The Price of Ruin

The grand boardroom of Silvercrest Holdings smelled of expensive floral arrangements and desperate panic.

Alpha Kaelen sat at the head of the long mahogany table, pulling at the collar of his suit jacket. His face was pale. Across from him, Tatiana sat with her legs crossed, wearing a bright pink designer dress and diamond earrings that cost more than a pack tractor. She was busy typing on her gold phone, looking completely bored.

"Kaelen, relax," Tatiana said, not looking up. "My father's tech company just transferred the dummy funds into your main account. When this imperial auditor from Apex Global arrives, just show them the screen. These corporate humans don't know anything about wolf pack assets. A few fake receipts and they will sign the extension."

"You don't understand, Tatiana," Kaelen muttered, his green eyes darting to the clock on the wall. "This isn't just a standard check. The document was signed by the Supreme King’s personal office. If Apex Global pulls our credit line today, the Silvercrest Pack loses its territory by sunset."

The heavy double doors of the boardroom suddenly burst open.

The air pressure in the room dropped so fast that the crystal water glasses on the table rattled. Kaelen instantly stood up, his inner wolf whining in deep terror. Tatiana dropped her phone onto the wood with a loud clack.

Two massive, armored royal Lycan guards stepped inside, splitting to stand on either side of the entrance.

Then came the shadow.

King Dominic walked in. His massive six-foot-five frame filled the room with a suffocating, dominant aura. Every pack wolf in the room felt an overwhelming physical urge to drop to their knees and press their faces against the floor. Kaelen bowed his head low, his hands shaking against the table.

But Dominic didn’t stop at the head of the table. He stepped to the side, turned around, and held out his large, leather-gloved hand toward the hallway.

"Enter, Director Silver-Line," Dominic’s deep voice boomed.

The Ghost in Luxury Cashmere

The sound of sharp, rhythmic clicks echoed against the marble floor.

A woman walked into the room. She wore a cream-colored cashmere suit that fitted her tall, elegant frame perfectly. Her long hair fell in glossy, expensive waves over her shoulders. Her lips were painted a bold, royal red. She held a sleek silver tablet under her arm, her eyes cold and completely untouchable.

Kaelen looked up. His breath caught in his throat. His green eyes grew wider and wider until they looked ready to pop out of his skull.

"Vi... Violet?" Kaelen’s voice was a breathless, broken whisper.

The girl he had thrown out into the rain five years ago—the poor, wolfless office assistant who wore oversized gray sweaters—was standing right in front of him. But she didn't look like Violet. She looked like a queen.

Seraphina didn't look at his face. She walked straight to the opposite end of the table, pulled out a heavy leather chair, and sat down smoothly. King Dominic stood right behind her right shoulder like a dark, protective mountain.

"Good afternoon, Alpha Kaelen," Seraphina said. Her voice was smooth, polished, and lacked even a single drop of emotion. "My name is Seraphina Silver-Line. Lead Corporate Auditor for Apex Global. Let us begin the liquidation review."

"Violet, what is the meaning of this joke?" Kaelen took a step forward, his chest heaving. "How are you... why are you with the King? What did you do to your hair? Why are you dressed like—"

"Silence," King Dominic growled.

The sound was like thunder. Kaelen slammed back into his seat, the sheer vocal power of the Lycan King forcing his mouth shut.

Tatiana looked between Kaelen and Seraphina, her face twisting into an ugly sneer. She stood up, pointing a manicured finger across the table. "Wait a minute. Kaelen, is this that pathetic, wolfless clerk you kicked out five years ago? The one who used to wash your coffee cups?"

She looked at Seraphina, her eyes filled with high-society arrogance. "Listen here, you little thief. I don't care what fake name you are using or how you managed to trick your way into an Apex Global uniform. You have no right to stand in this room. This pack belongs to my family's money now. Get your cheap hands off those files and get out before I have the guards throw you back into the gutter where you belong!"

The Asset Liquidation

Seraphina didn't flinch. She didn't even blink.

Slowly, she raised her head and looked directly at Tatiana. A small, chilling smile touched her red lips.

"Marcus," Seraphina called out quietly.

The beta, who was standing trembling near the door, stepped forward. "Y-Yes, Director?"

"Please inform the future Luna of the Silvercrest Pack about the legal status of her father's tech company as of exactly 9:00 AM this morning," Seraphina instructed, tapping her silver screen once.

Marcus looked like he was about to vomit. He held up a printout sheet. "Tatiana... Apex Global bought your father's tech firm three hours ago. They found four hundred million dollars in hidden tax fraud. Your family's bank accounts have been frozen by the imperial court."

Tatiana’s face went completely white. She stumbled backward, clutching her throat. "What? No... that’s impossible! My father is a billionaire!"

"Your father was a billionaire," Seraphina corrected her, her voice ringing out clear and deadly in the silent boardroom. "Right now, your family owes Apex Global two hundred million dollars in immediate penalties. Which means, Tatiana, you are currently standing in a room you cannot afford to breathe in."

Seraphina slid the silver tablet across the long mahogany table. It stopped right in front of Kaelen’s shaking hands.

"Alpha Kaelen," Seraphina said, leaning forward. "Your fake tech invoices are void. Your extension is denied. As the chief auditor, I am officially declaring the Silvercrest Pack bankrupt. You have exactly twenty-four hours to sign over your land titles, your pack vaults, and your executive building to Apex Global."

"Violet, please!" Kaelen broke down. He looked at her with pure, desperate regret. His inner wolf was screaming at him, finally recognizing the massive, royal silver power radiating from the woman he had abandoned. "You can't do this to me! We had a year together! You loved me! You saved this company before! Please, talk to the King for me!"

King Dominic’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. He stepped closer to Seraphina's chair, his large hand resting firmly on the back of her seat, a silent, deeply possessive claim that made Kaelen’s wolf whimper.

"The Director’s decision is my decision," Dominic said, his voice dropping into a terrifyingly quiet register. "And if you use her old name again, Alpha, I will rip your tongue out myself."

Seraphina stood up, smoothing down her cream cashmere jacket. She didn't look back at Kaelen's pale, trembling face as she turned toward the door.

"You have twenty-four hours, Alpha Kaelen," Seraphina said over her shoulder. "Make sure the keys are on the desk by noon."

The Incident at the Terminal

Ten minutes later, Seraphina and King Dominic walked down the private executive corridor toward the airport’s VIP terminal.

Seraphina’s heart was beating fast, but her face remained a perfect mask of corporate ice. She had done it. She had broken the people who had crushed her.

"You handled that well," Dominic said, his long strides easily matching her pace. His golden-brown eyes were fixed on her profile. "Though I noticed the Alpha looked at you like he knew a secret. A very personal secret."

"He is a ghost from a past life, Your Majesty," Seraphina said smoothly. "Nothing more."

"Is that so?" Dominic rumbled, his voice holding a hint of suspicion.

Before Seraphina could answer, a loud, high-pitched giggle echoed from the secure waiting room ahead.

"Hey! Give it back, Leo! That's my digital knight!"

"No way! My dragon is going to eat your castle, Lyra!"

Seraphina’s blood ran completely cold. The children were supposed to be asleep in the private lounge.

Suddenly, the heavy glass door of the lounge swung open. Four-year-old Leo came running out into the hallway, holding his sister's tablet over his head. He was laughing so hard he didn't see where he was going. He tripped over his own small dress shoes and went flying forward.

"Leo!" Seraphina gasped, rushing forward.

But someone else was faster.

With lightning-fast Lycan speed, King Dominic moved. He caught the small boy by the waist before he hit the hard marble floor, lifting him effortlessly into the air with one large arm.

Leo blinked, his little green eyes looking up into the terrifying, scarred face of the Supreme King. Instead of crying, Leo giggled and patted Dominic’s thick shoulder. "Whoa! You're really fast, Mr. King!"

"Leo, sit still—" Seraphina started, her heart in her throat.

She stopped dead in her tracks.

The shock of the sudden fall had caused Leo's small, childish wolf energy to spike. The special blocking bracelet on his left wrist short-circuited with a tiny pop.

Right before their eyes, a patch of soft, glowing bright silver fur spread across the back of Leo's tiny hands and up his neck. It wasn't the dark gray fur of Kaelen's pack. It was the pure, blinding silver of the ancient, legendary royal Lycan bloodline—a trait that only appeared in the direct lineage of the Supreme King himself.

King Dominic froze.

His golden-brown eyes locked onto the glowing silver fur on the boy's hands. His nostrils flared violently as a massive, ancient scent-wave hit his senses—the unmistakable, undeniable scent of his own direct genetic blood.

The King’s head snapped up. He looked at Leo's face, then at Lyra who was standing in the doorway, and finally, his burning, intensely possessive gaze locked onto Seraphina.

The heavy corporate aura around Dominic vanished, replaced by the raw, terrifying, and completely dominant energy of a father wolf who had just found his lost pups.

"Seraphina," Dominic growled, his voice vibrating the glass windows around them until they cracked. He stepped closer to her, still holding the silver-furred boy tightly against his chest. "Whose children are these?"