Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Christmas Mate : Kabanata 1 - Kabanata 10

_Aria's POV_I looked at the calendar on the wall. The date looked back at me and my stomach tightened. The dreaded day would come soon. It was the twenty-fourth of December today and the memory still sat fresh in my throat. I could taste it like old blood. I could see the lights and hear the sirens. I remembered what happened three years ago. I remembered everything.I had been looking for scissors to open the Christmas presents when I noticed the black file lying in the corner of the sofa. It did not belong there. The living room was too neat for loose papers. I frowned and set the wrapping aside. Curiosity was something I did not learn to hide. I had always been the kind of person who opened the locked drawer because the lock looked new. I picked up the file and felt the chill of secrets between my fingers. I told myself I would just take a quick look. I told myself I would put it back. I read instead.The file told me that I was adopted.I remember the way the pages trembled when

_Aria's POV_The pain grew sharper. The beast on top of me pressed harder on my throat. I could not pull in a full breath. My lungs burned. My vision blurred at the edges, turning dark like ink spreading over paper. I clawed at its fur but my fingers slipped every time. My body felt weak and the cold from the ground crawled into my skin.I gasped again. The air caught in my throat as if something inside me was breaking. I tried to move my head but the weight above me was too heavy. My heartbeat thudded in my ears. My face grew hot. My chest felt tight. I knew that soon I would not be able to fight back at all.Then, I saw movement.It was a blur at first. A shape running fast. It looked like another beast. A wolf—big and brown, larger than any normal wolf should ever be. The brown wolf stood a few feet away, its teeth bared and its fur bristling. It growled low and the sound shook the air.My head spun. Was this real? Or was my brain giving me strange pictures as I started to lose con

_Aria's POV_Lucien pushed himself away from the car when he saw me walking toward him. Snowflakes fell around him like tiny stars. His eyes softened and a small smile pulled at his lips.“Hi, Aria,” he said, his voice warm and smooth.“Hi,” I breathed back.Before I could say anything else, he leaned in and kissed me gently on the cheek.It was quick and soft. But it felt like fire pressed into my skin.My whole face turned hot. I didn’t expect it. I didn’t know what to do. My heart jumped and my breath tangled in my throat.Lucien chuckled when he saw me blush. “You look cute when you go red,” he said.“I don’t go red,” I muttered, even though I knew I was lying.He laughed again. The sound was deep and warm and then, walked around the car. He opened the passenger door for me like a perfect gentleman.“After you,” he said.I slid inside and the first thing that hit me was the warmth. The interior of the car was heated, soft and comfortable. The leather seats hugged my body. It felt

_Aria's POV_I opened the door and before I could say a word, Ryan pushed past me and stumbled inside. His breath came hard. Snow flecked his hair. He looked like he had run all the way from wherever he had been. He grabbed my hands with both of his as if he could hold my attention that way.“Please,” he said. “Please listen to me, Aria. Just listen.”Every inch of me wanted to slam the door and shut him out. I had seen him in bed with Elena. I had seen them kiss. I had smelled the warmth of another body in his sheets. I had watched his face change from surprise to guilty and then blank. I had watched Elena smile like she had won something. That image lived under my skin.I raised one hand slowly. “Two minutes,” I said. My voice sounded hard and small all at once. “Two minutes and not one second more. You do not deserve my time after what you did.”He closed his mouth. He nodded like a boy being told off. “Two minutes. Thank you.”I set my phone on the table and fumbled for the timer.

_Aria's POV_Lucien stepped closer and reached to tuck a stray hair behind my ear. His fingers brushed my cheek. They felt warm against my cold skin. My breath caught. He leaned in, close enough that I could feel the faint heat of his breath near my jaw.“Think, Aria,” he murmured softly. “Use your head. Why would Ryan do what he did? Why would your parents meet suspicious people in the middle of the night? Why would someone say, ‘She does not suspect anything. We will do the job as you asked’?”His voice wrapped around me like smoke. My heart tripped in my chest. Those words, we will do the job as you asked, felt like claws dragging over my skin. I tried to breathe tightly but my lungs felt too small.“You don’t have proof. You only have a beaten man and his word.”Lucien’s lips pulled into a soft and almost sad smile. “Not only his word,” he whispered.He took his phone from his pocket. His hand brushed mine as he placed the phone in it. My fingers were trembling. I pressed play.Th