Library

Search

Home / Werewolf / WICKED PROVIDENCE / Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

All Chapters of WICKED PROVIDENCE: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

144 Chapters

31

Edgar’s voice was a jagged whisper through the mind-link.Hudson’s brow furrowed as he tore open the leather satchel. Upon seeing the ancient parchment detailing the Mate-Contract Dissolution, he let out a harsh, guttural laugh that sounded more like a threat.“Where is she?” Hudson growled. He tried to reach her through the network, but her signal was dark—her device was dead.Edgar checked the flight-logs of the private air-strips. “She is likely on a Hayes-chartered bird, Alpha. It just took wing. Its destination is the Halstead Peaks.”“Why the Peaks?” Hudson’s shadow seemed to expand, his inner wolf clawing at the surface. “Contact the flight-wardens. Force that bird down! Drag her from the cabin!”Edgar moved with the efficiency of a Beta. With the Montgomery Pack’s iron grip on the region’s transit, halting a flight should have been a simple display of dominance.However, they were minutes too slow. The jet had already cleared the Silver Ridge airspace. Turning back a vessel on

32

The visual was unmistakable to the gathered pack members—this promotional chronicle for the Great University was merely a stage for Madison Clarke to exert her dominance and cast a shadow over Avery Monroe.Hudson, standing like a stone monolith, did nothing to stop the posturing. It was clear he was content to let Madison’s ambition eclipse Avery’s heritage.Turning to Avery with a shallow, honeyed smile, Madison proposed, “Since I lack the blood-memory for the sacred mending, I shall grace the sweeping panoramic scenes. For the tedious close-ups of the fingers, Avery, you may stand in as my double.”The audacity caused Harper Bennett to inhale sharply, her inner wolf snarling. Had she not been bound by the decorum of the University grounds, Harper would have launched into a full-blown territorial challenge right then.Avery turned her gaze toward Hudson. Her face was a mask of unreadable calm, though the insult burned. The thought of her ancient Monroe lineage being reduced to "hand

33

Hudson reignited the engine of the sleek Audi, the tires crunching over the gravel as he guided them back toward the Montgomery estate.“I had no scent of this,” Hudson muttered, his voice dropping into a low, gravelly tone that might have been mistaken for sympathy in a lesser wolf.Avery remained a statue of indifference. She knew there were many shadows in the Silver Ridge that Hudson ignored—mostly because he never bothered to sharpen his senses to her pain. If he had truly cared for the truth, he would have seen it years ago. His selective blindness regarding Madison Clarke was all the proof she needed that his concern was a hollow vessel.When they pulled up to the stone villa, Hudson killed the engine but didn't move to open his door. “Go inside first,” he commanded.Avery, desperate to shed the suffocating weight of his presence, stepped out without a backward glance.Once she was clear of the vehicle, Hudson let out a breath and reached for his communication stone, channeling

34

After a brief moment of calculated silence, Hudson dispatched a formal missive to the Hayes Clan Elders, containing the full investigation report into the archive fire incident—a direct warning to keep their subordinates in check.Meanwhile, Brent had already witnessed the toxic rumors clawing through the pack-link. He sent a mental pulse to Avery, assuring her that the Hayes Sentinels were scrubbing the network and that she had nothing to fear. He even offered to challenge Hudson directly to clear her name.Avery, however, signaled back a firm decline. She saw no reason to explain her soul to a man who had spent years ignoring its voice. She assumed that Hudson, a wolf who thrived on politics and power, would find such petty gossip beneath his notice anyway.Focusing her energy, Avery prepared for a pivotal shift at the Hayes Citadel. It was the first time they were receiving high-ranking Alpha clients from neighboring territories. Fearing that her inability to speak might be seen as

35

“Stella, are you intent on dragging the Montgomery Pack’s honor through the mud? We do not suffer the insolence of an unranked pup!”“Avery is a High Advisor to the Hayes Citadel! She carries the mandate of the Alpha. By what right do you bark at her?”“It seems the lash Jerome gave her at the last Solstice didn't sink in. She’s hunting for trouble again.”“Perhaps her wolf is truly mad. We should have the pack-shaman check her for the Silver Decay!”Surrounded by the snarling criticism of her own kin, Stella’s scent turned sour with humiliation. She wanted to bolt up the stairs and tear the silver-threads from Avery’s throat.At the end of the stone corridor on the second floor sat Jerome’s private sanctum. Guided by Brent, Avery felt a strange sense of déjà vu. The heavy scent of cedar and old parchment was a haunting echo of Harrison Montgomery’s study.“Grandpa, Avery Monroe has arrived,” Brent announced. He bowed and discreetly pulled the heavy oak doors shut once she stepped ins

36

“Let’s not suffocate her,” Brent interjected, sensing Avery’s walls closing in as the pack members swarmed.He chuckled, the sound deep and easy. “Avery and I have a history that predates most of your lineages. If you want her ear, you’ll have to wait for the moon to cycle!”“How selfish, Brent! To keep a Monroe of such caliber hidden from us for so long,” a high-ranking Beta teased.“I once spent a summer studying the ancient bone-runes!” another chimed in, leaning into Avery’s space. “We surely have much to discuss regarding the Silver Ridge archives!”When Avery had first entered the Hayes Citadel, these same wolves had looked at her as if she were a carrier of the Silver Decay. Now, they were bathing her in honeyed words, suddenly "recalling" common interests now that she held the Alpha’s favor.The feast was a blur of motion, but Avery remained the fixed point, seated at the right hand of Jerome Hayes. Even as the torches began to burn low, the line of people seeking her attentio

37

But Bennett’s intent was not to tear Avery down. Shifting his gaze from Charlotte’s bitter sneer, he addressed the silent woman with a voice of rare, grounded respect. "I have always kept a scent of your true potential, Avery. I feared the domestic life of the Silver Ridge had dulled your claws, but it seems you are as formidable as ever."Charlotte’s smirk faltered into an awkward grimace, and Victoria stared at her eldest son in sheer disbelief.Avery stood frozen, her fingers momentarily forgetting how to sign her gratitude. Was the Alpha of the Outer Territories truly offering her tribute?"You have a primal instinct for the restoration of our pack’s sacred relics," Bennett continued, his admiration cutting through the tense air. "I still recall when Hayden, the Master Artisan, praised your focus during his pilgrimage to our peaks. I was there, hidden in the shadows. I worried that when you signed the Mate-Contract with Hudson, you would let that gift wither. But the winds from ov

38

Avery forced a rigid, hollow smile toward Victoria.“Do I have your grace, Avery?” Victoria asked, her voice honeyed with a false desire for closure.Avery met the Matriarch’s gaze but refused to incline her head. True forgiveness was a scent she could no longer catch.She remembered the winter when Victoria had forced her to scrub the freezing stone floors of the Great Hall, deliberately crushing Avery’s fingers under her fur-lined boots as she "accidentally" strode past. When Avery had let out a silent, pained gasp, Victoria had spun a web of lies to the Sentinels, claiming the mute girl had bared her teeth in a curse, ordering the house-servants to lash her as punishment.In those dark cycles of the moon, Avery had wondered if the spirit of Harrison Montgomery would howl in rage if he saw such cruelty. She could not find the path to forgive the woman who had tried to break her spirit.“Avery, have you found peace with me?” Victoria pressed, her eyes narrowing at the silence.The Ma

39

"What do you think you're doing?" Hudson demanded, his voice a low, dangerous rumble that vibrated in the air. "Return to the den with me."Avery met his golden gaze, her eyes clouded. She had stood at his side through countless pack ceremonies, yet she always felt like a ghost among the living. Whether she stayed or vanished into the shadows, his biting critiques were as certain as the moon's phase.Eventually, she had stopped attending the High Moon rituals altogether, and Madison Clarke had been all too eager to fill the void at his side.Now, bracing for the sting of his words, Avery expected another lecture on her failure to represent the Montgomery bloodline. Instead, Hudson reached out, his hand closing around hers with possessive force, and steered her back toward Alpha Juarez to resume the political parley.Keith Leach, watching the Alpha’s public display of unity, felt his confidence evaporate into cold sweat. He threw a panicked look at Madison and slunk away into the darkn

40

Avery Monroe moved her hands with practiced grace, the silver rings on her fingers catching the moonlight. She signed that if her presence as an advisor bolstered the Montgomery Pack’s standing with the Northern Alphas, she was bound by the Mate-Contract to assist."You’re factoring the pack’s prosperity into your decisions now?" Hudson Montgomery asked, a dark eyebrow arching.Avery met his golden eyes, her fingers flashing a sharp retort: Isn’t that the duty of a Luna? To provide the strength the Alpha lacks in diplomacy?"I have told you before," Hudson replied, a weary sigh ruffling his dark hair. "You are the Luna of the Silver Ridge. You do not need to hunt for commissions or stress over the scrolls of outsiders."Avery’s gaze softened with a flicker of ancient sorrow. Her hands moved slowly: So, in the eyes of the Great Wolf, I am a decorative pelt? I have no value beyond my bloodline?She didn't wait for his answer, her gestures becoming firm and accusatory. Am I less vital th

PREV

...

NEXT

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP

DMCA.com Protection Status