Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Dimitri’s POV
I won’t let you break me twice.
The words gutted me.
Her scent still lingered in the conference room, making my wolf restless, demanding I go after her.
I could still taste the sweetness of her mouth, still feel its softness against mine.
She wanted me. I’d felt it in the way she’d kissed me back, tasted it on her tongue. But that triumph of knowing didn’t last—because then she’d touched the ring.
And I’d watched her hate herself for wanting me. Watched the self-loathing flash across her face as she jerked away, like I was poison she’d almost swallowed.
That hurt more than any knife to the chest ever could.
And it was all because of that damn ring.
Selene was nothing. She meant nothing. I needed to explain that to Isabella, needed to make her see. I’d be damned if Selene was the reason Isabella couldn’t allow herself to be with me.
I turned my gaze to Edmund, who still hadn’t said a word.
His gaze burned into the side of my face with an intensity that could melt steel.
I knew what he was thinking. My move today had taken everyone by surprise—hell, it had probably given half the board members minor heart attacks. But I’d accomplished exactly what I’d set out to do. I had killed two birds with one stone.
Isabella and Adele’s future was now secured, protected by legal documentation and corporate bylaws that even Selene couldn’t circumvent. And more importantly, I’d brought Isabella closer to me, even if it was only through work and business for now.
“You’re playing with fire,” Edmund said finally, breaking the silence that had stretched between us.
“I’ve been playing with fire my entire life.” I loosened my tie, unbuttoning a couple of buttons. “This is nothing new.”
“There’s a new update regarding Selene and Ethan Thorpe.”
I watched as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a small recording device. He placed it on the table between.
I hooked a brow, settling into the chair I’d been sitting in earlier. “What is that?”
“Something you need to hear.” His expression was grim as he pressed play.
Static crackled through the speaker, then voices emerged. Clear. Unmistakable.
“I still don’t understand why we’re waiting.” That was Ethan’s voice, sharp with impatience. “The longer that child lives, the more complicated this becomes. We know he’s the father. It’s only a matter of time before he names her his heir. We’re wasting too much time, Selene.”
“Oh, Ethan. What have I always told you? Timing is everything.” When Selene spoke, her voice was cool, calculated. “We move too soon, and the board will rally around Dimitri out of sympathy. We need him isolated first. Discredited.”
“And you think killing the child accomplishes that?”
“I think once the heir is gone, there’s no succession plan. No legitimate claim.” A pause. “The board will panic. The pack will demand stability. And who do they turn to? The Luna who’s been holding everything together. Me.”
“What about the mother?”
“Isabella?” Selene’s laugh was cold. “She’s even more dangerous than the brat.
As long as she’s alive, Dimitri will never let go of this pathetic Mate bond fantasy.
She makes him feel strong, righteous. We’ve spent five years building the narrative that he’s weak, distracted—and she’s undoing it all.
” My jaw tightened. My wolf snarled in my chest, hunger and fury tightening my muscles.
In that instant, I wanted to find Selene and Ethan and let my wolf rip them apart without mercy.
He was demanding, and it took everything in me to keep him at bay.
“So, we eliminate them both.”
“We eliminate the threat to our claim. That bastard child has no right to the Ravencrest fortune, not when we’ve invested years positioning ourselves.
Not when we’re this close. Once they’re gone, there’s no heir.
No Mate. Just a broken Alpha and a power vacuum.
The board will have no choice but to make me CEO to stabilize the company.
You’ll have your controlling shares. And then… ”
“We merge the companies. Consolidate power.”
“Exactly. Ravencrest Global and Thorpe Industries become one empire. Under our control.” There was a pause, then Selene’s voice sounded again.
It was softer this time, almost intimate.
“We’ve waited long enough to be together, Ethan.
I’m not letting some charity case and her bastard stand between us and everything we’ve built. ”
“We’ll move soon, but we must be smart. An accident. Clean. Untraceable. And once Dimitri is drowning in grief and guilt, the pack will see what I’ve always known—he’s not strong enough to lead alone. He never was.”
The recording ended.
Silence crashed down around us like a tidal wave.
The urge to break something—to break someone—was overwhelming. My wolf was snarling, clawing at my insides, demanding I shift and tear Selene apart. He wanted to hunt down Ethan and rip out his throat.
My hands were shaking. I pressed them flat against the table, knuckles white, trying to anchor myself. Now I was absolutely certain about who sent that parcel to Isabella.
“When?” My voice came out rough, barely controlled. “When was this?”
“Just a few hours before the board meeting. I had surveillance installed in Selene’s car.” Edmund said.
“Deploy more security,” I said, my voice cold and steady despite the fury burning through me. “I want people on Isabella and Adele around the clock. Discreet. Make sure they don’t notice. I want our people watching them.”
“Already done.” Edmund paused. “But Dimitri, you need to tell Isabella about this threat. She has to be aware that there are…people trying to hurt her and her daughter.”
I shook my head. “That won’t be necessary. I don’t want her to panic.”
“She has a right to—”
“I said no, Edmund.” I stood abruptly, unable to sit still any longer. “If I tell Isabella about this, if she knows the real extent of the threat against her and Adele, what do you think she’ll do?”
Edmund was quiet, but I could see the answer in his eyes.
“Exactly, Edmund. She’ll leave. Again,” I said, my voice hard. “She’ll take Adele and disappear, just like she did five years ago.”
“So, you’re going to keep her in the dark while people actively plot to murder her and your daughter?”
“I’m going to protect her.” I turned to face him fully. “I’m going to make sure nothing happens to either of them, even if she hates me for how I do it.”
Edmund let out a sigh, but didn’t protest. “I don’t think Isabella will be too pleased about this when she finds out. She’s very protective of Adele.”
“At least she’ll be alive to be angry with me.” I crossed my arms. “I can live with her hatred, Edmund. What I can’t live with is losing them. Not again. Not when I just got her back.”
Edmund studied me for a long moment, then nodded his head. “I trust you, Dimitri. You’re a wise man.”
I smiled at his kind words. “Thank you, Edmund.”
He stood slowly, like his joints ached, and moved toward the door. But he stopped with his hand on the handle, his back to me.
“Your father would be proud of you,” he said quietly. “And I’m proud of you—for doing things right this time.”
Five years ago, I’d thought that doing things right meant gaining the approval of everyone—my mother, the pack council. But that had only led me down a path that I would forever regret. Now, the Moon Goddess had given me a second chance to do things differently, and I would not waste it.
I smiled, watching as Edmund opened the door and disappeared behind it.
I settled back into the seat, pulled out my phone, and opened the tracking app, watching the small blue dot pulse steadily on the screen.
Isabella’s apartment. Adele was home. Safe.
The GPS tracker I’d embedded in that plush dragon had been a calculated risk.
If Isabella ever found out, she’d probably kill me herself. But it was worth it.
Isabella had mentioned during one of our brief phone conversations that Adele had fallen in love with the dragon. “She takes it everywhere,” Isabella had said, her voice softening in that way it only did when she talked about our daughter. “She even named it Ember.”
As for Isabella, she was probably driving home to Adele right now, and I made a mental note to call her later and check on her. I hoped she would answer the call.
I closed the app and stared out at the city sprawling below the windows.
For the first time, I felt complete —my Fated Mate, my daughter. I had it all. But I also knew it would be war to keep it. And I was prepared to go to war for them.