How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 52: Worth It...

JASMINE’S POV

I woke up feeling like my soul had just been pulled back into my body.

I took a deep breath, and it felt almost too loud in my lungs.

Blinking, I looked up at the ceiling. Sunlight streaming through the windows cast soft golden rays, and for a moment, I was confused about where I was.

Then I saw them.

Alara.

Kaiden.

Both were seated at the edge of the room, like sentinels.

Alara leaned forward the second I stirred. "You’re awake."

Kaiden stood, relief softening his usually hard features. "Took you long enough, Luna."

My throat was dry, hurting as I asked. "What... what happened?"

As soon as the words left my lips, the memories struck me like a wave breaking over a cliff.

My mother’s voice, chanting beneath the blood moon. The roar of the rogue. My father. The seal burned into my skin. And Aiden...

Aiden, standing behind me. His voice, his presence... inside my mind.

My fingers shot to the back of my neck, and there it was: a small bandage, placed right over the spot where his claws had sunk in.

The pain was just a throb now, dull and far away. But it was real.

Everything was real.

I pushed up on my elbows. "Where’s Aiden?"

Kaiden exchanged a glance with Alara.

"He’s resting," she said carefully. "Still recovering from the tether. His body took a hit, anchoring himself that deep inside your subconscious."

I tried to get up fully, but the room tilted like it was dancing.

"Whoa, whoa," Kaiden was beside me in an instant, catching me before I could fall. "You’re not ready to walk yet."

"I have to see him."

"You will," Alara said gently. "But don’t push yourself."

"I’m fine," I lied, even as my legs trembled. "Just help me get to him."

Kaiden sighed, muttering something about stubborn women under his breath before sliding my arm over his shoulder. "Alright. One step at a time."

We made our way out of the room together. I leaned heavily on him, my legs weak but not entirely useless. I could feel the exhaustion deep in my bones, but something inside me, something raw and bright and terrified, needed to see Aiden.

His door loomed ahead as we approached.

Kaiden pushed it open for me, and I peeled away from him the moment we crossed the threshold.

"I got it," I said softly, limping the last few steps on my own.

Aiden was lying on his bed, shirtless, with a thin sheen of sweat glistening on his skin. His chest rose and fell slowly with each steady breath. He looked so peaceful, almost too peaceful.

Like the kind of stillness that follows a storm, where the air feels like it’s holding its breath.

I reached the edge of the bed and touched his shoulder gently.

"Aiden..."

He stirred, then his eyes opened.

Dark and warm and very, very real.

"Hey," he rasped in a rough voice. "You’re up."

"You scared the hell out of me."

A lazy smile curved his lips. "I told you I’d find you."

I dropped into the chair beside the bed, legs too weak to stand another second. "You did. I just didn’t expect it to cost you this much."

"I’m fine," he said, shifting slightly. "It was worth it."

"You look like you barely made it back," I whispered.

"But I did," he said. "Because I heard you calling me."

I couldn’t stop the tears that filled my eyes.

Everything hurt. But he was here.

And so was I.

—

I didn’t know when it happened.

One second, I was sitting beside him, hand tangled in his, trying to hold myself together...

And the next, I was waking up again, this time in his arms.

Tucked against Aiden’s chest, his arm wrapped protectively around me, and my head rested just below his collarbone, where I could hear his heart’s soft, rhythmic beat. It was steady. Calming. The kind of sound that made you feel safe without even trying.

What was more surprising?

I wasn’t tired.

I wasn’t hurting.

I wasn’t terrified.

Just... warm.

I blinked groggily and looked up. "How long was I out?"

Aiden didn’t answer right away, probably because he was too busy watching me, as if I was the last miracle left in the world.

"You talk in your sleep," he said instead, in a soft voice.

I groaned. "Oh gods. Please tell me I didn’t say anything embarrassing."

"Nothing scandalous." His mouth curved into a familiar smirk. "But I did hear something about hot chocolate and swordfighting with baby wolves."

I blinked. "That’s... alarmingly specific."

"You also kicked me. Twice."

"Lies."

"I’m still healing." He lifted his shirt dramatically to show absolutely nothing. "Look at these invisible wounds."

I laughed, curling a hand over my mouth. "Wow. Poor Alpha. Married to a scarred wolf who had no idea her entire life that she’s one, but also possessess deadly subconscious reflexes."

"You’re not scary," he said, dipping his head slightly, brushing his nose against mine. "You’re magic."

And just like that, my heart did that stupid flip thing it had no business doing while I was still processing the fact that I might be an ancient bloodline werewolf with sealed powers and a rapidly approaching identity crisis.

"I need to freshen up," I said quickly, pulling back before I forgot how to think entirely.

"Take your time," he said, still watching me with that unreadable softness. "I’ll meet you in the dining room."

I stretched, wincing slightly, but it was a dull throb now, not the sharp, white-hot pain it had been before.

Still... I paused at the door.

"Aiden?"

He looked up.

"Thank you. For not letting me get lost."

His gaze held mine. "You’d do the same for me."

Would I?

Yes.

And that scared me more than any ancient seal or glowing scar ever could.

"Okay, then," I said, backing out of the room. "Give me like twenty minutes. Then we talk. And eat."

"Dinner and trauma," he said, standing as well. "Our new romantic tradition."

"Better than dinner and assassination attempts."

"Fair point."

I grinned faintly as I turned down the hall and headed for my room.

—

Exactly twenty minutes and a long, much-needed bath later, I stepped out of my room feeling slightly more human—well, werewolf, apparently, but that was a crisis for another hour.

I’d slipped into something light and easy: a soft-knit slate-grey top that hung off one shoulder, paired with black joggers that hugged my hips but let my skin breathe.

My hair was still a bit damp, but I let it fall down my back in loose waves. No makeup, no jewelry, just me.

My bare feet padded quietly down the hallway. Despite the weight in my chest, something about the smell of roasted garlic and herbs wafting from the kitchen tugged a small smile to my lips.

Alara must’ve bullied the chef. Again.

I walked into the dining room to find them already seated.

Aiden looked up first. He was seated at the head of the table, casual in a dark Henley shirt, hair still slightly tousled from rest. The relief in his expression when he saw me made my steps falter for a heartbeat.

"Right on time," he said softly, standing to pull out the chair beside him.

Kaiden was already halfway through a plate of roasted vegetables and grilled meat, not even pretending to wait. Alara, across from him, had a teacup in hand and a plate she’d barely touched. Her eyes tracked me carefully.

"You look better," she said, nodding once. "Colour’s back."

"I feel... not dead," I replied, settling into my seat. "Which is an improvement."

Aiden set a warm plate in front of me, some kind of rosemary chicken with mashed potatoes and charred greens, and poured me a glass of lemon water.

"Eat," he said simply.

So I did. We all did.

For a while, the room was filled only with the sound of silverware and quiet chewing. No one asked how I was doing again. No one mentioned wolves or bloodlines or secrets. And weirdly... I appreciated that.

But eventually, the meal ended. And the silence returned.

It was Alara who broke it first.

"You’ll want to keep your energy steady over the next few days," she began, dabbing at her lips with a napkin. "No stress if you can avoid it. No emotional extremes."

"So, no board meeting?" I asked dryly.

"Preferably not," she said, completely serious. "The next blood moon is in four days."

My fork froze halfway to my mouth.

"Four days?" I echoed.

She nodded. "That’s when we’ll perform the ritual to break the seal completely. Your body is already responding to it—the pain, the visions, the instability. However, the full release won’t happen until the blood moon reaches its peak.

"What happens if I’m not ready?" I asked quietly.

"You’ll be ready," Aiden said without hesitation.

Kaiden leaned back in his chair. "In the meantime, you can still do your usual. Work, sleep, yell at idiots."

"Thank you for that list," I muttered.

Aiden turned to me. "But you’re not handling everything alone. You’re still the CEO, but right now you need to conserve your strength."

I narrowed my eyes. "What are you implying?"

"I’m saying give Kaiden the flash drive," he said gently. "Let him and my team dig through the rest. See what else your father left behind."

Kaiden gave me a thumbs-up. "Nothing I love more than digging decades-old family secrets while drinking overpriced espresso."

"You’re all so weirdly chill about this," I muttered.

"We’re werewolves," Kaiden said. "Drama is our daily multivitamin."

Alara cracked a faint smile. "He’s not wrong."

Aiden reached across the table, lacing his fingers with mine. "You’ve got four days, Jasmine. Four days to finish what you need to. Clear your name."

I looked down at our hands, then back at the people around the table—warriors, protectors, family I hadn’t chosen but was starting to believe I needed.

"Alright," I said softly. "Four days."

And for the first time since I saw that video... I didn’t feel afraid of what was coming.

I felt ready.