\u00a0<\/p>\n
Graham\u00a0<\/p>\n
We arrived today to give her a warning. However, it backfire, and Lord William appeared out of nowhere, pretending to be a hero.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I did not understand why that old man had to involve himself in the drama. He could have gone home and disappeared, and nobody would have cared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I never understood the need for people to act overly good while ignoring the fact that rules still need to be followed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, we had to follow Madeline and make sure she was far enough from everyone so she could hear us and understand the point we were making.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFine,\u201d she snapped. \u201cThen I will turn around and tell Lord William how to contact him in an emergency, because there are two hungry hyenas circling me whenever they see me alone.\u201d 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment she started speaking, I let out a laugh. Not because I was trying to be clever or unsettling, but because it reminded me of her tantrums. She had always been like this, always different.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a brief moment, as Elgin and Madeline stared at me, I realized that somewhere along the way, I had sunk so low that she would not even look at me without lifting her nose in disgust.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If I was already the villain, why not play the part properly? That was how I convinced myself I was doing nothing\u00a0<\/p>\n
wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you choose to do that, go ahead,\u201d Elgin warned quickly when he saw she was about to speed off. \u201cBut do not forget, you will be in serious trouble. He will have to listen to us too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When she still did not stop, Elgin and I shared a glance and turned to watch her back. She was walking away again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was surprised by her strength. Her wolf was special. That wolf was the last threat I planned to use against her whenever I felt she was slipping out of my grasp.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd maybe Lord William would love to hear about Baxter\u2019s crimes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew my words would catch her attention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stopped in her tracks so suddenly that she nearly lost her balance. She turned around and looked at me like she would kill me if she could.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBaxter did nothing wrong in his life,\u201d she snapped, her jaw clenching.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not,\u201d Elgin replied calmly, \u201cnot until he handed the files back to the forbidden Alpha Byron.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Elgin mentioned Byron and the crime connected to the files, I watched realization spread across Madeline\u2019s face. She closed her mouth at once and swallowed hard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is not true,\u201d she argued. \u201cThe files were in our home. Byron stole them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The words slipped out of her mouth too easily.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Byron is no longer considered a banned Alpha. Because of the files he holds, he will soon receive an official letter lifting that status. He did not need to steal anything. And there are no rules against taking files from a rogue\u2019s\u00a0<\/p>\n
home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That is why she was using that lie to cover up her husband\u2019s crime, also not putting Byron in trouble as he wouldn\u2019t get punished for stealing from a rogue that was rightfully his.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+29 Bonas\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish that were true,\u201d Elgin continued, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. \u201cBut Baxter spent the rest of that day with Byron. He called him repeatedly from the motel phone. We even have footage from outside the motel. It looks like your husband was keeping Byron close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He paused before adding,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy would Baxter do that?\u201d 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no proof,\u201d Madeline insisted, still trying to defend him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want proof,\u201d I interrupted, my voice sharpening, \u201cthere is enough to show your husband summoned a monster and unleashed it on the world. That creature has tasted human flesh again. Now there are sightings everywhere. Open ground, nighttime, it keeps appearing. What about that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She clenched her fists and rubbed the back of her neck, avoiding our eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no proof he summoned it,\u201d she replied quietly. \u201cThe monster came on its own, just like the first time. Just like when it took my daughter. You said it tasted human flesh.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stopped speaking and closed her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe monster tasted human flesh,\u201d she repeated under her breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even my fists clenched when she mentioned Gina. I looked away, blinking back tears.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what about the murder he committed?\u201d I snapped suddenly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was no longer calm. Hearing her defend the man who failed to save my daughter filled me with anger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My words finally caught her full attention. She studied my face, waiting for an explanation, but I did not give her\u00a0<\/p>\n
one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stepped closer, only a few steps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe never hurt anyone,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat the fuck are you talking about?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a slight tremble in her voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I let Elgin take over. I was drowning in my own emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember the old witness who was found dead?\u201d Elgin asked. \u201cYou and Ron were the ones who pushed the Alpha to reopen the investigation by calling him incapable. And he did. I am glad he did.\u201d (1\u00a0<\/p>\n
He spoke with forced emotion, his hand pressed to his chest, pretending to grieve for an old woman we did not care about. His eyes stayed fixed on Madeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what makes you accuse Baxter without any fucking proof?\u201d she hissed, stepping even closer to challenge us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I could tell even Elgin did not like her tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that his pendant was found beside her,\u201d Elgin replied sharply. \u201cIt was clutched in her fingers, covered in her blood. The fact that he was the last person to visit her. The fact that he got information from her before she was brutally killed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The color drained from Madeline\u2019s face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
We Listened to the Darkness by Sorin Pax 409 \u00a0 Graham\u00a0 We arrived today to give her a warning. However, […]<\/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":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-no-daddy-novel-by-novelnozi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24329","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=24329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24329\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}