A thousand good-byes

chapter 5

ALISA’S POV

My heart slammed against my ribs like it was trying to claw its way out of my chest and straight into his hands.

Kael Draven—stood barely two feet away, that slow, predatory smirk still playing on his lips as if he hadn’t just shattered what little composure I had left.

The same cedar-and-rain scent that had wrapped around me like salvation last night flooded the luxurious office, thick enough to taste. My inner wolf whined, pressing against my skin, begging to get closer.

I hated how my body responded. Traitorous, desperate thing.

“I… I didn’t know,” I stammered, hating the breathy quality of my voice. “When Melissa gave me the firm’s name, I was too focused on getting out. I didn’t—”

“Didn’t connect the dots?” He finished for me, voice low and velvet-rough. He circled back to his massive oak desk but didn’t sit. Instead, he leaned against the edge, arms crossed over that broad chest I’d clung to hours ago.

The charcoal suit did nothing to hide the power coiled beneath it. “You ran from my bed at dawn, little wolf. Left my card behind like it burned you. And yet here you are. Fate has a vicious sense of humor.”

Heat crawled up my neck. I forced my spine straight, clutching the strap of my bag like a lifeline. “This isn’t about last night. This is about my divorce. I need the best, and Melissa said you don’t lose. So… can you help me or not?”

Kael’s dark eyes dragged over me slowly, cataloging every detail—the faint bruise of exhaustion under my eyes, the way my damp hair from the morning’s rushed shower still curled at the ends, the subtle tremble in my fingers. His nostrils flared.

He could smell me. All of me. The lingering traces of him on my skin, the sharp spike of my anxiety, the unwanted slick of arousal his presence dragged out of me despite everything.

He pushed off the desk and closed the distance again. Not touching. Never quite touching. But close enough that the heat of his body bled into mine. “Sit, Alisa.”

The command slipped under my skin like warm whiskey. My legs obeyed before my brain caught up. I sank into the leather chair opposite his desk, knees pressed together. He took his own seat, steepling those long, steady fingers.

“Tell me everything.”

So I did. The words poured out in a raw, ugly flood—five years of performances, the cold bed, the anniversary dinner gone to waste, the VIP suite, Jeff’s hands on Aiden, the complete absence of guilt in his eyes.

My mother’s betrayal. Callum’s refusal. The restaurant that carried Jeff’s financial fingerprints like chains. By the time I finished, my cheeks were wet again. I swiped at them angrily.

Kael hadn’t moved. His expression had darkened into something lethal. The amber flickered at the edges of his irises again, the same flash I’d seen in the bar when I’d confessed Jeff’s betrayal.

“He touched what’s mine,” he said, so softly it was almost worse than a shout.

I jerked back. “I’m not yours.”

“Aren’t you?” He rose again, rounding the desk with that fluid predator grace. He crouched in front of my chair, bringing us eye-level.

One large hand hovered near my knee but didn’t land. “You felt it last night. I know you did. The snap. The recognition. My wolf knew you the second you stumbled into that bar, drenched and shattered. Fated, Alisa. Rare. Undeniable.”

My breath hitched. “Mate.” The word he’d growled against my throat while buried inside me echoed in my skull. I’d dismissed it as drunken hallucination.

But sitting here, with his scent wrapping around me like a claim, my body lighting up like it had been waiting its entire miserable life for him…

“No,” I whispered, even as fresh slick gathered between my thighs. “I just got out of one cage. I won’t crawl into another.”

Something fierce and wounded flashed across his face. Then it smoothed into that ruthless lawyer mask. “Good. Because I don’t want you crawling.

I want you standing beside me, claws out, ruling whatever world we burn down together.” He straightened, towering over me. “But legally? Representing you creates a conflict of interest the size of this city.”

My stomach dropped. “Then why did your receptionist—”

“I cleared the schedule the moment I had you followed this morning.” His smile was sharp as a blade. “I knew you’d come. I "made" sure you could. But ethics demand I recuse myself from the case itself. I’ll hand you to my best associate—Blackwood. He’s nearly as vicious as I am.”

I shot to my feet. “No. I want "you". You said you don’t lose. I can’t afford ‘nearly.’ Jeff will destroy me. My restaurant, my name, everything.”

Kael’s hand finally made contact—two fingers under my chin, tilting my face up. The touch was electric. My wolf howled. “You already have me, sweetheart. In every way that matters. I’ll oversee every move.

I’ll pull every string. I’ll bury Jeff so deep the pack council will forget he existed. But I won’t be your attorney of record. Not when I intend to claim you the second those papers are signed.”

The possessiveness in his voice should have terrified me. Instead, it made my core throb. I stepped back, breaking the contact, hating how cold the air felt without it. “You’re assuming a lot, Mr. Draven.”

“Kael.” His eyes burned. “After last night, you don’t get to hide behind formalities.”

A knock sounded on the door. A tall, silver-haired man in a navy suit entered without waiting—Blackwood, I assumed. His sharp gaze flicked between us, nostrils flaring once. He smelled the tension immediately.

“Problem?” he asked mildly.