The Lycan's Scared Mate

The clack of Alina’s heels echoed through the marbled hallway of Blackwood Enterprises, each step stirring memories she had buried deep and sealed tight. The air smelled the same—a sharp blend of leather, expensive cologne, and cold ambition. It had been nearly two years since she walked out of this building with nothing but a signed divorce paper in her hand and a hollow ache in her chest. Now she was back. Not as a wife. Not as the fragile girl who had begged to be loved. She was here as CEO of Lancaster Designs—confident, determined, and utterly unwilling to be shaken. Still, her heart didn’t get the memo. It thudded erratically in her chest as she approached the executive floor, her palm damp around the leather handle of her portfolio. She was here for one reason: to finalize the merger. Her fashion brand had exploded in popularity, and Blackwood Enterprises had offered a partnership that could catapult her into the international market. But she knew better. This wasn’t just about business. This was about him. “Miss Lancaster,” came a polished voice. A tall man in a tailored charcoal suit stepped into view. Bryce, Dominic’s longtime assistant, offered her a tight smile. “Mr. Blackwood will see you now.” Her lips curled slightly. Mr. Blackwood. Once upon a time, he had been Dominic. Her Dominic. She followed Bryce into the corner office, and the moment she stepped inside, the world seemed to tilt. He stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, back to her, broad shoulders tense beneath a midnight-blue suit. Sunlight traced the edges of his frame like he’d been carved from shadow and storm. His presence hadn’t changed—it still demanded attention like gravity itself bent around him. Then he turned. And the years fell away. His piercing gray eyes locked onto hers, unreadable, cool. But she saw it—the faint flicker. Shock? Regret? Lust? She didn’t know. Didn’t want to know. “Alina,” he said, voice smooth, deep, and laced with something dangerous. “Welcome back.” She forced a polite smile. “Mr. Blackwood. Let’s keep this professional.” A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “Always.” She crossed the room and sat, careful to keep her expression neutral even as her body betrayed her—every nerve alight, skin tingling with awareness. It was infuriating how her body remembered him, remembered the way his hands once felt tracing down her spine, the way his mouth had once whispered promises he’d broken. He took his seat across from her, exuding that same commanding aura that had once captivated her—and destroyed her. “I reviewed the merger proposal,” she said, pulling the papers from her folder and setting them between them like a shield. “Lancaster Designs will maintain full creative control, and all product lines under our brand will remain autonomous. If that’s not honored, the deal is off.” He leaned back in his chair, studying her like she was some unsolvable puzzle. “You’ve changed.” “People do that when they’re betrayed,” she replied, voice sharper than intended. He didn’t flinch. “I never betrayed you, Alina.” She laughed. It wasn’t soft or sweet—it was bitter and broken. “You let me believe you were having an affair. You shut me out. You made me feel like I didn’t matter. That’s betrayal in my book.” A long silence stretched between them. Outside, the city moved on, unaware of the war brewing in one glass office. Finally, he said, “You left before I could explain.” She met his gaze, steel in her spine. “You had years to explain. You chose silence.” His jaw ticked, and for a fleeting moment, she thought she saw something flicker across his face—pain, maybe. Regret. But it was gone before she could name it. “This merger,” he said, voice steady, “isn’t just about business.” She stood abruptly. “Then there’s no deal.” “Alina—” “No.” Her voice shook, not from fear, but fury. “You don’t get to play games with me. Not again.” She turned to leave, her heart pounding like a war drum in her chest. But then his voice came, low and raw, like a prayer or a curse. “You’re my mate.” She froze. A chill slid down her spine. She turned slowly, her breath caught in her throat. “What did you just say?” His eyes burned silver now—inhuman, wild. The air between them thrummed with something ancient and electric. “I’m not just a man, Alina. I’m a Lycan. And you... you’re my fated mate.” She staggered back a step, disbelief washing over her in waves. “No. No, that’s insane.” “It’s real,” he said, standing, his voice fierce. “That’s why I kept my distance. Why I let you go. I thought I was protecting you.” Tears welled in her eyes—not from pain, but confusion, betrayal, and something worse: hope. “You’re lying.” “I’m not,” he said, his voice quieter now, almost pleading. “There’s a part of you that already knows. That’s why you never moved on. Why I never could.” Alina shook her head, her breath coming too fast. “This is insane.” “Maybe,” he said, stepping closer. “But it’s the truth.” And suddenly, everything she thought she knew—about her marriage, her past, herself—began to unravel.