“Sleeping. What does it seem like?” He arched a brow, “Unless you want us to fuck?” Heat flooded my cheeks.
“No!” I laughed, shaking my head.
He chuckled lowly before pulling me against him, my face pressing into his chest. His scent wrapped around me- warm, musky, intoxicating.
His lips brushed against my forehead, lingering there for a moment longer than necessary.
“I love you so much, Kasmine.” He whispered in a voice too tender that I almost missed before he kissed my forehead tenderly. “I love you.”
HIVE!
KESTER.
I closed the door as carefully as possible so as not to wake Kasmine up. She was still sound asleep, her body curled beneath the covers, lost in the kind of deep rest only I could give her. I wasn’t about to disturb that.
We were supposed to go scuba diving today, but after last right, I wasn’t sure she’d have the energy for it. Maybe we’d take the day off and stick to something easier-like the bonfire at the villa tonight. She’d love that. For now, I had other things to deal with.
I strode to my room, my mind already shifting into work inde. A shower first- then emails. I knew there’d be a flood of them waiting for me, along with the hundreds of messages from my father that I’d purposely ignored yesterday.
I’d deal with him later.
The moment the hot water hit my skin, tension melted from my muscles. I let it run over me, closing my eyes for just a second longer than necessary, letting my mind drift. had been a long time since I felt this-contentment. Not peace. Not exactly. But something close. Something I only ever felt when Kasmine was with me.
After my bath, I stepped out, letting the cool air hit my skin I toweled off, applied lotion, and pulled on my usual -sweatpants and a black singlet, an easy go-to.
As I reached for my laptop, my gaze caught on the tattoo on my arm.
A slow smile stretched across my lips.
Mine.
Every time I looked at it, it reminded me of her-of what she meant to me, of how deeply she was etched into me. Even when she wasn’t physically by my side, she was here.
Getting these tattoos was the best decision I’d made in a long time.
For a brief moment, I stood by the window, soaking in the warmth of the morning sun. The air was fresh, the ocean breeze slipping through. The day promised calm.
Then I opened my laptop.
And just like that, the calm was gone.
Thirty-four emails.
My jaw tensed.
I grabbed my phone, unlocking it with a flick of my thumb Twenty-one texts. Forty-eight voicemails.
What the fuck?
Was my pack on fire? Had the world ended overnigh
A muscle feathered in my jaw as I stared at my screen, irritation curling in my gut.
I decided to look at my emails first. They were all from the office.
I clicked on the first email, and Ryhs’s name flashed at the top. My eyes skimmed through the message, irritation shifting into something else. Worry.
It came in as URGENT.
Ryhs: “I don’t know what the fuck is happening, but our suppliers In Scotland have practically shut us out, We were already struggling with Belinzo prioritizing Valor Larte’s shipments, but now even our backup suppliers are pulling back… I’ve spoken with Mellors Holdings-or tried to. They won’t return my calls. Neither will Hexley Shipping That’s not a coincidence. Someone is leaning on them hard.
Our latest shipment of semiconductors, scheduled for this week, has been rerouted. It was supposed to be ours. Instead, it’s been redirected to Valor Lante. Again.
If we don’t act fast, our Scotland branch will go under. We’re already bleeding money trying to keep things afloat. Another quarter like this, and we’ll be forced to cut operations.
We need leverage. We need a way to make Belinzo hurt for this. Tell me how you want to proceed.”
I felt my heart pick up speed.
Fuck!
Alpha Kex was biting more than he could chew.
I exhaled slowly, my jaw tightening. They were cutting us off completely. No suppliers, no shipments. No fucking product.
The next email was from Logan Drake, my Legal Advisor.
Subject: Re: Belinzo-Valor Lante Contract Review
Kester,
I went over the contract between Belinzo and Valor Lante again, and there’s no easy way in. The exclusivity clause is airtight. Belinzo legally has the right to prioritize Valor ante for the next two years.
Even if we wanted to challenge it, it would take months-maybe a year-before we could get a ruling. That’s time we don’t have.
But I did find something interesting. The clause only applies to direct competitors in our sector. If we shift part of our supply needs through a third-party shell company, we might be able to work around the exclusivity agreement. It’s risky as hell, but it’s a move.
Let me know if you want me to dig deeper.
Logan.
I closed my eyes briefly. A workaround. A risky one. If Belingo caught wind of it, they could rewrite their agreement and block us out entirely.
But if we didn’t act, we were done.
The next email was from Maya Lome, Head of Finance.
“We have a serious problem
Our financial models project that if Wescor pulls out of Zamford and reinvests in Valor Lante, we’ll lose nearly zo % of our stock value overnight.
That’s overnight, Kester.
Long term? It gets worse. Wescor holds 28% of our market shares. If they pull out and others follow-which they will-our board will start looking for alternatives. You already know what that means.
They’ll vote you out.”
More emails came in:
“Valor Lante just secured two new government contracts-both of which we were also bidding for.”
“We have a PR nightmare brewing. Journalists are sniffing around our Scotland branch situation.”
Every email, every fucking message, was like a hand tightening around my throat… Another shove toward the edge of a cliff I couldn’t afford to fall from.
Wescorpulling out.
Belinzo shutting us out.
More Kickass Werewolf Reads
Dive into our collection of free werewolf romance novels—where fierce Alphas, daring heroines, and heart-stopping twists await. Every story burns with forbidden desire, loyalty, and destiny. Don’t wait—here’s a world where love bites hard and nothing is stronger than the call of the mate.
Leave a Reply