Chapter 37 Her Bite
Kier's POV
Her words hit harder than any punch I’d ever taken in the training ring.
“Then Ironclad will need to decide if it wants to be chosen…” She didn’t blink, didn’t shift, didn’t bow. “…or if it’s content to be feared.”
For a second, everything blurred. The glass walls, the city skyline blazing with the sun, the quiet clicking of laptop keys—all of it dissolved. Even Liora’s stiff presence beside me. Gone.
All I saw was Sable.
Her brown eyes were sharp as knives, her chestnut hair catching the light, her posture steady and unyielding—born to command a room full of wolves and humans alike. She wasn’t trembling. She wasn’t faltering. She had stood in my territory, under my gaze, and not only resisted the mate bond—she’d thrown it back at me.
And damn me, I’d never wanted her more.
My wolf clawed at the inside of my skin, snarling for release. Mate. Ours. Take her. Tear down the walls until she yields.
I pressed him down with the same iron will I’d used to build an empire. My fingers curled on the armrest of my chair until the leather creaked under my grip. If I gave him an inch, I’d be across the table with my teeth at her throat and my mouth at her lips before anyone could stop me.
She had always brought out my best fights. Even now, she was sharpening me into something fiercer than before.
I let my mouth curve into a faint smile. Not warmth. Not peace. A warning. “Well said,” I murmured, my voice steady, Alpha-smooth. “We’ll consider it.”
Her eyes flicked to me for the briefest heartbeat—then away.
Inside, my wolf seethed.
Donovan resumed his pitch, voice climbing as he gestured toward the glowing slide deck. “If we align Everbright’s creative with Ironclad’s expansion goals, we’ll see a measurable market lift by quarter three—”
“Seventy-two percent growth potential,” Sam added from his side of the table, sliding forward a sheet of metrics. “And a digital reach that outpaces the competition.”
Jenna smiled brightly, her pen flashing as she underlined points on her notepad. “Our research shows loyalty campaigns resonate best with your core audience. We’d love to build on that strength.”
I caught maybe half of it. Maybe less.
Because my attention kept straying back to Sable.
The line of her jaw. The way her lips pressed together as she scribbled notes. The faint tremor at her throat, betraying the effort it cost her to keep her mask in place. She was breaking, just as much as I was.
And it thrilled me.
Liora leaned closer, sliding a paper across the table. “Your notes, Kier,” she whispered, brushing my sleeve. “We should lock down the response.”
I didn’t move to take it. Didn’t even look. Her scent was cloying, sweet where Sable’s scent was storm and earth and fire.
When Sable’s gaze flicked to Liora, I caught it—the flash of jealousy, raw and sharp, before she buried it again.
My wolf surged with savage satisfaction. She feels it. She still feels it.
I had my proof.
The meeting stretched another thirty minutes, every tick of the clock an ache.
“Mr. Blane?” Donovan prompted, blinking at me. “Do you have any initial feedback?”
I drew a breath, slow and deliberate. “Ironclad will review your proposals. Sable, we’ll be in touch.” My voice didn’t waver. Not once.
Jenna’s brows lifted slightly, surprised at the formality. Sam only nodded, professional mask in place.
But Sable… she didn’t speak. She gathered her portfolio, slid her chair back, and rose without looking at me.
I pushed back my own chair, but Liora’s hand came down lightly on my arm. “Let her leave,” she murmured.
Sable turned at the door, just enough for me to see the steel in her expression. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Blane,” she said evenly. “We’ll follow up by email.”
The sound of her voice—so careful, so cold—cut deeper than claws.
“You’re welcome,” I replied, and let my eyes lock with hers for half a heartbeat longer than necessary.
They filed out, Donovan first, then Sam and Jenna. Sable was last. The bond thrummed between us, alive, relentless, a cord pulled taut.
Liora leaned closer as the door swung shut behind the Everbright team. Her voice dropped to a hiss. “She’s not yours anymore, Kier. You need to stop chasing her.”
I still didn’t look at her. My eyes stayed fixed on the door Sable had just walked through. “She’s mine,” I said softly. “She’s my mate.”
Liora’s laugh was brittle. “You keep saying that like it means something.”
“It means everything.” I rose slowly, towering over her. “And I won't stop until what’s mine comes home.”
Her mouth parted, but she said nothing.
My wolf growled in agreement, a sound that echoed in my bones.
The battle wasn’t over.
It was only beginning.
I caught sight of Sable down the hall, speaking quietly to Jenna. She stiffened as she sensed me approaching but didn’t turn.
“Sable,” I said, my voice low.
She glanced over her shoulder, eyes hard. “Mr. Blane.”
“You can drop the formality,” I said.
“I’d rather not.” She shifted her bag higher on her shoulder. “We’re professionals now, aren’t we?”
Liora came up behind me, arms folded. “This is inappropriate,” she said.
I ignored her. “Sable,” I repeated. “Stay for a moment. We need to talk.”
“We have nothing to talk about. ” she said quietly. “Not explanations. Not time. Not… anything." She glanced at Liora and I seen the anger in her eyes. I needed to speak with her, to explain.
My wolf lunged against the leash. Mate. Take her. Bring her back.
I leaned closer, lowering my voice until it was a thread of sound only she could hear. “You feel it too,” I murmured. “Don’t pretend you don’t.”
Her jaw tightened. “What I feel isn’t your concern."
“Yes,” I said. “It is.”
For a moment, she faltered, her pulse jumping at her throat. I caught it. She caught me catching it.
Then she turned, spine straight as a blade, and walked away without looking back.
Liora exhaled sharply. “You’re humiliating yourself.”
“No,” I said. My voice was calm, final. “I’m preparing for war.”
Because Sable might think she could resist me. She might think she could resist us.
But the mate bond had already chosen for us. And so had I.
At the far end of the corridor, Sable paused at the elevator, her silhouette framed in light. For one heartbeat, she looked back—just a flicker.
Our eyes locked.
Everything else fell away.
Then the doors closed, and she was gone.
My wolf howled in the quiet of my mind, not with despair but with hunger.
This wasn’t the end.
It was the opening move