Chapter 63
Xavier’s pov
Alpha Sebastian’s words lingered in the air, sharp and unsettling—almost like he had seen the future.
He seemed to know exactly how things would play out: that the marriage negotiations between our two packs would destroy our opportunity to do business together.
I watched as Alpha Gavin steadied himself, visibly shaken.
Alpha Gavin turned slightly, his eyes meeting mine across the room in silent communication.
If this project collapsed, both our packs would bleed financially.
“We were tied together on that project from the very beginning, whether we liked it or not.
I kept my expression carefully blank, refusing to reveal my thoughts.
Around the table, the faces of both our families had grown somber.
“Hah p>
The harsh laugh cut through the tense silence like a knife.
Everyone turned toward Cici as she fixed her gaze on me, slowly approaching until she stood directly in my path. The scent of her rage—bitter and acrid—flooded my nose.
“What’s so great about loving Cecilia?” she sneered, her eyes flashing dangerously. “She’s already found her replacement and crawled into Alpha Sebastian’s bed. Why else would he constantly defend her p>
[She’s delusional,] Kael growled in my mind, bristling at the accusation.
I felt my features freeze over, my voice emerging cold as winter. “They have no inappropriate relationship p>
I’d harbored my own suspicions before. But after reading Cecilia’s conversation with Harper last night, and considering Alpha Sebastian’s words, I believed it now.
Yet a nagging doubt persisted in my heart: with Alpha Sebastian so boldly championing her at every turn, would Cecilia eventually develop feelings for him? The possibility left a bitter taste in my mouth. I couldn’t bear to contemplate that future.
“Is she really so pure and innocent in your mind? You think she’s incapable of cheating?” Cici demanded, noticing my momentary distraction. Her fists clenched at her sides, her jaw tightening with barely contained rage.
I looked at her—really looked at her—and felt nothing but cold contempt rise within me. “Wasn’t I the one who cheated? I admit my mistake. But Cecilia was always good—I was the one who betrayed her p>
The truth of my own words struck me like physical pain. People truly only appreciate what they had once it was gone.
My mate—the woman who abandoned her dream career for me, who endured my family’s criticism, who stood firmly by my side through our marriage… She was brilliant, strong, gentle, never losing her temper. She was extraordinary in every way, yet gradually I found her… boring. How foolish I’d been, trading paradise for purgatory.
Cici’s expression twisted grotesquely as my words sank in. “If she’s the good one, then I’m the villain? What about everything we shared? What was that supposed to be p>
I stared at her with empty eyes, as though looking at something already dead. “You tell me p>
With a piercing scream, Cici grabbed a knife from the table and pressed it against her throat.
Her family lunged forward in panic, scrambling to wrestle the blade from her hand.
I didn’t even bother looking. I’d seen this same dramatic performance countless times over the past few days. If she wanted to die, that was her choice. I turned and walked toward the door, disgust etched on my face.
My parents rose from their seats, their expressions grave as they followed me.
“Come back!” Cici wailed behind us, her voice breaking with sobs. “You’ll regret this! You’ll definitely regret this p>
I didn’t look back. Not once.
Now everything—both personal and professional—was tangled in an impossible knot.
Author’s pov
Contrary to what Alpha Gavin seemed to believe, Alpha Sebastian was far from omniscient.
He simply knew Alpha Xavier well enough—recent encounters had given him a working understanding of the man’s temperament.
Today’s move, though colored slightly by personal sentiment, was mostly calculated.
Alpha Sebastian had merely followed the logic: Alpha Xavier’s behavior the night before, juxtaposed with his mother’s public statement earlier today, made one thing abundantly clear—they were not working in tandem.
If anything, they were fundamentally at odds.
And knowing Alpha Xavier—fiercely independent, allergic to manipulation—there was no universe in which he would quietly comply with whatever scheme his mother had devised.
Alpha Sebastian hadn’t needed to be a mind-reader to anticipate the fallout. He just had to do the math.
Outside his office, Vice President Wiley and a group of senior executives lingered like vultures, waiting for the scent of weakness.
Beta Sawyer, ever loyal, had attempted to dismiss them with some excuse about Alpha Sebastian taking his midday rest.
But they refused to leave, choosing instead to hover just beyond the door.
Whispers said Secretary Cecilia had earned the direct approval of Alpha Yardley, a rare feat in itself.
Wiley, in particular, had taken interest. Upon hearing her name, something clicked.
He remembered a video a business associate had shown him during a golf outing—one featuring Alpha Sebastian himself, along with Shadow Pack’s Alpha Gavin and Blood Moon Pack’s Alpha Xavier.
Wiley had worked closely with Gavin on a series of project loans. He knew the Alpha’s temperament, and more importantly, his influence. And so when Cecilia’s name resurfaced in that context, Wiley made the connection instantly.
He remembered her face. Striking. Alarming, even. The type of beauty that curled around the edges of reason like smoke—dangerous in the way of myths and ruinous queens.
Even now, the memory of her lingered.
And so, ever the cautious operator, Wiley had taken it upon himself to REMIND Alpha Yardley.
Oddly enough, the Alpha Yardley hadn’t cared.That only deepened Wiley’s suspicions.
Now he was convinced Alpha Sebastian had been compromised—blinded by beauty, perhaps, or worse, using the bank’s power to settle personal scores against the Shadow Pack. In Wiley’s mind, this wasn’t strategy. It was recklessness disguised as leadership.
He intended to challenge it.
Sebastian’s pov
The office door was open and Beta Sawyer walked in with a group of people.
They approached with exaggerated deference, every word carefully calculated. Despite their respectful demeanor, they were clearly here to register their complaints. Each statement implied I’d made a grave error.
Wiley even mentioned he’d already reported the situation to my father.
I didn’t scowl or pull rank. Instead, I simply smiled and made a phone call on speaker right in front of them. “What’s the situation with the Shadow Pack p>
“Alpha Xavier stormed in furious and left even angrier, with his parents following. Alpha Gavin chased after him, and they argued at the entrance before parting ways on bad terms p>
“Oh, wait,” The voice on the other end of the line suddenly became excited.
“Breaking news—apparently the Blood Moon and Shadow families had a massive falling out at the Shadow Pack’s dining hall. The Shadow Pack threatened to terminate their joint project if Xavier won’t marry Cici. Xavier flatly refused, saying they could do whatever they wanted. The two packs are completely at odds now p>
I ended the call, amused at how my intelligence network managed to gather such detailed information so quickly.
Wiley and the other executives looked utterly stunned, their expressions cycling through disbelief, shock, and dawning comprehension.
After Luna Dora’s public announcement, everyone had assumed the Blood Moon and Shadow packs were about to unite through marriage. This development was completely unexpected.
Had we released the second installment of the loan only to discover this later, recovering our money from a failed project would have been nearly impossible. I could see them mentally retracting every word of criticism they’d just directed at me.
My expression cooled slightly as I addressed Wiley directly. “Wiley, I believe you should make another call to my dad,Alpha Yardley. You owe him an apology p>
Wiley’s face flushed deeper than a blood moon.
My phone rang, saving him from further humiliation. I glanced at the caller ID and felt an unexpected wave of tenderness and concern wash through me.
This was a call I needed to take.