Home / Werewolf / Alpha's Claim, Omega's Surrender / Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

All Chapters of Alpha's Claim, Omega's Surrender: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

80 Chapters

71

"Jonathan Walker pulled back his hand just as the air whistled through the corridor. I watched him from the shadows of the medical wing. He looked at Grant, and for a second, I thought he’d strike again. But Grant didn't even blink.'Go ahead, Father. Break my jaw if it settles the debt in your head. It won't change the signature on the contract.''You think this is about a signature, Grant? Your mother’s lifeforce is tethered to the machines in the VTN ROOM because she can’t breathe the same air as a Reed. Her wolf is literally trying to leave her body because you’ve brought a stray into our sanctuary.''Mars is not a stray. He’s the only scout in Silverwood who saw through the Westline Holdings diversion.''Son, I’m done hitting you. It’s useless. But look me in the eye. When she brought you into this pack, it was a winter that should have claimed both of you. She bled into the snow to keep your heartbeat steady. She risked her status and her life to ensure a Walker heir survived th

72

"Grant was right about one thing, Mars. You really are oblivious when you want to be."I stood by the stone fountain in the Ridge Courtyard, the sound of the water masking our voices from any passing Enforcers. Jeffrey leaned against a pillar, his eyes tracking the movement of a hawk circling Havencrest."I don't have time for riddles, Jeffrey. If you're here to tell me the Council wants my head, I already got the memo.""Do you really think it was luck that saved you from the Prosperity Consortium? When Victor Lang had his goons corner you in that warehouse in Silverwood, you thought you just caught a lucky break when the alarms went off?""The local sentries responded. That’s what they’re paid for.""The local sentries were on Victor’s payroll, Mars. Grant was the one who jammed their comms. He was three roofs away with a high-caliber tranquilizer and a team of trackers he’d personally hand-picked. He didn't want you to know he was following you because he knew your pride would make

73

"Did you actually sleep in the same den? Skin to skin?"Jessa’s voice was like a whip, snapping me back from my headache. I’d been trying to map out a way to explain the mess at Walker Enterprises Tower, but she was already three steps into the gutter."Yeah, Jessa. We did.""Is the Alpha’s equipment as... legendary as the rumors say? Or is he all bark and no bite?"I choked on my own breath, staring at her in disbelief. "What?""Don't 'what' me! I asked you months ago if Grant Walker was as intense in the bedroom as he is in the boardroom. He always looks so untouchable, like he’s carved out of glacial ice. I’ve always wondered if guys like that just absolutely lose their minds when they finally get someone behind closed doors. Is he a beast, Mars? Does he shift halfway or stay human?"I felt the heat crawling up my neck. I couldn't help but think of the way Grant’s eyes turned molten gold when he pinned me to the mats during training—or the way he’d gripped my waist in the VTN ROOM.

74

I felt the air in the room go still as the silence stretched between us. I stood there, clutching the device, waiting for some kind of sign that he hadn't changed his mind after the chaos at the medical wing."Grant?" I whispered, my voice sounding thin."I’m coming to get you. Be ready in ten.""Okay."I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. The fear that had been clawing at my chest for weeks—the fear of being discarded the moment the Westline Holdings board pressured him—started to dissolve. I made a silent vow right then. As long as Grant Walker didn't let go of my hand, I wouldn't run. Not from the Council, not from Brooke Caldwell, and not from the shadows of Havencrest.The exhaustion of a sleepless night didn't touch me. I showered, scrubbed the scent of the lowland district off my skin, and even trimmed my beard. I wanted to look like someone who belonged at the Walker Ridge Estate.When I stepped into the living area, Jessa was stretching on the sofa, looking like sh

75

"Let me be very clear about one thing, Grant. There is no world where I share a pack with Brooke Caldwell. If you bring that polished menace into our inner circle, then you’ve already chosen. It is either him or me."I watched Grant carefully. He looked taken aback, his eyes widening slightly as he registered the sharp edge in my voice. Usually, I was the one who kept my head down, focusing on the tactical logs and staying out of the pack's political crossfire. I wasn't the type to make enemies, but Brooke had crossed a line that could never be uncrossed."I understand your position, Mars. Once the internal audit confirms the extent of the betrayal regarding the Westline Holdings leak, the Council will have no choice but to initiate a formal exile. I won't let his toxicity remain in the Tower.""I’m holding you to that."I didn't want to spend our first morning back at the Walker Ridge Estate debating Brooke’s fate. There were enough shadows looming over us as it was. My own mother, f

76

I stood near the elevators of the Walker Enterprises Tower, my ears ringing with the low-frequency murmurs of the pack staff. Two scouts were huddled by the coffee station, their scents spiked with the sharp, acidic tang of excitement."Do you think Mars Reed actually has something on the Alpha?" the shorter one whispered. "To be terminated on the public boards and then brought back by a direct override? It smells like a blackmail play.""I don't know," the other replied, her tail flickering with nerves. "Grant Walker is a glacier. He doesn't have secrets because he doesn't have a life outside the Ridge. But I’ve seen the way he looks at Mars when they're in the tactical room. It isn't professional. It’s primal."Suddenly, the air in the corridor shifted. The temperature seemed to drop, and the scent of expensive perfume and ozone cut through the room. We all went silent as Brooke Caldwell stepped out from the shadow of the executive wing. Her eyes were like flint, locked onto the two

77

I stood by the window, the cold glass of the medical wing pressing against my forehead as I watched the moonlight spill over the Silverwood trees. My mother sat behind me, her presence a heavy shadow of silent judgment."He wants the world to believe you're his mate, Mars," she rasped, her voice like sandpaper. "But do you truly believe he would sacrifice his seat at the Walker Ridge Estate for a scout with nothing to his name? I see my own stubbornness in you, and it terrifies me. I thought the warnings would be enough to keep you from the cliff, but you’re already falling.""Ma, you’re stuck in the past," I said, turning to face her. "You think every Alpha is like the man who broke you. But Grant Walker has already moved mountains for me. If he wanted to be with Brooke Caldwell, he could have signed the merger weeks ago and had me exiled. He didn’t. He stayed.""He stays because the hunt is still fresh. Once the boredom sets in, the Walker blood will call him back to his own kind."

78

I felt the shift in the air before the elevator even reached the executive floor. It was like I had developed a secondary sense, one that vibrated whenever Grant’s focus locked onto me. I glanced up from my station at the Walker Enterprises Tower and caught his eyes through the glass. He didn't wave; he just went back to his tactical display, but the intensity of his gaze stayed with me.Ever since I moved into the Walker Ridge Estate, Grant seemed haunted by the idea of being there alone. He had turned into a man who lived for the moment the "lady of the house" walked through the door, even if I was just a scout with a messy lineage. I knew he was bracing for another sleepless night, probably fearing some emergency at the medical wing would pull me away again.As the clock bled into the early hours, I saw the black SUV idling near the Silverwood sanctuary. I hurried toward it, the cold night air biting at my skin. I knocked on the glass, startling him."You really came to pull a nigh

79

"I told the High Alpha’s pet lawyer exactly what the score is. If the contracts don't move, the department doesn't exist."I watched Kevin walk back into the Walker Enterprises Tower with a grim set to his jaw. He had just come from the legal floor, and the scent of panic from that level was so thick I could practically taste it from the lobby."Grant actually said he’d dissolve the whole legal wing for Mars Reed?" one of the scouts whispered, her tail twitching in disbelief."You heard him," Kevin snapped, his voice echoing in the marble hall. "This isn't a drill. The Walker Ridge Estate has never outsourced its security or its legal shielding to a human firm before, but the Alpha is ready to break every tradition in the book. If you're drawing a salary from the Tower, focus on your logs. Don't let your mind wander to the pack gossip, or you’ll be the next one out the door.""We hear you, Kevin. Tell the Alpha the files are moving.""Good."As Kevin turned to head for the private ele

80

The sensation of Grant’s hands on my hair was the last thing I remembered, a rhythmic, grounding touch that stayed with me until I finally drifted off. I had been running on fumes, and when sleep finally claimed me, I went down like a stone.Grant must have drawn the heavy blackout curtains before he left the Walker Ridge Estate, because not a single splinter of dawn pierced the room. I woke up in total darkness, fumbling across the nightstand for my comms. I had a missed check-in from my mother and a high-priority alert from Kevin.I sat up, the sheets sliding off my chest, and hit the callback for Kevin immediately."Kevin, you were looking for me? Is there a breach?""Just wondering when you’re bringing that scout's intuition back to the Tower," Kevin’s voice crackled through. "The Westline Holdings project is moving into the final audit phase.""I’m sorry, I overlept. I can be there in an hour. If it's a crisis, feel free to pull the emergency override and ring me more than once n

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