Fake Mate Beta Rises to Alpha Heiress (Natalie and Landon) novel Chapter 404

Chapter 404 Black Whale

Natalie’s POV:

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He took my retreating hand and enveloped it in his warm palm. His hand was large, completely covering mine, as if that alone could shield me from all the storms in the world.

“That’s not true. I wouldn’t be fine without you.” I turned my head away, stubbornly denying his words, my voice already thick with emotion.

I paused, then continued, “You might be right. Maybe I wouldn’t give up, no matter how hard things got. But the heart is made of flesh and blood. If it hurts badly enough, how can it ever fully heal? And it’s precisely because I’ve had you that losing you would only make my world feel more lonely. Without you by my side to see it, no scenery would ever be beautiful again.”

“Natalie,” Leonardo said softly, his voice dropping even lower. “Then tell me this. If danger. came straight for me today, and you were right beside me, would your first thought be to protect yourself?”

I opened my mouth, ready to retort with “I would,” but the words stuck in my throat. I couldn’t say them.

Saying it would have been a lie. My instinct and my true thoughts surfaced together. My silence was the answer.

Leonardo gave a soft laugh. “See? We’re the same. Protecting the one you love is instinct, just like you’d instinctively want to protect me, too.”

I knew I couldn’t win this argument, and the more we talked, the worse I felt. I decided to end it, pretending to be annoyed. “No, I wouldn’t. Why would I instinctively protect you? Didn’t you say I’d be fine without you? Maybe my instinct would be to save myself.”

“It wouldn’t,” Leonardo whispered, kissing my ear. “I believe you’re just like me. But in these situations, a man can’t let a woman take the risk.”

Leonardo left me with no room to argue. He pulled me close, coaxing and soothing until I melted into his gentleness. He turned my face to his and kissed me again and again.

The conversation stopped, but the worry was far from over. What had been a sweet day was completely ruined by the night’s events.

Leonardo’s POV:

I couldn’t answer Natalie’s question because the answer was already etched into my blood. As her bonded mate, keeping her safe was my instinct and my vow.

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15:23 Sat, Feb 14

Chapter 404 Black Whale

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67

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She said she wouldn’t be okay without me. I believed her, but I also believed in her resilience. Moon-Shadowed Pack Alpha blood flowed in her veins. She was stronger than she realized.

But I was different. She made me whole. The power of the Silver-Maned Pack Alpha was meant for conquering and protecting territory. But after meeting her, its entire purpose became protecting her.

The light from the window swept across her profile. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she stubbornly refused to cry. My chest tightened with a feeling sharper than any I faced against an

enemy.

I squeezed her hand, pulling her closer until my breath was near her neck. I kissed her earlobe softly. “Don’t be afraid, Natalie. I’ll handle this.”

She leaned against my shoulder with a quiet nod, her fingers clutching the fabric of my shirt tightly.

Natalie’s POV:

First thing the next morning, I went with Leonardo to the police station.

The two men from last night had been caught. They were members of a well-known local entertainment club, but the investigation showed no direct link between them and Silver- Maned Pack. Their so-called greeting to Leonardo was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. Someone recognized the license plate Leonardo often used and made a dare to mess with him.

As for mentioning Ryan, they claimed they’d only seen his name in financial news.

No one bought that story, of course. But surveillance footage showed that the person who tampered with the tire was a different man-thin, dressed in black, and fully masked. He had acted quickly during the few minutes the bodyguards and driver were outside, clearly skilled at avoiding detection. They didn’t get a clear shot of his face, making him hard to track.

With no clear connection between the two men and the Silver-Maned Pack, the case stalled. The police promised to increase surveillance and watch for suspicious activity around Silver- Maned Pack and Leonardo.

Leonardo and I had expected this outcome. Those two might have walked out of the police station, but they weren’t leaving Maritime City. Leonardo’s men were waiting outside. Even their club was temporarily shut down under a convenient pretext.

That afternoon, Leonardo got the interrogation results from his men. The two men weren’t tough. A little pressure made them talk. They mentioned a dark web forum called Black Whale. They were low-level members who sometimes took random jobs for points. The provocation was a task posted by a mysterious user to cause trouble for the Silver-Maned Pack.

“Someone on the dark web is targeting the Silver-Maned Pack,” I said, my heart sinking.

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15:23 Sat, Feb 14

Chapter 404 Black Whale

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