Chapter 113
Chapter 113
Aria’s POV
With a razor sharp screech of rubber, our car skimmed past the cliff edge. Missing the drop by maybe just a few feet.
“Oh my god, what do we do?!” I clawed at the seatback, my voice shaking.
Nova had both hands on the wheel, her knuckles turning white. There was sweat beading at her forehead.
“The car isn’t slowing down at all.” she gritted. “But don’t worry. Alpha handed you to me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Not only did the car not slow down, it was fucking accelerating!
I glanced at the dashboard. Oh dear god our speed was pushing 80.
And the road ahead of us was a nightmare: endless mountain switchbacks, hairpins along sheer drops. Not to mention that the night had fallen, making the visibility even worse.
At this speed, on this road, without braking…
We were absolutely going to crash.
My first reaction was to call Grayson. Yet just as I fumbled for my phone, the car jolted hard. The phone slipped through my fingers and vanished under the seat. Shit!
“N–Nova, listen,” I said, shaking, fingers digging into the headrest. “You can’t keep this up at this speed. No one can–not even a racer-”
“No. I can. Trust me!” she snapped.
“I do, but this isn’t a plan. We need–we need to jump.” I swallowed hard.
“No. Absolutely not.” She refused without a beat. “Your wolf is too weak. Jumping could kill you.”
We screeched past two brutal hairpins. I was being thrown from left to right like I was in a goddamn washing machine. The belt was the only thing keeping me from getting flung out the window.
Nova’s eyes were locked on the road, but her hands had started to shake.
“Don’t be stupid, Nova. Keep this up and you’ll kill us both!” I barked.
“No, Aria. You just want to save me, because you know I could survive the jump, but you–you-”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I forced my tone light. “Yeah, my wolf is weak. But I still have one. I can take the hit. I’m not completely useless, ok?”
She swallowed hard, still wrestling the car down the narrow mountain road. And then suddenly! Then the left rear tire lifted. I screamed out loud as we sailed through the turn.
The next curve would send us straight off the edge.
“There’s no time, Nova!” I shouted/
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“Fine–FINE!” her voice shook. “Then…then we jump together. I’ll count to three.”
I gripped the handle, stared at the blur outside, and suck in a sharp breath. I think my heart was about to punch out of my ribs.
“Three–two–one–jump!!!”
Iyanked the door open and hurled myself into the dark.
Okay, I lied.
My wolf barely answers me now. Most of the time she’s asleep. I had to take this landing like a human and there’s a 99.9% chance it’s gonna kill me.
But what else could I do? I couldn’t let Nova die with me. She’s my friend. I had to save at least one of us.
Air swallowed me. Jagged rock rushed up from below. I curled in on myself in the air, bracing to smash-
Yet the pain never came.
A thunderous wolf–howl split the night. A light–brown she–wolf dove from above, jumping straight at me.
She caught my collar in her teeth and tucked me tight against the warm shield of her chest fur. Her own back slammed into the rocks with a sickening crack. She cried out in pain but didn’t drop me. Instead she held me tighter as we tumbled and scraped our way to the valley floor.
“No… no… NOOOOO!”
clawed myself upright.
The world spun like hell. I staggered a step, dropped to the ground, and threw up. But I quickly draggeyself up again, half crawling, half stumbling to the brown she–wolf.
“Oh God… No, no, Nova?”
The wounds were horrible. I could literally see her bone beneath torn flesh, and blood was gushing out. I pressed both of my hands to her wound, trying to stop the bleeding. But it was useless.
“Why–why would you save me?” I sobbed, pressing harder. “You would’ve been fine on your own…why so stupid?!”
Her eyes open slightly. Nova’s voice was a whisper. “…Alpha Grayson entrusted you to me. I swore I’d keep you safe. And… you’re my friend.”
I buried my face in her fur and broke into tears.
“Don’t… don’t cry. I’ll be fine…”
Her voice dropped. She passed out.
I took in a few quick and sharp breaths and forced my tears down. Don’t fucking cry now Aria! I had to save Nova.
The valley was pitch black now. Even if Grayson realized we were missing, searching this terrain would take time. And that’s time I couldn’t waste.
The car crushed not far from us. I staggered over, yanked at the distorted door with my whole might, and crawled into the driver’s
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seat.
I twisted the key, praying the battery wasn’t dead, and flicked the headlights on.
…Thank the Moon Goddess. First miracle of th
night: the lights worked.
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That single beam became the valley’s only lighthouse. I cried out in excitement and jumped back out. I cupped my hands, and shouted up at the cliffs:
“Help–help–HELPPPPP! We’re down here!”
My voice echoed between the walls. Nobody answered. It felt like we were the only ones left in the world.
I kept yelling anyway. It started to rain. I quickly rushed back to Nova. She had shifted back to human during her coma. I pulled her into my arms and kept calling until my throat was dry.
He would come. I knew it.
At first I thought they were stars. Or fireflies.
But then I realized. No. It was a river of headlights and flashlights pouring toward us from every direction.
And then the ground trembled under heavy, pounding paws.
A massive black wolf launched off the cliff and arrowed down the slope toward us.
Joy burst out of me as I shot up from the ground.
“GRAYSON!!!”
He hit the valley floor and shifted back mid–stride. He practically yanked me into his strong arms.
“Fuck… fuck… thank the Moon Goddess,” he muttered.
His voice was hoarse. And shaking. I’d never heard him like this.
He put one hand on the back of my head and pressed me against his chest. I couldn’t breathe but this was exactly what I needed
now.
“I almost lost you. You have no idea what it did to me–hearing your car went over-” he rasped.
I was shaking too, tears up again. “Nova… Nova! She saved me… I told her not to do it but she wouldn’t…It’s…It’s my fault…”
He kissed my forehead hard. “She’ll be okay.”
More soldiers reached the valley floor. They lifted unconscious Nova onto a stretcher. A helicopter hovered down, ready to send her to the hospital.
They told me to board the helicopter too, but I stopped in my tracks.
“The brakes!” I blurt out. “The brakes failed. That’s why we went over. Check our brakes now!”
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0
Our brakes failed for a reason. Someone did something behind our backs. I wasn’t leaving and giving anyone time to wipe the
evidence.
Grayson’s head snapped toward his men. “Do as
Aria says.”
“Yes, Alpha!”
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They sprinted to the wreck. It took them less than 10 minutes and a soldier rushed back to report:
“Ms. Collins is right. The brake pads were deliberately destroyed.”
“You’re telling me someone tried to kill her. Under my fucking watch?!” Grayson roared.
“Looks that way, Alpha. The damage is clearly man–made.”
“Who knew the route Nova and I were taking? Who knew tonight’s plan?” I cried out, trembling and I grabbed Grayson’s hand. “It’s
obvious. We have–We have a…”
The word was so terrifying that I couldn’t say it.
“A fucking traitor,” he finished for me. Firelight licked across his face, hard and furious.
“Pull the cams. Check rosters. Verify alibis. I want the names of everyone who had access to Aria’s itinerary tonight,” he snarled.
“MOVE!”
They scattered. And Grayson swept me up and carried me into the helicopter. I had the feeling he wasn’t going to let me out of arm’s reach ever again.
We reached the hospital fast.
Once I saw them wheel Nova into surgery, relief washed over me. And my legs just… gave up. Grayson ght me before I fell to the
floor.
“You need rest, babe,” he said softly.
I shook my head. “No, I want to wait here until she’s out… if you don’t mind.”
He didn’t argue. He sat down with me outside the operating room, letting me lean into him.
There were at least a dozen soldiers guarding us right now, and I still didn’t feel safe.
So, who wants me dead?
I’ve had assassins before. It was Jonathan last time, and he’s dead for sure. And this assassination was way cleaner, more well- planned.
To mess with brake pads, they had to be near me.
…Maybe they were standing in this very corridor.
I scanned the soldiers and shivered at the thought.
That’s when I heard heels clicking fast down the hall. I looked up just as Isla hurried toward us. She was wearing that polished, fake worry like always.
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“Oh my god, what happened?” she cried. “I heard Aria-”
Suddenly, it hit me.
I shot to my feet and pointed at her. “You! It was you, wasn’t it?! You fucked my brakes and tried to kill me!!”
She stopped abruptly with her eyes wide. “What the hell are you talking about? I just got here-”
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I didn’t have proof. But the gut feeling ripped through me like an electric current. I had never been more sure of anything.
It was her.
Killing my wolf wasn’t enough anymore. Now she wanted me dead.
