Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 100 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 100

Chapter 100 No News There

Lady Flourish’s POV

The moment Rhys stepped into my office, I knew something was wrong.

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He wasn’t carrying a stack of files or asking about the infringement case. Instead, he stood at the doorway with an unusually complicated expression, as though he had been debating whether or not to tell me something.

I looked up from the contract in front of me. “What is it?”

Rhys closed the door behind him before walking over. “My Lady… there’s a rumor spreading through Stonehedge.”

I leaned back in my chair. “What kind of rumor?”

His brows drew together. “They’re saying you obtained the collaboration between F-Tech and Stormbridge through improper means.”

The pen between my fingers stopped moving.

“They’re saying…” Rhys continued carefully, “that Alpha Damian only awarded F-Tech the project because you interfered with his private life.”

Silence settled inside the office.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, employees continued walking through the corridors, completely unaware that my patience had already reached its limit.

Rhys watched me cautiously. “I’ve already had the public relations department begin tracing where it originated.”

I lowered the document onto my desk. “No.”

He blinked. “No?”

“I’ll handle it myself.”

My voice was really calm, because my wolf was already standing inside my mind, baring her teeth.

Rumors. I hated rumors. Especially among wolves.

Unlike humans, packs survived on trust.

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Chapter 100 No News There

One malicious rumor could split alliances, destroy reputations, and poison years of cooperation.

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Someone wasn’t merely targeting me. They were trying to create distrust between F-Tech and Stormbridge.

My phone was already in my hand. Over the next twenty minutes, I called nearly everyone involved with the project.

Executives.

Department heads.

Project coordinators.

Even several managers from Stormbridge whom I’d only met once during negotiations. Every single answer only made my expression colder.

“No, Lady Flourish. I haven’t heard anything.”

“I’ll look into it immediately.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“I assure you, nobody from our department said such a thing.”

None of them knew. Or perhaps none of them were willing to admit they knew.

Either way, my irritation only deepened. Rhys quietly set a cup of coffee beside me. “My Lady…”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I scrolled until I found one particular number.

Pete. Stormbridge’s operations manager.

Technically, calling him directly wasn’t appropriate.

Although Pete occupied a high-ranking position and worked closely beside Damian, that didn’t automatically give me the liberty to contact him whenever I pleased.

Normally, matters like this should go through several layers of communication first.

Today… I couldn’t care less. I pressed Call.

The phone rang twice, then a familiar voice answered.

“Lady Flourish?” He sounded genuinely surprised. “How can I help you?”

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I stood before the window, watching the afternoon sun spread across Stonehedge. “Mr. Pete.”

My voice remained perfectly even. “If there’s one thing I dislike, it’s rumors.” A brief silence followed.

“I believe we’re all adults,” I continued, “and you know better than anyone how dangerous rumors can be inside a pack.”

Pete immediately became serious. “Please go on.”

I rested one hand against the glass. “Someone from your side contacted one of F-Tech’s stakeholders yesterday and accused me of misconduct.”

His breathing paused.

“And now,” I continued, “that rumor has begun spreading through Stonehedge. The person involved insisted the collaboration between F-Tech and Alpha Damien should be terminated immediately.”

Another silence. Longer this time. “I wanted to ask you something.”

My wolf’s aura leaked ever so slightly. “Were you aware of this?”

Pete answered almost immediately. “What?”

His voice rose several degrees. “That happened?”

His shock sounded completely genuine. For a split second, I remembered yesterday afternoon.

Just after Damian’s social media post had caused everyone to speculate about his mysterious girlfriend…

One of our stakeholders had suddenly received an unexpected call. The caller claimed someone from F-Tech had behaved inappropriately around Alpha Damian.

That the relationship between the two companies might compromise future cooperation.

Concerned about corporate stability, the stakeholder had been urged to quietly remove me from the Stormbridge project before anyone else found out.

At first, I’d dismissed it as nonsense. But then Rhys brought me today’s rumor.

That was no coincidence. I had originally planned to confront the person responsible directly.

Then I realized…

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If they were shameless enough to spread lies behind my back, they certainly wouldn’t confess when questioned.

The only option was to go straight to Stormbridge.

Pete let out a slow breath. “Lady Flourish.”

His tone had become noticeably firmer. “I trust your character completely.”

I blinked.

“I’ll investigate this personally. I’ll find out exactly who started it. And I’ll give you a proper explanation.”

For a brief moment… I didn’t know what to say.

I’d prepared an entire argument before making this call. Evidence, questions, even several legal points.

Instead, Pete hadn’t defended his employee even once.

He’d chosen to believe me first. The anger inside my chest eased ever so slightly. “Thank you.”

I finally spoke. “With your assurance, I feel much better.”

“You have my word.”

The call ended shortly afterward. Rhys looked at me curiously. “How did it go?”

“They’re investigating.”

He nodded. “I figured Alpha Damian’s people wouldn’t tolerate this.”

Neither would I.

Almost three hours had passed, and by then, the office had begun emptying for the evening.

The lights outside gradually switched on one after another, casting warm reflections across my desk.

My phone vibrated. It was Pete.

I answered immediately. “Mr. Pete.”

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Lady Flourish.” His voice carried obvious exhaustion. “We identified the source.”

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I straightened. “So quickly?”

Floisted

“We questioned everyone who had access to the project.” He paused. “It turns out the call was made by one of our newer employees.”

“A new employee?”

“Yes.” He read the name from what sounded like a report. “Emily Hart. I questioned her myself.”

My fingers tapped slowly against the desk. “And?”

Pete sighed. “She admitted making the phone call.”

My expression remained unreadable. “Why?”

Another pause. “I asked her the same question.” His voice lowered. “She said Miss Vale invited her to dinner several nights ago.”

My eyes narrowed. “Miss Vale?”

“Yes.” Pete continued carefully. “They attended the same high school. During dinner, your name came up.”

Silence.

Then, I laughed. A quiet laugh. Cold enough that even Rhys looked over from across the office.

“Miss Vale…”

I repeated softly. “As in…Phina Vale?”

Pete answered without hesitation. “Yes.”

Something inside me finally clicked into place.

The mysterious employee. The stakeholder. The rumor.

None of it had started inside Stormbridge. Someone had simply used one of Damien’s employees.

How clever. How incredibly stupid.

I slowly lowered the phone. “I understand.”

“I’m truly sorry this happened,” Pete said sincerely. “I’ll deal with our employee internally.”

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Chapter 100 No News There

“Thank you.”

After ending the call, I remained seated without moving.

Rhys watched me carefully. “My Lady?”

Farmbed

I didn’t answer. Instead, I opened my contacts. My thumb hovered over one familiar name.

Damian.

After staring at it for several long seconds… I pressed call.