Chapter 29 #2
“I don’t care how much money you’re offering,” he roared. “You disrespected my family and my pack. Deal’s off, Vaughn.” He snatched his jacket from the chair. “And you better pray nothing happens to my daughter—”
“I don’t tolerate threats,” I cut him off before he could finish that sentence.
The air turned razor sharp. Sterling’s gaze darted to my father again, but found no ally. Thirty seconds of taut silence passed before he scoffed and stormed out, the door slamming behind him.
I sank into the chair at the head of the table, rubbing my temple. “Come on, Father. Silence isn’t your style. We both know you’ve got plenty to say.”
“The council of elders called an impromptu meeting this morning,” my father began, his voice low.
Not the usual booming rage—this was quieter.
More dangerous. Beneath the calm, his eyes held something I couldn’t pin down.
Fear. Guilt. Or maybe both. My gut told me it had to do with my mother showing up again.
“They’re demanding I name a new Alpha heir,” he continued, “since the one I named is apparently incompetent and can’t think straight without a woman clouding his judgment.
” His gaze flicked to Victor. “Your brother isn’t exactly winning hearts either.
They’re even talking about calling a vote to strip us of the Alpha seat entirely. ”
I scoffed. “That’s a little too dramatic—”
“Dramatic?!” His roar hit like a gunshot. He slammed a hand on the desk, shooting up from his seat. There he was—the man I’d grown up with. That was the father I knew all too well.
“You destroyed a critical political alliance, Luca! This deal was supposed to be my legacy, and you burned it to the ground because of that—”
My glare cut him off before he could finish. He caught himself, but the heat in his eyes didn’t dim.
“You’re reckless. You’re selfish. And you’re weak,” he spat. “I thought you were the one capable of leading this pack into its strongest era. But you’d set the whole damn thing on fire for a woman.”
Beside me, Victor let out a quiet scoff. I didn’t miss the smirk that curved his mouth as he spun a pen in his fingers.
“What now?” my father pressed. “What happens between you and that woman? The council will never accept her. You know that. She’s half human, which makes her weak and unfit to be Luna of this pack. You of all people know that, Luca.”
“The council needs to rethink its definition of strength,” I said coolly. “Leila’s father is a member of this pack. I don’t care if her mother was human, it still makes Leila a wolf shifter. It makes her one of us.”
My father’s laugh was sharp, ugly. “You’re delusional. She’s turned you into a fucking weakling.” He snatched his car keys from the table, his gaze cutting between me and Victor. “The gods punished me with two useless sons. Just like your fucking mother.”
And then he was gone, slamming the door behind him.
Victor was leaning smugly against the chair, arms folded like he’d been waiting for this moment. That damned smirk was still playing over his face.
“I always knew you were crazy about Leila,” he said, voice dripping with satisfaction, “but I didn’t know you were this crazy.”
I looked up from the contract I was putting away. “So you can speak. Here I was thinking you were mute.”
He ignored the jab and kept going, enjoying himself far too much.
“You know, Luca, I always envied you. I mean, you had it all. Alpha title, CEO, our father’s love and respect.
That’s power, Luca. Raw, undiluted power—which you just threw away because of a woman.
” There was a dangerous glint in his eyes.
“I may be interested in Leila, yes. She’s beautiful—one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen—”
My jaw ticced. I wanted to tear out his tongue for merely speaking about her.
“But she’s not worth throwing all that away. If I were you, I’d never do it.”
He stood, smoothening out a crease in his suit jacket and buttoning it like someone who’d just won a million-dollar contract.
“Good luck fixing the mess you made, brother.”
And just like the others, he walked out—leaving the room stinking of his smugness. Like I’d done him a huge favor by calling off the wedding.
I spent the rest of the day trying to salvage the mess. Charles had done well containing the media, but the news had spread like wildfire. The damage was done. The board had already moved for a vote to remove me as CEO, and I was standing on thin ice.
But even with the chaos, my mind kept circling back to Leila. The way it felt to be buried deep inside her again. It was bliss. Like something right had finally clicked in my life. Something I’d been missing for far too long.
My work was cut out for me, but I was ready to do it.
I clocked out around nine-thirty p.m. and headed home, thinking I’d finally have a quiet night. Instead, I walked straight into another storm.
The moment I stepped into the lobby, I froze.
My mother was sitting in the waiting area, head buried on the floor, her hands wringing in her lap like she was trying to squeeze the nerves out of them.
She hadn’t seen me yet, so I took the chance to really look at her—the woman who had called herself my mother, the woman who turned her back on me when I was a kid.
Isabella Vaughn.
She’d changed. Her long black hair was now cropped short, and deep lines carved the corners of her eyes and mouth, each one a tally mark for the years that had passed.
She used to be radiant—her smile was like a light I ran toward as a boy.
Now, it looked like she hadn’t smiled in years.
Like life had stolen whatever joy she had left. She looked…small.
I killed the thought before it could turn into pity. She didn’t deserve my pity. She didn’t deserve anything from me. Not even a word.
That was when she looked up. Her eyes widened, and she shot to her feet.
“Luca…” she breathed. A faint smile tugged at her lips, but fell away the moment she saw my face.
“What are you doing here?” I snapped.
“Luca—” she stepped toward me, but I raised a hand, stopping her cold.
“We have to talk,” she said with a tremble in her voice. “Please. I have so much to tell you.”
I scoffed, bitterness coating my tongue. My eyes burned. “You lost the right to talk to me when you walked out of my life twenty-one years ago.”
Her face faltered, like she’d only just realized how long twenty-one fucking years was when I said it out loud.
“Haven’t you ever wondered why?” Her eyes glossed over with tears. “I loved you and your brother more than anything. Did you think I wanted to leave?”
“But you left anyway,” I bit out. “There’s no excuse for abandoning your children. No good mother would.”
“You’re angry. I get it. But you need to hear the truth—”
“I don’t need anything from you,” I snapped. My control was slipping now. My eyes were burning. And I wasn’t about to give this woman the satisfaction that she still affected me, that I cared about her presence. I needed to get out of here.
I turned to walk away. But her hand shot out as she wrapped her fingers around my forearm.
“Son, please—” Desperation clung to her words.
I went still, the word ringing in my head. Son.
“Don’t you ever call me that,” I said, my voice like ice. “My mother died twenty-one years ago. You don’t get to rise from the dead and expect anything. I don’t know why you came back, but I suggest you pack up and go. I’ve moved on from you. Everyone has.”
I tore my hand from hers and walked to the elevator without looking back.
I tried to ignore the way my pulse was roaring in my ear as I rode the elevator to my penthouse. Twenty-one years. Twenty-one fucking years of silence, and she thought she could waltz back in and call me son like nothing had happened.
My wolf paced beneath my skin, agitated by the confrontation. He’d recognized her scent the moment I’d stepped into the lobby—familiar yet foreign, like a half-remembered nightmare.
Once I reached my penthouse, I pulled out my cell phone to dial Leila. I needed to be with her. I needed her warmth, her comfort, amidst all the chaos right now.
But I’d barely had time to dial the number when my phone started to ring. Charles.
“You never call for good news, so I assume this is bad?” I said into the receiver, tossing my suit jacket on my sofa.
“This isn’t just bad, Luca. This is awful,” his voice was serious. “Have you seen the news?”
“No, I just got in.”
I reached for the remote on the rack and hit the on button. What greeted me was something I could never have prepared myself for.
The news headline read, ALPHA HEIR LUCA VAUGHN CAUGHT IN ILLEGAL DEALINGS WITH NOTORIOUS ROGUE SYNDICATE.
Alongside it was an unmistakable photo of me, clear as day, sitting across from fucking Cassius in his office. My jaw clenched. Bastard had framed me.
Charles continued, “The pack could forgive your decision to call off the wedding, but this…this is bad.”