The scent hit me before I even opened the conference room door—wild jasmine and thunderstorms, a fragrance that had haunted my dreams for a decade. It couldn't be her. My wolf stirred violently inside me, clawing at my ribcage with a desperation I hadn't felt since the night I walked away. Since the night I shattered both our hearts for the sake of ambition. "Mr. Blackwood?" My assistant's voice seemed distant. "The Meridian Corp representatives are waiting." I straightened my tie, forcing my face into the mask of cold indifference that had made me a billionaire by thirty-two. Whatever game fate was playing, I'd already won once. I could do it again. I pushed open the door. She sat at the far end of the table, perfectly poised in a charcoal suit that probably cost more than my first car. Her dark hair was twisted into an elegant knot, her posture radiating the kind of confidence that came from building something from nothing. But it was her eyes—those storm-gray eyes that used to look at me like I hung the moon—that hit me like a physical blow. They were ice cold. "Mr. Blackwood," she said, her voice professionally pleasant but laced with something sharp enough to draw blood. "Thank you for meeting with us. I'm Aria Sterling, CEO of Meridian Corp." Sterling. She'd changed her name. Erased every trace of the girl who'd once whispered my name like a prayer. My wolf was going absolutely feral, demanding I cross the room and claim what was mine. But nothing was mine anymore. I'd made sure of that ten years ago when I told her I didn't want a mate—that she was a distraction I couldn't afford. "Ms. Sterling." I managed to keep my voice level as I took my seat. "I wasn't aware Meridian had new leadership." Her smile was razor-sharp. "I acquired the company six months ago. We've been restructuring. But I'm sure your intelligence team already told you that." They hadn't. Someone was getting fired. "Shall we discuss the merger proposal?" One of her associates, a nervous beta named Collins, pushed a folder across the table. I didn't touch it. I couldn't take my eyes off her. She looked different—harder, sharper, like she'd been forged in fire and emerged as something both beautiful and deadly. The soft curves of youth had been replaced by lean muscle. The hopeful light in her eyes had been replaced by calculated ambition. I'd done this to her. "There won't be a merger," I said flatly. Aria's eyebrow arched. "You haven't even looked at the terms." "I don't need to. Blackwood Industries doesn't merge. We acquire." "How predictable." She leaned back in her chair, completely at ease. "Still the same arrogant alpha who thinks he can dominate everything and everyone." The words stung because they were true. Because that's exactly who I'd been when I rejected her—so obsessed with building an empire that I'd thrown away the one thing that actually mattered. "If you came here expecting sentiment, you've wasted your time," I said, even as my wolf howled in protest. "Sentiment?" She laughed, and the sound was nothing like the bright, musical laugh I remembered. This was darker, edged with bitterness. "No, Dante. I came here to destroy you." The room went silent. Her associates shifted uncomfortably, but Aria's gaze never wavered from mine. "Meridian Corp has been quietly acquiring shares in your subsidiaries for the past year," she continued, her voice deadly calm. "We now control forty percent of your supply chain. And we've just signed exclusive contracts with your three largest clients." My blood ran cold. "That's impossible." "Is it?" She stood, smoothing her skirt. "You taught me everything I know about ruthless business tactics. I'm just better at them than you are." She moved toward the door, and my wolf screamed at me to stop her, to throw her against the wall and make her remember what we were to each other. But I remained frozen, watching my past and my destruction walk away in designer heels. She paused at the threshold, glancing back over her shoulder. "You rejected me because you said a mate would make you weak. Let's see how strong you are when I take everything you chose over me." The door closed behind her with a soft click that echoed like a gunshot. For the first time in ten years, Dante Blackwood felt something other than ambition burning in his chest. It felt like fear. ---