All Chapters of The Ruthless Werewolf Billionaire's Dare: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The headlines the next morning are exactly as Tyler predicted."RAYTHEON ALPHA'S MYSTERY FIANCÉE: Who is April West?""Love at First Sight? Tyler Raven Spotted with Unknown Woman""Billionaire Brawl: Alpha Destroys Camera in Defense of New Love"Carmen brings me coffee and the tablet loaded with news articles. I scroll through them with growing horror. There are photos of us at the restaurant. Close-ups of my face. Speculation about my background, my family, my bank account.One particularly vicious gossip blog has already dug up my college records. "Scholarship Student Snags Billionaire," the headline screams."Don't read those," Tyler says, appearing in the doorway of the sunroom where I've been hiding. "They're irrelevant.""They're calling me a social climber.""They always do." He's dressed for business—charcoal suit, blood-red tie. He looks like he's about to close a deal or murder someone. Possibly both. "I have meetings in the city. Liam will be here in an hour to continue you

Wade Torres appears, his expression grim. He's a mountain of a man, easily as large as Tyler, with close-cropped black hair and a scar running along his jawline. Former Marine, Liam told me. Loyal to the Raven family since Tyler pulled him out of a bad situation years ago."Perimeter's locked down," Wade reports. "No one in or out without Alpha's approval. I've posted guards at all entrances, including the cliff access. Dr. Reeves, you'll need an escort when you leave.""Understood."I'm sitting in the living room, still processing, when Tyler bursts through the door.His tie is loosened, his jacket gone. He looks like he drove way too fast to get here."Where is she?" he demands."I'm fine," I say, standing. "Nothing happened."He crosses the room in three strides and pulls me against him, his arms wrapping around me so tightly I can barely breathe. His face buries in my hair."Liam called," he says, voice muffled. "Said Tiara tried to poison you.""We don't know that for sure.""I k

"You're doing it wrong."Tyler circles me like a predator stalking prey. We're in one of the empty ballrooms on the second floor—a vast space with hardwood floors and mirrored walls that reflect my failures from every angle.It's been two days since the poisoning attempt. Two days since Tyler exiled Tiara. Two days of increasing tension as the charity gala approaches.And today, Tyler has decided I need to learn how to be intimidating."I'm standing exactly how Liam taught me," I argue, checking my posture. Feet shoulder-width apart. Back straight. Chin level."Liam taught you neutral dominance. That's for everyday interactions." Tyler stops in front of me, towering over me by nearly a foot. "I'm teaching you predatory dominance. For when someone threatens you and I'm not there to rip their throat out."He adjusts my stance with rough hands. Widens my feet. Tilts my hips forward slightly. Pulls my shoulders back even further."There. Now you have a stable base. Harder to knock down, h

"Because that's how it works. You break down. You build back stronger." He looks at me with those storm-grey eyes. "I've been doing this since I was twelve.""Twelve?" I stare at him. "Your father trained you like this?"Tyler's expression shutters. "My father trained me to survive in a world that wanted me dead. This is nothing compared to what he put me through."There's a story there. Pain layered under decades of scar tissue."What happened to him?" I ask quietly."He died when I was seventeen. The Corvus Mutation." Tyler's voice is flat. Emotionless. "Took my mother six months later. Left me with a fourteen-year-old Bella who was already showing symptoms.""I'm sorry.""Don't be. He was a bastard. But he was a useful bastard. Taught me everything I needed to know about holding power." He stands, offering me his hand again. "One more round. Then we're done."By the end, I can hold against his dominance for forty-five seconds. My whole body trembles with exhaustion. My wolf is whim

"Elder Monroe," I say, my voice dropping into a lower register. "You're right to question me. If I were in your position, I'd do the same. But let me be clear about something."I let my voice carry the dominance Tyler taught me. The borrowed power of being the Alpha's mate."I didn't seek this position. I didn't manipulate my way into Tyler's bed. I didn't scheme or plot or seduce." I hold her gaze. "But I'm here now. And I will not apologize for existing. I will not shrink. I will not fail."Silence.Elder Castellano's eyebrows raise slightly. Elder Wu makes a note in his journal. Elder Hartman leans back, reassessing me.Elder Monroe's eyes narrow. "Brave words. Let's see if you can back them up." She pulls out a file folder. "I took the liberty of researching your background, Ms. West."My stomach drops."You're a scholarship student at the university. Art history major. You work two jobs to make ends meet. You were raised by your aunt after your parents died in a car accident when