Alpha Nocturne's Contracted Mate のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 231 - チャプター 240

　　The morning seemed to arrive too soon for Ann's liking.　　She had been awake for hours already before the beautiful canvas of colors that indicated the sun was about to peek over the horizon began to appear, and had busied herself with working through the various piles of paperwork that Eva had sent her over whilst she was incapacitated with her heat, until she ran out of work that she had needed to catch up on.　　She could feel her stomach tie itself in knots as she paced backward and forwards nervously, going over the looming trial for Linus in her mind and everything that might go wrong, the fact that she would have to say goodbye to Adam in a few short hours… it was all too much.　　Really, she supposed that she should be curled up in bed, enjoying his scent and the last physical contact with him before he left for goddess knew how long, but a small part of her refused to let her do that. That little voice that whispered she was tempting fate if she savored the last moments, that

　　Ann and Adam met Allen and Lexi in the corridor as they left their room, and made their way down to the entrance hall together. 　　Greyson was already there when they arrived and he eyed Allen furiously as Lexi avoided looking anywhere but at him. Ann frowned slightly at Lexi's reaction. Had she missed something?　　Ann smiled warmly at him as he tore his eyes from where Lexi and Allen stood and greeted Ann properly.　　"Good morning, my Queen. Preparations are almost complete and we are scheduled to leave shortly." He announced stiffly.　　"Thank you, Greyson. I'd appreciate it if you could report back as soon as you're close to arriving, and give us an update as soon as you know what's going on. If you think you need more men, then let us know and we'll send reinforcements from the packs that needed a little longer to gather their response teams."　　"Understood," Greyson answered with a curt nod, his eyes almost staring straight through Ann as he spoke.　　Ann frowned. She could feel t

　　Ann cleared her throat loudly as she and Aoife made their way across to where Allen stood with his arms wrapped around Lexi protectively.　　Lexi moved away from Allen quickly and plastered an overly bright smile on her face as soon as she noticed Aoife at Ann's side.　　"Hey! I'm Lexi," She grinned broadly, much to Ann's surprise.　　She had been fully expecting a frosty reception from both Allen and Lexi but had planned on chalking it up to the current circumstances if Aoife had asked about it.　　"Yes! I know, Felix had introduced me to your father and he mentioned that we were around the same age, and wondered if we had met through school or something before."　　"Oh he did, did he?" Lexi asked with a raised eyebrow, "What else did my dear old papa tell you about me then?"　　"Nothing incriminating, I promise." Aoife giggled.　　"I find that hard to believe." Lexi scoffed, "With all of the many shenanigans and thoughtless tomfoolery that I've gotten up to in the past, I'm a positive rep

　　Linus was brought in under armed escort with the sort of sleazy smirk that made Ann's skin crawl. Although his appearance gave the impression that he was slightly unhinged, Ann knew that underneath it all, his vile little mind was as sharp and depraved as ever.　　He shrugged the guards away angrily as they positioned him at the podium and sneered at them.　　"When this farce is all over, I'll take your heads… mark my words." He hissed viciously as they walked away without a backward glance to their former positions.　　Linus's gaze ran around the circle above before dropping and settling on Ann's face as a smirk spread across his thin lips.　　"Your grace," He greeted in a tone that was clearly mocking as he inclined his head and quite openly allowed his eyes to roam up and down her body as he licked his lips.　　"Dirty Bastard..."　　"Shhh!"　　"You shhh!"　　The voices of Lexi and Allen trickled down to her from above and the faint sigh of resignation that she was sure belonged to Barthol

　　As soon as Linus was led away, the upper circle began to clear and Ann made her way to the exit. As she reached for the handle of the door, she was unable to get a grip on it as it was pushed forward with a furious force and she stepped back just in time to avoid the doors smashing into her face.　　The furious figure of Cornelius stood before her, his face red with outrage as he opened and closed his mouth soundlessly. He held a shaking finger before him as he pointed at Ann. trembling with rage.　　"You… you..." He spluttered as Ann quickly overcame her shock and smiled innocently up at him.　　"Careful now Cornelius, you should really be a little more careful with your blood pressure at your age," She said with fake concern, pushing his outstretched arm down and looking up at him with wide, innocent eyes.　　"This won't stand you know..." He hissed, "You'll get your comeuppance..."　　"Yes, I'm well aware that many people seek to dethrone me or end my rule already purely because I'm lo