Chapter 87 The Trap Tightens
Ben’s apartment was too quiet after Jace left. The city lights kept flickering through the blinds, throwing long shadows across the hardwood, but the room felt smaller, colder. He stood in the middle of the living room, phone still warm in his palm from the call he’d just ended with Maddie.
She’d picked up on the second ring.
“Ben?” Her voice had been cautious, tired, but not angry. Not yet.
“Hey.” He’d forced his tone soft, almost gentle. “I… I saw the press conference. And everything online. I just want to talk. Face to face, no fighting, just us signing the divorce papers and ending this cleanly.”
Silence on her end. Then: “Why now?”
“Because I was wrong,” he’d said, the lie sliding out smoothly. “About a lot of things. I’m sorry, Maddie. I want to make this right. Come over tomorrow afternoon? My place. Just you, and the lawyer will be here, we’ll sign, talk, and you can leave. I won’t stop you.”
Another long pause.
“Okay,” she’d finally said. “Tomorrow. Two o’clock.”
He’d smiled into the dark. “Thank you.”
Now the phone was dark in his hand, and the smile had twisted into something sharper.
He walked to the kitchen island, opened his laptop, and pulled up the encrypted folder labeled “Garden night 17.” The video file stared back at him: 4 minutes 12 seconds of grainy night-vision footage. Alexander mid-shift, bones cracking, fur rippling across skin. Rafe beside him, already half-wolf, and other wolves. Then the fight, claws, snarls, blood on snow. He hit play for the tenth time tonight.
The footage was real, undeniable. But Jace was right, without context, without a sympathetic story wrapped around it first, no one would believe it. They’d call it a hoax. VFX demo. Conspiracy bait.
Ben needed the world to care first. To feel sorry for him. To hate Alexander before they even saw the monsters.
He closed the laptop and paced again. Jace’s idea had lodged in his brain like a splinter: kidnap her as leverage, then collect ransom. Walk away rich while Alexander bled.
But Ben wasn’t stupid. Alexander wasn’t just rich, he was dangerous. The kind of danger that came with claws and fangs and a pack that would rip anyone apart for touching their alpha’s girlfriend or whatever.
Still…
If he played it right. If he got her alone. If he kept her somewhere Alexander couldn’t track…
He stopped pacing. Pulled out his phone again. Scrolled to an old contact, one of the estate maids who’d always liked him a little too much back when he lived there. She still owed him for covering her brother’s hospital bill last year.
He typed quickly:
Hey. I need a favor. Tomorrow afternoon. Maddie’s coming over to sign papers. Can you let me know when she leaves the estate? Alone? If she leaves with security detail. I’ll make it worth your while.
He hit send before he could second-guess it.
The reply came in under a minute:
Okay. I’ll watch when she leaves. She usually leaves alone for school stuff. Be careful, Ben.
He smirked. “Always am.”
He walked to the window again. City lights glittered like broken glass. Somewhere out there Alexander was probably holding her right now, whispering promises, planning their future. Ben’s grip tightened on the phone. Tomorrow. He’d call her in the morning, confirm the time, sound broken, apologetic, she’d come, she always did the right thing. And when she walked through his door… He’d have Jace waiting in the next room. Zip ties, chloroform, avan in the underground garage. Then a quiet drive to the warehouse Jace was already scouting. Then a call to Alexander, you want her back? You have to pay. Simple, clean, and final.
Ben turned away from the window. He opened a drawer in the sideboard, pulled out a small black duffel. Inside: gloves, duct tape, a burner phone, a prepaid card with enough cash to disappear for a while. He zipped it shut.Tomorrow. He’d give her one last chance to sign quietly, and when she refused… He’d take what Alexander loved most.
And watch the bastard burn.
I woke to the press of warm lips against my forehead.
Alexander lingered there, breath soft against my skin, the faint scent of his cologne, wrapping around me like a second blanket. I blinked slowly, vision clearing to the sight of him already dressed: navy suit tailored sharp enough to cut glass, silver cufflinks catching the morning light, tie knotted with that effortless precision I still hadn’t figured out how he managed one-handed.
“Morning, love,” he murmured, thumb brushing my cheek.
I smiled sleepily, stretching under the sheets. “You’re up early.”
“The board wants me at nine. Damage control never sleeps.” He kissed me again, this time on the mouth, slow and lingering. “My driver’s ready whenever you are. He’ll take you to campus and bring you straight back, I don't know what Ben will give to the press next.”
I sat up, sheet slipping to my waist. “I’m fine. Nobody knows me. I’ll drive myself.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, not angry, just searching. “Maddie…”
“I want to feel like my normal self. ” I said quietly. “No escort, no tinted windows. Just me, my backpack, and too much coffee.”
He studied me for a long heartbeat. Then he nodded once.
“That’s fine. Just be careful.” He leaned down again, kissed my forehead, then my stomach through the thin cotton of my sleep shirt. “Both of you.”
Warmth bloomed under his palm. I covered his hand with mine. “We will.”
He straightened, adjusted his cufflinks. “Clara’s bringing breakfast up here. Eat before you leave.” A small smile tugged his mouth. “And text me when you’re on campus. And when you’re leaving. And when you’re home.”
I laughed softly. “Yes, sir.”
He kissed me one last time, quick, fierce, then walked out, closing the door with that careful quiet he always used when he thought I might still be half-asleep.
I stayed in bed another minute, hand still on my stomach, feeling the tiny flutter I was almost sure was real now