Chapter 38
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chloe
W ith Louie’s deadline nearing and no solution in sight, I slip out of my room with my laptop tucked under my arm. I hurry down the hallway toward the door at the back, the feet of my frog onesie swishing over the hardwood floor.
When Holden brought me breakfast this morning, he mentioned Dominic was working in the office above the garage today. I hate that I’ve been avoiding the guys since Louie made his threat, but I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know what to say to them, and I’m afraid that I won’t be able to hide Louie’s threats. They’ll sacrifice themselves to save me. I know they will, and I can’t let them. There’s too much at stake.
So instead, I lie and tell them I’m caught by the muse and working, when in reality, I’ve been hiding in my room, caught in a panic spiral.
In the last two days, though, the only solution I’ve been able to come up with requires facing Dominic. I need him to review the publisher’s contract, to tell me it’ll be enough to pay back Nathaniel’s father and save the pack from whatever twisted schemes Louie has devised to sabotage the resort opening on time.
I open the door to the office. “Dom? Do you have a minute?”
My heart sinks when I step inside and find the room empty. Late afternoon sunlight slants through the windows, painting the desk and sitting area in gold, while the faint scent of citrus and musk lingers in the air.
Dominic was here recently. But he’s not here now. Maybe he stepped out for a second?
I shuffle toward the desk, where a lamp illuminates a stack of paperwork and rolled blueprints, with only a small square section at the center left clear. No wonder he spreads out on the coffee table in the sitting area. There’s no room to breathe at the desk, though it’s clear he works here, too. A whiteboard covered in Dominic’s neat scrawl hangs on the wall behind it, and I picture him designing in this space.
A folder rests in the cleared area on the desk, open as if Dominic had been reading it moments ago. Curiosity tugs me forward, my fingertips skimming the smooth surface of the desk as I pause beside it, the wood warm to the touch.
I shouldn’t snoop, I know that. But the writer in me can’t resist.
With a furtive check over my shoulder, I lean in for a better look.
Recognition hits me like a punch to the gut.
It’s the contract Nathaniel and Blake signed with Nat’s father for the loan on the resort. My pulse quickens as I skim the legalese, and dread pools in my stomach. This is so much bigger than I thought. So much worse.
A notepad sits beside the contract, covered in Dominic’s handwriting. At the top, he’s written and underlined “Buyout Clause?” Beneath it, a complex series of equations and notes fill the page as he tries to figure out an escape route. A way to save his pack if the resort doesn’t open.
And as I stare at the numbers, reality crashes over me in a suffocating wave.
My trilogy bonus isn’t enough. Not even close. Hell, it wouldn’t even put a dent in this. With sickening clarity, I realize that if my measly seven figures could have gotten them out of this mess, my Alphas would have found a way already. They wouldn’t still be struggling like this, risking everything.
For the first time, I grasp the true scope and cost of this project. The millions upon millions tied up in it. The astronomical debt they’ve taken on. All to build a dream that could be ripped away in an instant if Louie follows through on his threat.
My legs wobble, and I grip the edge of the desk, the wood biting into my palms. It’s too much. It’s all too much.
Despair crashes over me as I realize I can’t fix this. My money can’t buy them out. I’m truly only a threat to their success.
A broken sound escapes me, half sob, half gasp, and I press my fist to my mouth, trying to hold back the emotion threatening to overtake me, to keep the panic at bay.
But it’s no use.
Because no matter how many zeroes are attached to my bank account, I can’t save the people I love most. Can’t keep my world from shattering around me.
In the end, I’m just a silly Omega who tells silly stories and doesn’t live in reality.
And Louie knows it.
The office door swings open, and I force myself to straighten, to choke down the panic so Dominic doesn’t see it when he strides in, his slippers soft on the hardwood.
He freezes when he spots me by the desk, surprise flashing across his handsome face. “Chloe? I didn’t expect to find you in here. Did you need me for something?”
“Yeah, I do.” I hold up my laptop, pretending for all I’m worth that I wasn’t snooping when he walked in. “I, um, I got the new contract offer from my publisher.”
The words sound distant, as if someone else says them, and the excitement I should feel is smothered by the crushing realization of my uselessness.
A grin spreads across Dominic’s face. “Did they accept the counteroffer?” He crosses to me, his hand out. “Let me see.”
Numbly, I pass it over, and it barely registers when his fingers brush mine, the electricity a fizzle already dying.
Not seeming to notice, he opens my email app and skims the contract. “They agreed to the full amount? That’s fantastic! Do you mind if I send this to myself, so I’m not monopolizing your computer while I review it?”
I shrug, not trusting my voice.
Uncertainty flickers across his face, but he sets the laptop on top of a stack of folders to shoot himself the email.
When he closes the computer and hands it back to me, his earlier excitement dims. Concern furrows his brow as he takes me in, his eyes moving over the messy bun on top of my head and the rumpled onesie hanging off my frame.
“Chloe, are you okay?” The question comes out gentle, but with an undercurrent of worry.
I paste on a cheerful expression, shoving down the panic trying to claw its way out of me. “I’m fine.”
Not buying it, Dominic’s frown deepens. He studies me for a long moment, seeing straight through my flimsy facade. “Do you want me to fetch Nathaniel? Would you rather talk to him about this?”
The thought of facing Nathaniel right now, of knowing that my being here will cost him all of his dreams… I can’t bear it. “No, that’s okay. The offer was a bit of a shock, that’s all. I’m still processing.”
It’s as close to the truth as I can manage.
Dominic hesitates, still radiating doubt, before he hands back my laptop, his fingers lingering on mine a moment more than necessary. “All right. If you’re sure. I’ll review the contract as soon as possible. Will you be down for dinner later?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there,” I promise, clutching my computer to my chest like a shield. Like it can somehow protect me from having to make the coming choice.
Dominic hesitates as if he wants to say more before he sighs. “Okay. I’ll see you then.”
I mumble a goodbye and flee the office, my heart racing. I stumble down the hall to my bedroom, desperate to be alone. To process the inevitable. To figure out my next step when the one weapon I had has proven useless. When the thing I’ve poured my heart and soul into can’t save the people I love most.
I shut my door behind me and lean against it, pressing my face into my hands to fight back the burn of fresh tears.
Lost. Helpless.
Afraid.
My legs tremble, threatening to give out beneath me, but I force myself to keep moving, one foot in front of the other, until I reach the bed and collapse onto it, burying my face in the quilts that no longer hold Holden and Blake’s scent.
For a long moment, I lie there, trying to breathe around the knot of dread in my chest. My mind races, searching for another way out, but I keep coming back to the same inescapable conclusion.
Louie holds all the cards, and if I don’t play by his rules, the pack will pay the price.
With shaking hands, I pull out my phone, the screen blurring in front of me. I blink back tears as I scroll through my contacts, finding Louie’s name at the bottom of the list. My thumb hovers over the call button, every instinct screaming at me to throw the phone across the room, to run far and fast.
But I can’t run, not from this. Not when the lives of the people I love hang in the balance.
I take a deep breath, steeling myself. Then, before I can lose my nerve, I press the button and lift the phone to my ear.
It rings once, twice, each one feeling like an eternity. “Darling, I’m so happy you called. Are you ready to come home?”
I swallow hard, my mouth dry as sandpaper. “I have conditions.”
The silence stretches for a heartbeat, two, before Louie speaks again. “I’m not an unreasonable man. What, exactly, are these conditions?”
I close my eyes, fighting back the wave of nausea that threatens to overtake me. “I’ll return to you. I’ll do whatever you want. Just leave the Misty Pines pack alone. Call off your men and let them finish their project in peace.”
Louie hums in consideration, the sound sending a chill down my spine. “I suppose I can be generous this once.”
I release a shaky exhale, hating myself for the gratitude coursing through me. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, darling,” Louie purrs. “I’ll be at the dock within the hour. Be there ready to go. And don’t think about trying to run. You know what will happen if you do.”
Without waiting for a response, he hangs up.
I lower the phone, my hands trembling so hard that I nearly drop it. This is happening. I’m really going to do this.
In a daze, I move to the closet, pulling out my smaller suitcase with numb fingers. There’s no way I can wheel them both down to the dock, and it’s not like Louie will let me keep my personal items. But I have to sell my departure to my?—
No, they’re not my anything now.
I force my mind blank as I pack, shoving clothes and toiletries in without care. When I zip the suitcase shut, it sounds loud in the stillness of the room created for me in the Homestead. My gaze sweeps over the space—the small reading nook, the desk beneath the window, the fresh bouquet from the garden, and the shelves of fan gifts—as I say a silent goodbye.
Then I straighten, squaring my shoulders as I turn to face the door. Each step feels like a mile as I cross the threshold, but I don’t falter. I don’t hesitate. Because this is the only way to keep them safe. To protect the people I love, even if it means sacrificing myself.
As I step out into the hallway, I glimpse my reflection in the mirror. Pink hair, pink eyes, the same silly girl who thought she could save the world with a million-dollar book deal. But that girl is gone now, and in her place stands a woman I hardly recognize. A woman who will do whatever it takes, pay whatever price necessary, to keep her pack safe.
Even if it means walking straight into the devil’s lair.