The Return
1419 Words
Adrian didn't move.
The conference-room door had been closed for nearly a minute, yet he was still staring at it.
Isabella was alive.
Not only alive.
She had walked into his territory wearing a black suit, carrying a multimillion-dollar offer, and speaking to him as if he were nothing more than another businessman.
His wolf was restless.
Go after her.
Adrian clenched his fists.
“No.”
She is our mate.
“She was.”
His wolf snarled.
You don't believe that.
Adrian looked down at his hand.
Five years ago, rejecting Isabella had felt like tearing his own heart out.
He had expected the pain to eventually disappear.
It never did.
But something was different now.
He couldn't feel Isabella.
Not her emotions.
Not her fear.
Not her thoughts.
Nothing.
It was as if an invisible wall had been built between them.
And Adrian had no idea who had built it.
A knock interrupted his thoughts.
“Come in.”
Marcus entered.
“Alpha.”
Adrian turned.
“Did you find out where she has been?”
Marcus shook his head.
“Not yet.”
“Then find out.”
“We've already started.”
Adrian's expression hardened.
“Five years of her life are missing. I want everything.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Everything?”
“School records. Business records. Travel history. Property purchases. Anyone who worked with her.”
He paused.
“And find out how she became rich.”
Marcus nodded.
“There is something unusual.”
Adrian looked at him.
“What?”
“She apparently started her first company with almost no capital.”
“How?”
“We don't know.”
“Then find out.”
Marcus turned to leave.
“Wait.”
He stopped.
Adrian lowered his voice.
“And Marcus?”
“Yes?”
“If anyone in this pack asks about Isabella…”
He paused.
“Tell them nothing.”
Marcus understood immediately.
“Yes, Alpha.”
Across the city, Isabella sat inside the back of her car.
The city blurred beyond the tinted windows.
Daniel sat opposite her.
“Well?”
Isabella looked up.
“What?”
“How did it feel?”
She knew exactly what he meant.
“Meeting him?”
“Yes.”
She looked out the window.
“Like meeting a stranger.”
Daniel studied her.
“You're sure?”
Isabella smiled.
“I'm sure.”
But the truth was more complicated.
The moment she had seen Adrian, something inside her had reacted.
Not love.
Not longing.
Something much darker.
Her necklace had become warm against her skin.
The same strange sensation she'd felt the night she left Blackthorn.
She pulled the necklace from beneath her shirt.
The crescent moon was glowing faintly.
Daniel noticed.
“What is that?”
“Nothing.”
“You've been wearing it every day since I've known you.”
Isabella closed her hand around it.
“It belonged to my mother.”
Daniel nodded.
He knew better than to ask more.
Isabella looked back at the documents.
“Tell me about the acquisition.”
Daniel opened his tablet.
“Blackthorn Industries owns several logistics companies, property developments, security firms and mining operations.”
“Mining?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Northern Territories.”
Isabella's eyes narrowed.
“That's interesting.”
“Why?”
“Because there's no public record of those mines operating five years ago.”
Daniel looked at her.
“What are you thinking?”
Isabella took the tablet.
“I'm thinking Blackthorn Industries isn't making its money from what everyone thinks.”
She opened the financial records.
Something immediately caught her attention.
A series of payments.
Every month.
For twenty years.
To a company called Lunar Holdings.
Isabella frowned.
“Who owns this company?”
Daniel searched.
“There's no owner listed.”
“Address?”
“Nothing.”
“Registration?”
“Nothing.”
Isabella looked at him.
“That isn't possible.”
Daniel nodded.
“I thought you'd say that.”
She stared at the screen.
Lunar Holdings had received billions from Blackthorn Industries.
But it officially didn't exist.
“Find out where the money goes.”
Daniel nodded.
“I'll investigate.”
Isabella closed the tablet.
“Don't investigate through normal channels.”
“Why?”
“Because if someone has hidden billions from the government…”
She looked toward the window.
“They'll know we're looking.”
That evening, Adrian stood in his father's old study.
The room hadn't changed.
The bookshelves were still filled with ancient texts.
The fireplace still smelled of cedar.
And behind the desk was the portrait of the former Alpha.
His father.
Adrian stared at the painting.
“You knew.”
His voice was barely a whisper.
“You knew she would come back.”
He walked toward the bookshelf.
His father had always kept one section locked.
Adrian had never been allowed to open it.
Not even as a child.
But tonight, something compelled him.
He removed the key from the drawer.
The lock clicked.
The bookshelf opened.
A hidden compartment appeared.
Inside were dozens of old documents.
Adrian pulled out the first file.
He opened it.
His blood ran cold.
MOONBORN BLOODLINE
He turned the page.
There were names.
Dates.
Photographs.
Deaths.
One after another.
Women.
Men.
Children.
All carrying the same crescent-shaped mark.
All classified as deceased.
Adrian's hands began to shake.
Then he reached the final page.
There was only one photograph.
A young woman.
Adrian recognized her immediately.
Isabella's mother.
Underneath the photograph were four words.
SUBJECT FAILED TO AWAKEN.
Adrian stared at the page.
His breathing became uneven.
“Impossible.”
He turned the page.
Another note had been written underneath.
If her daughter inherits the bloodline, eliminate her before the first full moon after her twenty-fourth birthday.
Adrian's eyes widened.
Isabella was twenty-four.
And tonight...
was the night before the full moon.
A sound came from behind him.
Adrian turned.
Nobody was there.
But the door to the study was slowly closing.
He grabbed the handle.
“Who's there?”
Silence.
Then he smelled something.
Smoke.
And blood.
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
Someone had been inside the room.
He looked back at the documents.
The page containing Isabella's mother's photograph was gone.
Meanwhile, Isabella arrived home.
She stepped inside her apartment and immediately stopped.
Something was wrong.
The lights were off.
She always left one light on.
Her hand slowly moved toward the concealed weapon beneath her jacket.
She took another step.
Nothing.
Then—
A sound came from the kitchen.
A glass breaking.
Isabella moved silently toward the doorway.
Her senses sharpened.
She could smell another person.
Wolf.
Her eyes narrowed.
“Come out.”
No answer.
She entered the kitchen.
A figure stood near the window.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dark clothing.
Isabella raised her weapon.
“Turn around.”
The stranger slowly obeyed.
A pair of familiar eyes stared back at her.
Not Adrian.
Someone else.
Someone she had seen before.
Five years ago.
At the ceremony.
Isabella's breath caught.
“You…”
The stranger smiled.
“You shouldn't have come back.”
Isabella tightened her grip.
“Who sent you?”
The stranger took one step forward.
“Your mother.”
Isabella froze.
“My mother is dead.”
The stranger's smile disappeared.
“No.”
He reached inside his coat.
Isabella raised her weapon.
“Don't.”
He slowly pulled out a small envelope.
Then he placed it on the table.
“Your mother is alive.”
Isabella stared at the envelope.
Her entire world seemed to stop.
“That's impossible.”
The stranger backed toward the window.
“Open it.”
“Wait!”
He jumped through the window.
Isabella rushed forward.
By the time she reached the balcony, he was gone.
She returned to the kitchen.
Her hands were shaking as she picked up the envelope.
There was no name on it.
Only one sentence.
For Isabella, when she finally returns.
She opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
Isabella stared at it.
It showed a woman standing in front of a forest.
Her mother.
Alive.
And standing beside her...
was Adrian's father.
Isabella's heart stopped.
On the back of the photograph were six words.
Ask Adrian why they killed me.
Isabella dropped the photograph.
For the first time in five years...
she was afraid.
Because tomorrow she would see Adrian again.
And this time...
she wouldn't be asking him about the rejection.
She would be asking him about her mother's death.
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