Ana’s POV
“Name”
“Aria Collins.”
“Age.”
“You realize the amount you stole is enough tond you in prison for over two years?”
I red at the man across from me. “I told you already–I didn’t steal anything. I was at that boutique with a friend. She asked me to step out and grab her a coffee. When I came back, <b>she </b>was gone.”
This was the fourth hour I’d been stuck at the police station. I was drained.
But no one here wanted to hear <b>my </b>side of the story. They were all convinced I was nothing but a shameless thief.
The officer scoffed and tapped his clipboard. “I’ve seen <b>plenty </b>of girls like you. No <b>self</b>–esteem, no boundaries. <b>You </b><b>think </b>stealing a pretty dress is your ticket to a better <b>life</b>? Those things don’t belong to people like you”
“So I guess cops just assume someone’s guilty with zero proof now.”
“Watch your tone!” he barked. “I do have proof. <b>The </b>dress <b>was </b>on your body and it wasn’t paid for. That’s evidence.”
“Ask the staff,” I said, trying to stay calm. “They saw me with <b>my </b>friend. She said she’d pay for the dress when I gol back-
<b>“</b>We already asked,”
ed,” he cut me off “Store clerks said you walked in alone, tried on the dress, and ran out while they weren’t looking.”
I inhaled sharply and rubbed my face in frustration.
As much as I didn’t want to believe it…
Delh set me up.
She sent me out for coffee and disappeared on purpose.
<b>And </b>now I was the one left behind,beled a thief.
“Look, you can check my records,” I said quietly. “I work at <b>Apex</b>. I have a <b>real </b>job. I’m not the kind of person who’d sneak into a luxury store and steal-
“I’m not checking anything. You’re full of crap <b>and </b>wasting my time. You said she was your friend. Do you even have her number?”
I froze.
Of course not. I’d only seen Delh <b>a </b>few times. We weren’t actually friends.
“Thought so,” he said smugly. “You’re just <b>another </b>shameless liar and a thief.
1 sank into the <b>chair</b>, exhausted.
I hadn’t eaten all day, hadn’t had water in hours. I <b>was </b><b>starving</b>. Cold. <b>And </b>across the <b>room</b>, a few scummy–looking <b>street </b>wolves were eyeing me <b>like </b>prey, whistling andughing.
I didn’twant to deal with any of them.
“I want to make a phone call,” I <b>said</b>.
“To who? Gonna call in your little gang to raise hell?”
“No. I want <b>to </b>call my <b>guardian</b>,” I said, I could call him that, right? “I do have the right to
to one phone call, don’t I?”
9:47 AM
Chapter lo
He shot me a <b>look</b>, then tossed a phone onto the tabl
I quickly typed in his number.
The call picked up after the very first ring.
“Miss Collins, is something wrong?” The voice <b>wasn’t </b>his–it <b>was </b><b>Nova </b>
“Oh, hi <b>Nova</b>,” I <b>said </b>awkwardly. “Is Alpha Grayson around?”
“He’s currently at a family dinner. It’s a private Hart gathering, very y strict, and no one is <b>allowed </b>to bring phones. Is it urgent?”
I hesitated. “Not exactly.. but kind. Can you just let him know I’m at the Central Police Station? Got into a bit of a situation.”
“What? You were arrested? Her voice shot up in pitch.
“Sort of. It’s not a big deal, really. If it’s too much trouble, just forget
“I’m going in right now. Alpha <b>Grayson </b>must hear about this,” she said firmly. I could <b>already </b><b>hear </b><b>her </b>heels <b>clicking </b>across the floor. “Hang tight, <b>Miss </b>Collins”
When
When the call ended, I handed the phone back. The cop narrowed his eyes at me!
“Someone actuallying for <b>you</b>?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“You’re delusional,” he sneered. “What, you think you’re some rich heiress now?”
Then he yanked me up from the chair.
“Let’s go. Maybe a night in holding will snap you back to reality.
He dragged me into a holding cell where four or five other detainees were already crashing for the night. I was locked up next to a disgusting little sink and toilet that reeked so badly it made me gag.
“<b>Why </b><b>do </b>you <b>have </b><b>a </b>problem with me?” I shouted at him.
<b>“</b>Girls <b>like </b>you deserve this,” he said with a nasty grin before whistling and swaggering off.
I waspletely spent. Hunger <b>was </b>gnawing at my stomach like fire, and the smell in here–made it impossible to even rest my <b>eyes</b><b>. </b>
“Hey, I like your dress,” someone whistled at me.
I ignored it.
“C’mon. That dress looks pricey. How many men do you have to ride to afford something like <b>that</b>?
They thought I was a prostitute.
The irony hit me like a p–how excited I’d felt earlier to wear that dress<b>. </b>How beautiful it made me feel. <b>And </b><b>now</b>? I felt disgusting. Cheap. Ashamed.
“Piss off.” I muttered.
“Whoa, feisty, I’ve got cash for a blowjob one. Half–price, maybe? You do smell like a piss now,”
The whole cell burst intoughter.
I leaned against the wall, eyes closed, trying to <b>block </b><b>it </b>all <b>out</b>.
At feast an hour had passed. Then, I heard the footsteps.
Fast, Heavy, Getting closer.
“Movel Now! Get her out of there!”
<b>9:47 </b>AM
<b>? </b>
Several officers came running, panicked, including the fat one who locked me up. They fumbled with the keys<b>, </b>trying to unlock my cuffs–but they dropped them in their haste.
“Hurry up, you idiot! He’s almost here!”
But it was already toote.
The pressure
in the air shifted.
A massive wave of power–like a tidal wave–rushed through the room. Even before he entered. Grayson’s aura <b>mmed </b>into the cell like a freight train.
Everyone groaned in pain, wolves copsing to the ground, shaking.
I <b>gasped</b>, heart racing, and looked <b>up</b>–just in time to see <b>him </b>walking in.
He looked like something out of a dream. Towering, deadly <b>calm</b>, and so out of ce in this grimy little cell.
He walked straight to me.
Alpha, the keys- <b>Nova </b>started.
But he didn’t need them.
With one flex of his wrist, the metal cuffs snapped like <b>twigs</b>. Then he scooped me up in <b>his </b>arms, easy as breathing.
“I–I can walk,” I whispered.
He ignored me and strode <b>out </b>of the cell, holding me tight
In the station lobby, every single wolf was frozen in ce–too overwhelmed by his presence to even move.
“I want the <b>name </b>of the one who brought Aria in,” he said, voice like steel. “And the one who locked <b>her </b>up
Everyone flinched in silence.)
Until finally, someone cracked.
“I—it was Caleb. I saw him interrogating the girl…”
The fat
tremble.
cop–Caleb–was dragged out. He fell to his knees in front of <b>Grayson</b>, <b>shaking </b>so badly his rolls of fat jiggled with every
“P–please<b>, </b>Alpha, I didn’t know! The order came from your house. Lady Deh–I thought she had the authority. I didn’t know <b>this </b>girl
“<b>Nova</b>” Grayson ordered.
Nova didn’t hesitate.
Her first kick sent Caleb sprawling. The second–heel first–<bnded </b>right on his shoulder. Something cracked, <b>and </b>he screamed in
agony.
“Continue,” Grayson said,pletely unmoved.
I stared in shock,pletely frozen.
Sure, werewolves were more physical species. And I knew there were
still wars ragin
raging around the world.
<b>But </b>I’d <b>never </b>seen this before. Never seen power and violence wielded so <b>casually</b>.
Caleb was already on the floor, broken and bleeding, <b>but </b>Nova kept going.
<b>I </b>wanted to <b>look </b><b>away</b>. To beg her to s
to stop.
But I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even speak.
0:47 AM
A warm hand covered my eyes, shielding me from the sight.
“Sorry I waste,” he said, gently stroking <b>my </b>hair.
And in his <b>voice</b>. I heard the force of the dark. It made me shiver.
AD