-Alex’s POY-
A guttural curse echoed through the speakers, followed by the sickening thud of something heavy
hitting the wall. I almostughed, leaning back in my chair as I watched the live feed from one of the
hidden cameras Christian had nted in Daniel Stone’s office.
Daniel himsell was a whirlwind of barely contained fury. His face, usually a mask of practiced
composure, was contorted with rage, Veins bulged in his neck, and his perfectly styled hair was
coming undone, strands sticking to his forehead like sweat dampened gs of surrender. The multi-
million dor mahogany desk that served as the centerpiece of his office looked like it had been
ravaged by a toddler having a tantrum. Papers were scattered everywhere, some crumpled into
unrecognizable balls, others fluttering to the floor. An expensive ss pen, the kind I would never
stoop to using,y
I
shattered on the white marble floor.
A twisted part of me enjoyed the spectacle a little more than I cared to admit. It was a petty
pleasure, a childish delight in seeing the man who had being a thorn to my family brought so low.
Even before I discovered Amaya was my mate, he had hated my father, my pack, something that
transcended to me and I never know why. Somehow, he always came up on top.
But that was then, and this was now. Christian, with his ruthless efficiency and disturbingck of
moralpass, had turned the tables. He’d exposed Daniel’s dirty dealings, leaked damaging
information to the press, andunched a hostile takeover of Stone Industries, all with surgical
precision. Thepany was hemorrhaging money, its stock price plummeting faster than a stone
dropped down a well. Daniel’s carefully constructed empire was crumbling around him, and the look
on his face was priceless.
And this was just the beginning.
“Fix it!” he roared, his voice strained with impotent fury. “I don’t care how you do it, just fix it!” HeN?velDrama.Org owns this text.
spun around, his gazending on the two cowering figures huddled in the corner of the office. They
were both senior executives, men who usually carried themselves with an air of self-importance.
Now, they looked like frightened rabbits caught in the headlights.
“We’re… we’re working on it, Mr. Stone,” one of them stammered, “But the market is in freefall, and
there’s only so much we can do.”
Daniel threw his hands up in the air, a gesture of utter exasperation. There’s always something you
can do!” he bellowed. “That’s what I pay you for! Think, d am n it, think! Come up with a n, any
n!”
He paced the room like a caged animal, his movements jerky and erratic. I should feel bad for doing
this to her father. He might be an e b ut he was still her father, still, I found myself unconsciously
leaning closer to the screen, my gaze glued to the unfolding drama.
Despite the satisfaction of seeing Daniel squirm, a part of me couldn’t help but feel a pang of…
something. Regret? Sympathy? it was hard to say. The man had caused me so much pain, and yet,
watching him crumble filled me with a sense of emptiness rather than joy. Perhaps it was the
knowledge that revenge, however sweet it tasted in the moment, wouldn’t erase the past.
With a sigh, I pushed myself back from the desk, the screen flickering back to the stock market
ticker disyed on the opposite wall. The numbers were scrolling by at an rming rate, each red
digit a testament to Daniel’s crumbling empire. A small, almost inaudible voice in the back of my
head pointed out that this destruction hade at a cost. The coteral damage – the jobs lost, the
livelihoods threatened-weighed heavily on me but I shrugged it
off.
Amaya’s face shed in my mind. I had texted her an address after I ended the call. I had waited
but she didn’t show u
to talk to her about but in that moment, I just really missed her.
My thoughts were interrupted by a sharp ping from my phone. It was a text. From Miranda.
A low growl rumbled deep within me. Just what I needed. I stared at the message
e with irritation.
up. I didn’t even know what I wanted
“Meet me at The Rusty Compass. Now. It’s urgent”
I cursed under my breath. I knew Miranda. “Urgent meant some convoluted scheme designed to
irritate me further, to poke and p rod at the raw wounds
12:02 Thu, 20 Jun 00
Chapter 25
she seemed so adept at finding.
金83%
But ignoring her wasn’t an option. She had a knack for creating chaos, and 1 couldn’t stay put. With
a sigh of resignation, I grabbed my keys and headed
for the door.
The Rusty Compass wasn’t exactly my kind of ce. Tucked away in a forgotten corner of the city,
the bar reeked of cheap beer and stale cigarettes. The neon sign outside flickered erratically,
casting a sickly green glow over the chipped paint and peeling vinyl siding.
The moment I stepped through the door, the smell of stale beer and desperation hit me like a
physical blow. The air was thick with smoke and the low hum of drunken conversation. Dimly lit
corners offered dubious privacy, and the only light source for the makeshift dance floor in the center
was a disco ball covered in ayer of dust that danced erratically above swaying bodies.
My wolf let out a deep, guttural growl, a primal sound that resonated through my bones. It wasn’t a
sound of aggression, but of recognition. My gaze snapped towards the source of the growl, cutting
through the haze of smoke and dim light.
There, in a booth tucked into the backer, stood Amaya. Her back was to me, but the stiff set of
her shoulders and the way her jaw was clenched tight spoke volumes. Miranda was standing right
in front of her. Her face was illuminated by the flickering me of a lighter as she leaned across the
table. Even from this distance, I could see the malicious glint in her eyes as she spoke, her voice a
low murmur that didn’t reach my ears.
Amaya’s hand twitched, her fingers curling into a fist. I could almost feel the tension radiating off
her, the barely controlled fury simmering beneath the surface. Another growl erupted from within
me, this time a possessive snarl fueled by a primal urge to protect her.
Before I could even think twice, I was striding across the bar, the worn wooden floorboards creaking
in protest under my weight. Heads turned as ! moved, a hush falling over the room for a brief
moment before the murmur of conversation resumed. Amaya didn’t even turn around at first, her
focus honed solely on Miranda. Then, as if sensing my presence, she lifted her head, her eyes
widening in surprise as she met mine.
The look in her eyes was aplex mix of emotions- anger and a flicker of something else I
couldn’t quite decipher. But it was the fury simmering beneath the surface that mirrored my own that
truly caught me off guard.
Miranda, oblivious to the silent exchange between Amaya and me, finally noticed my approach. A
smug smile spread across her face, the corners of her lips curling up in a malicious smirk.
“Well, well, well Look who decided to finally join the party.”
The air c a c l d with tension. My arrival had thrown a wrench into whatever twisted game Miranda
was ying. Amaya’s gaze flickered between me and Miranda, the emotions swirling within her a
storm waiting to break. She opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could escape,
Miranda cut her
off.
“Darling.” Miranda purred, “Isn’t this a lovely surprise? Alex, how nice of you to finally grace us with
your presence.”
She gestured towards the empty space beside Amaya, a clear invitation I knew wasced with a
hidden barb, “Why don’t you join us? We were just catching up, weren’t we, Amaya?”
ring as she took a deep breath but her entire focus was on me, “What are you doing here?”
Amaya’s jaw clenched tight, her nostrils ring
Before I could even formte a response, Miranda swooped in, “Darling,” she drawled, her eyes
gleaming with malicious amusement, “I was just reminiscing here with Amaya, you know how she
was a thing of your past and how she means nothing to you because those were your exact words
right? She is nothing”
The effect was instantaneous. The fury that had simmered beneath the surface of Amaya’s
expression erupted into a violent storm. With a snarl that ripped through the bar, sheunched
herself across the table at Miranda.
Her attack was swift and brutal. ws extended, she tackled Miranda, sending them both crashing
to the floor. A scream tore from Miranda’s throat as Amaya rained down blows with a ferocity that
took me aback. Reacting purely on instinct, I lunged forward, grabbing Amaya around the waist and
hauling her back from the struggling mass on the floor.
Chapter 25
“Amaya! Step it!” Froared. She thrashed against me, “Let go of me you f u k i n g as s h ol e!” she
snarled, “I said let gol”
My wolf lunged to the surface at that moment, “I said stop it, Silv