Double betrayal
Rhaek’s mansion was silent, but the wolf within him was howling. Ever since that dinner, something had changed. He knew the scent of lies—and Narelle exuded a new, ancient, dangerous perfume: that of a woman hiding a secret greater than pride itself.
That morning, he did not go to the company headquarters. Instead, he summoned three of his most trusted men—loyal wolves, discreet, skilled at moving through human shadows.
“Follow her. I want to know where she lives, whom she speaks to, what she hides. Every breath she takes must be reported to me.”
The men exchanged curt, silent glances. A command from na Alpha is not questioned.
Two days later, he had na address: a modern, upscale neighborhood bristling with technology and security. Narelle was living well—better than she had any right to, better than when she left.
The surveillance cameras picked up a young woman caring for the house: the nanny. Blonde, with hard eyes and na irritating calm. She did not know she was being watched. Not yet.
On the third day of surveillance, one of the wolves approached with purpose. Dark suit, unremarkable car, a neatly prepared bribe in a leather folder. Minutes later, the nanny opened her door…and her mouth.
“She travels a lot. But lately she’s been more reclusive. She takes very good care of the boy.”
“Boy?” the wolf raised na eyebrow, feigning surprise.
She hesitated. “It’s her son, of course.”
“The father?”
“A highly esteemed wolf, of ancient lineage. He visits often. Protective…generous.”
But her scent changed. The wolf noticed: half-truth, half-betrayal.
When Rhaek learned of this, he sat in his office in silence for long minutes, his whisky glass cracking under his grip.
A son.
She’d had a son. And never told him.
His jaw locked. A secret lover, a wolf with free access to her home. And it wasn’t him. It never had been him.
The memory of that leather bracelet in Kael’s fingers cut through his mind like a blade: the glances at dinner. Their proximity. The restrained smiles. The synchronized absences. Everything made sense now—or almost everything.
The next day, confirmation came not from spies but whispers in the company corridors—muffled jokes, staged silences.
Kael and Narelle were…“working very closely together.”
Rhaek would wait no longer. He stormed into his brother’s floor like a tempest. The door slammed against the wall. Kael looked up slowly, as if he’d been expecting him.
“Is it true?” Rhaek’s voice was low and gravelly, barely contained.
Kael made no attempt to deny it. He only nodded, slowly. “I’m the father. But I didn’t know until the day she returned from her trip. She never told me.”
The lie was delivered masterfully—but not masterfully enough.
Rhaek exploded.
A sharp punch sent Kael crashing into the wall.
“You betrayed me, you bastard. Both of you betrayed me!”
Kael wiped blood from his lip but did not strike back. Instead, he looked at Rhaek with controlled fury. “You had her for years…and never touched her. Who betrayed whom first?”
But Rhaek no longer heard him. His breathing rumbled like a suppressed roar. Pain came before fury—a pain burning through his veins.
From that moment on, Narelle ceased to be a past to be resolved. She became a target. Na enemy. A hunt.
[...]
Narelle awoke with instinct throbbing beneath her skin. It wasn’t fear. It was that pressure in the air—undetectable to humans, unmistakable to a she-wolf. Someone was watching her. More than one. And it wasn’t Kael.
She rose silently and crossed the corridor to her son’s room. The little boy slept curled among pillows, clutching his wolf plush toy. He was the youngest heir of the lineage, and no one—besides her—knew how much that mattered.
Downstairs in the kitchen, the nanny avoided her gaze. She moved too quickly. Breathed too slowly.
“Who came looking for you?” Narelle demanded.
The woman paling, tried to lie, but Narelle’s voice sliced the air like a blade.
“How many wolves were with him?”
“Three. Only one spoke. I didn’t say much… just enough. About the father. I made it up.”
“Did you receive anything?”
Silence.
Narelle stepped closer, her golden eyes gleaming almost feral.
“Give it back. Now.”
The nanny reached into her bag and produced na envelope. Generous notes, cold and tainted with power.
“You’re dismissed.” Narelle’s voice was low and lethal. “If I see you again, run.”
That same night, Narelle appeared unannounced at the corporate building. In sober attire, steady heels, hair tied back—the strategist she-wolf.
Kael waited in the penthouse, arms draped over the sofa’s back. He seemed to know she would come.
“Rhaek knows.” He didn’t smile.
“I can imagine. He sent his hounds to circle me. The nanny is no longer under my protection.”
Kael nodded, rising to his feet.
“He’s going to come after me, Kael. But I’m not running again.”
“Nor am I.”
She halted before him, eyes locked on his. She would need his support—but to earn it, she had to surrender.
“If he wants war… we’ll give it to him.”
Kael leaned in, forehead to hers. “He hates you now. And he hates me. But you knew this would happen.”
“Of course I knew.” A cruel smile curved Narelle’s lips. “That’s why I came back. Not for you, Kael. Nor for revenge.”
“Then why?”
She stepped away, moving to the glass window overlooking the city sleeping under a metallic sky.
“Because my son needs to inherit na entire clan.” But deep down, she lied. She loved the Alpha.
The next night, Narelle issued a new command: three discreet, dangerous wolves, loyal to her since youth, were activated.
“Follow Rhaek. I want to know where he goes, with whom he sleeps, who still follows him out of conviction. And if you find a weak link… tear it out.” The hunt was just beginning.
[...]
Rhaek’s office at the top of the corporate tower was na unassailable stronghold. Glass panels, art depicting ancient wolves, angular dark-toned furnishings. There, the Alpha convened his internal council—directors and trusted wolves who kept the company’s gears turning.
He detailed Narelle’s new maneuvers: bribes stamped with power, acrimonious surveillance, subtle sabotage in board meetings. With each word, his fist clenched on the polished table. Her vengeance was cold, calculated—a chess game where reputations and careers were the pieces.
“We cannot retaliate with open violence,” Rhaek declared, voice grave. “We will maintain our positions, our image, and strike back where she least expects it: in contracts, strategic projects, and shareholders’ trust. Remember: my brother is involved.”
The council nodded. Spreadsheets, calendars, discreet allies: all assignments were made. The plan would proceed in silence, but any misstep by her would be met with corporate sanctions—budget cuts, rumors leaked, alliances blocked.
Late afternoon, Rhaek descended to the operational floors, reviewing workflow streams. He decided to visit the new annex where Narelle occupied a sumptuous, strategically placed office. He intended to surprise her, to remind her who was in control—but she was always one step ahead.
In the corridor, he heard muffled sounds—pleasure mixed with defiance. He followed them to the executive restroom doors, left slightly ajar.
What he saw made every vein in his neck throb with contained rage: Narelle and Kael entwined in audacious touches, as if that space were the perfect stage to flaunt their triumph. Cold tiles, fogged mirrors, clothes strewn about—the scene exuded both challenge and lust.
Rhaek stayed in the shadows, watching them in deadly silence. Each moan, each gasp, was a blade driven into his heart. But he did not flinch. He did not erupt. He maintained the posture of na alpha wolf, a glacial gaze declaring, “You have crossed the line.”
Narelle lifted her head, wiped her mouth, recognized him. She offered a scornful smile before digging her nails into Kael’s glutes and continuing her provocatory performance.
He leaned against the outer wall, feeling the power of surprise—and the urgent need to carry out his revenge in silence. The corporate war would resume tomorrow, in the numbers, contracts, and icy alliances. But that image, seared into his senses, would fuel him beyond any limit.
Above all, Rhaek knew: the next morning, he would demand answers in the boardroom. But f
or now, he drew a deep breath, clenched his fists, and climbed back to the pinnacle of the empire he had built. The game had only just begun.