Chapter 84
Tristan’s POV
“Tristan, are we canceling today’s pack meeting?” Beta Varian asked, leaning against the doorframe of my office.
I didn’t look up from the reports scattered across my desk, each one a testament to Wolfbane Enterprises‘ recent failures. Three major projects lost in the past month alone. All to the same competitor.
It had been like this for months now. Every time we approached a significant deal, Moonshade Pack somehow managed to swoop in and snatch it away. Projects we’d spent months, sometimes years cultivating, lost in the final stages to Moonshade’s sudden, aggressive bids.
What burned most was the pattern. These weren’t random business losses–they were calculated strikes, each one more devastating than the last.
And they’d started precisely when Moonshade Pack announced their new CEO: Elysia Ravencroft, Alpha Alaric’s supposedly long–lost sister, miraculously returned from the dead.
This Elysia–whoever she really was–seemed to have a personal vendetta against me. She targeted only Wolfbane projects, leaving other competitors untouched.
But why? What could I possibly have done to someone I’d never even met?
“Is Moonshade Pack sending representatives?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, same as always. That pack won’t send anyone as always.”
“Cancel it,” I muttered, tossing another failed proposal onto the growing pile.
Varian lingered in the doorway, studying me with that irritating perceptiveness he’d developed over years as my Beta.
“What?” I snapped, finally meeting his gaze.
“You okay?”
“Do I look okay? I just hate everyone from that pack. First Kieran, then Alpha Alaric, and now this new CEO. These losers! They never dare face me directly, yet they keep stealing my projects behind my back.”
Varian sighed, dropping into the chair across from me. “Though you’re my Alpha, we’ve been friends for years, Tristan. This project isn’t important for our pack since you already have high status, but you’re still obsessing over that pack. Don’t make yourself look like a fool. You know what’s really bothering you.”
I glared at him. “What are you implying?
“Stop thinking about her, Tristan. She’s gone from your life. You said yourself you despise her. So why do you keep thinking about her?”
The question hung between us, too direct to dodge, too accurate to deny. For months now, I’d found myself replaying that phone call–Lysandra’s voice tight with anger as she accused Selene of sending her that video of us together.
When I’d confronted Selene afterward, she’d been all wide–eyed innocence, claiming Lysandra was making it all up to get
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my attention.
“Why would I ever send her something like that?” she’d asked, tears gathering perfectly in her blue eyes. “She’s obviously trying to cause problems between us.”
I’d believed her then–or convinced myself I did. But the question lingered: why would Lysandra even care enough to fabricate something like that? If she truly hated me as much as she claimed, why react so strongly to seeing me with another woman?
And then there were the dreams. Night after night, memories of Lysandra invaded my sleep–vivid, relentless visions tha! left me restless. I’d feel her beneath me, her nails dragging down my back, marking me as hers.
The way she’d arch against me, whispering my name like a desperate prayer. In these dreams, I’d lose myself completely in her–the taste of her skin, the softness of her lips, the way she’d tremble when I hit that perfect spot inside her.
Sometimes the dreams would shift to that night in the hallway at Moon Sanctuary, except this time I wouldn’t stop. I’d push her against the wall, claiming her mouth with mine while her robe fell open, revealing everything I’d been denied.
Other times, we’d be in my office, papers scattered to the floor as I took her on my desk, her legs wrapped tightly around my waist, urging me deeper.
I’d wake sweating, aroused, and furious at my own weakness. The physical need was maddening, almost as infuriating as the emptiness that followed, when reality crashed back that she was gone.
“The mate bond,” I finally said, the admission burning my throat. “It never completely broke. My wolf still senses her.”
“You’re sure that’s all it is?” Varian asked.
“What else could it be?” I stood abruptly, needing movement. “She’s probably found some Alpha to mark her, trying to break our existing bond. That’s why my wolf is restless.”
After work, I went back to the Moon Sanctuary to check on my father, to report on company matte find Selene already there, laughing with my parents in the main sitting room like she belonged.
Lhadn’t expected to
Selene shot me a triumphant look, and I realized she’d been working hard these past months. After years of my parents‘ quiet disapproval, she seemed to have finally earned their acceptance. The thought brought conflicting emotions.
“How’s everything at the company?” my father asked as I took a seat across from him.
“Fine.”
“I heard you lost another project.”
“You seem remarkably well–informed about my failures. Got a spy in my office I should know about?”
My father’s lips twitched slightly. “I have my sources.”
“Well, yes, I lost. But soon, I’ll take back everything I’ve lost from Moonshade Pack.”
“Moonshade Pack? You mean Alpha Alaric’s pack?” Selene asked, her interest suddenly piqued.
Her words reminded me of that day again. I did not know, but I could not forget that night–that accident, that feeling of losing her, and then her betrayal. I knew we were not together, and she was no longer my wife. Still, how could she sleep
Chapter 84
with another man? In fact, at that time, she was in my fucking pack!
“They’ve been targeting our deals, I explained, trying to keep the frustration from my voice.
My mother’s brow furrowed. “That doesn’t sound like Caspian’s style. He’s always been a fair competitor.”
“It’s not Caspian,” I corrected. “It’s his daughter. Their new CEO.”
“Elysia?” My father leaned forward. “The lost princess?”
Before the conversation could deteriorate further, the door opened and a pack guard entered, bowing slightly.
“Alpha, I received a call from a Gamma of Moonshade Pack. He said Alpha Alaric invites you to attend a grand yacht party for his sister. Alpha Ravencroft will introduce his sister to everyone at the party.”
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