The Pack's Daughter (Aysel and Magnus) novel Chapter 168

**Midnight Letters by Daniel Crowe**
**Chapter 168**

Emma took a deep breath, forcing herself to push down the irritation bubbling within her. She refused to allow Aysel to feel embarrassed over something so trivial. With a dramatic flourish, she slapped her forehead and exclaimed, “Oh, right! My mistake entirely. It seems too many guests have arrived tonight, and all the rooms must have been snatched up before we even got here. Aysel, why don’t you just stay with me? My suite is enormous. We can finally catch up properly tonight.”

Stupid little lapdog, she thought bitterly. He’s dead. Absolutely dead.

Aysel offered a faint smile, though Emma could see the uncertainty flickering in her eyes. “It’s fine. I have a place to stay.”

Emma shook her head vigorously. “Sure, there aren’t enough rooms, that’s true—but the lookout platform on the ridge still has a few open-air tents available.”

Before Aysel could respond, a male voice cut through the air, sharp and mocking.

Aaron stood behind them, clad in a fitted suit that emphasized the sharp lines of his wolfish shoulders. His golden eyes, glinting with a hostile edge, locked onto Aysel with an unmistakable malice that he didn’t bother to hide.

“Unless,” he drawled with a sneer, “the Second Daughter of Moonvale, who chased her elder sister away and snatched the title of the Vale Pack’s only daughter, now considers herself too elevated to sleep in a simple tent?”

As if on cue, the arrival of the host drew the attention of the surrounding guests, who instinctively shifted their focus toward the unfolding drama. Curious eyes glinted with interest, and the air filled with the scent of tension and whispered gossip—wolves were always drawn to conflict like moths to a flame.

“Are you insane, Aaron?!” Emma snapped, her fists clenched at her sides. “Who the hell wants your pathetic tent? I already told you Aysel’s staying with me. If you have a problem with that, I’ll pay you ten times the room fee.”

This idiot must be missing part of his frontal lobe, she thought, incredulous.

Did he even grasp who he was snapping at?!

Emma had serious doubts that Aaron had returned from overseas. More likely, he had just emerged from some underground punishment pit—how else could someone be so utterly clueless as to confront Aysel Vale of all people?

A tent? The thought almost made her laugh. He looked more like a tent than she ever could.

Aysel, now the reluctant focal point of everyone’s hushed whispers, narrowed her eyes slightly, taking a moment to connect this arrogant, bleach-blond male with the faint memory of the classmate who had once orbited Celestine like a pathetic moon.

“Yes, I do look down on it,” she replied softly, her voice steady and calm. “Any competent host wouldn’t make the humiliating mistake of inviting guests to a gathering without providing them proper lodging.”

Her composed demeanor only served to infuriate Aaron further.

He had spent years abroad since high school and had only heard distant whispers about the upheaval within the empire’s packs. His understanding was superficial at best. Upon learning that Celestine had fallen from grace, his first assumption was that it had been orchestrated by her “cruel, poisonous” younger sister.

As for any notion of plagiarism?

Please. Schemes were easy; setups were even easier. Celestine must have been framed.

And even if she had copied something—what an honor for those creators. That woman dared to refuse Celestine, forcing his goddess into hiring rogues… all because she didn’t know her place.

Did Aysel really think that ruining her sister’s reputation meant she had won?

A powerless, unloved daughter of Moonvale? She was nothing, someone easily crushed beneath his heel.

If he defeated her today to “avenge” Celestine, the Vale elders would probably just ask them to reconcile.

He sneered, his voice dripping with condescension. “I prepared one room for each guest. Aysel Vale, don’t tell me you’re shameless enough to force your way into someone else’s.”

And as for the ten-times compensation Emma offered—did he look like someone who lacked money?

He had bought out the entire Mistyhowl Mountain Lodge for the night. No one—not even a mid-tier pack—could book a room if they tried. If Aysel didn’t like it, she could trek down the mountain.

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