Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Aria’s POV**

The realization hit me like a punch to the gut: it was Alpha Richard!

“Let go of me, Richard! What do you want?” I hissed, the urgency of my words accompanied by a fierce yank to free myself from his grasp. My wolf stirred within me, a tempest of emotions ready to unleash.

His gaze met mine, eyes rimmed with a haunting shade of red, his breath uneven and labored. It was clear he was already aware of the turmoil that had unfolded.

“You saw, didn’t you?” he uttered, his voice trembling, cracking under the weight of unspoken truths. “Nathan’s heart belongs to Sophia. Showing up here like this… you were practically begging for humiliation. I pulled you away to spare you the shame. You should be thanking me.”

“Thanking you?” I spat, the bitterness of my words sharper than I intended. My voice emerged rougher than I anticipated, a growl threading through each syllable. “For what? For your deceitful testimony that landed me in prison? For pretending to care while you pilfered my work and handed it to her?”