Chapter 4: The Wolf Who Rejected Me

Angelica’s POV 

The silence in Ethan’s study stretched so thin it felt like a wire about to snap. His amber eyes burned into mine, searching for a single trace of hesitation. He found none.

Finally, with a harsh, frustrated growl, Ethan snatched up his heavy Parker pen. He scratched his jagged signature across the bottom of my addendum, slamming the pen back onto the polished wood.

“The transfer will reach the blood-healer’s clinic by noon,” Ethan said, his voice laced with cold, barely suppressed anger. “You got your terms, Angelica. But make no mistake, once the procedure is confirmed, you are under Bloodmoon jurisdiction.”

“I'm under contract,” I corrected smoothly, picking up my signed copy and sliding it cleanly into my leather portfolio. “Not under your thumb. Learn the difference, Ethan.”

I turned on my heel and walked out of the study, my heels clicking sharp and rhythmic against the floor. But as soon as the doors slammed shut behind me, a low, dormant hum vibrated at the base of my spine.

“He’s still an arrogant pup,” a voice rasped inside my mind.

I froze in the middle of the quiet corridor, my hand pressing against the wall to steady myself.

“Lyra?” I thought back, shock flooding through my veins.

My wolf had been silent for five long years. Ever since Ethan severed our mate bond and rejected us in front of the entire pack council, Lyra had retreated into the deepest, darkest corner of my mind. She had gone completely dormant, refusing to surface or speak, leaving me to navigate the human world entirely on my own strength.

“I am here, Angelica,” Lyra grunted, her presence stretching like a massive, silver-furred shadow behind my ribs. 

“I needed a break but somehow now you walk back into the den of snakes that discarded us?” 

“I’m doing this for Leo,” I reminded her firmly, keeping my voice steady. “We get the money, we save Leo, and we walk away. We don't owe Ethan or his pack anything.”

“Good,” Lyra growled softly, her teeth bared in my mind. “Because if he tries to put his hands on us again, I will rip his throat out myself.”

Before I could reply to her, the sharp clicking of high heels echoed down the staircase at the end of the hall, shattering the quiet.

“What is she doing here?!” a shrill, furious voice shrieked.

I looked up to see Lily Vance, formerly Lily Caling descending the stairs.

Lily was everything the pack elders had praised when Ethan rejected me: petite, slender, purebred, and delicate. She was the woman Ethan had paraded around as his prospective Luna, the picture-perfect trophy meant to cement his status. But right now, her carefully styled blonde hair was slightly disheveled, and her pale face was flushed bright red with pure fury.

“Lily, calm down,” Charles said, rushing out of the study behind me to intercept her. “This is pack business…”

“Pack business?!” Lily snapped, shoving Charles’s arm away with force. Her sharp blue eyes locked onto me, practically radiating venom. 

“She’s a disgraced outcast! She doesn't belong on Bloodmoon territory! Ethan promised me she was gone for good!”

I stood crossing my arms over my chest and watching her temper tantrum with detached amusement.

“Hello to you too, Lily,” I said smoothly. “I see five years haven't done much for your manners.”

“Shut your mouth!” Lily spat, stalking down the remaining steps until she was standing just a few feet away from me. She sneered, her gaze sweeping down over my dark suit, taking in my full curves and unyielding posture. 

“Look at you. Still just a heavy, vulgar mechanic playing dress-up. You think because you opened some trashy garage in the lowlands that you can strut back in here?”

“Let me tear her apart,” Lyra snarled in my mind, 

“Stay down, Lyra,” I commanded inwardly. “She’s not worth the energy.”

“I’m not playing dress-up, Lily,” I said out loud, my voice calm. 

“I’m conducting business. Something you clearly know nothing about.”

“Business?” Lily’s voice hit a hysterical pitch. “You think I don't know why Ethan brought you here? I heard the rumors! The elders demand a bloodline heir! He's using you as a broodmare because your worthless family owes him!”

The insult hung in the thick air. Charles winced, looking nervously toward the study door.

I took one slow step toward Lily. I didn't raise my voice, nor did I flash my eyes, but the sheer weight of my presence made her take an instinctive step back. I towered over her, my shoulder breadth and unshakeable poise making her look small and fragile in comparison.

“Watch your tongue when you speak about my family,” I said, my voice dropping really low and that made the air in the corridor grow heavy. 

“And for the record, Ethan didn't use me. He begged me. He signed my contract on his knees because his precious prospective Luna couldn't give him what the pack required.”

Lily’s breath hitched, her face turning pale as she gasped in humiliation. “You... you arrogant bitch!”

“Lily! That is enough!”

Ethan’s command voice boomed through the hallway as he stepped out of the study, his face dark with fury. The Alpha aura flared instinctively, trying to force compliance in the room. Lily winced, bowing her head slightly under the heavy pressure.

I didn't even flinch. Five years away from pack bond dynamics had made me entirely immune to his Alpha authority.

“Ethan!” Lily cried, turning to him with tears of frustration brimming in her eyes. “Are you really letting this outcast talk to me like this? In our home?!”

“This is my study, Lily, and Angelica is here under an official contract,” Ethan said coldly, though his amber eyes flicked to me, a flash of dark irritation crossing his features when he realized his aura hadn't affected me in the slightest. 

“Go to your quarters.”

“Ethan…”

“Now!” he commanded.

Lily trembled, glaring at me with raw, promise-of-violence hatred before turning on her heel and rushing back up the staircase, the sharp click of her heels echoing until a door slammed shut upstairs.

Ethan adjusted his cuffs, walking slowly toward me.

“She’s sensitive about the succession situation.”

“I don't care about her feelings, Ethan,” I replied, smoothing down the lapels of my jacket. “And I don't care about your pack drama. The contract is signed. Send the transfer to Leo's healer. If the money isn't in his account by twelve, the deal is void.” 

“It's already being processed,” Ethan said, stepping closer, his eyes lingering on the sharp, defiant line of my jaw. “You've changed, Angelica. You used to be far more pliable.”

“I used to be a child who thought your approval meant something,” I said, looking him dead in the eye. “Now I'm the woman holding your legacy in my hands. Don't forget it.” 

Without waiting for his reply, I walked past him and pushed open the heavy front doors, stepping out into the crisp morning air.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see a text notification from the clinic: Payment of $300,000 received in full. Treatment for Leo Haze initiated.

A massive weight lifted off my chest, but as I looked out over the deep, dark woods bordering the property, a fresh wave of uneasiness settled over me.

“The money is paid,” Lyra whispered in my mind, her shadowy form pacing restlessly. “But the trap is set, Angelica. We entered the cage willingly.”

“We entered to save Leo,” I whispered back, stepping toward my truck. “Now we just have to survive it.”