Betrayal on a moonlit night

Chapter Four

At the Wolf Clan's birthday party, Louisa's status as Grace's best friend was supposed to be honorable, but the events of the night had put her in an awkward position. Lucy watched Louisa come down the stairs, and her inner wolf made her want to pounce on her immediately, but she held back. After all, despite her strained mother-daughter relationship with Maria, Maria was still her own wolf cub.

In the wolf clan, the honor of the family was crucial, and conflicts within one's own family could be resolved internally, but they could not be looked down upon by outsiders. Especially Daniel, as the young master in the wolf clan, the marriage with Maria was an important bond to strengthen the alliance of the pack, how could he give it up so easily!

Lucy's anger burned, especially when she saw Daniel tensely holding Louisa to protect her from Maria's attack, and her fury nearly broke through the bonds of reason. However, her roar was stopped just in time by Grace.

"Mom, I'm angrier than you are right now," Grace said with a hint of calm in her voice as she held Lucy down, "I didn't think Louisa would betray me and secretly covet Maria's man. Maria kicking Louisa down the road tonight has already made Daniel angry. If we make things difficult again, what if he does back out of the marriage?"

Grace's words revealed the wolf clan's pragmatism and consideration for the future. Lucy listened to her daughter's words and forced herself to calm down. She knew Maria's temper, and over the years, Maria's eccentricity and obsession with Daniel had been the only constant.

Daniel waited in the living room, worried that Michelle's family would give Louisa a hard time. When he walked out the door with Louisa, Maria was nowhere to be seen. In between waiting for the chauffeur to drive, Louisa snuggled into Daniel's side, showing her tenderness and resignation.

"Daniel, Maria she must hate me," Louisa's voice carried a hint of a tremor, "I've told her that I won't take your wife's place from her, why won't she leave me alone?"

Daniel was annoyed in his mind, he hadn't intended to expose Louisa tonight, but his wolfish nature made it impossible for him to bear the aggravation of the one he loved. He was upset with Maria's cold shoulder and her behavior tonight, and he needed to defend Louisa as a way of thwarting Maria.

His voice was gentle but firm, soothing Louisa, "I know you've been aggravated, and your birthday is coming up, so I'll satisfy you with whatever gift you want."

A hint of cunning flashed in Louisa's eyes as she made her request, "Then when the time comes, you free up your time for five days to accompany me, you'll be the best gift."

Daniel agreed, his heart satisfied with Louisa's dependence. He was sure Maria was just gambling, her wolfish nature kept her from giving up so easily, and her ability to heal herself was so strong that he had become accustomed to it.

A hint of amusement flashed in Louisa's eyes as she tentatively asked, "Daniel, what if Maria isn't gambling this time and she has to call off the wedding with you?"

Without hesitation, Daniel replied, "It won't happen. That's her temperament, she gambles every time."

His words revealed his knowledge and control of Maria's character, and he was confident that Maria wouldn't give up on him, just as prey in a wolf pack doesn't give up on its pursuer easily.

The address Jason gave was a private club, the Screen Seal Club, which was the classiest gathering place for wolves in New York. Maria had been here before, when she'd been sent out of the country after her high school entrance exams and only returned last year. Daniel had promised to pick her up, but ended up reneging because he was with an important client.

Grace told Maria that she had met Daniel at the Screen Seal Clubhouse. Maria's thoughts of Daniel caused her to drop her bags and go to her, but the PingXi Clubhouse was a members-only establishment and could not be entered without a member. Grace's appearance seemed like a coincidence, but now it seems that it was deliberately arranged.

Grace deliberately lured Maria to the clubhouse so that she could see Daniel and Louisa's intimacy, which was her provocation to Maria. Maria remembered the day she impulsively ran over to separate the two and pushed Louisa. Daniel, who was mostly sober, was pleasantly surprised by Maria's presence, but his face immediately changed when he saw Louisa, who had fallen to the floor.

Louisa, who hadn't dared to openly provoke Maria at that point, carefully explained and tried to de-escalate the situation. Daniel echoed her words, trying to calm Maria's anger. Maria had trusted Daniel too much then, and she had believed everything she said, including her trust in Louisa.

But now, Maria realized her naivety. She had been blinded by her trust while Daniel and Louisa were working behind her back. Maria's heart is filled with remorse and she is angry at her own stupidity.

Maria waited on the side of the road, she couldn't get into the clubhouse without a membership and had to message Jason for help. While she was out of her mind, she heard someone call out to her. The visitor was John, Jacob's assistant, a svelte wolf clan member. Maria knew him; she had turned to Jacob for help last year, trading the promise of saving her life for the promise that Daniel wouldn't dare back out of the marriage.

John's gaze swept over Maria's red, swollen cheeks, a flicker of shock in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. "Ms. Maria, please follow me."

In the night, a black Bentley pulled up low to the curb. John pulled open the backseat door for Maria, who bent down to enter the car and found Jacob already waiting inside. The car's overhead lights were dim and shone on Jacob as if they had gilded him.

Jacob, the man at the helm of New York's economic pulse, his aura was oppressive even in the small car. Maria sat down respectfully, the atmosphere of the car making her arrogance retreat.

"Uncle Junior." Maria addressed Jacob with the wolf clan honorific, even though he was only eight years older than she was, she had always called him after Daniel according to wolf clan rules.

Jacob's gaze shifted from the email on the tablet to Maria, his voice low and magnetic, like a hunting horn among the wolves, with penetrating power. "Uh-huh."

Maria felt the atmosphere in the car making it hard for her to breathe, and she took the initiative to break the silence. "Uncle Junior, I begged you once last year when Daniel wanted to cancel the wedding. You helped me, and I know I shouldn't bother you again this time, but I can't help it."

Maria's voice held a hint of pleading and her eyes were firm, showing her determination. "I want to break off the engagement with Daniel, and he's too scared of you to back out. Uncle Junior, I won't trouble you either, just tell Daniel that you won't interfere with us anymore."

Maria was confident that Daniel would not hesitate to back out of the marriage as long as Jacob stopped interfering. No sooner had her words left her mouth than Jacob asked, "What happened to the face? Did Daniel hit it?"