame.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But through all of it, he clung to one thought: Riley.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He dreamed of her forgiveness. Of their past.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And now, here she was.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With another male.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Like he never mattered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maddox wheeled forward with a jolt, blocking her path. His voice cracked as he repeated the question, desperate and angry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRiley, I asked you-who is he?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Riley\u2019s gaze narrowed. She sighed, tired of the scene already.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho he is\u2026 has nothing to do with you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her voice was like a dagger dipped in silver.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words landed with a force that knocked the breath from Maddox\u2019s lungs. His mouth opened, but no words came.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The wolf she once was-gentle, soft-hearted, eager to please-was gone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And he had no place in the world she now walked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1.0K\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\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 496 Chapter 496\u00a0 Third Person\u2019s POV\u00a0 Finished\u00a0 To Elira, Alpha Alaric was never deserving of […]<\/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-20771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pack-princess"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20771","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=20771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20771\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}