Five Years Later
1686 Words
Five years was a long time.
Long enough for a broken girl to disappear.
Long enough for a forgotten name to become a rumor.
Long enough for the world to forget Isabella Hart.
But Isabella had never forgotten.
She remembered everything.
The rejection.
The laughter.
The pain.
And most importantly...
The voice in the forest.
They lied to you.
She had spent five years trying to discover what those words meant.
Now, she was finally close.
“Miss Hart?”
Isabella looked up from the documents on her desk.
Daniel stood in the doorway.
“The Blackthorn meeting has been confirmed.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow at ten.”
She nodded.
“Good.”
Daniel hesitated.
“There is something else.”
Isabella looked at him.
“What?”
“Their Alpha will be attending personally.”
She already knew.
“Adrian.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
Isabella returned her attention to the documents.
“Then make sure the meeting isn't delayed.”
Daniel stared at her.
“You're not nervous?”
She looked up.
“Should I be?”
“I don't know.”
He gave an awkward smile.
“You've spent five years building your company. Tomorrow you're walking straight back into the territory of the man who—”
“Rejected me?”
Daniel stopped.
Isabella leaned back in her chair.
“Say it.”
Daniel sighed.
“The man who rejected you.”
She smiled.
“I'm not the same woman he rejected.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
He had met Isabella three years ago.
He had never seen her cry.
Never seen her lose her temper.
Never seen her afraid.
But there was one thing Daniel had noticed.
Whenever someone mentioned the name Blackthorn, Isabella became different.
Colder.
More focused.
As if she had been waiting for this moment.
“Daniel.”
“Yes?”
“Find everything you can about Blackthorn Industries.”
“Financial records?”
“Everything.”
He frowned.
“Everything?”
“Employees. Subsidiaries. Property records. Lawsuits. Investors.”
She paused.
“And family history.”
Daniel's expression changed.
“Family history?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Isabella looked at him.
“Because Adrian Blackthorn isn't the reason I'm going back.”
Daniel didn't speak.
She closed the folder.
“I'm going back because five years ago, someone lied to me.”
That night, Isabella stood alone in her apartment.
The city stretched beneath her balcony.
Thousands of lights glittered in the darkness.
She held a small silver necklace in her hand.
It was the only thing she had kept from her old life.
Her mother's necklace.
She turned it over.
A strange symbol had been carved into the back.
A crescent moon surrounded by three small stars.
She had asked her mother about it countless times.
Her mother had always given the same answer.
“It's nothing.”
But Isabella knew better.
After leaving Blackthorn territory, she had discovered the same symbol in an old book about supernatural bloodlines.
The book had contained only one sentence about it.
The Moonborn must never be allowed to awaken.
That sentence had changed everything.
For five years, Isabella had searched for the meaning of the word.
Moonborn.
She had found almost nothing.
Ancient records had been destroyed.
Family histories had disappeared.
People who knew anything about the bloodline had vanished.
Someone had gone to extraordinary lengths to erase the Moonborn from history.
And Isabella wanted to know why.
She closed her fingers around the necklace.
Suddenly—
Pain shot through her hand.
Isabella gasped.
The necklace began glowing.
Silver light spread between her fingers.
She dropped it.
It hit the floor.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then she heard it.
A whisper.
“Come home.”
Isabella froze.
The voice was the same.
The voice from five years ago.
Her heart raced.
“Who are you?”
Silence.
She stepped closer to the necklace.
“Why are you calling me?”
The silver light faded.
Then a single word appeared in her mind.
Blood.
Isabella's breathing stopped.
“Whose blood?”
No answer.
She crouched down and picked up the necklace.
Her fingers were trembling.
Tomorrow, she was going back to Blackthorn.
And suddenly...
She wasn't sure whether she was ready.
The next morning, Adrian Blackthorn stood in front of a mirror.
He adjusted his black tie.
His reflection looked exactly as it had five years ago.
Tall.
Powerful.
Cold.
But something had changed.
His eyes.
They looked tired.
A knock sounded.
“Enter.”
The door opened.
His Beta, Marcus, stepped inside.
“The meeting is ready.”
Adrian nodded.
“Who is representing the company?”
Marcus looked at the tablet in his hand.
“Isabella Hart.”
Adrian's fingers stopped moving.
The room went silent.
“Say that again.”
“Isabella Hart.”
Adrian's face lost its color.
“That's impossible.”
Marcus looked confused.
“Why?”
Adrian didn't answer.
He walked toward the desk.
“Show me.”
Marcus handed him the tablet.
A photograph appeared on the screen.
A beautiful woman in a black suit.
Dark hair.
Sharp eyes.
Confident expression.
Adrian stared at the photograph.
He knew those eyes.
He knew that face.
He knew that woman.
His wolf exploded inside him.
MATE.
Adrian's hand tightened around the tablet.
“She survived.”
Marcus looked at him.
“You know her?”
Adrian didn't answer.
His gaze remained fixed on the photograph.
Five years.
Five years of silence.
Five years of pretending he had made the right decision.
And now she was walking back into his life.
But something was wrong.
He could feel it.
The bond between them wasn't the same.
Before, Isabella's emotions had always reached him.
Her happiness.
Her fear.
Her love.
Now there was nothing.
Only silence.
Adrian closed his eyes.
“Why can't I feel her?”
Marcus frowned.
“Feel who?”
Adrian opened his eyes.
“Nothing.”
He handed the tablet back.
“Cancel the meeting.”
Marcus stared at him.
“But the acquisition—”
“I said cancel it.”
Marcus hesitated.
“Alpha, Blackthorn Industries needs this deal.”
Adrian turned toward him.
“I don't care.”
Marcus lowered his head.
“Yes, Alpha.”
He turned to leave.
“Marcus.”
The Beta stopped.
Adrian's voice was quieter.
“Don't tell anyone she's here.”
Marcus nodded.
“Understood.”
The door closed.
Adrian was alone.
He walked to the window.
His wolf growled.
You rejected her.
Adrian closed his eyes.
“I know.”
You abandoned her.
“I know.”
You let her believe you didn't want her.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“I had no choice.”
His wolf went silent.
Adrian stared at the mountains.
He remembered the night of the rejection.
He remembered Isabella's face.
He remembered the moment her heart broke.
He remembered wanting to run after her.
But he hadn't.
Because his father had been standing behind him.
And his father's warning still haunted him.
If you claim that girl, Adrian, thousands will die.
Adrian had believed him.
He had chosen his pack.
He had sacrificed his mate.
But five years later...
He wasn't sure he had sacrificed the right person.
At exactly 9:57 the next morning, Isabella arrived at Blackthorn Tower.
The same building.
The same black wolf emblem.
The same cold feeling in her stomach.
But she wasn't sixteen anymore.
She wasn't the rejected Omega standing in the snow.
She stepped out of the elevator.
The receptionist stood immediately.
“Miss Hart?”
“Yes.”
“Alpha Blackthorn is waiting.”
Isabella smiled.
“Good.”
She walked toward the conference room.
Every step echoed through the hallway.
Then she stopped outside the doors.
Her hand rested on the handle.
For one second, she remembered the girl she used to be.
The girl who had loved Adrian.
The girl who had believed they were destined for each other.
That girl was gone.
Isabella opened the door.
Adrian was standing at the end of the table.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke.
His wolf roared.
Her heart...
didn't move.
Adrian took one step toward her.
“Isabella.”
She smiled politely.
“Alpha Blackthorn.”
His expression tightened.
“It's been five years.”
“Yes.”
He stared at her.
“You're alive.”
Isabella raised an eyebrow.
“Were you expecting me to be dead?”
Adrian's face changed.
She walked past him and took a seat.
“Let's discuss business.”
He remained standing.
“You came back to Blackthorn.”
“I came back to negotiate.”
“Why?”
Isabella opened her folder.
“Because I want your company.”
Adrian stared at her.
“You want Blackthorn Industries?”
“All of it.”
A slow silence filled the room.
Adrian leaned forward.
“You can't afford it.”
Isabella smiled.
“I already can.”
She pushed a document across the table.
Adrian looked down.
His eyes widened.
The offer was enormous.
Far beyond anything he had expected.
He looked back at her.
“Who are you?”
For the first time, Isabella's smile disappeared.
She leaned closer.
“That's exactly what I'm trying to find out.”
Adrian froze.
Isabella stood.
“I'll see you tomorrow, Alpha.”
She walked toward the door.
Then Adrian's voice stopped her.
“Isabella.”
She turned.
He looked at her with an expression she had never seen before.
Regret.
“Why did you really come back?”
Isabella stared at him.
Then she smiled.
Not warmly.
Not cruelly.
Just enough to make his stomach tighten.
“Because five years ago, you rejected me.”
She opened the door.
“And I spent those five years learning why.”
The door closed behind her.
Adrian stood completely still.
His wolf whispered one word.
Run.
But Adrian knew it wasn't warning him about Isabella.
It was warning him about the truth.
Because somewhere deep inside Blackthorn territory...
someone had just realized Isabella Hart had returned.
And they were terrified.
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