Chapter 95 Wild With Jealousy
Lucian's POV
"You calculated this well," he said, his tone carrying something between appreciation and mild reproach. "Using my channels to facilitate the Sterling Pharmaceuticals exit, positioning yourself as the white knight investor for the next round. Clean work."
I met his gaze without flinching, letting the faint gold bleed into my eyes just enough to remind him who he was dealing with. "We're both playing the same game, Reginald. Half a step ahead, half a step behind. Call it even."
He laughed at that, a genuine sound that seemed to surprise even him. "Fair enough." He set the wine glass down and folded his hands on the table, his expression sharpening. "You had Pinnacle run a financial audit on Vance Botanicals. You didn't think I'd hear about it?"
"I assumed you would," I said. "You've worked with them before. They're thorough, but they're not discreet."
"They found something," Reginald said, and it wasn't a question.
I didn't confirm or deny it, just held his gaze and waited. He was testing me, seeing if I would give him more than he already had.
After a moment, he continued. "There are several transfers that don't add up. Money moving through accounts that shouldn't be connected to Vance Botanicals at all. Marcus Vance's fingerprints are all over it, but the trail goes deeper than just gambling debts." He paused, his fingers drumming once against the table. "Financial issues can be small problems or large ones, depending on how they're framed."
The implicit threat hung in the air between us, clear as daylight. He was telling me that he could use those discrepancies to drive down Vance Botanicals' valuation, to pressure Briar into selling equity at a discount, to position himself as the savior stepping in to clean up a mess that wasn't entirely her fault but would become her burden nonetheless.
I let the gold in my eyes deepen, the wolf rising just enough to color my voice. "Sterling Pharmaceuticals will be offloading their stake in Vance Botanicals soon. If you want to negotiate a lower acquisition price with them, that's your prerogative. You've got the leverage to do it."
Reginald's eyebrow lifted slightly, interest sharpening his features. "But?"
"But the next funding round is Apex's," I said, my tone hardening. "When we inject capital, that equity is ours. You don't touch it."
He studied me for a long moment, and then something shifted in his expression, amusement bleeding through the calculation. "You're here to protect her."
"I'm here to make sure the playing field stays level," I corrected. "Briar's handling the internal audit on those transfers right now. Once she's cleared the discrepancies and traced the source, we can talk about deeper collaboration. Until then, the terms stand as written."
I stood, smoothing the front of my jacket and meeting his eyes one last time. "She's earned this contract on her own merit. Don't make me regret vouching for her integrity."
Reginald inclined his head, the faint smile still playing at the corners of his mouth. "Understood."
I turned and walked out of the room, the door closing behind me with a quiet finality that felt like the end of a chess match where both players had managed to hold their ground.
The observation terrace was at the far end of the estate, accessible through a winding stone path that cut through the gardens and opened onto a wide platform overlooking the valley below. The sun was sinking toward the horizon, painting the sky in layers of orange and gold that bled into deep purple at the edges, and the mountains in the distance were dark silhouettes against the fading light.
Briar was standing at the railing, her arms crossed loosely in front of her, her gaze fixed on the view. She didn't turn when I approached, but I saw the slight shift in her posture that told me she knew I was there.
I came up behind her and slipped my arms around her waist, pulling her back against my chest. She leaned into me without hesitation, her head tilting slightly to rest against my shoulder.
"He is harder to manage than I expected," I said quietly, my breath stirring the hair near her temple. "But he won't make things difficult for you."
She turned in my arms, her eyes lifting to meet mine, and I felt the wolf stir at the way she looked at me—direct and unguarded, the walls she kept up for everyone else lowered just enough that I could see the trust underneath.
And then she kissed me.
It was deliberate and sure, her hands coming up to frame my face as she pressed closer, and I felt something in my chest crack open in a way that had nothing to do with control and everything to do with surrender.
I kissed her back, one hand sliding into her hair while the other tightened at her waist, and the world narrowed to the taste of her mouth and the warmth of her body against mine and the way the setting sun painted everything in shades of gold and fire.
When we finally pulled apart, her breathing was unsteady, her cheeks flushed, and the look in her eyes was something I wanted to memorize and keep.
The wind picked up, cool and clean, carrying the scent of pine and distant rain, and our shadows stretched long across the stone terrace as the sun slipped lower toward the valley.
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Leah's POV
When I came up the path with Thomas accompanying me, the sight of the two of them locked in an embrace against the sunset hit me like a physical blow.
The tour cancellation had already been depressing enough, and I had come back to the estate hoping the observation terrace would help clear my head. Running into them here only made the suffocating feeling in my chest worse.
Briar's words from our last unpleasant encounter echoed in my mind.
"If you had what it took, you would have gotten him already."
The verbal provocation had been bad enough, but now she had the audacity to come here and flaunt it right at my doorstep.
In all the years I had known Lucian, he had always been polite and distant. I had never seen him look the way he did now, so gentle and tender, so completely absorbed in the woman in his arms.
I felt torn between disgust at whatever cheap tactics Briar must have used and a jealousy so consuming it felt like madness.
The moment tears began to well up, I spun around and descended the steps, leaving Thomas standing there looking utterly bewildered.
Thomas hurried after me, but he had barely taken a few steps when his phone rang with a call from the security station at the base of the mountain.
"There's an unscheduled vehicle requesting access up the mountain."
Thomas was still jogging to catch up with me, distracted and curt. "Turn them away."
There was a pause on the other end. "Sir, it's the Alpha heir."
"I..." Thomas stopped in his tracks, and before he could finish the word, I had already turned back and snatched the phone from his hand.
"Let him up." I looked back toward the observation terrace in the distance, fighting to steady my trembling voice. "There's no need to inform my grandfather. I'll tell him myself."
After the security officer acknowledged the order, I ended the call and shoved the phone back at Thomas, adding, "When I arrived earlier, my grandfather told me he wanted them to stay at the estate tonight. Go inform them."
Thomas looked helpless, clearly thinking that I had barely been at the estate long enough to even see my grandfather, let alone receive any such instructions.
But fortunately, my grandfather had indeed expressed interest in having them stay, mentioning something about wanting to play golf with Lucian tomorrow morning. Thomas didn't press the issue, simply nodding. "Understood, Miss Leah. I'll relay the message."
I started walking again, faster this time, the ache in my chest crystallizing into something colder and sharper. By the time I reached the main house, my hands had stopped shaking, and the humiliation had transformed into something that felt almost like clarity.
I wanted Julian to see it. I wanted him to see exactly how Briar had been spending her time while he waited for her to come crawling back.