Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

Z y leaned back in his leather chair, his golden-flecked eyes fixed on Corbett's animated face. His cousin's usual carefree demeanor had given way to a furrowed brow and nervous energy that set Zy's tiger on edge.

"I'm telling you, Zy, something's up with Vince," Corbett insisted, his hands gesticulating wildly. "He's been disappearing for hours at a time, and when I try to help him with his workload, he shuts me down faster than a bouncer at a frat party."

Zy's jaw clenched, his mind racing. Vince had always been overly eager, jumping to climb the corporate ladder, but this behavior... it didn't sit right. "How long has this been going on?"

Corbett ran a hand through his artfully tousled hair. "A couple of days, maybe? At first, I thought he was just stressed about the new project, but now... I don't know, man. It's weird."

Zy nodded, his expression carefully neutral. "Thanks for bringing this to my attention, Corbett. I'll look into it."

As Corbett left, Zy's fingers drummed an impatient rhythm on his desk. He hit the intercom button. "Adonis, my office. Now."

Moments later, Adonis's imposing figure filled the doorway. One look at Zy's face, and he closed the door behind him, settling into the chair across from the desk.

"Vince?" Adonis asked, his deep voice low and serious.

Zy nodded. "Corbett's noticed some odd behavior. Disappearing acts, secrecy, the works. Tell me you've got something concrete."

Adonis sighed, rubbing a hand over his bald head. "I've been gathering evidence, but it's tricky. If Vince did this, he knew what he was doing. He covered his tracks well. We've got some suspicious network activity but we can't really pin that directly to him and the only way to know is to do a deep-dive search, which I have an independent team doing, so it's not like I can move things along any faster. He's got a few unexplained absences, but nothing that would hold up if he decided to fight back."

A low growl rumbled in Zy's chest, his tiger pushing against the surface. "We need to move on this, Adonis. If he's the one who leaked our code?—"

"We need to be sure," Adonis cut him off, his tone firm. "You go in half-cocked, accusing one of our top developers without ironclad proof? That's a PR nightmare waiting to happen. Not to mention the legal shitstorm."

Zy stood abruptly, pacing the length of his office. The New York skyline stretched out before him, a glittering reminder of all he had built, all that was at stake. "I can't just sit back and do nothing while he potentially sabotages everything we've worked for."

"I'm not saying do nothing," Adonis replied, his voice a calm counterpoint to Zy's agitation. "I'm saying we need to be smart about this. Build a solid case. Leave no room for doubt."

Zy's hands clenched at his sides, his claws threatening to emerge. He took a deep breath, forcing his tiger back. "Fine. But I want daily updates. If he so much as sneezes suspiciously, I want to know about it."

Adonis nodded, but there was a glint in his eye that Zy knew all too well. "Speaking of suspicious behavior... how are things going with the lovely Ms. Madden?"

Zy's head snapped around, his eyes narrowing. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Adonis's lips quirked into a smirk. "Oh, come on, Zy. I've known you since we were cubs. You think I can't see the way you light up every time her name is mentioned? The way you practically sprint out of meetings when you know she's waiting?"

"It's not like that," Zy protested weakly, but even to his own ears, the words sounded hollow. "We're just... collaborating."

"Collaborating," Adonis repeated, his tone dripping with skepticism. "Really? You're going to tell me that?"

Zy groaned, sinking back into his chair. "Fine. You want the truth? She's my mate, Adonis. I'm sure of it."

The words hung in the air between them, charged with significance. Adonis's expression softened, a mix of joy and concern crossing his features. "Zy, that's... wow. But are you sure? I mean, you haven't known her that long, and with everything that's going on..."

"I'm sure," Zy said firmly. "My tiger recognized her from the moment we met. And I know, I know she didn't steal our code. She's experienced theft firsthand. There's no way she'd do that to someone else."

Adonis leaned forward, his eyes searching Zy's face. "I want to believe that, Zy. I do. But you have to admit, the timing is suspicious. And feelings... they can cloud our judgment, even for shifters."

A flicker of doubt wormed its way into Zy's mind, but he pushed it aside. "I trust her, Adonis. And once we figure out how the code left our office, we'll be able to trace how she got it. But I'm telling you, she's innocent in all this."

"I hope you're right," Adonis said softly. "For both your sakes."

A tense silence fell between them, broken only by the soft hum of the office air conditioning. Finally, Adonis's serious expression cracked, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. "So, when do we get to really meet her? Should I start planning the bachelor party now, or..."

Zy rolled his eyes. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Someone has to keep you on your toes," Adonis quipped. "Besides, I've got to scope out the competition. Make sure she's worthy of my best friend."

"Trust me," Zy said, his voice softening. "She's more than worthy. She's... incredible, Adonis. Brilliant, passionate, with this fire inside her that just..." He trailed off, realizing he was gushing like a lovestruck teenager.

Adonis's grin widened. "Wow. The great Zyan Ashford, reduced to incoherent babbling by a woman. I never thought I'd see the day."

Zy chucked a stress ball at his friend's head, which Adonis caught effortlessly. "Shut up. Don't you have some investigating to do?"

"All right, all right, I'm going," Adonis said, standing. But at the door, he paused, his expression turning serious once more. "I know you trust her, but there's still a lot we don't know. Don't let your heart run away with your head."

As the door closed behind Adonis, Zy leaned back in his chair, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting thoughts and emotions. He trusted Ellie, he did. But Adonis's words had planted a seed of doubt he couldn't quite shake.

What if he was wrong? What if his feelings for Ellie were blinding him to the truth?

Zy shook his head, pushing the traitorous thoughts aside. No. He knew Ellie. He'd looked into her eyes and felt the connection between them. She wasn't capable of the kind of deception they were dealing with.

And yet...

Zy stood, moving to the window. The city sprawled out before him, a maze of possibilities and pitfalls. Somewhere out there was the answer to all of this - how their code had been stolen, how it had ended up in Ellie's game. And he was going to find it, no matter what it took.

Because the alternative - that Ellie had been a part of this theft - was unthinkable.

His tiger rumbled inside him, a mix of protective instinct and primal possessiveness. Mate or not, innocent or guilty, Ellie had become a part of his world. And Zyan Ashford protected what was his.

With renewed determination, Zy turned back to his desk. He had work to do, a company to protect, a mate to defend. Whatever came next, he would face it head-on.

Because that's what Ashfords did. That's what alphas did.

And Zyan Ashford was nothing if not an alpha.