LUCIEN'S POINT OF VIEW
I didn't rush..Men who rushed looked desperate, and I wasn't desperate.
I was done being cornered.
My fingers slid inside my coat, pulling out the folded envelope. I had memorised it line by line. The sight of the paper made me smirk lightly.
Because of what it could destroy.
The room shifted the moment it brought it out.
Cassian's posture stiffened slightly at the sight. Most people wouldn't notice.
But I did, I wasn't one to omit details.
Araxie didn't move at all. That was worse.
"Can you tell your Luna this?" I asked, my voice low, but it held a scornful tone, holding the document just high enough for Cassian to see the official seal pressed into paper.
Cassian clenched his jaw. A muscle ticked near his temple.
"Speak clearly," he ordered.
Still playing Alpha, still pretending to have control to feel in control.
I didn't look at him. I looked at her.
"This," I said slowly, "is a copy of the financial transfers made from the pack treasury three months ago."
There. Her fingers twitched under my grip.
Cassian gave a short dismissive scoff. "What kind of accusation did you come up with this time?"
I smiled softly, anticipating the show about to unfold.
"Not accusations," I corrected. "Evidence."
I unfolded it slowly, deliberately letting the sound of the paper breaking through the silence echo in the room before tossing it onto the desk.
It slid across the polished wood, stopping just inches from Cassian's hand.
"And if you look closely," I continued calmly, "you'll notice the authorisation mark."
Cassian's eyes dropped for half a second, I saw it.
I know that looks so much. It was recognition.
Then it disappeared as soon as it came, replaced by calculative look.
Of course, he wasn't afraid of being caught. He was measuring the damage.
Araxie slipped out of my hold then. Not because she struggled, but because I chose to.
Like I hadn't just walked in and threatened her future. She moved to the desk and picked up the paper herself.
Her eyes scanned it once, then all over again. She read it carefully for someone who thought it was meaningless.
Then she laughed, it was a light soft sound, before it became something cold and strange.
The sound crept under my skin like a vein.
"You always did love drama," she said, placing the paper back down as if it bored her. "Is this supposed to scare us?"
Us. I cringe at that statement, but I didn't let it show.
I stepped closer.
"This is going to delay your mating ceremony."
They all fell silent immediately, Cassian's face was void of emotion. Still, confusion was evident there.
Cassian's head snapped up. "Explain."
I leaned back against the desk, crossing my arms loosely, as if we were discussing the weather.
"If the elders see proof of misused funds by you and your Luna, before the blessing ceremony…" I said, letting the words sink in, "They'll demand an investigation."
My gaze moved between them.
"And tradition forbids a Luna ceremony during active internal inquiry."
Cassian's fist slammed against the desk so hard the inkpot rattled.
"You're bluffing."
Am I?
I tilted my head slightly, studying him the way a wolf studies prey that doesn't realise it's cornered.
"I will leak this very soon. Test me."
The room felt smaller now, tighter, it looked like oxygen was suck out of it.
Araxie's eyes darkened, not with fear. She looks lost in thought. That was what made her dangerous. She wasn't reacting, she was adjusting.
"You think stalling our ceremony would bring us back together?" she asked quietly. "You're delusional if you think there is still us."
Her voice was steady.
But I could feel the bond between us. My mate this crave for her, even though she hurts him. He still jum in excitement at the sight of her.
"No," I answered just as quietly. "I think it will give me time."
"For what?" she pressed.
I let my gaze linger on her a second too long.
"To remind this pack," I said softly, "that power taken in shadows doesn't survive in light. To take back what belongs to me."
Cassian stepped forward then, placing himself between us in a protective, and possessive way.
But deep within his bold facade. Fear was deeply etched on it.
"This ends now," he said sharply. "Secondly, I know nothing about the financial transfer. After investigating we got to know the traitor is Lucas. And I'm working to put him behind bars."
I pushed off the desk and straightened.
"It ends in one week," I corrected.
I walked toward the door, slow enough to show I wasn't retreating.
Just repositioning.
My hand rested on the handle before I paused.
"One more thing," I added without turning around.
"If Lucas truly is your traitor…"
I glanced over my shoulder, meeting Cassian's eyes.
"You might want to double-check who ordered him to move those funds."
The colour drained from his face for a few a second.
That was enough.
Then I looked at Araxie.
"And you," I said quietly, "should be very careful who you think you're standing beside."
Then I walked out.
Because I wasn't here to beg.
I was here to start a war.
The moment I step out of his office. The atmosphere suddenly became colder.
I slipped my hand into my pocket and pulled out the small bronze key I had lifted from Cassian's desk earlier when he was too busy posturing like an Alpha.
I stared at it under the dim hallway torches.
I had pretended to steady myself against his bookshelf while we argued last week. I pretended to be angry to distract him.
What I was really doing was testing the door behind the third carved wolf head.
And there it was.
A hidden lock.
Cassian always did love secrets.
Too bad he never realised I grew up watching him hide them.
I turned toward the corridor that led to his bookshelf. The guards at the far end nodded respectfully when they saw me.
"Beta," they echoed still Beta. For now.
I walked past them without a word.
When I reached his door, I didn't hesitate. I unlocked it quietly and slipped inside.
The room was dark.
Good.
I moved straight to the bookshelf. Third carved with a wolf head from the left. My fingers pressed behind it.
Then click.
A thin panel shifted open, revealing a narrow iron door hidden within the wall. My pulse quickened, not from fear. But from anticipation as I nserted the key.
For half a second, nothing happened. Then, the lock turned. The door opened with a low scrape.
Inside wasn't a dungeon.
It was a study room.
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I moved to the table and opened the small shelf. It was empty.
I search through the bookshelf, still nothing.
"Son of a bitch," I cursed, slamming my hands to the wall. He cleared it out already.