Liam pulled me, Ryan, and Nate to his room, holding my finger tight. We spent an hour putting the train set together on his floor, with Liam talking excitedly the whole time. I felt so… happy.
Ryan kept taking pictures on his phone. When Liam’s face lit up watching the train go around the track for the first time, my heart felt full.
“Having fun?” Caroline stood at the door, arms crossed but smiling. “I ordered pizza if you’re hungry.”
After dinner, with lots of talking and laughing, Liam climbed into my lap and told me stories about his dinosaurs. He got sleepier and sleepier until he fell asleep on my chest, completely trusting.
“I’ll help put him to bed,” I said quietly to Caroline.
She nodded and led the way to his room. I laid him carefully in his race car bed, tucked him in, and kissed his forehead. Watching him sleep made me feel so protective.
As we left his room, I took Caroline’s hand and pulled her close. “Which is your room?” I whispered in her ear, feeling her tremble. “Tell me, or I’ll have to check them all.”
She paused before pointing to the right door. I led her inside, closed the door, and pulled her into my arms for a kiss. I put all my feelings into it – how much I missed her, how sorry I was, how much I loved her.
When we pulled apart, breathing hard, I rested my head against hers. “Caroline, please forgive me,” I begged. “Come back to me. I can’t stand being without you and Liam. I promise I’ll never let you down again.”
She cried, shaking her head. “Draven, I can’t… not yet.”
“I won’t give up,” I promised, wiping her tears away. “I’ll show you we belong together, all three of us.” I gave her one last soft kiss before stepping back.
I went back to the living room, wiping my eyes. Eleanor, Nate, and Ryan were laughing about something.
“Ryan, time to go,” I said. My Beta looked worried when he saw my face.
After goodbye, we walked quietly to the elevator. Inside, Ryan turned to me.
“She said no again?”
I nodded, running my hand through my hair. “For now.”
“Are you giving up?” he asked.
“Never,” I growled. “I want her more than ever.”
Ryan watched me. “Good. She’s meant for you. But that kid…” he stopped.
“What about him?” I asked quickly.
“He’s amazing. And have you seen how much he looks like you? His eyes are exactly the same, and how close he is to you… it’s like you’re connected.”
I thought about it. “I know. I feel it too. Even if Caroline never forgives me, I want to keep seeing Liam.”
Alaric whined in my mind. Something about that pup feels familiar.
Ryan gave me a long look as we got to the car. “Yeah, I noticed,” was all he said, but he seemed to be thinking hard.
“Let’s go,” I said, starting the car. “We have that internal audit meeting tomorrow morning.”
Driving Ryan home, I kept thinking about Caroline and Liam. Something about that boy called to my wolf side in a way I couldn’t explain. And I saw how Caroline looked at me, she wanted me too.
One way or another, they would be mine.
Draven’s POV
I got to the office early today. The internal audit was going well, and the first report showed some worrying signs. Just as I thought, Howard was one of the suspects. I’d been watching that Elder closely for months.
I turned off my laptop and put it in the safe. The information was too important, so I’d changed the code and kept everything locked up. I took all important papers home with me every day. An Alpha had to be careful when looking into his own pack members.
I spent the morning dealing with pack business. Ryan came to my office at lunch time, asking if I wanted to eat.
Before leaving, I decided to reach out to Caroline. I pulled out my phone and typed:
[I fell asleep with the taste of your kiss haunting me, dreamed of you all night, and now my wolf howls for you. I miss you both terribly. Forgive me, Caroline. We’re meant to be together.]
I put my phone away and went to the elevator with Ryan. When we got to the ground floor past security, someone grabbed me from behind. I jumped back instantly, Alaric growling inside me. These weren’t Caroline’s hands. I pulled them off and pushed them away.
“Goddess, what do you want, Ella?” I snapped, not hiding how annoyed I was.
“Don’t be like that, darling,” Ella Howard said sweetly, flipping her dark hair. “I came to see you, but security won’t let me in. Fix it, Draven.”
I looked at Ryan, who rolled his eyes. He tried to leave, but I grabbed his arm. No way was I staying alone with this woman.
“Listen,” I said coldly. “You’re not getting into my building. You were at Friday’s party because your father is an Elder and the financial director. He only brought you because your mother was sick. That’s all.”
“You can’t treat me this way, Draven!” she started shouting, making everyone in the lobby stare. “We spent the night together and now you’re rejecting me! You can’t do this!” She began crying, tears running down her face.
“Stop this now,” I growled, pulling her aside, losing my patience. “If anything happened between us that night, it was your doing. I was completely drunk. If anyone took advantage, it was you.”
“Draven, I love you! My wolf would die for yours! You can’t do this. I would be the perfect Luna.” She kept going with her fantasy.
“Ella, forget it. My wolf has never wanted yours. There’s no chance we’ll ever be mates,” I said firmly, my Alpha voice coming through.
“Your parents wanted us together,” she whispered through her sobs. “They wanted me as your Luna, to join our families. My father, Elder Howard, and your father planned it when we were young.”
That was too far. Using my dead parents to manipulate me made me furious.
“Don’t talk about my parents,” I snarled, my eyes flashing. “My father may have considered political alliances with your family, but he would never force me into a loveless bond. Now get out of here. Stay away from me.”
I turned my back and stalked away, Ryan following close behind.
“That woman is completely unhinged,” Ryan muttered, and I couldn’t help but agree.
During lunch at the private executive dining room, we discussed the audit findings.
“I can’t wait to remove Howard from the Council,” I told Ryan, regretting certain decisions I’d made when I first became Alpha. “I should have followed my instincts about him years ago.”
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