How To Lose Your Billionaire Alpha Husband In 365 Days (Or Less)!-Chapter 65: Preparation...

AIDEN’S POV

"Are we seriously discussing territory lines again?" I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose.

Ronan, one of the northern beta lieutenants, nodded from across the table in the packhouse war room. "You said we’d revisit the east boundary after winter."

"And I said I’d revisit it. I did not mean to imply that we were moving fences today," I replied.

Luca leaned forward. "He’s got a point. The riverbed shifted since the last storm. Crops are starting to suffer."

"We’ll send scouts," I said in a flat voice. "They’ll check soil viability. We’ll adjust if it makes sense. We’re not redrawing lines on a whim."

Heads nodded around the table. Ronan leaned back with a grunt that might’ve been acceptance or indigestion.

Meeting adjourned.

As the others dispersed, I stayed seated, staring at the stack of untouched notes in front of me. I hadn’t read a word. My mind had been elsewhere all morning.

Correction, my mind had been on her.

The door creaked open behind me.

"I figured I’d find you buried in paperwork," Alara said as she entered. She looked radiant and tired, like a candle burning at both ends.

"Shouldn’t you be prepping the clearing?" I asked. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"I already did," she said pointedly. "Still trying to act like you’re fine?" she asked.

I turned slightly. "Trying. Failing."

"She hasn’t spoken to you?"

"No," I admitted. "Not since yesterday morning. I went to her. She wasn’t ready to talk."

"She will be," Alara said, voice lower now. "But tonight... tonight isn’t about feelings. It’s about survival. If she doesn’t complete the ritual under the blood moon, her wolf might tear her apart trying to wake."

"I know." My voice dropped to a growl. "You think I haven’t thought about that every second?"

"She’s strong, Aiden," she said gently. "She’s just... hurt."

"Yeah, thanks for pointing out the obvious. She said she’d show up for the ritual," I murmured. "That’s all I got."

Alara’s eyes narrowed. "Aiden, if she doesn’t show, we don’t get another shot. The seal is accelerating. I can feel it in the ley lines."

"I know."

"I mean it—"

"I said I know!" My voice cracked, harsher than I intended. Her expression softened instantly.

"I just want her safe," she said.

"So do I."

My phone buzzed. Kaiden’s name.

I picked it up. "Yeah?"

"You need to hear this," Kaiden said. "She met with Vale this morning. Old headquarters."

My stomach turned to stone. "What did they say?"

"Don’t know. The place had signal blockers. But she walked in alone and walked out pissed. I think he threatened her."

Rage boiled so fast it nearly blinded me.

"I’ll kill him," I said, barely restraining the shift.

"No," Kaiden warned. "You do that, the Council will strip your Alpha title faster than you can blink. And Jasmine needs you more than she needs revenge."

I exhaled slowly.

"Just focus on the ritual, Alpha. Everything else can burn after. Clear?"

"Crystal."

I hung up.

But the rage had nowhere to go.

So I went to the training yard.

The sun was high, the air thick with the scent of sweat and aggression. I stripped off my shirt and stepped into the sparring ring.

"Anyone feel like dying today?" I growled.

That was all it took.

Three wolves stepped forward. I took them all. Blood on my lip. A busted knuckle. Bruises I wouldn’t feel until tomorrow.

I didn’t care.

I didn’t stop until the ache drowned the fury.

Until every punch echoed with her name.

I didn’t even realise how long I’d been out there until someone stepped too close, her perfume hitting my nose like poison.

"Elena," I said flatly.

"Well, this is quite the image," she purred, stepping across the clearing like she owned it. "Alpha, shirtless, bloodied, moody. Are you trying to give your enemies heart attacks or just trying to forget about your runaway bride?"

I turned to see Elena, dressed like she was heading to a gala instead of a battlefield. Red lips, black dress, eyes that calculated everything and felt nothing.

"What do you want?" I rasped.

"I heard you were... struggling." She stepped forward, slowly. "Thought I’d check in."

"I don’t need your concern."

"I’m not here for concern," she said. "I’m here because you need grounding. And she’s clearly not providing it."

I stood, wiping the blood from my mouth.

She stepped into the ring like she belonged there. "You remember when it was simple? When it was just you and me?"

"Don’t," I warned.

She didn’t flinch.

"You know I was supposed to be your Luna," she whispered. "Before fate got in the way."

"You were never her," I snapped. "You were never close."

Her lips twitched into a venomous smile. "If she doesn’t mark you soon... the pack will have to start asking why. And we both know what comes after won’t be nice."

I didn’t reply.

I didn’t need to.

The look I gave her was enough to make the next words stick in her throat. I turned and left, ignoring the ache in my side and the blood on my hands.

—

I stood in the shower until the water ran cold.

Ace was quiet in my mind, but I could feel his low and anxious pulse. He didn’t like Elena. Never had.

"She’s trying to take what’s not hers," Ace said.

"She’ll fail," I muttered, yanking on a clean black shirt, black trouser, and black jacket. It was just black.

Head to toe.

When I arrived, the clearing was quiet. Moonlight streaked through the trees, casting silver onto the ring of stones Alara had prepared.

Sagewood burned low.

Runes glowed faintly.

But Jasmine wasn’t here.

I stood in the center, staring at the sky.

And I waited.

Not because I thought she would come.

But because I needed her to.

—

AUTHOR’S POV

Across town, in a dimly lit upscale bar tucked between two abandoned galleries, Elena sat across from Vale Heart.

Her legs were crossed, a martini untouched in front of her.

Vale sipped bourbon, his smile slow and poisonous.

"So," she said smoothly, swirling her glass. "About this little alliance you offered me..."

Vale’s smile widened.

"Let’s talk succession."