Addicted To Her The Alpha'S Irresistible Contract Mate novel Chapter 62

62 Chapter 62 A freedom she deserves

62 Chapter 62 A freedom she deserves

Elias’s pov:

I hadn’t meant to overhear it. The mansion’s corridors had a way of carrying voices like echoes in a cavern, subtle, but insistent if you paid attention. I was passing by on my way to the study, my mind already tangled in the day’s pack reports: rogue sightings on the eastern border, supply requisitions for the upcoming winter patrols, and the lingering tension from the last alliance meeting with Ronan’s pack.

Lucy’s voice drifted out from the living room first,bright, excited, laced with that restless energy she always infused into her dreams of the future. “I’m going to university.”

I slowed without realizing it, my hand pausing on the banister.

Naomi’s reply followed, softer, warmer, but edged with a longing that hit me like a cold wind. “Really?”

There was something in her tone,surprise mingled with a quiet ache,that made my steps stop completely. I stayed where I was, half–shadowed by the wall’s alcove.

“I just got the papers signed by Elias,” Lucy continued, her words tumbling out with enthusiasm. “I’ve always wanted this,literature, stories, analyzing fates and choices. I forgot until my friend called, but now it’s happening!”

“That’s wonderful,” Naomi said, and I could picture her smile,the genuine one that lit her emerald eyes, chasing away the shadows of her past for a moment. Then, after a pause that spoke louder than words, heavy with unspoken regrets, she added, “I used to think about studying too.”

My chest tightened, a knot forming low and insistent. Of course she did. Naomi had never said it outright, but I wasn’t blind. The way her gaze lingered on the bookshelves in the library, fingers tracing spines as if memorizing titles she might never read in freedom.

The

way she listened intently when Lucy rambled about classes, deadlines, and the thrill of possibilities beyond pack duties,her expression a mix of envy and quiet resolve.

The way she sometimes stared out the bay window overlooking the gardens, now dusted with the first frost, as if the world beyond the estate’s iron gates was calling her

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name, promising the independence I’d stolen from her.

“I want to,” she continued quietly, her voice barely above a whisper, laced with that vulnerable hope I’d come to recognize through the bond. “To be independent again. To feel like myself,not just the maid, the caretaker, the… whatever I am here.”

Lucy’s answer came quick and easy, her optimism a balm. “Then we should go together. Two stressed students are better than one,we could carpool, complain about professors over coffee.”

There was a laugh,Naomi’s, light but cautious, carrying a hint of wistfulness that twisted something in me. “Maybe. It’d be nice to have a purpose outside these walls. But who would stay back and take care of Elias? Did you forget, I work here as a

caretaker?”

I almost smiled at that,almost. The warmth that spread through my chest at her unspoken devotion startled me more than anything else. She hadn’t said my name with obligation or resentment, the way she sometimes did when our enmity flared.

No, it was fond, familiar, as if she assumed her place beside me was natural, a given in this twisted life we shared. The bond pulsed with it, a subtle echo of affection amid the hate, making my breath catch. Enemies still, her father’s blood on his hands for my parents‘ murder, a sin I couldn’t fully forgive, but moments like this chipped at the

walls I’d built.

I straightened, pushing away from the wall before they could notice my lingering presence, and walked on, the corridor suddenly feeling narrower. She didn’t know it, but I had caged her. From the moment the bond snapped into place three years ago, I’d tightened the boundaries around her life,quietly, firmly.

No more shifts at that dingy bar where she’d worked nights, surrounded by drunken alphas whose leering gazes made my wolf snarl in possessiveness. No more mentions of that supposed alpha boyfriend she’d taunted me with once, casually, like it didn’t

matter.

It had mattered to me,enough to ensure she stayed within the estate’s wards, within my reach. I hadn’t asked her permission. I hadn’t explained my reasons, rooted in vengeance and a primal need to protect what fate had deemed mine.

But now, with her revelation in the car ride,that there was no other alpha, that our fateful night had been her first and only,the cage felt heavier, more unjust.

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62 Chapter 62 A freedom she deserves

Education was her right, a path to the independence she craved. More than that,it was

her escape, a choice in a life where I’d stripped away so many. Allowing it meant risking her slipping further from my grasp, exposing her to the world’s influences, other alphas, ideas that might widen the chasm between us.

But denying it? That would reinforce the enemy label, turning our bond into pure imprisonment.

I reached my study and shut the door behind me with a soft click, exhaling slowly as the familiar scents enveloped me.

Everything I’d clawed my way to build after the elders‘ torments, forging myself into the heir. I sank into the high–backed chair, the leather creaking under my weight, and stared at the antique globe on the corner of the desk, its faded continents a reminder of worlds beyond our pack lands.

This was dangerous territory,letting her step into academia meant letting the world see her, touch her life, shape her thoughts in ways I couldn’t dictate. And I was still an alpha at my core, possessive instincts roaring against any threat to my claim.

But I didn’t want her confined forever, a bird with clipped wings. I wanted her to thrive, to bloom despite the shadows of our past. The realization sat heavy and unfamiliar in my chest, a crack in the vengeance that had defined me.

I pressed the intercom button on the desk, the device buzzing softly to life. “Call my

assistant.”

A moment later, his voice crackled through, efficient as always. “Yes, sir?”

“I need an admission form prepared for the same university as Lucy,” I said, my tone steady despite the internal storm.

There was a pause on the other end, brief but telling,he knew the implications. “For… Miss Naomi?”

“Yes.” I leaned forward, elbows on the desk, rubbing my temple as if to ward off the doubts.

Another pause, longer this time, but he didn’t question me,good man. “I’ll handle it right away. Any specific program? Deadlines?”

“Literature, like Lucy’s. Or whatever aligns with her interests,stories. Make sure everything is in order: fees covered anonymously through the pack fund, references

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62 Chapter 62 A freedom she deserves

from me if needed. And keep it discreet until it’s ready.”

“Understood, sir. I’ll have the forms and details on your desk by morning.”

“Good,” I said, then added more quietly, almost to myself.

The line went dead, leaving me in the study’s hush, the ticking of the wall clock measuring out the seconds like judgments. I leaned back, staring at the ceiling’s intricate moldings, shadows playing across them from the desk lamp. Opening this door for her,it could change everything. But perhaps that was the point.

Our bond wasn’t just hate anymore; threads of something else wove through it,respect, perhaps, or the beginnings of trust. Not love,no, that was a leap too far, with her bloodline’s sins still a barrier I couldn’t dismantle. But this? This was a step toward balance.

Jessy started coming by the company more often after that dinner.

At first, it was subtle, almost professional. A scheduled meeting here, reviewing alliance contracts with Ronan’s pack. But then came the casual drop–ins, like that afternoon when she sauntered in unannounced. She leaned against the edge of my desk, her tailored skirt hugging her curves just a little too precisely, her smile a little too practiced, red lips curving in invitation.

“I was in the area,” she said smoothly, crossing her legs as if settling in. “Thought we could go over the quarterly projections again, make sure everything aligns.”

I didn’t look up from my screen, fingers tapping out an email on border reinforcements. “We already reviewed them last week. Twice.”

She laughed lightly, a tinkling sound that grated more than charmed. “You’re always so serious, Elias. All work and no play.”

“I’m working” I replied evenly, my tone a clear boundary. The air carried her floral perfume, invasive, clashing with the sterile scent of office air and my own restrained alpha musk.

She didn’t leave. Instead, she picked up a nearby file on pack investments, flipping through it slowly, her manicured nails tapping the pages. “You’ve been hard to reach lately. Calls going to voicemail, meetings rescheduled.”

“I’ve been busy.” Pack duties, border threats, and now this university matter for Naomi,

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62 Chapter 62 A freedom she deserves

my plate was overflowing.

“With her?” she asked, her tone playful on the surface, but her eyes sharpened, probing like a wolf scenting weakness. “That special someone you told me about last time? Is she an Alpha or an Omega”

I finally looked at her then, my golden gaze locking onto hers with alpha intensity, a low growl rumbling unspoken in my chest. “I don’t think it’s any of your concern.”

Her smile didn’t falter, but a flicker of something, frustration?, crossed her features before she masked it. “I didn’t mean it like that. Just… curious. After all, you deserve someone who matches your status.”

I set down my pen, leaning back in my chair, the leather sighing under me. “If there’s nothing work–related, I suggest you return to your pack. I have deadlines. I’m really sorry that I can’t entertain you right now Miss Jessy.”

For a moment, irritation flashed openly across her face, her posture stiffening. Then she smoothed it away with practiced ease, standing gracefully. “Of course. Another time, then. Maybe dinner to discuss the projections… off the clock?”

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