Chapter 178: Matthew Kane Compromised
Chapter 178: Matthew Kane Compromised
(Olivia’s POV)
My head throbbed as conscious slowly returned. The unfamiliar ceiling above me came into focus, and
panic immediately seized my chest.
“Aurora!” I gasped, sitting up too quickly. The room spun, but I forced myself to scan my surroundings.
This wasn’t the Kane Estate. The elegant furnishings and cream–colored walls were completely foreign. My heart hammered against my ribs as the terrible realization hit me.
“Where is my daughter? Where is Nora?” I demanded, my voice tight with terror.
A cold laugh echoed from across the room. I turned to see Cynthia Mooncrest sitting in an ornate chair, her beautiful face twisted with malice.
“I have no interest in them,” she replied, her tone as sharp as winter frost.
Relief flooded through me for a brief moment, but it was quickly replaced by the horrifying memory of our car. being rammed off the road. The screech of metal, Aurora’s cries, the world spinning into darkness.
“Miss Mooncrest, you crashed our car. Why did you bring me here?” I demanded, struggling to keep my voice steady.
Her eyes blazed with a fury so intense it made my skin crawl. “What do you think I’m doing?” she sneered.
I took a step back, my injured ankle protesting. “Calm down.”
“Calm down?” She laughed, the sound sharp and unhinged. “If you were me, and your beloved mate was stolen from you, could you be calm?”
I continued backing away until my spine hit the cold wall. “I have nothing to do with Matthew anymore.”
But her eyes had turned crimson with rage. She reached into her pocket, her fingers closing around something that glinted silver in the lamplight. My blood turned to ice as I recognized the unmistakable shape of a dagger.
A silver dagger.
Just as I braced myself for the worst, the door burst open with a thunderous crash.
“Are you insane?” Caelan Mooncrest’s voice cut through the tension like a blade. He grabbed his sister’s wrist
and dragged her from the room, the silver weapon clattering to the floor.
I didn’t waste a second. Rushing to the window, I looked down at the two–story drop. The ground seemed
impossibly far away, but the thought of what Caelan was capable of filled me with chilling dread.
With a deep breath, I climbed onto the windowsill and leaped.
Behind me, I heard Caelan’s shocked cry. “Don’t! Sister!”
The garden lake below cushioned my fall, but it was too shallow. My ankle struck a rock on the bottom, sending searing pain through my entire leg. I bit back a scream and forced myself to move.
Chapter 178 Matthew Ka
Ignoring the agony, I scrambled out of the lake and limped toward the winding corridors of the garden. The sound of approaching footsteps grew louder behind me.
“Sister! Come out! I won’t hurt you!” Caelan’s voice echoed through the night.
Sister? Why was he calling me that? The confusion only added to my terror as I pushed deeper into the garden maze.
Finally, I ducked behind a large rockery, pressing my back against the cold stone. My ankle throbbed with each heartbeat, and my soaked clothes clung to my shivering body.
A warm hand suddenly clasped my wrist.
I spun around, ready to fight, but my eyes met Matthew Kane’s familiar golden gaze. The fear and pain of the past hour overwhelmed me completely. My eyes instantly reddened as I threw my arms around his neck.
“Matthew…” I sobbed against his chest.
He held me tightly, his strong arms wrapping around my trembling form. I could feel the tension in his muscles, the barely controlled fury radiating from him.
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“Talk to Cynthia, make it clear, okay?” I pleaded, my voice breaking. “Don’t let her bother me anymore. I think… I think she was going to stab me with a silver blade.”
A storm gathered in Matthew’s calm eyes. His jaw clenched as he processed my words, and I felt his arms tighten protectively around me.
He held me close and led me out from behind the rockery. We were immediately met by Gamma Joric Slate with several enforcers, facing off against the Mooncrest siblings and their bodyguards.
“Matthew, it’s a misunderstanding,” Caelan began, his voice smooth and diplomatic. “I saw Miss Blackwood’s car get hit. I was just helping her.”
“That’s not true!” I immediately refuted him, turning to Matthew. “Cynthia said she crashed our car because ! stole you from her. She had a silver dag
Caelan remained unfazed, playing his next card with calculated precision. “The moonstone necklace you’re wearing is proof. It’s a Mooncrest family heirloom, a dowry for our daughters.”
My hand instinctively went to my throat, feeling the familiar weight of the necklace my mother had left me. “Is your mother’s name Lyra Blackwood? That’s our aunt,” he continued, his eyes gleaming with false sincerity. Hearing my mother’s name from his lips sent a shock through my system. But remembering his previous actions, the way he’d allowed Cynthia to terrorize me, I felt no connection to this man.
I shook my head firmly at Matthew, rejecting the claim entirely.
Matthew’s face became an unreadable mask. He looked at Gamma Slate and gave a subtle nod. The enforcers immediately moved to subdue Cynthia, forcing her to the ground to be searched.
“Matthew, what are you doing? She’s a she–wolf!” Caelan protested, his diplomatic facade cracking.
Though nothing was found on her person, Matthew coldly ordered the search to continue. His voice was ice when he spoke.
“Search thoroughly.”
< Chapter 178: Matthew Ka…
He moved to carry me, but I stubbornly pushed him away. My pride was all I had left.
“I can walk on my own,” I insisted, my voice laced with pained defiance. “Even if you hadn’t come, I would have escaped.”
I took a single, excruciating step forward. Pain shot through my injured ankle like lightning, and my face contorted despite my efforts to hide it.
Matthew could bear it no longer. He swept me up into his arms, ignoring my weak protests.
As he carried me away, I heard the sound of official pack enforcers arriving. Caelan’s smooth voice turned to angry shouts as he and a screaming Cynthia were taken into custody for questioning.
In the car, Matthew wrapped a warm blanket around my drenched, shivering body. His movements were gentle but his jaw remained tight with barely controlled rage.
“Aurora and Nora are safe at the Kane Estate,” he assured me quietly.
The relief gave me a sliver of strength, and I began to struggle again. I couldn’t let myself depend on him. when I was planning to leave.
My injured ankle bumped against the seat, and I gasped. Tears of pain and post–traumatic fear finally spilled down my cheeks.
He gently reached for my injured leg, but I flinched away. “Don’t touch it.”
His hand froze in midair. For a moment, something vulnerable flickered across his features.
“Am I really that hateful to you, Livvy?” he whispered softly. “I understand.”
He pulled his hand back, his voice becoming resigned. “I promise we will sever our partner bond, but not now.
Your body cannot withstand the stress of a bond breaking.”
Those words were the key that unlocked my resistance. My struggle disappeared, my body becoming soft in his arms. I finally allowed myself to rely on him, just this one last time.
He carried me into the pack infirmary for treatment, then back to the Kane Estate. The familiar halls felt like a sanctuary after the nightmare I’d endured.
Seeing Aurora sleeping soundly in her crib, I kissed my daughter’s cheek. Fresh tears fell as the reality of my impending departure from Matthew’s life hit me with a wave of sorrow.
The nanny helped me to my room, chattering nervously about the evening’s events.
“I’ve never seen the King with such a terrifying, predatory expression,” Nora said, her voice filled with awe and fear. “When Gamma Slate told him you were missing, his eyes turned completely gold. I thought he might shift right there in the hallway.”
I listened quietly, without speaking. The weight of what Matthew had risked for me settled heavily on my
chest.
Zoe was also shouting in my mind. “We cannot sever our partner bond, we need our partner.”
“Zoe, stop saying these things,” I replied firmly. “We cannot give him a pup. We should leave him.”
As I lay on the soft bed, exhaustion finally overtook me. My body ached from the ordeal, and my mind was foggy with pain medication from the infirmary.
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Chapter 178 Matthew Ka
I felt the mattress dip beside me. His familiar, faint cedar scent filled my senses, and on instinct, I wrappe my arms around him like seeking comfort from my mate.
The deep–seated terror from my ordeal surfaced, and I cried out his name in a choked sob. “Matthew
My mouth was captured in a kiss that tasted faintly of moonlight wine, and I kissed him back.
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