CHAPTER 7: The Face of the Future

The silence in the boardroom was suffocating. Kaelen’s wolf was howling at the back of his mind, confused by the scent of Sierra, a mix of power, expensive perfume, and something ancient he couldn't name.

"You saw the nursery, Kaelen," Sierra said, her voice like cracking ice. "But you chose to walk away. You chose your 'Luna' and your status over the life we started".

Before Kaelen could find his voice, the heavy office doors creaked open.

"Mommy? Elias said we could show you our drawings!"

The air left Kaelen’s lungs. Three small figures stood in the doorway, held back gently by a nanny. They were five years old, radiating an aura of authority that no child should possess.

The boy in the middle stepped forward, his little chin tilted high, a perfect mirror of Kaelen’s own stubborn pride. But as the boy looked at the stranger in the room, his eyes shifted. They weren't brown like Kaelen’s; they flashed a brilliant, royal silver.

Kaelen fell back against the conference table, his heart hammering against his ribs. "The Silver Bloodline..." he whispered. "They aren't just Alphas. They’re... Sentinels".

"They are my heirs, Kaelen," Sierra said, standing up and walking around the desk. She placed a protective hand on her son's shoulder. "And they are the reason I am going to buy your pack out from under you. You aren't fit to lead them, and you certainly aren't fit to be their father".

Elias stepped forward, his eyes locked on Kaelen, daring him to react. "The children are finished for the day, Luna. Shall I escort the guest out?".

Kaelen reached out, his hand trembling as he moved toward the hem of Sierra’s tailored suit jacket. "Sierra, please... I didn't know. If I had known about the triplets…"

Before he could make contact, Elias moved.

It wasn't a violent shove, but a smooth, territorial claim. Elias stepped into Sierra’s personal space, his hand coming to rest firmly on the small of her back. The air in the room sparked; it wasn't just the friction of two powerful wolves, but a deep, simmering heat that had clearly been cultivated over five years.

Sierra didn’t flinch. Instead, she leaned back into Elias’s touch, a soft, purring sigh escaping her lips that cut through Kaelen like a jagged blade.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Vane," Elias warned, his voice a low, possessive rumble that vibrated through Sierra’s frame. "You forfeited the right to touch her the moment you scented another woman as your Luna".

Elias turned his gaze to Sierra, his eyes softening in a way they never did for anyone else. He reached up, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw with a familiarity that screamed of shared nights and secret vows. "The jet is ready for the Tokyo merger, my Queen. Shall I have the car brought around, or do you have more time to waste on... charity cases?"

Sierra looked up at Elias, a genuine, private smile playing on her lips, one Kaelen realized she had never given him, even at their peak.

"I'm finished here, Elias," she murmured, her voice silkier than Kaelen had ever heard it. She looked down at her former mate with cold pity. "Take the loan agreement, Kaelen. Read the fine print. It’s the only thing of mine you’ll ever be allowed to hold again".

Elias leaned in closer, his scent of sandalwood and danger completely overwhelming Kaelen’s fading Alpha musk. He didn't just stand near Sierra; he claimed the air around her. With a slow, deliberate movement, Elias tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering on her skin just a second too long for a "bodyguard".

"You look tired, Sierra," Elias whispered, his voice dropping to a gravelly tone that ignored Kaelen's presence entirely. "Let me take care of the rest. You’ve done enough for one day".

Sierra tilted her head into his palm, her silver eyes softening as they locked onto Elias’s dark ones. "Thank you, Elias. I don't know what I would do without you."

Kaelen felt like he was being burned alive. Seeing his rejected mate, the woman he had once deemed a "weak Omega", look at another man with such absolute trust and hidden heat was a pain worse than silver.

"Sierra, wait!" Kaelen scrambled to his feet, but Elias’s eyes snapped to his, flashing a warning gold.

"The Alpha is leaving now," Elias stated, his tone as sharp as the obsidian desk.

Without another word, Elias draped his suit jacket over Sierra’s shoulders and led her toward the private elevator. As the doors began to slide shut, Kaelen caught one last glimpse of them: Elias’s hand was no longer on her back, but had slid down to rest possessively on her hip, and Sierra was leaning her head against his shoulder.

The doors hissed shut.

Kaelen was left alone in the silent, cold boardroom. His gaze fell to the loan agreement on the table. He flipped to the last page, his hands shaking. There, in bold print, was the clause he had missed:

“Default on any payment results in the immediate forfeiture of the Silverwood Pack lands to Miller Global.”

She wasn't just his ex-mate anymore. She was his landlord. And she was coming for everything he had left.