Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Before Aria could refuse, Lucas had already grabbed her wrist and practically dragged her to his Range Rover.
The car pulled up outside The Night, the territory’s most exclusive alphas–only club for elite werewolves. After parking, Lucas circled around to her side and opened the door with a theatrical flourish that once would have made her heart flutter.
Aria gave him a flat, empty stare as she stepped out.
The moment they entered the dimly lit space, Aria’s attention was immediately drawn to a familiar figure.
Leila Blackwood.
She wore a champagne silk slip dress with a dangerously high slit, designer heels, and just enough silver to look effortless. Her glossy hair fell in loose waves, and her calculated smile drew everyone in as she held court in the VIP section, cocktail in hand.
Leila had been Lucas’s childhood friend. During the years Aria had mated with Lucas, the two women had never crossed paths.
So she’d never suspected that Lucas had been obsessed with Leila all along.
When Leila spotted them, her eyes flickered with recognition, then narrowed into the slightest smirk–a look that confirmed everything. She’d been in on the 99–part revenge scheme all along.
This is revenge #97, Aria realized with stomach–turning clarity. Coming here was a setup.
Lucas also noticed Leila’s presence. His fingers tensed around Aria’s before he abruptly dropped her hand like it had burned him.
He leaned in, his breath hot against her ear: “Gotta take this call. Network with packmates or whatever. Back in five.”
Aria stood frozen, watching Lucas’s retreating figure, a cold emptiness spreading through her chest. The casualness of his dismissal felt like another slap in the face.
Before she could react, Leila was already gliding across the room with runway precision, following
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Billionaire Aut
Chapter 3
directly in Lucas’s wake.
Their silhouettes–one leading, one following–disappeared around a corner, no doubt heading somewhere private.
Aria had no time to dwell on what they might be doing together, as Lucas’s friends quickly surrounded her.
“Well, if it isn’t Lucas’s favorite charity case!” Tyler’s voice boomed as he shoved a glass of something amber–colored into her hand.
Aria shook her head firmly. “I don’t drink.”
“Don’t be such a fucking buzzkill,” Blake sneered. “What’s wrong, afraid Lucas will get mad?” They all laughed, exchanging knowing glances.
“Or maybe she can’t handle her liquor,” Derek added, pushing the glass toward her lips. “Little Miss Perfect probably gets wasted off one shot.”
Aria tried to step back, but Josh blocked her path. “Either drink it or wear it, sweetheart.”
When she tried to break free, Tyler gave her a hard shove. “Oops, my bad.”
“Ah-!”
She cried out as she lost her balance and fell straight into the adjacent infinity pool.
The freezing water engulfed her instantly.
She couldn’t swim. Her limbs flailed desperately, but her clothes quickly became waterlogged, dragging her down.
Water rushed into her nose and mouth, burning her lungs. The club lights above the surface blurred and distorted as her consciousness began to fade, darkness closing in until everything went black.
When Aria next opened her eyes, she found herself back in the bedroom of Lucas’s den. Her head pounded with each heartbeat, and her body burned as if she were being roasted alive.
She struggled to focus her vision and saw Lucas sitting by the bed, holding a glass of water and some
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Billionaire Alpha’s 99 Deadly Games
Chapter 3
pills.
“You’re burning up. Take these,” Lucas said, his voice soft with what might have seemed like
concern–if she didn’t know better now.
Aria hazily accepted the pills and swallowed them with the water.
Too weak to think clearly, she only registered that her throat felt like she’d swallowed glass and her
body seemed to have turned to concrete.
She closed her eyes, wanting to escape back into unconsciousness, but her temperature kept climbing, something scorching through her veins.
Some time later–minutes or hours, she couldn’t tell–she forced her eyes open again and realized Lucas was gone.
Of course, she thought bitterly. He can’t even be bothered to maintain the charade anymore.
She struggled to sit up, touching her forehead. It was terrifyingly hot.
She knew she couldn’t wait any longer. She needed medical help.
With trembling fingers, she ordered an Uber to the nearest ER out of the pack.
Aria dragged her leaden body through the hospital doors, barely making it to the reception desk before a nurse rushed to help her.
The doctor immediately put her on an IV drip, which finally brought her fever down slightly.
After examining her thoroughly, the doctor frowned: “Ms. Collins, your temperature was 104.3 when you came in. You’re bordering on pneumonia from aspiration. Why didn’t you come in sooner?”
Aria leaned weakly against the hospital bed, her voice barely audible: “I thought the medicine would help.”
The doctor looked concerned. “What medicine were you taking?”
Arla pulled a small bottle from her pocket and handed it to the doctor. “Fever reducers. My mate gave it to me.”
The doctor opened the bottle, examined its contents, and his expression darkened: “These aren’t
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Chapter 3
medication at all. The bottle is labeled correctly, but these are nothing but sugar pills. Taking these instead of actual medication could have been extremely dangerous in your condition.”
Aria’s heart plummeted, her fingers trembling slightly.
Suddenly, her phone buzzed repeatedly.
She weakly raised her hand to check it. A series of WhatsApp notifications lit up her screen.
They were from a group chat with Lucas’s friends.
Tyler: Revenge #97 = EPIC WIN!!!
Blake: Whoever came up with the pool + fake meds combo deserves a fucking medal! First we “accidentally” push her in, then Lucas swoops in with sugar pills. She’s gotta be DYING rn
Josh: Lucas’s face when she swallowed those pills tho
Derek: HOLY SHIT DELETE THIS! WRONG GROUP! SHE CAN SEE THESE!!!
