Chapter 538 Seeds of Change

**48 bPears /b

bBack /bat Wisteria Apartment. Ysabel sat on the couch in a daze, a suspicious little smile ying on bher /bblips/b.

“What’s got you all giggly over there?” Tessa tossed her a bottle of juice, her eyes full of amusementb. /b

“Ms. bTessa/b… do you think it’d be weird if I started dating Nathaniel?” Ysabel gripped the bottle so btightly /bbher /bfingertips were turning red.

“What’s weird about that?” Tessa raised an eyebrow. “If iyou /ilike him, that’s all that matters. Who bcares /bwhat anyone else thinks?”

Finally, this girl was waking up.

“But I always saw him as a big brother…” Ysabel groaned, smacking her forehead. “He’s been so good to me -how did it take me this long to realize?”

“Betterte than never,” Tessa said, poking her cheek. “You’re still young. You’ve got time to figure things

out.

“I think I… really like him,” Ysabel whispered, so softly it was like she was afraid the wind might blow the words away.

“Then be with him,” Tessa said, as direct as ever. “Once you know how you feel, don’t hesitate.”

“But I just débuted… would dating now hurt my image?” Ysabel frowned again, anxiety creeping back in.

“Don’t worry. You just focus on your music. Leave the rest to Yanxi,” Tessa reassured her. “She’s handled plenty of stuff like this–she won’t let anything touch you.”

“Okay!” Ysabel nodded hard, eyes regaining their shine.

Meanwhile, at the Thorne Corp office, Nathaniel was staring nkly at a file, the edges of his mouth twitching up into a goofy smile every few minutes.

Landon mmed a folder down on the desk. “Nathaniel, get a grip. You’ve been spacing out all morning. Are you even working?b” /b

“Alpha, I confessed to Ysabel,” Nathaniel blurted, sitting up straight, eyes full of nerves. “Do you think she’ll say yes? I’m so much older… what if she thinks I’m-”

Landon rubbed his temples. “It’s working hours. Focus.”

“I can’t calm down!” Nathaniel tugged at his hair. “What if she turns me down? I totally blurted it out–I should’ve nned something more romantic…”

Cameron rolled his eyes from across the room. “You’re the beta of the Nightshade Pack, a major figure in Montedra’s werewolf circles, and you’re this insecure?”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Nathaniel snapped. “I want her to like ime/ii, /inot my title!”

“Alright, enough,” Hudson cut in. “Wrap up the work first. You can spiral afterward. No point wasting time

now.”

Chapter 538 bSeeds /bbof /bChange

bFinally/bb, /bNathaniel took a bdeep /bbreath and reeled himself back bin/b. b“/bFine. Work bfirst- /b

The four of them refocused and plowed through the day’s stack of files. Over an hourter, they finally wrapped everything up.

“Oh, right–Alpha,” Nathaniel suddenly remembered, “does the old man know about Tessa byet/bb!/bb” /b

The Thorne patriarch had always been strict about the heir’s mate–especially if she was expected bto /bbe Luna of the Nightshade Pack. She had to be capable of leading alongside Landon in bevery /bbway/b,

Nathaniel honestly feared the old man might give Tessa a hard time.

But Tessa was so exceptional–anyone who truly got to know her would have to respect her.

“I haven’t told him yet,” Landon said, leaning back in his chair, fingers tapping rhythmically against bthe /bdesk. “Tessa just started college. I don’t want my father meddling too early and distracting her. I’ll bbring /bbit /bup at the right time–no need to catch him off guard.”

“Smart,” Hudson agreed with a nod. “Tessa’s a great girl. No reason to let old–school expectations spook bher/b.”

In the days that followed, Tessa juggled university sses while waiting on the moonstones to be delivered -and steadily pushed forward the n she and Avery had mapped out.

Avery practically lived in the Coldfang Mercenaries‘ war room, working nonstop with Scarface–running tactical simtions, checking supply reports, reworking logistics.

Hepiled Scarface’s legendary Crimson Valley operation into a detailed dossier and left iit /ifront and center on Xavier’s desk. Using “new recruit training” as a cover, he had Scarface lead three separate border patrol missions.

Every time they debriefed, Avery stayed silent, letting Scarface take full control–exining his own deployment strategy and reporting the results himself.

At first, Xavier simply watched coldly from the sidelines. But that changed the day he saw Scarface m his hand on the table during a strategy meeting–firmly opposing the deputymander’s aggressive approach and insisting on a n that minimized casualties while still securing the ck market outpost.

For just a moment, Xavier’s fingers paused on the rim of his teacup.

That night, for the first time, the name “Scarface” appeared in the Coldfang Mercenaries‘ supply ledger under the column, Acting Commander.

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