Fury Unleashed: The Awakening Alpha Nira (by Chloe Ramos) novel Chapter 284

Chapter 284 A Very Convincing Argument

Nira’s POV:

Kade walked into the room carrying a food container.

Right behind him came the very person we’d been discussing.

Derrick.

The first thing he did after entering wasn’t greet me.

It was glance toward Tessa.

Only after finding her did he set down the fruit basket he’d brought.

“Nira, I hope you’re feeling better.”

“Thanks.”

The moment he finished speaking, his attention drifted back toward Tessa.

I caught it immediately.

Apparently I wasn’t the only one.

The second Tessa saw him, she jumped to her feet.

“Perfect.”

Before anyone could react, she’d already grabbed his wrist.

“I need to talk to you.”

Then she waved toward me.

“Nira, we’re borrowing a hallway.”

Without waiting for an answer, she dragged Derrick out of the room.

He stumbled slightly but followed without complaint.

Before disappearing through the doorway, he nodded toward me.

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“Get some rest.

Outside, near the corner of the hallway, Tessa finally released his wrist.

“Derrick, you know our families are trying to set us up, right?”

Derrick straightened the sleeve she’d nearly pulled off his arm.

“I know.”

“Great.” Tessa clapped her hands together. “Then help me figure out how to stop it.’

Something flickered behind Derrick’s glasses. “You really don’t want to marry me?”

Tessa stared at him.

“What?”

He held her gaze. “Do you dislike me that much?”

“What? No!”

She immediately waved both hands.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it?” Tessa sighed. “We always talked about finding our fated mates someday.”

She pointed between them. “And we’re friends. Getting mated to your best friend would be weird.”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Derrick’s mouth.

“I see.”

He pretended to think about it. “Actually, this arrangement isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”

Tessa narrowed her eyes.

“What do you mean?”

Derrick adjusted his glasses.

“Think about it. If you married someone else, especially through an alliance marriage, there would probably be expectations.”

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C

His tone became analytical. “You’d be expected to act like the perfect noblewoman. You’d have responsibilities, obligations, public appearances-”

Tessa visibly winced.

Derrick continued, “But if you married me? You could still sneak out late at night. You could still go to parties. You could still challenge warriors to sparring matches whenever you felt like it. And I wouldn’t stop you.”

Tessa blinked. That argument had clearly landed.

“As for fated mates… We’ve both been adults for years. Neither of us has found one. Maybe we never will. Most wolves don’t.”

Tessa hesitated.

“When you put it that way…”

Encouraged, Derrick continued. “And you know how much I hate social events.”

His expression immediately turned pained.

“If I end up marrying some perfectly polished socialite, I’ll spend the rest of my life getting dragged to charity galas and formal dinners.”

He shuddered dramatically.

“But if I marry you… We can fake being sick and skip them together.”

Tessa laughed despite herself.

“Okay, I’ll admit it–that part actually sounds pretty great.”

“And there’s more,” Derrick said, seeing that she was finally starting to come around. “You know way too many embarrassing stories about me. That alone guarantees I could never get away with pushing you around.”

Tessa rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“When you put it like that…”

“The biggest thing, though,” Derrick said, meeting her eyes, “is that you’d never have to pretend around me.”

His voice softened.

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Chapter 284 A very Convincing Argument

* Free Coins

“You wouldn’t have to worry about acting like some perfect future Luna. If you’re in a bad mood, be in a bad mood. If you want to be weird, be weird. If you feel like partially shifting and walking around with wolf ears all day, go for it. You’d never have to be anyone except yourself.”

Tessa immediately punched him in the shoulder.

“Oh my God. Why would I walk around with wolf ears all day?”

But she was smiling now.

Then the smile slowly faded.

“Still…” she said quietly. “It doesn’t really seem fair to you. You should end up with someone amazing too. Someone who’s perfect for you.”

A small laugh escaped him.

“Who says you aren’t?”

Tessa froze.

For a second, she simply stared at him.

Derrick had teased her, argued with her, and occasionally driven her insane over the years, but she couldn’t remember a single time he’d looked at her like this and spoken so honestly.

“And honestly,” he continued with a shrug, “if my choices are marrying a complete stranger or marrying someone who already knows every ridiculous thing about me, I’d pick the second option every time.”

His smile was easy, but his eyes never left hers.

“At least we’d be starting from the same page.”

Tessa tilted her head.

“You really mean that?”

“I do.”

For once, there wasn’t a trace of joking in his voice.

“Tessa, we’ve known each other for over twenty years. No one knows me better than you do, and no one understands you better than I do.”

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He paused before adding quietly, “Doesn’t that sound like a pretty solid foundation for a marriage?”

Tessa found herself staring at him.

Somehow, the boy she’d grown up with suddenly felt different.

The afternoon sunlight streamed through the hallway windows, catching the edges of his hair and reflecting softly off his glasses. The warmth in his eyes made her heart stumble unexpectedly.

“So…” Her cheeks turned pink. “We’re really doing this?”

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Derrick’s eyes before disappearing just as quickly.

“Whatever you want,” he said with a smile. “I’m good with it.”

Nira’s POV:

I had no idea what Tessa dragged Derrick out there to talk about, but whatever it was, they both came back looking far happier than when they left.

I was halfway through a cup of ice cream when Tessa practically bounced back into my room.

“Nira!”

Her eyes were sparkling.

“I figured it out!”

“Oh?” I set down my spoon and looked at her with interest. “Let’s hear it.”

“The engagement is actually a great idea.”

That got my attention.

Tessa immediately started counting on her fingers.

“First, Derrick promised he won’t try to control my life after we get married. Second, we can team up and get out of all those horrible formal events. And third…”

I glanced toward the doorway.

Derrick was standing there wearing the most suspiciously satisfied smile I’d ever seen.

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