All Chapters of HOTTIE NEXT DOOR: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Victor’s pov The ride back to the pack was quieter than I expected. Michael kept his eyes on the road while I sat in the passenger seat, watching the trees blur past the window. The cabin disappeared from sight long ago, yet my mind refused to leave it. Or rather... it refused to leave Arielle. She had looked so peaceful lying in my bed when I left. After everything she had been through, she deserved a few hours without fear. I almost woke her before leaving. There were too many things I wanted to ask her. Too many things we needed to understand together. Instead, I had left a note on the bedside table. It wasn't enough. I should have stayed. My wolf growled low inside me, making its displeasure known for what felt like the hundredth time since we left. "I know," I muttered under my breath. Michael glanced at me. "What?" "Nothing." He looked at me for another second before returning his attention to the road. "You've been talking to your wolf ever since we left." I le

Author’s POV Far away from the Bloodclaw pack Arielle's father sat in his study room behind his desk, his knuckles pressed so hard into the polished wood that the skin stretched white. Across from him, the chief of police squirmed in his uniform, sweating under the blistering glare of one of the city’s most powerful men. "Three days," Harrison said, "Three days, Chief Vance. My daughter has been missing for seventy-two hours, and all your bloated department has given me is a collection of shrugged shoulders and bureaucratic excuses." "Mr. Harrison, please, we are utilizing every resource.." "Your resources are useless!" Harrison slammed his palm onto the desk, making the heavy crystal whiskey glass jump. "She is out there, vulnerable, exposed to things you can’t even comprehend! She is... she has become one of them, Vance. Do you have any idea what those monsters will do to her if they realize what she is?" The horror gnawing at Harrison’s gut was a suffocating weight. Ever s

VICTOR'S POVI stepped out of Elder Helen’s quarters with a heavy mind. Her words echoed in my head, raising more questions than answers. How could an inner circle member who sat in on every critical decision claim she didn't know the real reason behind my return? It made no sense.And then there was the new responsibility she had shoved onto me: acting as a standby Beta. Handling internal pack disputes because Michael’s reputation was too damaged? It felt like a sick joke.Inside me, my wolf growled, its irritation vibrating through my chest. We are being forced to serve under another wolf, it snorted, snapping at the humiliation.Shut up, I commanded back, suppressing the beast with a firm mental grip. I couldn't afford to listen to it right now. It was that exact blind rage that had gotten me banished in the first place. I wasn't going to let it ruin me a second time.I made my way through the dark corridors toward the cell block where Michael had gone earlier to see Sarah. The

Arielle's pov The heavy wooden door of the cabin swung open with a bang, cutting through the silence of the quiet woods. I sat up quickly on the bed, my heart hammering against my ribs as heavy footsteps approached Victor burst into the bedroom, his eyes wide with panic and his chest heaving. Right behind him was a tall woman with striking, sharp features and unusually pale skin. "Arielle!" Victor’s voice was laced with pure dread as his gaze swept over me, checking every inch of my body, "Are you alright? What happened?” I blinked at him, suddenly feeling a wave of guilt. I lowered the small satellite phone onto my lap and offered a small, sheepish smile. "I'm fine, Victor. Nobody found me." His frantic energy slowly came to a halt. "Then why did you….” "Because I'm bored out of my mind," I admitted, gesturing around the small, empty room. "You leave before dawn every single morning and you don't come back until it's pitch black. I’ve been sitting in this cabin staring a

Arielle's pov Over the three days following Sarah’s visit, Victor and I had barely spoken, let alone sat in the same room. The silence between us stretched thin and tense, heavy with the weight of unanswered questions. When he finally walked through the door on the fourth evening, I didn't wait for him to settle. The words spilled right out of me. "Why didn't you tell me my mother was human?" Victor paused mid-step, his sharp blue eyes fixing on me with immediate caution. "I thought I had the whole story," I continued, leaning forward until my knuckles turned white against the edge of the mattress. "You let me believe she was just a normal, helpless human you killed by mistake. But Sarah told me the truth, a truth you had kept from me!” His shoulders dropped slightly, a deep, weary sigh escaping his lips as he pulled up the wooden chair and sat down opposite me. "Arielle..." he began, his voice low and steady. "I omitted that because you were already drowning in so much, I kn