CHAPTER 5: The Glass Cage

The heavy mahogany doors of the conference room swung shut behind Kaelen and Elena, but the air in the hallway was no less stifling. My heart was hammered against my ribs, a wild, rhythmic thrumming that I hadn't felt in five years. I had won. I had forced him to sign away his pride. So why did I feel like I was the one suffocating?

"Marcus, clear my schedule for the next hour," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "I need air."

I headed for the private elevator bank, but as the silver doors began to slide shut, a large, calloused hand jammed between them. The sensors hissed, and the doors retreated.

Kaelen stepped inside. Alone.

He didn't say a word as the doors closed again, sealing us in the vibrating glass cube. The scent of him, cedarwood, rain, and that undeniable Alpha musk, filled the small space instantly. My wolf, the traitorous beast, let out a soft whine of recognition.

"Get out, Kaelen," I said, staring straight at the digital floor indicator. 45... 44... 43...

"Who was that boy, Sierra?"

The question hit me like a physical blow. I didn't flinch, but I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I lied, my voice as smooth as the glass surrounding us. "I have thousands of employees. I don't keep track of every child that wanders into the lobby."

"Don't play games with me!" Kaelen growled, stepping closer. He didn't touch me, but the heat radiating from his body was overwhelming. "He looked like me. He had my eyes. And his scent... it was faint, but it was Silverwood. It was mine."

I finally turned to face him, my heels clicking sharply on the metal floor. I had to look up to meet his eyes, but I didn't feel small. "You rejected me, Kaelen. You told me I was a broken Omega with nothing to offer. You threw me out into a storm to die. Whatever I have now, whatever I've built, belongs to me. Not to you. Not to the pack."

"If he is my son…"

"He is my son," I hissed, my professional mask finally slipping to reveal the raw fury beneath. "And even if he were yours, what would you do? Take him back to that dying pack? Use him as a 'connection' for your next political marriage? You forfeited the right to even know his name the moment you let Elena take my place on that dais."

Kaelen flinched as if I’d struck him. For the first time, I saw a flicker of genuine regret in those golden eyes. "I did what I had to do for the survival of our people, Sierra. I never wanted to hurt you."

"The 'survival of our people' is currently being funded by my bank account," I reminded him, my voice dripping with venom. "You chose the pack over the mate the Moon Goddess gave you. Now, you get to live with the consequences. You have your money. You have your land. But you will never have me. And you will never have them."

The elevator chimed, the doors sliding open to the underground garage where my security detail was waiting.

"One more thing, Alpha," I said, stepping out into the cool, exhaust-scented air. I didn't look back. "If you ever mention that boy again, or if you even try to follow him, the deal is off. I’ll pull the funding, and I’ll watch Silverwood burn from my penthouse balcony."

I climbed into the back of the armored SUV, my hands finally starting to shake.

"Drive," I commanded.

As we pulled away, I saw Kaelen standing in the shadows of the garage, looking less like a King and more like a man who had finally realized he’d traded a diamond for a handful of gravel.

The leather seats of the SUV felt cold against my skin. I stared out the tinted window, watching the blur of Manhattan’s steel and glass, but all I could see was Kaelen’s face. That flicker of recognition in his eyes when he saw Leo, it was a ticking time bomb. I had survived the wilderness, but I wasn't sure I could survive a custody battle with a desperate Alpha.

My phone vibrated in my lap. A FaceTime call.

I took a deep breath, smoothing my hair and wiping the remnants of fury from my eyes before hitting ‘Accept.’ Instantly, three chaotic faces filled the screen.

"Mommy! Jax ate a bug!" Luna squealed, her face too close to the camera.

"It was a beetle! It had protein!" Jax shouted from the background.

"Mommy, when are you coming home?" Leo asked. He was quieter than the others, his brow furrowed in a way that looked achingly like the man I had just left in the garage. "Marcus said you were meeting with people from... the old place."

My heart stopped. "Just a business meeting, Leo. Nothing for you to worry about."

"Does it mean we have to go back?" Leo’s voice was small. "I don't like the woods in my dreams, Mommy. They're loud."

The "woods in his dreams." Even though they had never been to Silverwood, the ancestral pull of the pack was already calling to them. It was in their blood. I realized then that no matter how many billions I made, I couldn't buy their way out of being werewolves.

"We are never going back unless I am standing right beside you," I promised, my voice cracking. "I love you. Put Marcus back on."

The screen shifted to Marcus’s stern face. "They’re restless, Sierra. Their scents are getting stronger. We need to increase the suppressants, or the local packs in the city are going to start noticing three unclaimed pups in a penthouse."

"Do whatever it takes," I whispered. "And Marcus? Double the security at the school. Kaelen knows. He doesn't have proof, but he knows."

I hung up and leaned my head against the headrest. I had the Alpha’s signature on a contract, but I had a target on my back.

As the SUV pulled into my private driveway, a notification popped up on my dash. An encrypted email from an unknown sender. I opened it, expecting a legal brief.

Instead, it was a single photo.

It was a grainy, long-distance shot of me at the bus station five years ago, pregnant and shivering. Underneath the photo was a line of text that made my blood run cold:

“The Alpha thinks he’s the only one looking for you. He’s wrong. See you soon, Luna.”

I gasped, the phone slipping from my fingers. Someone had been watching me from the very beginning. And they weren't from the Silverwood pack.