My Alpha Cheated and Wants Me Dead

Chapter 5 The Man Outside the Restaurant

[Lana's POV]

The car was quiet.

Ethan gripped the steering wheel, his jaw set like stone. Not a word since we got in.

I sat in the passenger seat pressed as far against the door as I could, trying to make myself smaller. Smaller.

The car pulled onto the main road. He reached over and switched on the radio.

A soft instrumental piece drifted out, barely filling the suffocating silence.

My stomach chose that moment to growl.

The sound was painfully clear in the sealed cabin.

Ethan's ear twitched slightly.

My heart lurched.

Werewolf hearing. Nothing escaped it.

He didn't look at me. His voice came out flat. "There's a breakfast place up ahead. Go get something."

"No need." I shook my head instinctively. "I'm not hungry."

My stomach growled again.

Ethan hit the brake and pulled the car smoothly to the curb.

"Get out and buy something."

I grabbed my wallet and got out.

An Alpha's sense of smell was several times sharper than a normal wolf's. I couldn't let food smells linger in the car for the whole drive.

I scanned the counter and ordered two slices of plain white toast and a black coffee.

Standing outside the shop door, I shoved the bread into my mouth in a few bites. The coffee made my tongue numb, but I didn't care, gulping down most of the cup in one go.

I wiped the corners of my mouth clean before getting back in the car.

Ethan glanced at me.

"Seatbelt."

*****

The port district. Ward Group Logistics Dispatch Center.

Sarah Jenkins stood waiting at the entrance.

She wore a dark suit, her expression several degrees grimmer than usual. The moment she spotted Ethan, she strode forward.

"Boss."

Ethan gave a short nod. "Brief me."

Sarah led us into the internal office, shut the door, then spoke.

"Rogue wolf packs from the neighboring territory have hit three of our shipping routes in the past two weeks. The port's on edge. Yesterday afternoon, security issued a new order — seized all security equipment containing silver alloys in one sweep." She pushed a document in front of Ethan. "Our shipment is frozen in Warehouse Three."

My stomach dropped.

I'd reviewed the quote on that shipment just last week.

"How long?" I asked. "What's needed to release it?"

Sarah looked at me and shook her head.

"No timeline given. They want a full re-audit of shipping permits, item-by-item verification of intended use. Even fast-tracked, six weeks minimum."

"Six weeks?" My voice came out tight.

Ward Group's security equipment shipment had downstream contracts attached. Six weeks out, and we'd already be in breach. The penalty fees were astronomical.

Ethan's face darkened inch by inch.

Those amber eyes went so dark they were nearly brown, his jaw clenched hard enough to c***k.

I could feel the wolf inside him pressing against something.

He didn't look at Sarah. He turned to me.

"Step outside."

I clutched my laptop and followed him out.

*****

The corridor was empty.

Ethan led me to the turn by the fire escape stairwell. No cameras there.

He stood with his back to the hallway, voice low.

"The classification codes for silver-content items on the cargo manifest — change them to civilian alloy products."

I looked up at him. My heartbeat stuttered.

"Bypass the security-controlled category review," he continued. "Redo the customs declaration."

I stared at him.

"That's..." My throat went dry. "That's falsifying the declaration category. If they find out—"

"They won't find out." He cut me off. "The classification codes have inherent overlap. Filing under civilian alloy is legal."

He paused. Those amber eyes settled on my face.

"Sarah won't sign off. You go work on her. She trusts you."

My fingers tightened involuntarily.

'Trust me?' I thought. 'Sarah and I have dealt with each other a handful of times. She trusts Ward Group's rules, not me.'

But I looked at the rigid line of Ethan's jaw and nodded.

*****

Sarah refused, just as expected.

She set her pen down on the desk, brow knotted tight.

"Lana, this isn't something that'll pass through normal channels." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "If it gets flagged, I'm the one on the hook. It's not about saving my own skin — it's that in this position, the second I sign, it's black and white on paper."

"Sarah—"

"Don't." She raised a hand, cutting me off. "I can't take this on for you."

The office door pushed open.

Ethan walked in.

He didn't look at me. Went straight to the chair across from Sarah and sat.

"Sarah," he spoke. "This one's on me."

Sarah looked up at him.

"Any problem that comes from this, I guarantee it on my authority as Alpha of Silvermoon Pack. Regulatory pressure — I handle it. Legal risk — I handle it." He said each word deliberately. "All you're doing is re-filing the customs paperwork using the classification codes I give you."

Sarah was quiet for a long time.

She looked at Ethan. Then at me. Finally, she let out a long breath.

"...Fine."

She pulled open her drawer and spread the new declaration form on the desk.

"You check every single line yourself. Miss one character and it's not going through."

I nodded, sat down with my laptop, and began cross-referencing the new codes line by line.

Ethan stood beside me. Didn't leave.

I could feel his gaze resting on my shoulder, pressing against the back of my neck until my skin went numb.

Over an hour later, I finished the last field, printed the form, and handed it to Sarah.

She took it, scanned it quickly, and nodded.

"Good. I'll handle the rest."

I exhaled. Tested the waters. "Sarah, want to grab lunch together?"

"No need." She waved us off. "Get out of here. I work faster on my own."

*****

Outside the dispatch center, Ethan drove straight into the city center.

"Finding a restaurant for lunch," he said.

The car finally stopped in front of an upscale restaurant.

I pushed the door open and stepped out. The raw spot on my ankle flared hot again.

I steadied myself against the car door and looked up at the restaurant's revolving entrance.

A scent hit my nose without warning.

My entire body locked up.

That scent — so familiar it made my stomach turn—

Connor.

The wolf inside me recoiled sharply, letting out the faintest hiss.

'Impossible.' I thought. 'He should be at—'

My gaze fixed on the revolving door.

It slowly turned open.

Connor walked out.

A woman on his arm.

Blonde. Blue-eyed. Slender frame wrapped in a cream-colored dress.

Diana.

Her hand hooked through Connor's arm, her smile soft and intimate.

Connor leaned down to say something to her, the corner of his lips curved in a way I knew too well—

In the early days of our marriage, he used to look at me like that.

My stomach felt like an ice-cold fist had seized it and twisted hard.

Connor looked up.

He spotted me instantly.

A flash of panic crossed his face, his gaze flickering for just a moment.

Then his expression smoothed back into that harmless, easygoing mask. Like nothing had happened.

Diana followed his line of sight.

Her smile dimmed by half, eyes scanning between me and Ethan.

I stood rooted to the spot. The raw burn on my ankle screamed, but I couldn't feel it anymore.

My blood cooled degree by degree.

Ethan had already rounded the hood and stood beside me.

He said nothing, but I felt his gaze land on Connor, hold for two seconds, then shift to Diana's hand wrapped around Connor's arm.

Connor walked toward me.

"Lana," he spoke. "What are you doing here?"

"Work." I forced my chin up, kept my voice level. "I'm out with my boss handling a seized shipment."

"This is Ethan Ward, CEO of Ward Group."

I paused.

"This is my husband, Connor. And... Diana."

Diana's name scraped past my clenched teeth.

Ethan gave a slight nod.

His gaze swept over Connor, over Diana's hand on Connor's arm, then settled back on Connor's face.

Not a single extra word.

But the Alpha pressure rolling off him made Connor's shoulders stiffen involuntarily.

"Diana is a distant relative from my pack." Connor's tone was light. "She needed legal advice on a business matter. I brought her here for lunch to discuss it."

I looked at Diana's hand on his arm.

At her fingertips with their pink nail polish.

At the silver bracelet on her wrist — the one I'd seen in Connor's phone gallery.

I said nothing.

"Boss." I turned, my voice completely steady now. "My foot's bothering me. I'll wait in the car. Pick whatever restaurant you like."

Ethan looked at me.

Something flickered in those amber eyes — something I couldn't read.

But he just nodded.

"Go."

*****

I pulled open the passenger door and dropped into the seat.

The instant the door shut—

My hands started shaking.

My fingers trembled so badly I couldn't get the seatbelt to click.

I clenched my fists until my nails dug into the flesh, barely forcing the tremor down.

'I'll transfer the money to that card.'

Last night on the balcony. That sentence looped over and over in my head.

Diana.

That card was Diana's.

The wolf inside my chest let out a low, drawn-out howl.

Not fear.

It was the kind of ice-cold clarity that comes from being stabbed in the back — and turning around to see the knife in the hand of the person who shared your bed.

I closed my eyes.

Kane's words surged up again:

'Lana, do you really not know anything?'

'The woman by your man's side — you really don't know who she is?'

Back then I thought he was stirring trouble.

I thought he was the kind of lunatic who couldn't stand seeing anyone happy.

I'd dismissed every word out of his mouth as filth, hadn't even wanted to listen.

But now—

I opened my eyes.

Through the car window, I saw Ethan standing at the restaurant entrance, two steps from Connor, expressionless.

Connor was still explaining something, his manner humble, like a dog trying to wag its tail.

Diana stood behind him. But her gaze cut straight toward me.

Through the glass, our eyes met.

No panic in hers. No guilt.

Only a cold, almost taunting calm.

My stomach turned again.

*****

That afternoon, back at Silvermoon Tower.

Before disappearing into his office, Ethan said one thing to me: "Skip the afternoon meeting. Follow up on the customs filing."

I nodded, hugged my laptop back to my desk.

Sat down. Opened the screen.

My fingers hovered over the keyboard. Couldn't type a single character.

All I could see was that image—

Diana's hand hooked through Connor's arm, smiling so intimately, so naturally.

The way Connor looked down at her.

That look — I used to have it too.

I sat at my desk, eyes on the screen, but nothing got in.

That scene outside the restaurant played on a loop, over and over behind my eyes.

Every word Kane Vicente had ever said came flooding back.

The hints I'd scoffed at.

The provocations I'd written off as trash talk.

Now each one echoed through my skull.

The wolf inside me paced back and forth in my chest, claws scraping the ground, letting out low, uneasy whines.

It was telling me—

Some things can't be ignored anymore.

I didn't know how long I sat there.

The cursor on screen kept blinking.

Until—

The office door swung open.

Two knocks landed on my desk.

*Knock. Knock.*

I snapped back to reality and looked up.