After Severance,Alpha Fell in Love With Ex-Luna

Chapter 208: Encirclement

Chapter 208: Encirclement

(Sophia Rivers’s POV)

The server ledto the adjacent private dining chamber. | paused outside the door, smoothing my makeup with

practiced precision. My reflection in the polished surface looked perfect every strand of hair in place, every line

of my face carefully contoured.

| pushed the door open with confidence, my gaze immediately landing on the vague figure behind the decorative

screen. From his silhouette, | could tell he was strong and young, exactly the type of powerful Alpha | needed to

cultivate.

| brushed my hair behind my ears with deliberate grace, walking forward with the practiced charm I'd perfected

over years of manipulation. My smile was perfectly calculated as | spoke.

“You must be Nolan Chavez, right?”

The man didn’t turn around. Instead, he picked up a glass of red wine, swirling it slowly. When he spoke, his

voice carried a sneer that made my blood run cold.

“After all these years, you haven't changed. It seems failing to becLuna to Alpha Marcus doesn’t stop you

from seducing other pack leaders.”

My smile froze on my face. That voice... | knew that voice. Terror shot throughlike ice water in my veins.

The man turned around slowly, deliberately. When | saw his face, | stumbled backward, my legs nearly giving

out beneath me.

“Felix Xavier, you... why is it you?”

Felix Xavier stood beforelike a nightmare made flesh. His refined features hadn't changed, but those cold

eyes held the spredatory gleam that had haunted my dreams for years.

“What's wrong?” he questioned coldly, his voice like shards of glass. “Did Hazel Green not tell you that I'm back

in the Northern Territory?”

My face turned pale as | shrank back against the wall. My hands pressed against the cold surface, seeking

support as my world tilted dangerously,

In my eyes, Felix was a two-faced devil who had once been my handler. | had been deceived by his refined

appearance years ago, fooled into thinking he was a gentleman. | would never forget the physical and mental

torture he had inflicted during our previous arrangement.

Felix walked towardswith predatory grace. Each step he took madetremble more violently. My body

remembered the pain, the humiliation, the complete powerlessness | had felt under his control.

He stopped directly in front of me, close enough that | could smell his expensive cologne mixed with something

darker, more dangerous.

My legs gave way and | sank to my knees, whimpering pathetically. “Don’t...”

Felix looked down atwith bored dismissal, as if | were nothing more than an insect beneath his notice.

Chapter 2PW Encirclement

‘Don’t overestimate yourself,” he said with cruel indifference. “I have no interest in damaged goods I've already

discarded. My sponsorship through the Nolan Consortium comes with specific conditions.”

| clenched my fists so tightly my nails drew blood. I bit my lip until | tasted copper, trying to find sshred of

courage in the pain.

“What do you wantto do this time...” My voice cout as barely a whisper.

Felix settled onto the plush sofa with casual dominance, crossing his legs as if he owned the entire world.

“I want the advanced werewolf healing nanotechnology research data.”

| was stunned, my eyes widening in horror. “You... are you insane? You can’t possibly expectto...”

Felix lifted my chin with the tip of his expensive leather shoe, forcingto look at him. The gesture was

degrading, designed to remindof my place.

“What, is there something you're suddenly too moral to do?” His voice dripped with mockery. “Do | need to

remind you exactly what kind of creature you really are?”

My face turned ashen white as memories of my past sins flooded back. The things | had done for him, the lines 1

had crossed, the people | had betrayed. All of it crushing back in a wave of shand self-loathing.

“TL... I'll try my best.”

Felix lowered his leg with satisfaction, like a predator who had successfully cornered his prey.

“Don’t makewait too long,” he commanded. “The research data from Elena’s project will be very valuable. to

my overseas contacts. Now, get out of my sight.”

| struggled to my feet on unsteady legs, forcing myself to walk out of the private chamber. Each step felt like

walking through quicksand.

After leaving Moonstone Manor, | sat in my car in the parking structure. The confined space felt suffocating, like

a cage closing in around me.

| furiously hit the steering wheel with both fists, again and again until my knuckles were raw and bleeding.

Felix Xavier, that psychopath, wantedto steal Elena's cutting-edge healing technology as soon as he

returned to the Northern Territory. | had finally gained Professor Andrew Kelly's trust and appreciation at the

research institute. Was | really going to destroy everything for this madman’s schemes?

| held my throbbing forehead, feeling overwhelmed by rage and desperation. The weight of my situation pressed

down onlike a crushing boulder.

Suddenly, a twisted plan flashed through my mind. Perhaps | could use this situation to eliminate Elena once

and for all.

(Elena Blackwood’s POV)

Meanwhile, | worked late at the research institute. The clock on my laboratory wall showed nine o'clock in the

evening. The institute’s laboratory wing was almost completely empty, with only the emergency lighting casting

long shadows down the corridors.

After organizing my research notes and shutting down my equipment, | turned off the lights and left my

laboratory office. The hallway stretched before me, dimly lit and eerily quiet.

< Chapter 208 Encirclement

* Points

A sudden figure emerging from the shadows startled me. | let out a sharp cry of alarm, my heart hammering

against my ribs.

“Am | that frightening?” Hugo asked gently.

His familiar, cultured voice immediately calmed my racing heart. | saw it was Hugo Ashworth standing before

me, his golden eyes filled with concern.

“Why are you still at the institute at this hour?” he inquired.

| pressed a hand to my chest, steadying my breathing. “I was working on scomplex calculations for the

nanotechnology project... What about you? Haven't you returned to your residence yet?”

Hugo replied smoothly, “I left simportant research documents behind and cback to retrieve them.”

| smiled, finding his admission endearing. “Even Professor Ashworth forgets things sometimes?”

Hugo raised an eyebrow with mock indignation. “What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting I'm

incapable of being absent-minded?”

“It just doesn’t seem to fit your character,” | responded playfully.

Hugo's golden eyes grew thoughtful as he asked, “Then what do you think my character is like?”

As we walked side by side through the empty corridors, | replied thoughtfully. “Brilliant, composed, and utterly

rational in everything you do.”

(Hugo Ashworth’s POV)

| lowered my gaze, thinking to myself that if rationality was my defining trait, then perhaps | was being too

rational about my growing feelings for her.

“Allowto drive you back to your hotel,” | offered courteously.

000=00000 00000

Elena hesitated. “But weren't you here to collect something important?”

1 dismissed her concern. “It can wait until tomorrow.”

| drove Elena back to her hotel in my sleek silver sedan. As she reached for her seatbelt to unbuckle it, |

suddenly reached toward her.

Elena looked atwith puzzled green eyes, her breath catching slightly.

| hesitated, my hand freezing in mid-air as | realized | had been about to brush a strand of hair from her face.

It would be an intimate gesture, inappropriate given our current relationship status.

Instead, | awkwardly patted her shoulder. “Don’t be late for the morning research session tomorrow.”

Elena nodded, stepping out of the car and walking toward the hotel lobby.

| watched her graceful figure disappear through the glass doors, then stared at my own hand resting on the

steering wheel.

Who are you to her? What right do you have to want to touch her so tenderly?

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