RILEY'S POV
Prince Norman took his seat at the head of the long conference table flanked by gruff faces of young and elderly noblemen. Mr. Chadwick pointed me to a seat in the middle of the table before he exited the conference room. The occupants of the conference room regarded me momentarily before they glued their gazes to the Prince. This was it. The meeting began, all I could hear remained what everyone else in the room heard, no matter how hard I listened, stared, and prayed to the goddess to save me this one last time, I heard nothing out of the ordinary. Thirty minutes into the meeting, the notepad before me was still as blank as my mind, fifteen more minutes before this meeting was over. The goddess chose to ignore me. As always. My gaze wandered to Prince Norman, his attention too vested in the white-haired man's words to want to pay any glance my way. In no time, Prince Norman got to his feet. The meeting ended. My breath ceased. The blank notepad was a subtle reminder that my end was now. Handshakes were made, Chadwick plunged into the room to gather Norman's computer and phone. He glanced my way and nodded me to the door. Time to leave. My heart pounding loudly in my ears was all I heard now as I followed them to the door, into the elevator, and back to the waiting car. His security measures left no room for escape. Prince Norman was on his phone all through the ride from the business complex through the bustling streets and then a stop at the prison. His eyes dropped on me the second his call ended. "You're going to work with Detective Jones this noon," he paused, only to stretch his large hand towards the notepad I'd hugged to my chest all through the ride. Sweat broke through my forehead, I shook my head without a word. "I didn't," I swallowed hard and scanned my brain for a more appealing way to break the news to him, "I'm dyslexic." The lie left my mouth before I had the chance to think of its consequences. Norman didn't bear expressive features, exactly what sent me off the edge. "What the fuck, that's a joke." Mr. Chadwick looked back at me from the front seat where he sat. Tears brimmed in my eyes. I bucked up, crying wasn't going to solve this. "What the hell am I thinking girl?" Mr. Chadwick prodded. "That's enough," Norman muttered, turning his cold eyes on me he continued, "Do you know the depth of what you've just done?" Did I? I glanced at Mr. Chadwick as though seeking help to escape the fury burning bright in Prince Norman's eyes. Mr. Chadwick low-key shook his head. So I shook my head without a word. "You do remember everyone in that meeting right?" He asked, quite mildly. Mr. Chadwick nodded. I nodded. He was a kind man. "Mr Gilbert Sanchez, do you remember his thoughts on the bid?" Norman's sensuous lips were all I'd focused on all through the meeting, none of those men in the room were of importance to me, not until now. "The man with the gray hat and tie." Chadwick enlightened me. I could lie now. I could say he was interested and thought of committing until the long run. But that would be pouring more fuel into the fire. If Norman made a business mistake then, I'd certainly get punished in a few days. "His mind was hazy. He bore no thoughts." I spluttered. "That fuckin' can't be!" Norman's voice rose. His rage evident in his tone which made me flinch fearfully. "Pardon your Majesty, the girl's in shock. I feel like she needs a few more days to rest and understand exactly why she's here." Mr. Chadwick came to my rescue. I nodded desperately, blinking away the tears in my eyes. "I'm scared." I allowed my tears to flow. Silence dominated the car before Norman broke it with his deep voice. "Cancel the interrogation with the spies, push it back another week, and reschedule for another meeting. I need to be sure of this deal, Chadwick." The car started out of the prison gate. It wasn't until then that my lungs were able to function again. For the first time noticing just how beautiful the scenery was as the car drove through the city. True to the tales, this was a wealthy land. The cars, tall buildings, and roads were nothing compared to the HornSide pack. The car came to a halt outside the opulent mansion. Chadwick sprang out to hold the door open for Norman. For us. "Show Miss Cooper to her room." Her room? A smile twitched on my lips at the thought of living here. I'd never lived anywhere this grand. I only scrubbed the floors and tended the garden in such buildings. "Thanks, Norman!" The joy in my soul went beyond what they could suspect. Norman's peered gaze watched me as though I just made a mistake. Did I? Mr. Chadwick cleared his throat audibly and clarified, "Prince Norman. She meant to say, ‘Prince’!" He cast me a warning glare before he turned to offer Norman a stiff bow. Mr. Chadwick lectured me on how things went around the mansion as he led me to the other wing of the mansion away from the one Prince Norman had disappeared into. "Is he always that soft?" I smiled, flattered just to think about how softly he'd spoken to me earlier. "There are adjectives you don't use while describing the Prince. Be wary of such words in the future." He stopped by the door. "I'm an executive assistant, I don't understand why, His Majesty wants me to babysit you." "Point me to an escape route and I promise never to come back." He regarded me as though I had lost my mind and held the door open waiting until I'd gotten inside before he closed the door. This entirely was my reality from now on. From now until the Prince learned he'd been tricked.Norman's POV “We head to the Pack hall,” I told the driver immediately as I settled into the car.The council of elders sent a notice for me to appear in the hall yesterday. I didn't know what they wanted to discuss, but I knew it had to be a serious issue.My bet was on Riley—they’d probably want to remind me of the need to discard her. If that was indeed what they wanted to discuss, I'd really prefer to sip a hot drink even on a hot Tuesday afternoon. None of their words could convince me from going back on settling with Riley.About fifteen minutes later, the car eased into the driveway of the large packing space of the pack hall. Glancing at my watch, I was right on time. The huge doors of the antiquated building were ajar. That could only mean one thing, the elders have already arrived.“Hang around,” I turned to Adrian, “Chadwick would be here in a few minutes, I need to meet some investors after this meeting.”“Yes Prince,” Adrian nodded, curtseying a little.I walked in huge
Kirk's POV The dim, smoky atmosphere of The Green Dragon was my usual refuge, a haven of shadows and hushed conversations. Peter sat across from me, his usual smirk playing on his lips, a stark contrast to the knot of anxiety twisting in my gut. Riley. She knew. She knew about the club, about the drug, about my pathetic attempt to manipulate her wolf. The thought sent a cold shiver down my spine. It was a chilling realization, a threat I hadn't anticipated."She's onto me, Peter," I said, my voice low, laced with a frustration that bordered on panic. "She knows about the club. She knows what I did."Peter leaned back, taking a slow sip from his drink. His nonchalant demeanor was infuriating, yet strangely reassuring. He always had a plan, a solution to every problem. He was the architect of my schemes, the mastermind behind my manipulations.“Relax, Kirk,” Peter said, his voice calm and steady, a stark contrast to the turmoil within me. “She’s just one woman. We can handle her.” He p
Riley's POV The flickering light cast long shadows across the living room as I stepped out of my room, the silk of my nightdress whispering against my skin. Norman stood by the window, his back to me, his silhouette stark against the city lights. His posture was tense, his shoulders rigid, a stark contrast to his usual controlled composure. He looked… worried. Or was it just my imagination, fueled by days of his cold silence?As the light fully illuminated him, I saw a flicker of something in his eyes – relief? He turned, his expression carefully neutral, but I saw it. That brief, almost imperceptible flash of worry before he composed himself. A subtle shift in his shoulders, a barely perceptible softening of his jaw. He was trying to hide it, to maintain his usual facade of impenetrable calm, but I knew him too well. That brief glimpse of concern, before he regained control of his expression, confirmed what I'd been desperately hoping for. He still cared.I took a deep breath, my he
Norman's POV The city lights blurred outside the window, their vibrant glow a stark contrast to the chilling update I was receiving from my private investigator. Kane’s accident. It hadn't been an accident at all.“The plate number, sir,” the private investigator said, his voice low and professional, “came back registered to a certain Peter Jones.” He slid a file across the desk, the crisp paper a jarring sound in the quiet room. Inside, a photograph. A man, mid-twenties, sharp features, a smirk playing on his lips. The smirk felt familiar, yet I couldn't quite place it.“I don’t recognize him,” I admitted, my brow furrowed in concentration. I scanned the photograph again, my eyes lingering on the man's confident posture and knowing smirk. I had a strange feeling that I knew him from somewhere.“I traced him to a bar across town,” the investigator continued, “The Green Dragon. He was there the night of the accident.”The Green Dragon. The name sparked a memory, a flicker of recogniti
Riley's POV The silence in the mansion was heavy, a suffocating blanket woven from Norman’s icy anger and my own gnawing guilt. Days had passed since his eruption, since the confession of my confusing attraction to Kirk. I had tried, repeatedly, to seek his forgiveness, to explain the turmoil within me, the involuntary nature of my wolf’s response to Kirk’s presence. But he refused to listen, refused to acknowledge me, refused to see anything beyond his own wounded pride and sense of betrayal. He shut me out completely, his cold silence a more potent punishment than any physical one.His anger, I realized, wasn't just about the wolf. It was about Kirk. About the fact that my wolf, against my will, had responded so strongly to another man, a man he considered to be lesser than him. The very idea seemed to enrage him more than the fact that I'd hidden the existence of my wolf. It was an assault on his ego, a disregard of his authority and control.The thought stung. It was true that I
Norman's POV The mahogany desk felt cool beneath my fingertips, a familiar comfort in the chaos brewing within me. Natural daylight streamed through the glass of my office window, a stark contrast to the storm gathering inside. Damon stood before me seething with fury that would have sent a chill across any other person, but not me. I knew him to be a dangerous man, even when calm, and now, unleashed, maybe he was a force to reckon with.“You think you’re so clever, Norman,” he spat, his voice sounding venomous. “So cunning. Manipulating Riley, making Walker induce her to awaken her wolf, ensuring it only recognizes you as her mate.”My brow furrowed. Damon’s accusations were absurd, and felt almost comical. But the rage in his eyes was genuine, undeniable. He wasn’t throwing a joke; he was genuinely enraged. This was… unexpected.“Damon,” I began, my voice calm, controlled, a stark contrast to his outburst. “What are you talking about?” I tried to keep my tone even, to maintain the