Fake Mate Beta Rises to Alpha Heiress (Natalie) novel Chapter 11

**TITLE: Fading Into Blue by Austen**
**Chapter 11: Secondary Permissions**

**Landon’s POV:**

A peculiar emptiness settled deep within my chest, an unsettling void that I had never quite experienced before. Over the years, I had lavished Natalie with an endless stream of sweet nothings, words that rolled off my tongue like a well-rehearsed script, all designed to uphold the façade of our relationship. Yet, despite the performances I put on, my heart had remained untouched, a stone fortress impervious to any real emotion. But now, in these last couple of days, the image of a certain woman had begun to invade my thoughts, uninvited and persistent. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

“Landon, do you love me?” Aaliyah’s voice, soft and melodic, floated around me as her slender arms wrapped around my waist from behind. It was her, my Aaliyah.

Her gentle inquiry was like a siren’s call, pulling me from the depths of my own turmoil. Aaliyah was not just a companion; she was my soul-bound mate, the singular true love of my life. The moment she had pulled me back from the brink of death at the tender age of sixteen, our fates had become irrevocably entwined.

I turned to face her, enveloping her in my arms, and replied, “Do you even need to ask? You are my one and only soulmate. For you, I would traverse any distance, face any danger.”

A flicker of fear crossed her face as she looked up at me, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “But I’m scared,” she admitted, her voice trembling slightly. “I’m scared that the Richardson family will never accept me. I’m scared Nathan will always just be a ‘foster son.’ I’m scared that as I grow old, you’ll change your heart.”

“Never.” I cradled her face in my hands, my thumb brushing away the moisture that threatened to spill over. My voice was firm, unwavering. “I swear on my werewolf honor that I will protect you and Nathan. No one will stand in our way. My heart belongs only to you. Forever.”

“Landon…” she whispered, her breath hitching with emotion as she closed her eyes and tilted her lips towards me, an invitation I could hardly resist.

The impending IPO of the group loomed over me, a weighty cloud that should have kept me at headquarters. Yet, one glance from her had drawn me back home, where I felt I belonged. Aaliyah was my guide, my cherished Omega, and I found it impossible to turn her down.

In that charged moment, my instincts flared. The primal urge to mark her surged through my veins, an intoxicating desire that threatened to overwhelm me. But just as I was on the cusp of losing myself in her, the image of Natalie, always so distant and composed, crashed into my mind like a wave, shattering the moment!

My fervor evaporated instantly, and I halted, caught off guard.

“What’s wrong?” Aaliyah asked, her brow furrowing in confusion as she tugged gently at my arm.

I couldn’t articulate the turmoil swirling within me. I broke away, retreating to the bathroom in a rush. I turned the faucet, letting the cold water cascade over my hands, desperately trying to quell the absurd restlessness that had taken hold of me. I gazed into the mirror, locking eyes with my own golden-flecked reflection, and felt chaos brewing inside. Why was she haunting my thoughts? Why was I fixated on that mixed-blood Beta, who was nothing more than a contractual shield in my life?

—

**Aaliyah’s POV:**

In that fleeting moment, I watched Landon stop abruptly, a behavior I had never witnessed before.

A chill ran through me, sharp and piercing, as I observed his retreating figure, almost as if he were fleeing. A woman’s intuition, especially that of an Omega, is a powerful thing, and I sensed it—his thoughts, fragmented and disordered, felt like they were slipping away from me.

This wasn’t merely a business matter. It felt far more personal, more intimate.

Over the past two years, I had seen a change in him. He was no longer the boy whose eyes and heart were solely focused on me. The name “Natalie” had begun to slip from his lips with increasing frequency. Even if his tone remained flat, the shifting focus of an Alpha was a dangerous sign, a warning bell that echoed in my mind.

What right did that lowly, mixed-blood Beta have to intrude upon our lives?

When Landon emerged from the bathroom, his skin glistening with steam, and pulled me into another embrace, offering a flimsy excuse about not feeling well, I struggled to suppress the jealousy and unease that bubbled within me. I couldn’t afford to make a scene—not yet. Nathan needed his father, and I needed to secure my position as the lady of the Richardson family.

But I knew, deep down, that Natalie needed to vanish from our lives soon.

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