<b>Chapter </b><b>170 </b>
Skye’s POV
Adrian’s hand mmed down on the table with enough force to make the silverware jump. His eyes zed with fury as he turned <b>to </b><b>his </b>
mother.
<b>87 </b>
“Who posted this garbage?” he growled.
Lillian shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. Could be one of yourpetitors. Or maybe just some rabid fangirl of Alpha Xavier or <b>Alpha </b>Leon.” She took another sip of her wine. “Young women can be quite vicious when ites to their fantasies being threatened.”
Adrian’s jaw clenched as he scrolled through morements on his phone. “I’ll have Garrett wipe every trace of these lies from the inte. Every. Single. One.”
I could feel the rage radiating off him in waves. His protective instincts were in overdrive, and while part <b>of </b>me loved him for it, <b>I </b><b>couldn’t </b>let my drama derail his campaign. Not when we’de so far.
“Adrian,” I said, cing my hand over his. “I’m fine.”
He looked at me in disbelief. “Fine? Skye, they’re
calling you-”
“I know what they’re calling me.” I forced a smile. “You know what? I’ve never had this many women jealous of me before. I’m choosing to take it as apliment. Clearly, I must be doing something right if they’re this threatened.”
Lillian’s eyebrows rose slightly, the first genuine reaction I’d seen from her all evening. She studied me carefully.
“Interesting,” she murmured. “I trust my intuition, and my intuition tells me you’re not the type of woman these posts im you are.” She set down her wine ss with deliberate precision. “I’m Adrian’s mother. He’s my only child. I don’t want to see him hurt.” <fnafb2> Readplete version only at Find1Novel</fnafb2>
I met her gaze directly, understanding what she wasn’t saying. She’d seen the posts about Leon being my true mate. She had questions. Concerns<b>. </b>
“<b>I </b>understand,” <b>I </b>said quietly. “After the election is over, I’ll immediately break the mate bond with Leon. You have my word.”
Something shifted in Lillian’s expression. The tension around her mouth eased, and she gave me the first genuine smile of the evening. Relief, maybe. Or approval.
***
<b>As </b>Adrian and I were leaving the restaurant, I noticed several girls pointing at me and whispering. One even pulled out her phone to take
a photo. Adrian walked over and stopped the two young women before they could capture anything.
On the ride back to the hotel<b>, </b>Adrian muttered, “When I find out who did this, I’m going to cut off their hands.”
I leaned against his shoulder. “Come on, don’t be angry anymore.”
But I was secretly worried whether this gossip would affect Adrian’s campaign. We hade to the final stage, and absolutely nothing could go wrong now.
<b>10:07 </b><b>Thu</b><b>, </b><b>Oct </b><b>2 </b>
We found Garrett in the hotel lobby, looking in good spirits. I guessed Morgan must have recovered. Hisptop bag was slung over his shoulder, and he was chatting animatedly with Ryiler.
“Lydia set me up with a room,” Garrett announced, grinning. Apparently, I’m worth keeping around.”
Ryder pped him on the shoulder. “This calls for a drink! Come on, I know just the ce-
“I’m afraid that’ll have to wait,” Adrian interrupted. “Garrett, I need you to handle something. Now.”
The serious tone wiped the smile from Garrett’s face. “What’s wrong?”
Adrian handed him his phone, already open to the WolfWatch page. I watched Garrett’s expression darken as he scrolled through the posts. When he looked up at me, his face was tight with anger.
“Who did this?” he asked.
“That’s what I need you to find out,” Adrian said.
Garrett was already pulling out hisptop, setting up on a nearby coffee table. His fingers flew across the keyboard, lines of code I couldn’t understand filling the screen.
“Rookie job,” he muttered after less than ten minutes. “They registered the ount yesterday. Posted from…” He squinted at the screen. “The Silver Moon Lodge. Room can’t be traced without hacking their system, but the IP address is definitely from there.”
The Silver Moon Lodge. My stomach dropped.
“Maya,” I breathed.
Adrian’s head snapped toward me. “The woman from Leon’s team?”
I was already pulling out my phone, jabbing at her contact. It rang once before going straight to voicemail. Declined.
My fingers shook slightly as I typed out a text:
##Meet me at the bar in Silver Moon Lodge lobby. Now. Or I tell Leon exactly what you’ve been doing.##
The response came within seconds: Fine.
I stood abruptly, fury finally overtaking the shock. “I need to deal with this.”
“Not alone,” Adrian said, already moving to follow me.
I didn’t argue. Part of me wanted to handle Maya myself, woman to woman. But the rational part knew Adrian’s presence would carry more weight. An Alpha’s protection meant something<b>, </b>even to someone as petty as Maya.
The Silver Moon Lodge bar was mostly empty at this hour. Maya sat in a corner booth, shoulders hunched, stirring her drink with vicious little movements.
“Why?<b>” </b>I asked without preamble as I slid into the seat <b>across </b>from her. Adrian remained standing, a looming presence that made Maya shrink back slightly.
<b>10:07 </b><b>Thu</b>, <b>Oct </b><b>2 </b>
She shrugged, not meeting my eyes. “I was in a mood. Didn’t think anyone would actually care about some random posts.”
“Didn’t think?” Adrian’s voice was sharp. “Or didn’t care?”
Maya’s eyes shed. “I deleted them already, okay? What more do you want?”
A public apology,” Adrian said. “Posted from your real ount. Taking full responsibility for the lies.”
20
“No way<b>.</b>” Maya shook her head violently. “If I do that, Leon will know it was me. You promised you wouldn’t tell him!” She pointed <b>an </b>using finger at me.
Adrian leaned forward slightly. “Then I suggest you prepare for awsuit. Defamation of character <b>is </b>serious business. And <b>as </b>a member of Alpha Leon’s team, I’m sure the media would love to hear how his supporters are spreading lies about other candidates‘ mates.”
He straightened, taking my hand. “Your choice<b>.</b>”
“Wait!” Maya’s voice cracked as we turned to leave. Her hands clenched into fists on the table. “Fine. I’ll do it. I’ll post the stupid apology.”
The relief I felt was short–lived. We were almost at the bar entrance when a familiar scent hit me. Pine and winter frost. My wolf stirred uneasily.
Leon walked through the door, his dark eyes immediately finding mine. Time seemed to slow as our gazes met.
Lillian’s warnings echoed in my mind. The rumors<b>. </b>The spection. Thest thing I needed was another photo of Leon and me together for people to twist.
I gave him a brief nod, nothing more than basic acknowledgment, and tightened my grip on Adrian’s hand. We moved to walk past him.
“Wait,” Leon’s voice was sharp with sarcasm. “Is this how you treat someone who saved your life?”
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