The Battle Queen Came Back with Her Husbands (Joanna) novel Chapter 281

Chapter 281 The Shadow Of The Blackridge

Chapter 281 The Shadow Of The Blackridge

Baron’s POV

My fingers remained tightly laced with Natalie’s, her small hand a grounding anchor against the stormg currently brewing within my chest.

My chest still felt incredibly warm from her quiet remark just moments ago inside the lobby

“We’re family, aren’t we?” She had said it right in front of Flynn, claiming me as hers.

But that warmth was instantly checked when I felt the sudden, rigid tightening of her knuckles.

I tracked the sharp, downward pull of her brow, my tracking senses immediately catching the violent spike of adrenaline in her scent.

I leaned down as my eyes scanned the dark utility wall where the shadow had just dissolved.

“Want me to handle it, Natalie?”

Before she could even open her lips to speak aloud in front of the surrounding guards, a sudden, sharp ripple generated across our mate bond.

The telepathic frequency hummed, clear and absolute, as her voice echoed directly inside my mind through our mindlink.

‘No need, Baron, her thoughts brushed against mine, carrying that distinct feeling that always let me know her brilliant mind was already mapping three steps ahead of our enemies.

‘I want to see exactly what they’re up to… The Summers family may be desperately trying to rise again from the ash of their corporate collapse, but their foundation is still entirely unstable. They gave up the Nightfang alliance to cover their debts; the current remnants of the Summers lineage aren’t much to look at on a battlefield. Let’s just watch their placement for now.’

Through the mental link, the phantom image of what she had just witnessed flashed across our shared consciousness.

Natalie had recognized the specific runic embroidery along the coat’s hem – it belonged to Quincy Summers.

She had initially suspected that the broken Southern elders might have been engineered into the execution of the human couple inside the emergency room, but seeing the Matriarch herself skulking in the damp bushes actually put her mind more at ease.

If the Summers family had really possessed the tactical intelligence or the elite black-market clearance to orchestrate a high-level poisoning inside a secure Stone family medical facility, they would have vanished across the provincial border lines hours ago to secure an alibi.

They wouldn’t be lingering like stray dogs in the shadows of the courtyard, watching our vanguard’s movements with such panicked desperation.

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Chapter 281 The Shadow Of The Blackridge

10 Free Co

Looking at the timeline, it was entirely possible they didn’t even know the human couple was already dead inside the ward; they were likely just hunting for a scrap of Natalie’s attention to save their own failing den.

Natalie shook her head a final time and climbed into the rear passenger side of our armored SUV

I narrowed my eyes, my gaze lingering on the dark tree line for one more heartbeat.

My wolf wanted to hunt, wanted to tear the throat out of anyone who dared to spy on my mate, but our off absolute deference to her judgment, I did nothing.

I forced the dominant pressure back below the surface and slid into the leather seat beside her, shutting the heavy door against the damp night.

The pure, desperate hypocrisy of the Summers parents made my jaw tighten.

They had clearly been completely heartbroken and ruined by Sharon’s psychotic actions, and only now, did they suddenly remember their foster daughter, Natalie.

After all, the Summers lineage had only one true child left to inherit their shame.

I shook my head in silent disgust as the engine purred to life.

That pathetic couple only thought of Natalie’s value now?

Ridiculous.

If they thought the Alpha of Blackridge would let them pull her back into their rotting den, they would learn the price of an executioner’s wrath.

The interior of the SUV was silent as we adjusted to the leather warmth.

Up at the steering wheel, Jayden cleared his throat and adjusted the rear-view mirror.

The moment the security locks clicked shut, Natalie turned her head to look at me, her golden eyes reflecting the soft glow of the dashboard lights.

“Drive,” she commanded softly.

The heavy tension of the emergency room was still vibrating through her shoulders, and I couldn’t stand to see her beautiful mind weighed down.

I leaned my massive shoulder against hers, my voice dripping with a playful tilt.

“So, my queen,” I rumbled, a lazy smile touching my lips as I nudged her arm.

“Am I officially living off you now? Should I start waiting at the den threshold for my daily allowance of

tokens?”

Natalie let out a soft huff that carried the first genuine trace of amusement I had heard all evening.

She turned her face toward me.

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Chapter 281 The Shadow Of The Blackridge

“Alpha Baron, with the entire infrastructure of the Blackridge Pack registered under your tame, you can comfortably stand shoulder to shoulder with a centuries-old ancestral lineage like the Stone pack? the countered.

“You aren’t living off anyone in these territories.”

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