Ch. I Refuse to Be Your Luna 53 I Refuse to Be Your Luna 53

Chapter 53

Lady Flourish’s POV

Finishe

For a second nobody spoke. Cheryl stared at Ethan. I stared at him too, but my wolf had already gone still beneath my skin.

Rhys’s ex-mate. Lena. The woman who had just appeared in our office.

Then a realization hit me. My phone. Still on the floor. I bent down and picked it up, and the moment the screen lit up, my entire body froze.

The mind link. Still active. Every word Ethan had said, every word Cheryl and I had exchanged, Damian had heard all of it.

My wolf panicked, and I severed the connection so abruptly I almost winced. Somewhere far away, Alpha Damian Virel had just listened to an entire office conversation he was never supposed to hear.

I straightened slowly. Cheryl frowned. “Lady Flourish?”

“I’m fine.”

I was not fine. My wolf had practically curled into a corner inside my head. The humiliation arrived in stages. First I’d repeatedly tried to mind link him like a confused teenager who’d forgotten how communication worked.

Then he’d caught me. Then I’d dropped my phone. And now, because I’d forgotten the connection was still open, I’d let one of the most powerful Alphas in the seven territories listen to gossip about Rhys’s former

mate.

Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful.

For several minutes I sat behind my desk without moving. Eventually Cheryl and Ethan went back to work, though Ethan’s revelation kept circling through my mind. Lena was Rhys’s ex-mate, and she apparently had connections inside Stormbridge. My wolf didn’t like the timing. Neither did I.

Still, there was another problem waiting on my phone. Damian. With a sigh I reopened our chat and typed. Alpha Damian, I apologize. If I said everything earlier was purely accidental, would you believe me?

The reply came almost instantly. Accident? Another message followed. You mean you opened our chat, stared into space for half an hour, repeatedly attempted to mind link me, accepted the connection, and then coincidentally allowed me to hear your entire office conversation?

My face burned. There was no reasonable defense. After several painful seconds I typed one word. Yes.

The typing indicator appeared, disappeared, appeared again. My wolf paced anxiously. Finally his message arrived. That’s quite the coincidence.

I closed my eyes. There was no point pretending anymore.

He knew exactly what had happened, and judging by the speed of his replies, he was enjoying my embarrassment far more than any decent person should.

Chapter 53

Farahen

Before I could respond, another message appeared. Even better timing. I’ll be passing by your office later. Dinner tonight? Let us talk in person.

I stared at the screen. My wolf turned suspicious immediately. Talk. That word was dangerous.

What exactly did he want to talk about? My repeated mind links? The contract? Rhys? Lena? Or the fact that I’d spent several minutes opening and closing his chat before finally embarrassing myself?

There was no proper escape route. Could I refuse? Not after everything he’d already heard. I typed slowly. Alright, Alpha Damian

The smiling emoji looked painfully desperate. A second later, his reply. See you tonight.

I set my phone facedown and considered disappearing into the wilderness. My wolf agreed. Unfortunately neither of us had the option.

15

TY

could keep feeling sorry for myself, the boardroom doors burst open, drawing everyone’s

merged first, his expression dark enough that several employees moved out of his path on instinct. ross the room I felt his wolf, angry, restless, barely restrained.

Rhys.”

opped, barely. “How did it go?”

jaw tightened. “Nothing’s settled.”

My stomach sank. “What happened?”

He dragged a hand through his hair. “According to Alpha Damian, whoever lands the contract first keeps it.” Silence spread across the office. “No restrictions.”

Several nearby employees paled. My wolf lifted her head. No restrictions, no protections, no safeguards.

That meant exactly what it sounded like. The strongest wolf won.

Any company could negotiate, make an offer, use its influence. Stormbridge had become open territory, and everyone was fighting for the same prize.

Rhys’s nostrils flared. “Kael isn’t backing down.”

I folded my arms. “Neither are we.”

His eyes shifted to me, something easing briefly in his expression, then he continued toward his office.

As he passed reception, another figure stepped forward.

A beautiful she wolf with chestnut hair and a perfectly composed smile. Lena Ashford.

My wolf immediately recognized tension between them, faint, buried beneath years of separation and whatever had destroyed

Old instincts didn

hip ended.

19:56 Wed, Sep 30

Chapter 53

“Lena,” an employee greeted. She smiled politely, then turned toward Rhys.

“You look like you’ve had a rough day.”

00

Rhys stopped. Every muscle in his back tightened. For one long second they simply looked at each other. I waited for him to respond. He didn’t.

He gave her one long, unreadable look and walked away without a word.

Her smile faltered, only slightly, something most people wouldn’t have caught. I did.

Her wolf flickered beneath her skin, reacting to the rejection before she regained control, adjusted her sleeve, and turned away.

My wolf watched her go, uneasy. Ethan’s words returned. Somebody on Kael’s side has connections inside Stormbridge.

She’s Rhys’s ex-mate. The timing was getting harder to ignore.

The office slowly returned to work. Rhys disappeared into his office, I into mine, but concentration refused

to come.

The industry had always worked this way. Connections, influence, power.

Talent mattered, but power decided who got to use it. The stronger your backing, the safer your position. Rhys and I had never had that luxury.

We’d built F-Tech through work, risk, and more than a few battles with wolves who thought they deserved opportunities simply because of their names.

Kael had influence. And now, apparently, so did someone close to Rhys.

By evening my headache had become impossible to ignore, and I left the office nearly twenty minutes early, partly for fresh air, mostly because I didn’t want anyone seeing me leave with Damian.

The gossip alone would be unbearable.

By the time his black car pulled up I was already waiting. The passenger door opened, and I slipped inside quickly, quietly. The door clicked shut, and for several seconds neither of us spoke.

Then Damian raised one eyebrow slowly, and I immediately regretted everything.

“What’s this?” His voice carried unmistakable amusement. “Running from your employees?”

“No.”

His eyebrow rose higher. I cleared my throat. “I simply didn’t want unnecessary attention, Alpha Damian

A faint smile touched his lips. He clearly didn’t believe me. Watching how tense I was, he took his time adjusting the wheel before starting the engine, and the silence that followed was strangely comfortable. My

wolf relaxed first. Traitor.

Eventually he glanced at me. “What do you feel like eating?”

19:56 Wed, Sep 30

Chapter 53

I blinked, then an awkward laugh escaped. “Honestly? We never actually finished our food last time.”

He looked surprised for a second, then something warm crossed his face, small and brief and dangerousiy distracting. “You’re right.” His fingers tapped the wheel. “Alright. Let’s go there.”

The engine hummed as his car merged into traffic, city lights stretching across the evening, and for the first time since Ethan’s revelation, my wolf relaxed.

Then Damian’s phone vibrated. His eyes moved to the screen, and the faint smile disappeared. My wolf lifted her head.

His expression changed so subtly another person might have missed it. I didn’t.

“What happened?”

He didn’t answer right away, picking up the phone, jaw tightening, before looking straight ahead. “Change of plans, Flourish.”

The way he said my name

He pressed the accelerat message.”

I waited. His grip tig

The car accelerate

d every instinct in me. “What happened?”

surging beneath the calm he usually held onto. “Rhys just sent me a

wheel. “Stormbridge made another move.”

“And Kael isn’t

volved anymore.”