The Return of the Fallen Luna: Rise of the Heiress-Chapter 16 Beta Felix

Ashley crouched low, biting her nail as she racked her brain, her body trembling with tension.

"Think... think, Ashley..." she urged herself.

She had to narrow it down. Eliminate the places Nathan was least likely to use. She did not have much time, and she could not afford to waste it searching blindly while her mother remained trapped somewhere unknown.

To find her mother, Ashley knew she had to think like Nathan.

But what if it wasn’t Nathan hiding her mother at all?

What if it was the Yorks’?

What if, after taking Ashley and her mother back with him, Nathan had only pretended to return her mother safely, only to send her back to the Black Mountain Pack, to teach her another lesson?

The possibility felt far too real.

And the more Ashley thought about it, the more her fear swelled.

She was having a terrible time figuring out where her mother could be hidden, yet she also knew that if she left without finding her, she would have no idea what horrors awaited the woman who had been left behind.

Ashley felt like a cornered rabbit.

She could bare her teeth and fight, but that was all.

There was nothing else she could do.

And time was running out.

There were too many possible locations to search, but she had until tonight at most to figure out where her mother was being kept. Tomorrow was the day Nathan would likely put on his dutiful act again, pretending to be merciful as he carried out whatever punishment he had prepared for her in Maddison’s name.

Ashley could only gamble on one thing.

That Nathan would spend the night with Maddison, pacifying her and keeping her company until morning.

And after the expression Maddison had worn earlier, Ashley was almost certain she would not let Nathan leave her side tonight.

For once, that might work in Ashley’s favor.

It might be the only chance she had to escape.

"Ugh!" Ashley groaned in frustration, roughly raking her fingers through her messy hair.

She snapped her bag shut and swung it over her shoulder. She only brought the essentials: her ID, passport, phone, and a few other identity documents she could carry.

It was only for necessity.

She couldn’t actually rely on those papers now, not when Nathan could use them to trace her down. But she knew she would need them if she had to survive somewhere else. And her last option was to live among humans, but even then, she would need proof that she wasn’t some illegal immigrant or suspicious stranger.

For a moment, she forced herself to stop spiraling.

She started thinking like Nathan.

She knew him too well. She had grown up under his influence long enough to understand the way his mind worked. If he truly wanted to punish her and her mother, then he would hide her mother somewhere Ashley would never think to look.

Somewhere obvious only after the fact. Somewhere cruelly close, maybe even in plain sight. And once she found it, she was certain she would be furious enough to shake with rage. Places like that could only be counted on one hand.

So Ashley left her room, keeping her expression carefully neutral as she glanced around and acted as though nothing was wrong. She kept her head lowered, just as she always did. Even if an omega passed her in the hallway, they would either ignore her as though she were invisible or snort at her in disdain. So she quickened her steps and made her way down to the ground floor.

But just as she reached it, she ran into Nathan’s Beta, Felix, returning from training.

He was still slightly winded, sweat rolling down his tan, bare chest, while he wiped his face with a towel, wearing only gray sweatpants. The moment he saw Ashley, however, he immediately caught the strong scent of blood on her.

His gaze sharpened.

When he looked her over, his eyes landed on the bandage around her knee, where blood had already begun to seep through.

Ashley’s stomach tightened.

In her rush to leave, she had forgotten to change the cloth wrapped around her wound. Now she could only hope Felix would not think too much of it, and that she had managed to hide just how unnatural her haste really was.

"Where are you going?" Felix asked, his voice low as he stepped closer to Ashley.

Ashley had been moving too quickly, pretending she was busy checking the arrangements for tomorrow’s mating ceremony, trying hard to smother the panic flickering in her eyes. But the moment she lifted her gaze and met Felix’s, her breath caught.

She had never really looked at him before, not the way she had always looked at Nathan. But now, under Felix’s steady stare, she saw it clearly, the hunger that was hidden in his eyes, dark and unashamed, the kind of look that made her skin crawl.

Werewolves had strong sex desires by nature, that much she knew, and rank only made it worse. As a Beta, Felix was no exception. But to see him looking at her like a starving beast, like he wanted to sink his teeth into her and consume her whole, sent a cold shiver straight down her spine.

Since when had he started looking at her like this? Had she simply never noticed before, or was it because he now knew Nathan was with Maddison and no longer bothered hiding it? Was he looking at her like she was nothing more than some desperate woman he could use to satisfy his appetite?

Humiliation burned through her veins, hot and sickening, followed by fury and shame. The look in his eyes made her feel filthy, reduced to nothing but a body he thought he could take and use to ease his lust.

She wanted to slap that look off his face.

But she couldn’t. Not yet. One wrong move, and everything could collapse.

She forced her temper down, swallowing it hard, and pretended not to notice the way his gaze dragged over her body, slow, deliberate, and hungry.

"Answer me," Felix pressed, his voice rougher now.

"I need to make sure the ceremony tomorrow is flawless," Ashley said, her tone flat and controlled, though her hand trembled slightly at her side.

Felix’s lips curled, a low chuckle slipping out. "That’s a good idea." He tilted his head, eyes still fixed on her. "As Alpha Nathan’s Beta, it’s my responsibility too. We should go together." His canine flashed as his smile widened, sharp and unrestrained. "Wait for me. I’ll take a quick shower and come with you."

"N-no need," Ashley cut in immediately.

"Oh?" Felix stepped forward, closing the distance until she had nowhere to retreat, her back nearly brushing the wall. "Are you afraid of me?"

He dragged the last words out, voice dipping into a low, almost threatening growl. Then he leaned closer, inhaling her scent like he was savoring it, like he had every right to.

A wicked smile spread across his face.

Before Ashley could react, he pressed in, his body pressed closer to hers, leaving no space between them and letting her feel his hard cock.

Her eyes flew wide in horror.