Chapter 18 He flinched. Small. Almost invisible. But to a wolf trained to scent fear, it was thunder in my ears, a scream in my blood. I caught it instantly, the twitch of his jaw, the shallow shift of weight, the prey instinct betraying him at last. "I didn't know," Alpha Shawn whispered, his voice frayed like torn sinew. His stench reeked of lies, sweat, and desperation. "I didn't know you were a Vale. If only I had known, if only you had told me, I would've treated you differently. My greed blinded me, Stella. Marga... she poisoned me against you. Said you were plain, that you were nothing. But you weren't. You aren't. I see that now. You've made your point. Just... come back. We can fix this. We were good, once. Weren't we?" A sound ripped from my chest, low and feral, laughter laced with a growl. It rattled the marble chamber like a howl breaking glass. 'You dare?" My eyes burned molten gold, my wolf pressing against my skin, claws itching to rip hrough silk. I stepped forward, each click of my heel layered over the phantom echo of padded paws stalking the kill. 'You starved me for thirty years. You stripped me of dignity, silenced my voice, carved your empire from my bones while calling me invisible. You thought I was too tame. Forgotten. Dead." bared my fangs, the air vibrating with my rising power. Shadows writhed at the edges of my ury, and the scent of his terror thickened. And now, now that your empire rots, your queen is dust, your pack deserts you, and the world cents your weakness, you come crawling to me? Now I have value?" let the growl roll free, my voice thunderous, laced with the ancient authority of my bloodline. No, Alpha. I am not your salvation. I am your reckoning." de inhaled shakily, trying to summon authority he no longer owned. You win, Stella. You've proved it. You were more than I gave you credit for. You were the heart of he business, the spine of the house. Just don't destroy me completely. You've made your point." moved until we were inches apart, until his breath, stinking of regret and stale blood, washed gainst my face. My wolf pressed against my skin, lips twitching toward a snarl. I tilted my lead, studying him like prey pinned in the moonlight. I haven't even begun to make my point," I whispered, and the growl beneath my voice made him hudder. His lips parted, but nothing came, only the silence of a man already buried. I turned away, eaving him to rot, and walked toward the doorway where Damien waited, a shadow forged of ron and flame. didn't stop walking. Didn't look back. Bury his empire, ruin his pack," I commanded, my voice a blade of frost and steel. "But make im watch every stone fall." The wolves behind me growled in approval. ALPHA SHAWN'S POV 212 33.3% D 6:51 pm I don't know the hour. Doesn't matter. The penthouse is silent, rain clawing at the glass. Cold. Too cold. The scent of blood lingers, mine. This was never Stella's. She had the pack house, the children, the illusion of family. This den was mine and Marga's alone, polished and untouched by her hands. She never even knew it existed. A half-empty Dalmore waits on the counter. I clutch the tumbler, heavier than my will, and stare at the city lights. Once they gleamed like jewels. Tonight, they glare like predator eyes in the dark. The news screams from the television, her face filling the cracked screen: calm, vicious, alive. Vale Heiress Reclaims Legacy. The Wolf of Milan. Stella. Stella. Stella. Her name won't stop. I hurl the tumbler, glass exploding against the screen. The anchor's voice drones on through static, still speaking her name, her rise, her power. sink into the leather chair, but even it rejects me. My shoulder throbs, the wound seeping hrough my shirt, sticky and hot. That damn driver couldn't stitch it right. All that chaos, all that blood, just to crawl back to her, and for what? To be looked at like dust beneath her boot. She had that look in her eyes today. Not human. Not gentle. Predatory. Like a corpse I had already become, and she was merely checking the grave she'd dug. Thirty years I gave her, food, clothes, my name. She was nothing but a maid with soft eyes and a silent mouth. I let her stay. I fed her. I kept her. And now she is more like an Alpha, and I am prey. My chest tightens. I grab a vase, Marga's choice, fragile as her lies, and smash it into the wall. Splinters. Shards. Still not enough. A painting follows, then a chair, then the framed photo of Marga and me, ripped to shreds, crushed beneath my heel. 'anic claws through me. My hands tremble as I fumble over the phone. call Mark. My son. My heir. My last card. le answers with a lazy exhale, his voice smug, almost mocking. "Dad. It's late. Thought you vere lying low after today's... spectacle." You smug little bastard," I snarl, my voice cracking. "Where the hell were you? I was bleeding in he atrium, torn apart, and you were, what? Taking photos for those cheap suits you parade round in?" de laughs. He laughs. I saw the footage. You looked like hell. Stella really let you in?" Barely" I rasp. "I was lucky she didn't end me right there." Yeah," Mark mutters, "Kind of looks like she already did. The pack's fortune bled out, and stocks Iropped eighteen percent since dawn. The Beta of Finance fled, tail tucked. And the lawyers? They won't hunt the fraud case unless you pay tribute first. I warned you this would happen. I old you, Alpha-" Don't you dare lecture me!" I roar, my voice cracking into something more animal. My wound ›urns. My pulse hammers. "You don't have the spine. I raised a coward who plays Alpha on nstagram while I built this empire with blood!" 6:51 pm "You raised me to watch," he spits back. "And I watched. I watched you underestimate her. You always did." "I created her!" My voice is a howl now. "Fed her! Shaped her! She is nothing but my shadow wearing a crown!" Mark falls silent, breathing hard. Then, finally, coldly: "You want to be useful? Find something. Dirt. Leverage. I don't care if it's a whisper or a corpse. bring me something I can use to rip her down!" He sighs. "Maybe you should leave Milan, Dad. Wolves are circling. Every wolf in the city bows to her now. You're the ghost." The line dies before I can respond. Ghost. My hands tremble as the inbox fills, lawyers vanished, accountants gone. One line cuts through t all: Your accounts have been frozen pending investigation. The blood drains from my face, silk darkening with my wound. My empire bleeds as I do. Then... Footsteps. A familiar scent. Alfred, my last loyal wolf, steps from the shadows, jaw set. Alpha Shawn," his voice is steel, "you must leave Milan. Now." 3/3 34.0% 6:51 pm