Chapter 10

LYRA

Julian straightened his jacket, tugging at the front like he could fix the mess he’d just made by looking presentable again.

“You might think you can walk away from me whenever you feel like it, Lyra, but that’s not how this works.” He spoke loud enough for everyone in the boardroom to hear. “Our marriage isn’t something you can throw away just because you’re pissed at me.”

I folded my arms. “You’re the one who—”

“Save it.” He cut me off. “You want to play this game? Fine. I’ll take it to Elder Thorne.”

That got my attention.

Julian’s mouth curved into a humorless smile. “I’ll file an injunction and have the 2,220-day clock reset on the grounds of adultery. Let’s see how confident you feel when the elders start asking questions about your little arrangement with Zade.”

My chest went cold.

The clock wasn’t some minor technicality in Croft pack law. It was part of the rules governing our marriage and separation, and resetting it could drag the whole process out again. Julian knew exactly what he was threatening. He could turn my decision to leave into a legal battle and make sure I paid for every step.

“And if that’s not enough,” he continued, “I’ll have your position as Luna reviewed. You think you can walk away without consequences? I can make this separation drag on until you’re sick of fighting me.”

I stared at him, struggling to believe he was serious. “You’re really gonna do all this because I won’t come back to you?”

“You’re forcing my hand.”

I let out a sharp breath. “Are you kidding me right now? You embarrassed me in front of the whole pack, and somehow I’m the one forcing you to do anything?”

Julian’s expression hardened, but he didn’t answer.

That was what made me so damn angry. He could threaten my position, drag our marriage through the courts, and use every rule he knew against me, yet somehow none of it was his fault. He’d pushed me out, and now he wanted to punish me for leaving.

Zade stepped forward, his voice cutting through the tension.

“If you believe the contract is invalid, challenge it through the proper legal channels. You don’t get to storm into my building and threaten my wife.”

Julian scoffed. “Your money and influence might impress your board, Vane, but they won’t save you from Elder Thorne. He doesn’t answer to you.”

Zade’s expression didn’t change. “Then I guess you’re welcome to find out.”

He moved closer, and Julian’s smirk faded.

“But let me make one thing clear,” Zade continued. “You won’t get another chance to walk in here and threaten Lyra to her face. Next time, you won’t get past the lobby.”

Julian drew breath to respond, but Zade turned his head and gave a small signal to his security team.

Several wolves moved in immediately, taking hold of Julian’s arms.

“Get your hands off me!” Julian jerked against their grip. “You have no idea what you’re doing. Let me go!”

“Escort him out,” Zade ordered.

“This is a mistake, Vane! You’ll regret interfering in Croft pack business!”

Zade didn’t even bother answering. The guards marched Julian toward the doors while he continued cursing under his breath.

Just before they reached the exit, Julian twisted around and looked straight at me. The anger in his face was different now. He wasn’t just embarrassed anymore. He wanted me to pay for it.

“You’ll regret this,” he snarled.

The doors shut behind him.

I finally made it back to the penthouse, so damn tired I could barely think straight.

Julian’s threat kept playing in my head. Elder Thorne. The injunction. The 2,220-day clock. The man really planned to drag me through every legal mess he could find just because I refused to go back to him.

Unbelievable.

I kicked off my shoes and dropped my bag beside the bed. My first day working for Zade was supposed to be about figuring out my new job, not watching my ex-husband storm into a boardroom and threaten to wreck my life all over again.

But that was Julian for you. He could make our marriage a public spectacle, parade Vera in front of everyone, and act like I was supposed to smile through it. Yet the second I made a choice of my own, suddenly I was the one humiliating him.

I was so over his crap.

The annoying part was that he still knew how to get under my skin. His threat wasn’t empty talk, either. Elder Thorne could make things difficult for me, and Julian knew it. He was counting on me getting scared enough to crawl back to him.

Not happening.

I changed into a loose T-shirt and a pair of shorts, then climbed onto the bed. All I wanted was one quiet night without thinking about Julian, Zade, the weird bond between us, or the transplant I was counting on to give me a shot at a different life.

Was that really too much to ask?

Zade was a whole other problem. The man was controlling as hell, and he seemed to think being my husband gave him the right to make decisions for me. Still, he’d made his position clear when Julian showed up. He wasn’t going to let Julian drag me out of his office.

I appreciated that, but it didn’t mean I trusted him. Standing up to Julian was one thing. Knowing what Zade wanted from me was something else entirely.

My phone buzzed against the mattress.

I reached for it, expecting some work message or maybe a reminder from the office. Instead, an unfamiliar number filled the screen.

There was a photo attached.

I tapped it, expecting some random image, but my smile faded before I could even make sense of what I was seeing.

It was a document.

I zoomed in, and the hospital letterhead came into focus. Then I read the details beneath it.

My medical records.

For a second, I couldn’t make sense of the words. I zoomed in further, my fingers turning cold as I read about my kidney condition, the state of my health, and the planned donation and transplant arrangements.

Who the hell sent this?

I hadn’t given anyone at Zade’s office permission to access my medical information, let alone share it with a stranger. I hadn’t even told his staff the full extent of my condition. The whole point was to keep this private until I could get the surgery done and figure out what came next.

Yet someone out there possessed a copy of my records.

My phone buzzed again.

A second message appeared beneath the photo.

You should be more careful about who you trust, Lyra.

I read it twice, hoping I was missing something. Maybe it was some sick joke. Maybe someone was trying to scare me for reasons that had nothing to do with my health.

But who sends a stranger’s medical records with a message like that?

Someone wanted me to know they could get their hands on information I’d tried hard to protect. And they wanted me scared.

My thoughts immediately went to Julian. He knew enough about my life to hurt me, and after what happened at the office, I wouldn’t put much past him. But I couldn’t be sure he was behind this. Vera was another possibility, though I had no proof she knew anything about my condition.

Then another thought hit me, and my chest went tight.

What if this person could interfere with my surgery?

The transplant was my chance to get my health back and build a life that didn’t revolve around depending on someone else. If whoever sent this message could access my records, what else could they do?

I gripped my phone and looked toward the bedroom door. Zade might be able to help me, but telling him meant letting him into something I’d kept to myself for a reason. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that, and I sure as hell didn’t know whether trusting him was the right move.

I looked down at the screen again and reread the message.

You should be more careful about who you trust, Lyra.

Whoever sent it knew exactly where I was vulnerable.

And now I couldn’t stop wondering what they planned to do with that knowledge.