Fake Mate Beta Rises to Alpha Heiress (Natalie and Landon) novel Chapter 290

Chapter 290 Endless Darkness

Landon’s POV:

I had betrayed Natalie’s genuine love and turned my own life into a ridiculous tragedy.

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Why did Aaliyah do it? For Thorn Pack? For the status and resources of being an Alpha’s heir? Or was there even a small part that was for me, just as a person?

I didn’t know. And suddenly, I didn’t want to know.

Outside the window, the sky began to lighten. A sliver of dawn forced its way through the gap in the curtains, falling on the cold floor.

But my long night seemed to have just begun. Endless darkness, regret, and loneliness held me prisoner.

Natalie… Natalie… Was there really no way back for us?

Aaliyah’s POV:

My phone kept buzzing in my pocket during a crucial part of the meeting. I didn’t need to look to know it was Anna. Only she would bombard me like this, regardless of time or place.

I rejected one call. She called again. A second time, a third… it was relentless.

During a break in the discussion, I stepped into the hallway outside the conference room and answered, my voice tight with controlled anger. “Anna, this had better be important.”

Her arrogant tone came through the line, full of that annoying, stupid sense of entitlement. She ordered me to go back and take care of an injured Landon.

Was Landon hurt? Beaten up at a bar? My heart gave an involuntary squeeze. But hearing Anna’s demanding attitude, that faint flicker of concern was quickly smothered by irritation.

“I’m out of town. It’s not convenient. If you’re available, you look after him,” I replied coolly. Then, without waiting for her response, I hung up and set her number to blocked.

Returning to the meeting room, I took a deep breath and put my professional smile back on. “My apologies. Shall we continue?”

The fatigue only hit me after the meeting ended. I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples.

Landon was hurt. Was it serious?

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Chapter 290 Endless Darkness

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I hesitated, then took out my phone and opened my chat with Landon. Our last conversation was him urging me to agree to dissolve the bond. I had never replied.

My fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before I typed out a message, “Anna called me. What happened to you last night?”

The instant I hit send, I regretted it. I quickly recalled the message.

He had always been hard to kill.

He was an Alpha. How bad could some bumps and bruises be?

James’ POV:

Being woken up by Anna yelling in the middle of the night to pick Landon up from the hospital was the last thing I wanted. Thorn Pack was a hot potato now, bad news for anyone involved. But as Anna’s nominal husband, I had to keep up appearances.

Seeing Landon in that sorry state didn’t really stir any feelings in me. If anything, I felt a secret sense of “I knew it.” He aimed too high with too little to back it up. Ruining himself and his pack over a woman wasn’t exactly wise.

Listening to their broken conversation at the hospital, I pieced the story together-Landon went to see Natalie, got publicly humiliated, and then got beaten up by some “debt collectors.”

Since the Thorn Pack’s fall, I’d been annoyed, but mostly stayed on the sidelines.

My career was fine, and the Thorn Pack’s mess couldn’t really touch me.

The worst was losing their support.

But my patience with Anna was wearing dangerously thin.

Anna was average-looking at best. As for capability? She hadn’t worked a day since finishing school.

Ironically, since our bonding contract, my appreciation for Natalie had only grown.

She was beautiful, capable, the perfect partner.

When Natalie turned against Thorn Pack, I thought it was just a tantrum. But she really had guts-knew how to love and how to cut ties.

Women like that were terrifying, but they also ignited a man’s desire to conquer. Landon’s regret now was proof enough.

I sometimes wondered privately if a woman like that had been by my side back then, maybe I

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Chapter 290 Endless Darkness

wouldn’t have cared so much about pack lineage either.

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After all, it seemed a pack wasn’t always reliable. But a useless woman? That was a permanent headache.

And here was Anna, the brainless one, still ranting about tracking Natalie down, kidnapping her, and making her kneel and apologize. I almost laughed out loud. Did she think this was back when Thorn Pack was on top of the world?

I grabbed her phone to stop her idiotic plans. Reasoning with a spoiled Omega werewolf who couldn’t read the situation was exhausting. What was left in her head besides jealousy, petty rivalry, and throwing fits?

“We’re setting the Natalie issue aside for now,” I said, trying to steer her focus to what mattered. “Tomorrow afternoon’s summit is the only real chance your Thorn Pack has left.”

My bank was a partner for the summit. Using my position to get them to show their faces and try their luck at attracting investors or making useful connections was the practical move. I wanted to go myself, too-to see Maritime City’s real top-tier werewolf circles, especially the mysterious new head of the Scott Group.

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Ditch Fake Bond: She’s Tycoon Wolf Heiress