Chapter 3

In that moment, I stopped breathing.

Through the glass doors, I could see Charles's parents lying on the operating tables, white sheets draped over them.

They looked as though they were only sleeping.

But I knew they would never wake up.

The thought made my throat close up, and my wolf ached alongside me.

Charles's parents had always been kind to me. The day I moved into the estate, Eleanor and Edward Blackwood cooked a whole spread of my favorite dishes themselves.

Eleanor even gave me her most treasured bracelet.

She held my hands warmly and said, "This is your home now. If you ever need anything, just tell us. We'll make sure you have it."

I'd lost my parents young and had never known that kind of warmth. But with Eleanor and Edward, I finally felt what it was like to have a family. They treated me like their own daughter.

Because Charles and I still hadn't held our mating ceremony, Eleanor and Edward had taken matters into their own hands.

They commissioned the finest wedding gown and had a one-of-a-kind ring designed for me.

Whenever Charles treated me coldly, his parents stepped in.

They would scold him for it.

Now they were gone. The grief was so overwhelming that I couldn't speak. My eyes burned, and pain seemed to reach every part of me.

Once I'd steadied myself, I picked up my phone.

I called Claire Bennett, my assistant at the studio.

"Push back all the studio's current orders. Refund every deposit. I don't have the time right now."

And I didn't have the heart for anything else.

But Claire's voice was tight with worry. "But... we can't do that right now."

"There's also something urgent I need you to handle. I really can't deal with it on my own."

"What is it?"

Claire exhaled. "The Alpha transferred one and a half million dollars out of our studio account. Our manufacturing partner needs the final payment, and I have no idea how to cover the shortfall."

My face went rigid. I shot to my feet.

I suddenly remembered that Charles had paid someone to take the fall for Susie.

So that was where he'd gotten the money. My studio!

My lashes trembled. I was about to explode.

Steadying my shaking hands, I called Charles. Still powered off. I called Susie.

Her phone was off too.

I sucked in a breath, tears of fury streaming down my face.

I called Claire back, my voice hoarse. "Check how much is left in the account. From now on, not a single dollar goes to Charles without my authorization."

"But... the Alpha will be angry."

"Who exactly do you work for?!"

My voice rose to a shout.

Claire fell silent on the other end, stunned by my outburst.

This wasn't the first time. Charles had always helped himself to my studio's funds as if they were his own.

It had started during our first year together.

I'd taken on design commissions day and night, saving up to secure major medical resources for Charles's pack.

I'd nearly saved enough.

Then he showed up at my studio and demanded nine hundred thousand dollars from my account.

He wanted it solely to buy Susie a yacht.

Claire had been in tears, too terrified to approve it. By the time I got there, Charles tossed a blank check at me and told me to sign.

"You've been living in my estate for a year, eating my food, wearing what I buy. I take nine hundred thousand dollars from your account and your assistant tries to stop me.

"Selena, don't be so selfish!

"You can't just spend my money and never give anything back."

Charles said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. In reality, the entire year I'd lived in his home, I had been the one paying for all the household expenses.

I even paid for Eleanor's daily supply of natural spring water.

I was the one ordering it.

After Charles said that, my staff started looking at me differently.

I took a breath and let it go, just to stop him from making a bigger scene.

I transferred the nine hundred thousand dollars to him.

I told myself it was for the pack's medical resources.

But after that, Charles made a habit of taking money from my studio whenever he pleased. Thinking about it now, my chest felt heavy and suffocating.

After hanging up, I went back to the estate.

The moment I walked in, I found my bedroom had been emptied.