The boardroom smells like expensive cologne and desperation. I can feel twenty pairs of eyes on me as I stand at the head of the table, my Louboutins clicking against the marble floor. The men in their tailored suits shift uncomfortably. Good. They should be uncomfortable. "Gentlemen," I say, my voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "Kane Industries has exactly forty-eight hours to accept my offer, or I'm taking my proposition to the Silvermoon Corporation instead." That gets their attention. Silvermoon is their biggest competitor. "Ms. Ashford, perhaps we could discuss—" "There's nothing to discuss." I slide the contract across the polished wood. "Twenty million for exclusive rights to the Riverside development. Non-negotiable." My wolf stirs beneath my skin, restless. She's been on edge since we walked into this building, and I know exactly why. *He's here.* I've spent ten years building myself into someone he couldn't ignore. Ten years transforming from the broken, rejected girl who fled Seattle with nothing but a shattered bond and a suitcase. Now I'm Sera Ashford, CEO of Ashford Enterprises, Forbes' "30 Under 30," and the woman about to dismantle everything Dominic Kane has built. The double doors burst open. Time stops. Dominic Kane stands in the doorway, and God help me, he's more devastating than I remember. Six-foot-three of pure alpha male wrapped in a charcoal suit that probably costs more than most people's cars. Dark hair, sharp jawline, and those ice-blue eyes that once looked at me like I was his entire world. Before he threw me away like I was nothing. Our eyes meet, and the bond—the one I thought had withered to nothing—*screams* to life. My wolf lunges against my control, desperate to get to her mate. After all these years, she still wants him. Traitor. "Everyone out." His voice is exactly as I remember—deep, commanding, the kind of voice that makes people obey without question. The board members scramble like scattered mice. Within seconds, we're alone. The silence is suffocating. "Sera." He says my name like a prayer, like a curse. "You're alive." I laugh, and it sounds bitter even to my own ears. "Disappointed?" "I searched for you." He takes a step closer, and I force myself not to retreat. "For two years, I had people looking everywhere—" "Stop." I hold up my hand. "I didn't come here for a reunion, Dominic. I came here for business." His jaw tightens. "You can't just walk back into my life after ten years and pretend—" "Pretend what? That you didn't reject our bond in front of your entire pack?" The words taste like poison. "That you didn't choose your precious empire over your fated mate? That you didn't tell me I was a 'distraction you couldn't afford'?" I can see the impact of my words hit him. Good. I want him to hurt the way I hurt. "I was twenty-three years old," he says quietly. "My father had just died, the pack was in chaos, the company was hemorrhaging money—" "And I was nineteen and so in love with you I would have burned the world down if you asked." I step closer, letting him see the woman I've become. "But you didn't ask, Dominic. You just... let me go." His eyes flash gold—his wolf rising to the surface. "You think I wanted to? You think it didn't kill me to—" "I don't care what it did to you." My voice is ice. "I'm here because Kane Industries is struggling. The Riverside development is your last chance to stay afloat, and we both know it. So here's what's going to happen: You're going to accept my terms, or I'm going to watch your empire crumble." "Why?" The word is barely a whisper. "Why would you help me just to destroy me?" I smile, and I know it doesn't reach my eyes. "Because, Alpha Kane, I want you to remember that the woman you threw away became the one who could have saved you. And chose not to." The air between us crackles with electricity. Our wolves are going insane, drawn to each other like magnets. I can smell his scent—cedar and rain and *home*—and it takes everything in me not to show how much it affects me. "I made a mistake." His voice is raw. "The biggest mistake of my life." "Yes, you did." I gather my things, preparing to leave. "And now you get to live with it." "Sera, wait—" The door bursts open again. A man I don't recognize rushes in, his face pale. "Alpha, we have a situation. The Blackwood Pack just attacked our eastern border. Three of our wolves are down, and they're demanding—" He stops when he sees me, his eyes widening. "Luna?" I freeze. No one has called me that in ten years. Dominic's expression hardens. "Not now, Marcus." "They're demanding we hand over the Riverside territory," Marcus continues, ignoring his alpha's warning. "Or they're declaring war." My mind races. The Blackwood Pack. Ruthless, territorial, and led by Vincent Blackwood—a man known for taking what he wants by any means necessary. This changes everything. "Get out," Dominic tells Marcus, not taking his eyes off me. "I'll handle it." When we're alone again, he moves closer. Too close. I can feel the heat radiating off his body, and my traitorous wolf purrs in response. "You want revenge?" he asks. "Fine. Help me crush the Blackwood Pack, and the Riverside development is yours. Full partnership." "Why would I help you?" "Because Vincent Blackwood doesn't just want my territory, Sera. He wants to expand into the human business sector. Your sector. Help me eliminate him, and we both win." I should walk away. This is exactly the kind of complication I don't need. But my wolf is howling, and despite everything, despite the pain and the years and the broken bond between us, part of me—the part I've tried so hard to bury—wants to stay. "Forty-eight hours," I finally say. "I'll consider it." I turn to leave, but his hand catches my wrist. The touch sends electricity shooting through my entire body, and from the way his breath catches, he feels it too. "I never stopped loving you," he whispers. I pull away, my heart screaming in my chest. "Then you shouldn't have let me go."