Chapter 218 She’d come alone
Author’s POV
Victor felt a bitter laugh rise in his throat. Here was this girl lecturing him about loyalty and doing the right thing. And the worst part? She wasn’t wrong.
"I’m not going to hurt Aria," Victor said quietly. "I already made that choice."
Emily searched his face for a long moment, then nodded. "Good. Then we’re on the same side. I’ll handle Lucas—you don’t need to know how. Just... trust me."
And before Victor could respond, she turned on her heel and walked toward the door, her steps quick and determined.
Victor watched her go, a strange mix of disbelief and grudging admiration settling over him.
*What the hell just happened?*He stood alone in the foyer for a long moment after she left, the silence pressing in around him.
*That pup has more spine than we do,* his wolf said, quiet and cutting.
*She doesn’t know what she’s up against, *Victor answered.
*Neither did we, and we still chose to kneel. *The wolf’s growl vibrated through his bones. *We bared our throat to a Beta’s daughter. We betrayed one of our own blood to protect another. What kind of Alpha does that make us?*
*The kind that keeps Lucas alive.*
*For now.* The wolf paced, restless. *But wolves like Sylvia don’t stop at one favor. Today it was Aria. Tomorrow it will be the pack. She will keep pulling until there is nothing left of us to pull.*
Victor closed his eyes, a wave of self-loathing washing over him.
*I know,* he admitted. *I know.*
---
Aria’s POV
The headlights cut through the darkness as I pulled up to Old Ashford Mill just after midnight.
The abandoned building loomed ahead like something out of a horror movie—all crumbling brick and broken windows, half-swallowed by overgrown vines that seemed to writhe in the wind.
I killed the engine and sat there for a moment, my hands gripping the steering wheel so tight my knuckles had gone white.
I reached for the silver-loaded pistol in the passenger seat, checking the safety one more time before tucking it into the waistband of my jeans.
The cold metal pressed against my lower back, a reassuring weight that made me feel slightly less insane for being here.
I wasn’t completely defenseless. I might be human, but I’d done my homework over the past few years. Silver was a wolf’s weakness.
And if things went south tonight, I’d damn well make sure whoever was behind this knew I wasn’t going down without a fight.
My other hand went to the ring on my finger—the one Damian had given me months ago. He’d had it custom-made with a GPS tracker embedded inside.
*Please give me luck.*
I took a deep breath and stepped out of the car.
The night air hit me immediately—cold and damp, carrying the smell of rotting wood and wet earth. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted. The sound made my skin prickle.
*Come on, Aria. You’ve handled worse than this.*
I approached the mill’s entrance, my boots crunching on gravel. The massive wooden door hung slightly ajar, darkness yawning beyond it like an open mouth.
My phone buzzed in my pocket.
I pulled it out, hands trembling slightly as I read the new message.
Unknown Number: [You came. Good. Go inside. Straight down the main corridor. Don’t stop.]
My jaw clenched. I’d been getting these messages for the past hour—anonymous, cryptic, always one step ahead of me.
Whoever was behind this knew exactly where I was and what I was doing.
And they had Damian. Or at least, they claimed to have him.
I typed back quickly: [Where is he? Let me talk to him.]
The response came almost immediately.
Unknown Number: [Soon.]
Another message popped up before I could respond.
Unknown Number: [Clock’s ticking, Aria. Are you coming in, or are you going to stand out there all night like a scared little girl?]
Anger flared hot in my chest, burning away some of the fear.
Screw you.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and pushed through the door.
The interior of the mill was worse than I’d imagined. Moonlight filtered through the broken windows, casting long shadows across the debris-strewn floor.
Old machinery rusted in the corners, skeletal and menacing. The air smelled like mold and decay.
I pulled out my phone and turned on the flashlight, sweeping the beam across the space.
Empty. Completely empty.
[Straight down the main corridor,] the message had said.
I spotted it ahead—a long, narrow hallway stretching into darkness. My heartbeat kicked up a notch.
*This is insane. This is absolutely insane.*
But my feet were already moving.
I walked slowly, carefully, my free hand hovering near the pistol at my back. Every shadow felt like a threat. Every creak of the old building made me flinch.
Then something moved in the darkness ahead.
A skittering sound—quick, sharp, claws on concrete.
I froze, my heart slamming into my throat. My flashlight beam jerked toward the noise just as something small and dark shot across the corridor, inches from my boot.
A scream tore halfway out of me before I clamped a hand over my mouth.
A rat. Just a rat—fat and greasy, vanishing into a crack in the wall, its naked tail slithering after it like a worm.
I stood there frozen, hand still pressed to my lips, my pulse hammering so hard I could feel it in my fingertips.
The silence that followed was somehow worse than the sound—thick and watchful, as if the whole building had heard me almost scream.
It’s just a rat, Aria. Pull yourself together.
But my hands wouldn’t stop shaking. If a rat could rattle me this badly, what would I do when the real monsters showed up?
My phone buzzed again.
Unknown Number: [Good girl. Keep going. Turn left at the end.]
I gritted my teeth but obeyed.
The corridor opened into what looked like an old storage area—more rusted equipment, more shadows. And at the far end, a single door.
Solid metal, completely out of place among the rotting wood and crumbling brick.
Unknown Number: [Go inside.]
My hands were shaking now. I wiped my palm on my jeans before reaching for the door handle.
If this is a trap, at least Damian will know where to find my body.
The thought was darkly comforting.
I pulled the door open.
The room beyond was pitch black—so dark my flashlight barely penetrated it. I stepped inside, my pulse pounding in my ears.
And then the door slammed shut behind me.
I whirled around, grabbing for the handle. Locked.
*No. No, no, no—*