Chapter 23
In stark contrast to Aria’s unexpected calm, Lucas was visibly nervous beside her.
He had never truly believed this day would come. After her “death,” he had sunk so deeply into despair that he’d contemplated holding a mating ceremony with her ashes present—a plan his horrified parents had intervened to prevent.
Now his impossible dream had materialized. The mate who had loved him so devotedly, whom he
had come to love in return despite his best efforts not to, would finally become his Luna.
He silently promised himself that he would spend every remaining day making amends, ensuring she never regretted giving him this second chance.
As the officiant guided them through the ceremony, they reached the moment for personal vows.
Though traditionally Aria would speak first, she wordlessly passed the microphone to Lucas.
Despite having delivered countless high–stakes presentations throughout his life, Lucas found
himself uncharacteristically anxious. Though he had prepared an extensive speech, when the
moment arrived, only one sentence remained in his mind.
“Aria,” he said, his voice carrying across the hushed room, “I will love you until my final breath.”
The simple declaration brought unexpected tears to Aria’s eyes. She began crying silently, prompting Lucas to quickly produce a handkerchief, concern etched on his features as he noticed something
deeper than joy in her expression.
Indeed, what Aria felt most acutely was profound sorrow.
In some alternate reality–one where those three years of calculated cruelty had never
happened–perhaps she would have genuinely become Lucas’s mate today, sharing the future they
had once discussed.
But the reality remained: those events had occurred, leaving wounds so deep that she still woke gasping from nightmares where they replayed endlessly.
Aria took a deep breath and accepted the microphone from Lucas’s hand.
“I have a special surprise I’d like to give you right now,” she said, her voice steady despite her racing
heart.
16:43
Billionaire Alpha’s 99 Deadly Games
10.5%
Chapter 23
Lucas’s expression brightened with touched curiosity.
He couldn’t have known he was seconds away from his own destruction.
A she–wolf approached to take the USB drive from Aria’s hand, inserting it into the laptop controlling
the massive screen behind them.
The blank display suddenly illuminated with video footage–meticulously compiled evidence of Lucas’s three–year campaign against her.
The calculated humiliations. The psychological warfare. The deliberate endangerment of her life. The real Alpha Lucas Thornwood–ruthless, vindictive, indifferent to werewolf suffering–revealed himself to the whole Southern Territory’s elite and millions of viewers worldwide.
What followed seemed to unfold in slow motion for Aria.
She watched the assembled guests progress from confusion to shock to horrified murmuring.
She observed the media representatives transition from bewilderment to frantic documentation of this spectacular downfall.
Finally, she witnessed Lucas’s transformation–from initial confusion to dawning horror to desperate rage as he lunged toward the screen, grabbing a floral arrangement to hurl at the damning evidence.
“Turn it off!” he shouted, lunging toward the control booth. “Shut it down now!”
The venue descended into controlled chaos, security personnel converging from all directions.
The culmination arrived with pack enforcers emerging through the main entrance, approaching the altar with silver cuffs ready.
As they secured his wrists, Lucas finally regained his composure, turning to face Aria with eerie calmness.
“Why?” he asked simply, those three letters containing all his devastation.
Aria smiled then–her first genuine smile in weeks–though her words carried razor–sharp finality.
“Because you destroyed me,” she replied evenly. “It seemed only fair to return the favor.”
16:43
Chapter 23
She reached up to remove her veil, tossing it dramatically into the air between them.
“Goodbye, Lucas. In this lifetime or any other, our paths will never cross again.”
The last image Lucas registered before being led away was Aria’s retreating figure, walking confidently down the aisle alone, past the stunned guests and flashing cameras.
“Aria!” he called out desperately.
She never looked back.
Outside the venue, Layla waited beside a nondescript car, holding out an international ticket.
“Congratulations on your freedom,” she said with professional satisfaction.
Aria accepted the envelope, a weight lifting from her shoulders.
“Yes,” she agreed quietly. “I’m finally free.”
From this moment forward, she would simply be Aria Collins again–no one’s victim, no one’s revenge object, no one’s obsession.
Just herself.
