Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ADDIE
The problem Miller had brought me wasn't even a problem. I spent exactly four minutes recalibrating the risk-assessment model for the Northern logistics hub, a task that had apparently stumped three of Vidar’s senior analysts for a week.
"Thank you, Mrs. Blackwood," Miller said, looking at the screen with a mixture of awe and relief. "And, ah—congratulations on your mating."
"Thank you, Miller," I said, giving him a tight, professional smile.
The second he went through my door, the smile vanished. I checked the hallway through the glass. Vidar's office door was still closed. I turned back to the terminal. My fingers flew over the keys, entering a sequence of commands that had nothing to do with infrastructure.
I bypassed the standard Blackwood internal mail and accessed a private, encrypted server Elias had built years ago. It was our lifeline, a digital cellar where we could speak without our father’s shadow looming over us.
[ADDIE]: You there?
The response was almost instantaneous.
[ELIAS]: I’m here. I’m fine. Addie, I’m so sorry. About the wedding. About everything. Are you okay? Did he hurt you?
A lump formed in my throat. My little brother, the one I was supposed to be protecting, was the only one asking the right questions.
[ADDIE]: I’m okay, Elias. He has put me to work. I’m running the Sterling transition from his office.
[ELIAS]: I saw he's taking over your company. I'm sorry about that too. I’m going to get you out of this. I’ve been digging through their digital archives. I’m finding things. Leverage. I have a plan. Don’t worry.
My heart plummeted. Elias was a brilliant coder, but he was a terrible liar, and he had no idea how dangerous the Blackwood brothers actually were.
[ADDIE]: Do not do anything stupid. You keep your head down. Do you understand? The Blackwoods aren't our father. They’re
A heavy knock sounded on my open doorframe before I could complete the sentence. I knew it was him without even looking up. I willed my heart to stay inside its rib cage. He would scent my agitation.
Vidar stood in the doorway, his silhouette blocking out the light from the hall. His eyes were unreadable; his gaze tracked from my flushed face to the glowing monitor.
"Time for a lunch break," he said. It wasn't a suggestion.
He didn't wait for an answer. He walked across the room with that silent, predatory grace and reached over my shoulder. His hand brushed against mine—the heat of him a sharp contrast to the cold sweat on my skin—as he reached for the power button on my computer.
The screen went black. My conversation with Elias vanished into the ether.
"You've been at this for five hours." Vidar's voice was low as he leaned into my space. The scent of cedar and power wrapped around me. "Even the best machines need to cool down, sweet Addie."
He stepped back and held the door open, waiting. I stood up, smoothing the tight fabric of the green dress. The weight of his stare on my back had me pressing my knees together as I walked.
Had he seen the server? Did he know Elias was planning a rebellion?
As we walked toward the elevator, Vidar placed a hand on the small of my back—a possessive, public claim that felt more like a warning than an endearment. He guided me through the glass-walled corridors of the executive suite. He didn't speak, but the tension radiated off him.
Up close, the predatory grace was still there. But his eyes looked heavy, the skin beneath them tight with a weariness I hadn't noticed that morning. The weight on his shoulders was visible now, too; the cost of holding an empire together while the rest of the Six Packs circled like sharks.
"Is there anything else I can help with?" I asked as we stepped into the elevator. "Something beyond the Sterling files?"
He turned to look at me, his gaze considering, traveling from my eyes down to the green knit of my dress before settling back on my face.
"You’ve already helped more than you realize.
You put out three fires today that would have ended up on my desk by noon.
You bought me four hours of silence I didn't think I’d get. "
A genuine smile tugged at my lips. A spark of pride flared in my chest. It wasn't just about being smart anymore; it was about being useful to him.
As the elevator descended, a dangerous thought began to take root.
Maybe we could make this work. Not just the marriage, but the merger.
If we combined my tactical mind with his raw power, we could oust my father once and for all.
We could install Elias as a new kind of leader—protected by the Blackwoods, guided by me.
We could build something that wasn't based on fear.
In the back of the town car, the atmosphere felt lighter.
I found myself leaning toward my husband, animated as I described the pivot I’d made on the Northern accounts and how I’d caught the arithmetic error that had been draining their liquidity.
Vidar watched me, a hint of an appreciative smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He looked relaxed, almost human, as he listened to me talk shop.
"I saw that Magnus stopped by." I tried to keep the tone casual. "He looked pretty serious when he headed into your office. Everything okay?"
The change was instantaneous. The warmth in Vidar’s eyes flickered out, replaced by a shuttered, professional distance. He didn't lean away, but he might as well have moved a mile.
"It’s family business. Nothing for you to worry about."
The pride I’d felt moments ago turned to lead. I looked away, staring out the tinted window at the blurred gray lines of Manhattan. He would let me fix his ledgers and optimize his spreadsheets, but the inner circle—the heart of the Blackwood family—was still guarded by a wall I couldn't climb.
He didn't trust me with his secrets. And as I thought about the private server and the frantic promises, I'd just made to Elias, I realized I didn't trust him with mine, either.
The space between us on the leather seat felt like a canyon. We were two spies sharing a car, playing at being a couple, while the real war was being fought in the things we refused to say.
The sign for Fang Dynasty looked like any other high-end dim sum spot in Chinatown, but as we stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted.
We didn't stop in the front room where humans clumsily navigated chopsticks and steam-filled baskets.
Vidar led me through a heavy velvet curtain at the back, past a discreet security detail that stepped aside.
The Shifter Room was subterranean, lit by low, amber lanterns and filled with the heavy, musky scent of predators.
The hum of conversation died down as we walked in.
Members of the Lupetto, Volki, and even a few lone Lobos paused mid-meal, their gazes darting between Vidar’s proprietary grip on my waist and the shimmering green fabric of my dress.
I felt like a prized trophy on display, the Vane Princess paraded through the heart of neutral territory.
We were led to a private alcove and served immediately. There was no menu. A server placed two plates of thick, marbled choice cuts before us. They were seared on the outside, but pulsing with raw, red life at the center.
My wolf practically howled. My mouth watered, a primal reflex I usually fought to suppress in polite company.
I’d never eaten raw meat in public. My father had always insisted on civilized medium-well steaks to distance us from our animal nature.
But here, with the scent of iron and salt filling my senses, I couldn't help it.
I took a bite; the tender meat melting on my tongue. A low, involuntary groan escaped my throat. "Goddess, that's delicious."
Vidar didn't eat. He sat back, his dark eyes fixed on my face, watching the way my pupils dilated with every bite. The intensity of his gaze was more suffocating than the crowded room.
"Do I have blood on my chin?" I asked, reaching for a napkin.
His hand came up, his thumb catching a stray drop of red at the corner of my mouth. He didn't pull away. He held my gaze, his thumb lingering on my lip for a heartbeat before he brought it to his own mouth and slowly, deliberately, sucked it clean.
The heat that flared in my gut had nothing to do with the meal.
We finished the rest of the lunch in a heavy, charged silence. When the plates were cleared, I smoothed my dress, trying to regain my professional footing. "Are we headed back to the office? I still have those Sterling audit logs to finish."
"No," Vidar said, his voice dropping into a rough, gravelly register. "We’re headed home."
He stood up, tossing a stack of bills onto the table without looking at them. I followed him out to the car, my heart beginning to hammer against my ribs. The business part of the day was over. What did he have in mind for the at home portion?
"I need to relieve some stress," he said as the car pulled away from the curb. He didn't look at me; he looked straight ahead, his jaw tight enough to snap bone. "Usually, I find some random woman to suck my cock until the noise in my head stops."
My brain tripped. My thoughts were a spinning beach ball. The sound of wires sizzling rang in my ears.
Vidar turned his head then, his eyes burning with a dark, uncompromising hunger that made the green dress feel as if it was melting off my body.
"But I’m a married man now. And you still owe me. I believe we agreed on oral sex as payment."