How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 63: Trouble in Paradise?

AIDEN’S POV

The drive back was completely silent. Not just quiet, but heavy and filled with unspoken thoughts.

Each car I passed felt like a reminder of what I wished I could change. With every mile, I felt like I was getting closer to a house that seemed even emptier than it did the night before.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the steering wheel. Ace hadn’t said a word since Jasmine had slammed the door on me.

Words weren’t necessary; we both felt the guilt hanging over us like a heavy chain.

She didn’t scream; she didn’t cry. She just calmly told me to leave.

And she was right to.

I hadn’t just scared her. I’d crossed a line I never should have approached, even with every instinct clawing at my skin.

She looked at me like she didn’t recognise me.

Like I was a stranger in the body of someone she used to love.

Ace stirred finally, quiet, low in my mind. "She didn’t reject us."

"She didn’t have to. Her silence was enough."

"She’s hurting. You felt it."

"She’s scared."

"Of the bond. Not us."

"Same difference," I muttered.

I pulled into the mansion’s circular driveway. The engine barely purred before I killed it. I didn’t even make it to the steps before I felt her.

Elena.

She stood by the front door, arms crossed over a silk blouse that probably cost more than most people’s rent. Her smile was slow, cold, and deliberate.

"Trouble in paradise?" she purred.

I didn’t stop walking. "Get out of my way, Elena."

She stepped sideways, but not before adding, "Word travels fast when a Luna flees her Alpha in the middle of the night."

I stopped cold.

"Careful what you repeat."

She raised a brow. "Oh, I’m not repeating. I’m observing. The Council’s watching. And a Luna who runs..." She trailed off, eyes glinting. "Isn’t a Luna at all."

I turned slowly, keeping my voice flat. "I’ve kept you around out of respect for your late father. Don’t mistake that for tolerance."

Elena didn’t flinch. "You think they’ll wait forever? That the Council won’t call a vote? That your fractured bloodline, your curse, and your feral episode won’t tip the scales?"

I stepped closer. "If you want to challenge me, Elena, then do it. But don’t think for a second I’ll let you speak her name like she’s already lost."

Her smile dropped.

I didn’t give her the satisfaction of another word. I walked past her and inside, grabbing my phone as I went.

I dialed.

Alara picked up on the second ring. "Aiden."

"I need an update. The seal, how fast is it deteriorating?"

Her voice was sharp. "Faster than I projected. Jasmine’s latent power is pushing against it. Her instincts, the visions, the aggression—she’s fighting it without even realising."

"What happens if the blood moon comes and we’re not ready?"

There was a pause. "Then it won’t just shatter. It will consume her. It’s a barrier and a tether. If it breaks the wrong way, it could tear her soul in half."

I stopped walking. My throat closed.

"Then we need to start now."

Alara exhaled. "You’ll need the clearing. Where the moon first touched stone."

"I know the place."

"Good. Cleanse the site. Burn the sagewood. And don’t let her go near it until we’re ready. The energy will draw her, especially if she’s unstable."

"Thank you."

"And Alpha?" Her voice dropped lower. "Don’t let your guilt cloud your instincts. She still needs you."

I ended the call.

Kaiden met me at the far edge of the woods, just beyond the old runes carved into the ridge. The clearing wasn’t much, just a circle of white stone ringed with ancient trees. The kind of place you could feel breathing under your feet.

"She really left?" he asked.

I nodded.

He didn’t say I told you so. Just pulled out the sagewood.

"You believe she’ll come back?" he asked, brushing dust off the stones.

"She doesn’t have to come back," I said. "Just survive."

He looked at me for a second. "That’s love, huh?"

"No," I muttered. "That’s guilt."

We worked in silence, unrolling the protective runes and tracing lines into the soil with powdered silver. The place began to throb under our hands like a sleeping heart.

Still, my mind wandered.

Jasmine, curled up on Sophia’s couch, pretending not to feel everything breaking apart. She’s probably keeping the scar on her neck hidden, even though we both understood its significance.

She was mine.

And I might have ruined the only thing that made sense in this cursed bloodline.

I walked to the tree at the edge of the clearing, pulled out my tablet, and logged into the private server Kaiden and I maintained.

Time to check on Vale.

I bypassed two layers of encryption and slipped into his inbox. It took less than a minute to find something I didn’t like.

An email from Vale to Daniel Frost.

Subject: "Green Light"

Body: "She’s distracted. Push the merger now."

My blood boiled.

He was playing chess while Jasmine’s life was hanging by a thread.

Using her pain. Using me to throw her off balance.

I stood so fast that the tablet nearly flew out of my hands.

Kaiden looked up. "What?"

"Vale’s moving against her. Behind the scenes. He’s trying to slip the merger through while she’s off the board."

"He doesn’t know she saw the documents?"

"No. But he’s gambling that she won’t act until."

Kaiden cursed under his breath. "We gonna stop it?"

I nodded, jaw locked. "I’ll burn the whole boardroom to the ground if I have to."

My phone buzzed.

It was one of the outer patrol scouts.

"Talk," I snapped.

"Sir," the voice crackled through. "Vale’s car was spotted at the old headquarters."

"Where?"

"Parked by the side gate. And he’s not alone."

"Who?"

"Not sure. I can’t get close. But there’s definitely a second vehicle."

I closed my eyes, heart dropping into a slow, dangerous rhythm.

He knows something... and he’s trying to make his move.