The Alpha CEO's Rejected Mate Returned

Chapter 7 — Silver Rings and Broken Pride

~ Damien POV ~

The hotel room felt smaller than it had five minutes ago. I threw the crystal tumbler against the brick hearth, and the sound of breaking glass echoed off the tall windows. My chest rose and fell in ragged breaths as I stared at the fragments scattered across the floor.

Lucas stood near the doorway, his arms crossed, watching me with a steady gaze that only made the heat under my collar burn hotter.

"She has us," I said, my voice dropping. "She bought every single debt, every note, every mortgage. All of it."

"I know," Lucas replied, shifting his weight. "Her financial team moved fast. They froze our offshore accounts thirty minutes ago. Not a single credit can be moved without her authorization."

I turned away from the fireplace, my hands curling into fists at my sides. "How is that even possible? Seven years ago, she was half-frozen, begging for a ride past the border. Now she owns half the territory's commercial paper."

"People change when you throw them into the winter," Lucas said bluntly.

I glared at him, and he didn't blink. He was right, of course. I had signed the order, and I had lived with the guilt every day since, even if I refused to admit it out loud.

"Victoria called from the manor before you came back up," Lucas added, changing the subject to a problem I wasn't ready to handle. "She wants to know why our main treasury ledger is locked. She thinks the regional banks are running an audit."

"What did you tell her?" I asked, rubbing the back of my neck.

"I told her everything is under control," Lucas said. "For now. But you know how she is. If she finds out an outsider—let alone an exiled human just took control of Shadow Ridge's assets, she will mobilize the elders and start an open war before midnight."

"She can't know," I said, walking toward the desk where a suit hung on a velvet hanger. "If Victoria starts a war now, Celine won't hesitate to liquidate our borders and sell the land to Bloodcrest. We keep this quiet until I figure out a way to break the contract."

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Break a contract backed by Aetherial Capital? Do you know who funds them?"

I stopped, my fingers hovering over the fabric of the jacket Celine had provided. "Who?"

"Royal Lycan vaults," Lucas said, his voice dropping lower. "King Julian's personal reserves. He's been funneling capital into her firm for four years. If you fight her legally, you aren't just fighting an independent businesswoman. You're fighting the crown."

Julian. The way he had rested his hand on her hip in the office, the way she had looked at him—it all clicked into place. My wolf let out a low, vicious growl deep in my chest, scratching at my restraint. She had aligned herself with a king.

"I don't care who funds her," I muttered, pulling the jacket off the hanger and slipping my arms into the sleeves. "She was mine. Our bond might have been severed by my council, but she was mine first."

"She's your creditor now, Alpha," Lucas corrected quietly. "And you have an eight o'clock appointment to stand behind her at the gala."

I looked down at my right hand. The silver ring caught the dim light of the suite—the small crescent moon and oak leaf I had kept on my finger through every miserable year since she left. I pulled it off, staring at the worn metal before sliding it back onto my knuckle.

"Get your coat, Lucas," I said, my jaw tight. "We're going to the party."

The Grand Horizon was packed with every noble family, pack leader, and investor in the province. The air hummed with expensive wine, murmured politics, and the faint scent of perfumes that made my head ache. I stood near the pillar, watching the entrance, my patience wearing thin by the second.

Lucas stood beside me, scanning the crowd. "She'll be here soon. Rumor is she's arriving with the King himself."

"Stop talking about the King," I snapped, adjusting my collar.

A murmur rippled through the grand foyer as the double doors swung open. The flash of camera lights cut through the room like lightning.

A luxury transport pulled up to the curb outside, and King Julian stepped out first. He turned, offering his hand with practiced charm.

Celine placed her fingers in his palm and stepped into the light.

She wore an emerald-green gown that seemed to capture every eye in the room. Her hair was swept back, and her posture was straight, carrying an unyielding authority that left no room for the terrified girl I remembered.

My wolf surged forward, demanding I cross the room, push the King aside, and pull her back where she belonged. I took a half-step forward before reality slammed back into place.

She owned my pack. She held the pen that could erase my home. And as she looked across the crowded room, her gaze met mine for a single, freezing second.

She didn't blink neither did she look away. She offered me a cold, distant smile, then turned her attention back to Julian, walking deeper into the room while I stood in the shadows, waiting to open her door.