Chapter 208: Encirclement
Chapter 208: Encirclement
(Sophia Rivers’s POV)
The server led me to the adjacent private dining chamber. I paused outside the door, smoothing my makeup with practiced precision. My reflection in the polished surface looked perfect every strand of hair in place, every line of my face carefully contoured.
I pushed the door open with confidence, my gaze immediately landing on the vague figure behind the decorative screen. From his silhouette, I could tell he was strong and young, exactly the type of powerful Alpha I needed to cultivate.
I brushed my hair behind my ears with deliberate grace, walking forward with the practiced charm I’d perfected over years of manipulation. My smile was perfectly calculated as I spoke.
“You must be Nolan Chavez, right?”
The man didn’t turn around. Instead, he picked up a glass of red wine, swirling it slowly. When he spoke, his voice carried a sneer that made my blood run cold.
“After all these years, you haven’t changed. It seems failing to become Luna to Alpha Marcus doesn’t stop you from seducing other pack leaders.”
My smile froze on my face. That voice… I knew that voice. Terror shot through me like ice water in my veins.
The man turned around slowly, deliberately. When I saw his face, I stumbled backward, my legs nearly giving
out beneath me.
“Felix Xavier, you… why is it you?”
Felix Xavier stood before me like a nightmare made flesh. His refined features hadn’t changed, but those cold
eyes held the same predatory gleam that had haunted my dreams for years.
“What’s wrong?” he questioned coldly, his voice like shards of glass. “Did Hazel Green not tell you that I’m back in the Northern Territory?”
My face turned pale as I shrank back against the wall. My hands pressed against the cold surface, seeking support as my world tilted dangerously,
In my eyes, Felix was a two–faced devil who had once been my handler. I had been deceived by his refined appearance years ago, fooled into thinking he was a gentleman. I would never forget the physical and mental torture he had inflicted during our previous arrangement.
Felix walked towards me with predatory grace. Each step he took made me tremble more violently. My body remembered the pain, the humiliation, the complete powerlessness I had felt under his control.
He stopped directly in front of me, close enough that I could smell his expensive cologne mixed with something darker, more dangerous.
My legs gave way and I sank to my knees, whimpering pathetically. “Don’t…”
Felix looked down at me with bored dismissal, as if I were nothing more than an insect beneath his notice.
Chapter 2PW Encirclement
‘Don’t overestimate yourself,” he said with cruel indifference. “I have no interest in damaged goods I’ve already discarded. My sponsorship through the Nolan Consortium comes with specific conditions.”
I clenched my fists so tightly my nails drew blood. I bit my lip until I tasted copper, trying to find some shred of courage in the pain.
“What do you want me to do this time…” My voice came out as barely a whisper.
Felix settled onto the plush sofa with casual dominance, crossing his legs as if he owned the entire world.
“I want the advanced werewolf healing nanotechnology research data.”
I was stunned, my eyes widening in horror. “You… are you insane? You can’t possibly expect me to…”
Felix lifted my chin with the tip of his expensive leather shoe, forcing me to look at him. The gesture was degrading, designed to remind me of my place.
“What, is there something you’re suddenly too moral to do?” His voice dripped with mockery. “Do I need to remind you exactly what kind of creature you really are?”
My face turned ashen white as memories of my past sins flooded back. The things I had done for him, the lines 1 had crossed, the people I had betrayed. All of it came rushing back in a wave of shame and self–loathing.
“TI… I’ll try my best.”
Felix lowered his leg with satisfaction, like a predator who had successfully cornered his prey.
“Don’t make me wait too long,” he commanded. “The research data from Elena’s project will be very valuable. to my overseas contacts. Now, get out of my sight.”
I struggled to my feet on unsteady legs, forcing myself to walk out of the private chamber. Each step felt like walking through quicksand.
After leaving Moonstone Manor, I sat in my car in the parking structure. The confined space felt suffocating, like a cage closing in around me.
I furiously hit the steering wheel with both fists, again and again until my knuckles were raw and bleeding.
Felix Xavier, that psychopath, wanted me to steal Elena’s cutting–edge healing technology as soon as he returned to the Northern Territory. I had finally gained Professor Andrew Kelly’s trust and appreciation at the research institute. Was I really going to destroy everything for this madman’s schemes?
I held my throbbing forehead, feeling overwhelmed by rage and desperation. The weight of my situation pressed down on me like a crushing boulder.
Suddenly, a twisted plan flashed through my mind. Perhaps I could use this situation to eliminate Elena once
and for all.
(Elena Blackwood’s POV)
Meanwhile, I worked late at the research institute. The clock on my laboratory wall showed nine o’clock in the evening. The institute’s laboratory wing was almost completely empty, with only the emergency lighting casting long shadows down the corridors.
After organizing my research notes and shutting down my equipment, I turned off the lights and left my laboratory office. The hallway stretched before me, dimly lit and eerily quiet.
< Chapter 208 Encirclement
* Points
A sudden figure emerging from the shadows startled me. I let out a sharp cry of alarm, my heart hammering against my ribs.
“Am I that frightening?” Hugo asked gently.
His familiar, cultured voice immediately calmed my racing heart. I saw it was Hugo Ashworth standing before me, his golden eyes filled with concern.
“Why are you still at the institute at this hour?” he inquired.
I pressed a hand to my chest, steadying my breathing. “I was working on some complex calculations for the
nanotechnology project… What about you? Haven’t you returned to your residence yet?”
Hugo replied smoothly, “I left some important research documents behind and came back to retrieve them.”
I smiled, finding his admission endearing. “Even Professor Ashworth forgets things sometimes?”
Hugo raised an eyebrow with mock indignation. “What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting I’m
incapable of being absent–minded?”
“It just doesn’t seem to fit your character,” I responded playfully.
Hugo’s golden eyes grew thoughtful as he asked, “Then what do you think my character is like?”
As we walked side by side through the empty corridors, I replied thoughtfully. “Brilliant, composed, and utterly rational in everything you do.”
(Hugo Ashworth’s POV)
I lowered my gaze, thinking to myself that if rationality was my defining trait, then perhaps I was being too
rational about my growing feelings for her.
“Allow me to drive you back to your hotel,” I offered courteously.
༢ ཅ ཆ = ཞ འ ཡོ བ བན ཡོ་
Elena hesitated. “But weren’t you here to collect something important?”
1 dismissed her concern. “It can wait until tomorrow.”
I drove Elena back to her hotel in my sleek silver sedan. As she reached for her seatbelt to unbuckle it, I
suddenly reached toward her.
Elena looked at me with puzzled green eyes, her breath catching slightly.
I hesitated, my hand freezing in mid–air as I realized I had been about to brush a strand of hair from her face.
It would be an intimate gesture, inappropriate given our current relationship status.
Instead, I awkwardly patted her shoulder. “Don’t be late for the morning research session tomorrow.”
Elena nodded, stepping out of the car and walking toward the hotel lobby.
I watched her graceful figure disappear through the glass doors, then stared at my own hand resting on the steering wheel.
Who are you to her? What right do you have to want to touch her so tenderly?
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