Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

THERON

“ L ook, Mama, she ate it.” Leon’s voice rings with sheer excitement as he shows his mother how he feeds the fish in the koi pond. I’m by my window on the third floor, and I can hear them from up here. I want to rush over and join them, but I can’t. I don’t want to encroach on her time with him, especially when I’m not sure where I stand with her now.

They move over to the swings. Seren gets a phone call. She lingers by the swing set, watching Leon with a tender smile throughout the call. I glance at the clock, my stomach twisting into knots. We’re supposed to meet in five minutes. My mind can’t stop racing over what she might want to talk about. I even came home early to brace myself in anticipation. My eyes are stuck on her face.

My beautiful mate, Seren.

There’s a new air of confidence about her as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, her lips pressed together in concentration as she shakes her head at whatever’s being said on the call. Finally, her eyes brighten and that smile returns, a satisfied look on her face.

As I watch her, I feel a familiar heat building inside me. All this time, I’ve had to make do with her pictures, but none of them did her justice. Her eyes are brighter, her skin glowing, and the sight of her breasts is pure torture. Drops of perspiration cling to her skin before sliding down into the narrow valley between them.

I turn away, willing my erection to subside. I thought I’d lost my sex drive, but it’s come barreling back since she arrived. A shiver runs down my spine as memories flash through my mind—her body glistening with sweat, her eyes filled with a desire that matched my own. I shake my head, trying to dispel the images.

Goddess, what I’d do to have her look at me with that love again.

“Hey! I hope I’m not interrupting anything urgent.”

Fuck! Trying to control my breathing, I force myself to think of something else and count to ten before turning around.

Seren is looking at me with narrowed eyes. “Are you okay? Were you talking to someone…I mean, over the mind-link?”

I nod, clearing my throat, and swiftly get behind the desk, pointing to the chair in front of me.

Over the next five minutes, I realize this meeting is about Seren organizing her life if she ends up staying here. The possibility alone has me smiling throughout the meeting as she brings up her concerns and we begin negotiating as parents.

“I will not use one of the estate’s cars,” she says with a touch of bitterness in her tone. “I’ll buy one of my own. ”

I smile. “Sure.” I mention I’ll help her get a bargain deal.

“I know I’ve not been involved for a year, but I want to meet Leon’s doctor and be more involved in his healthcare and education.”

I nod. “Absolutely.” We both agree he can start preschool in another six months.

“And I want to bring Ella back.” There’s a glint in her eyes as she says that, as if Ella is the only one on her team.

The thought makes me sigh. I realize how lonely she must’ve felt while she was growing up here. “I already checked,” I inform her. “Her mate’s been unwell and her son is away for training, but you’re free to double-check.”

As she nods thoughtfully, I propose what’s non-negotiable to me. “I’ve already assigned two warriors who will be in charge of your security. May I urge you not to step out anywhere without them?”

She raises an eyebrow, her lips curving into a slight smirk as she mutters under her breath, “May I urge you,” before snorting.

“Do you agree?” I ask, since I don’t think a snort is a conclusive answer.

“Yeah, okay,” she says, giving me a pointed look. “And while we’re at it, I was thinking, since you guys have hijacked my room, which I’m more than okay with since it’s your home, we need a single bed on the side.” She looks away as she says the last part. “Next time you won’t need to wait outside.”

I swear that line makes me want to bawl. But I hold back any expression of emotion and just nod. She is so fucking thoughtful it hurts to know I was so blind once.

“Anything else?” I ask softly .

“Yeah, I’ll be looking for a job locally, but I’ll figure out something that doesn’t take me away from Leon for long. I’ll still continue to contribute to Leon’s expenses.”

My eyes widen, since I never even looked into the bank account she mentioned in her letter, but I don’t mention that. She will take it as an insult. “What about the job in New York? Everyone’s working remotely these days.”

She chuckles. “Not for what I do. Not long-term, anyway.”

We both just sit there, looking at each other and thinking. I have an idea, but I’m afraid to even propose it.

“What?” she asks, frowning. “You’re been looking at me strangely.”

“I was thinking…we generally outsource all our legal work, but having an in-house company secretary…”

“Really?” The wooden legs of the chair screech against the floor as she creates distance between us. “Let me guess—this is for Blackwood Beverages?” All the playfulness, sarcasm, and lightness she had before immediately vanish. Her eyes flare with anger as her lips press into a thin line. “Was one time not enough for you?”

My stomach churns, but I take a deep breath and hold her gaze, hoping she can hear the sincerity in my words. “I know I’ve made mistakes. Many mistakes. And I realized that the day you left.”

“You mean after you fucked me and thought I’d be good as your side chick at home while you mark someone else as your luna?”

That makes me straighten up in my chair. “I never wanted anyone else. It’s something I realized too late. But I haven’t been with anyone else since you left. I am sorry. I know you may not believe me, but I swear it’s true.”

She rolls her eyes dismissively. “Well then, say hello to a life of celibacy. And while we’re discussing sex lives, I’ll be looking for a small home for me and Leon. You’re free to decide on the location, assign us as much security as you want, and visit every day, but I need my own space.”

This time I push my chair back. “You don’t want to talk to me? Don’t. You don’t want to work with me? Don’t. You don’t want me in your room? Fine. But I can’t have you and Leon moving away from here.”

She chuckles, the sound hollow. “Why? So you can keep me under your thumb like before?”

“No. It’s so I can keep you both safe, because if I lose you again, I don’t think I’ll survive.”

I leave the room before she can see the tears in my eyes. I shift into my wolf, racing to the lake. The first plunge into the icy cold water shocks my system, but by the third lap my movements turn fluid and I stop noticing the cold.

It’s almost eight by the time I get home, and I’m surprised to see my two heartbeats sitting on the stairs in the foyer. I’m glad I grabbed a pair of shorts from security on my way in.

“Mama, he’s here. Now we go for ice cream?”

I look at Seren, but she refuses to meet my gaze. “You missed dinner,” she says after a while.

“Uhm. Yeah, I wasn’t hungry.” Turning to Leon, I add, “But ice cream sounds great.”

His eyes twinkle as if I’ve gifted him the moon. “Let’s go. ”

His mannerisms always make me smile. He sometimes reminds me of an old man in a child’s body.

“Really?” Seren asks with a raised eyebrow, and I nod.

“But just this once. We can’t be doing this every day,” I say, looking meaningfully at Leon, who is beaming up at me. “And we’re both putting on more clothes before we go out.”

There’s no conversation during the ride. I sit in front with the security while Seren and Leon are in the backseat. Instead of eating there, we get ours to-go and hand Leon his cone in the car, which he finishes on the drive back.

As we step into Seren’s room to put Leon to bed, I notice a single bed in the corner and sigh.

I don’t understand this new Seren. She gets angry, doesn’t avoid confrontation, tells me whatever’s going on in her head, and then goes ahead and does these thoughtful little things. Is it just for Titan, or does she care about me, too?

Seren helps our son out of his clothes and reads him a story while I go get us some scoops of sugar-free no-churn mixed-berry gelato. I would’ve never chosen it, but after seeing her sighing over it, I bought two jumbo tubs.

The lights are off when I step back into the bedroom, but the window lets in enough moonlight for me to instantly spot Seren. I hand over Seren’s bowl to her and we sit by the edge of the window.

“There’s a ton of leftovers from dinner in the fridge, you know,” she says as she stabs her spoon into the bowl.

I smile and scoop out some ice cream with my spoon. “This looks good.”

The room’s dark and I’m not even looking at her, but I can sense her rolling her eyes .

She lets out a deep sigh as she takes the first taste of her ice cream, and I realize this must be something she loved before she left.

I slowly take my first bite, and swallow hard. We’re both experiencing the same thing together. The thought soothes something inside of me.

“What has Landon tried to get to you? Is their pack bigger than ours? I mean, do they have more wolves? Or more money? What do they want from us?”

I turn to face her, my gaze meeting hers. A genuine smile spreads across my lips at her interest in the pack. “He does have more land and more people. Our power is tied to business, stock, and bonds. He wants more dominance in the market, and Blackwood is the only thing standing in his way.”

A thoughtful silence falls between us as she considers my words. Then, with a determined look, she says, “So, this isn’t based on a family feud or revenge. He just wants your business ruined so he can be richer?”

My heart pounds in my chest as I recall his chilling threat. “The day Leon arrived, he texted me. He threatened to come for what’s precious to me.”

She sits upright, her eyes wide with concern. “I’m sure you guys must’ve gotten some proof by now. Why not go after him legally? You have your alpha king. Can’t he do something? Or you could try the human justice system.”

I shake my head, a bitter taste lingering in my mouth. “There’s never been anything concrete that ties back to him. He has an alibi for everything.”

She hums thoughtfully, her gaze drifting away from me. Then, with a renewed sense of purpose, she turns to me, her eyes sparkling with determination. “What’s the next big business project that you and Landon would be competing for?”

“Delta Corp has announced a massive project in California. Bidding would start soon,” I reply, curious about what she’s thinking.

She leans forward, glancing briefly at Leon and lowering her voice. “How about we get a sting operation done on him? The way you describe him, I have a feeling he’ll mess up. A sting can catch him in action.”

“He has contacts everywhere, since he’s married to someone with old money. A ton of people owe them favors.”

She shrugs. “So we get a third party involved. Someone who has no skin in the fight. An up-and-coming news agency would want to be the one to break the story. Exclusive stories get maximum eyeballs, especially if they’re scandalous. If bigger players are involved, they’ll bite hard.”

I’m impressed by her strategic thinking. “You’ve done this before?”

A playful smirk spreads across her lips. “Oh, it’s just a lawyer’s intuition,” she replies, taking another stab at her ice cream. There’s one part that’s still frozen solid in her bowl.

A surge of adrenaline courses through me. Her plan, though bold and risky, sounds promising. Suddenly a thought strikes me. “I thought you didn’t want me around. Why are you trying to help me now?”

She smirks at me, her eyes glinting with something I can’t quite place. “Because the moment Landon’s threat is dealt with, I no longer have to live under your roof.”

The little bit of hope that had awakened in me dies.