CHAPTER 4

Five days later, Alpha Alaric called his beta, Ian Harris, into his office after breakfast.

"Have you learned more about Lyra?" he asked in a husky voice, his eyes reflecting a golden gleam in the morning light, a sign of the restlessness of his inner wolf.

The man faced the bay window, observing the city of Moostone. His large build and Alpha aura imposed an almost palpable pressure on the room.

"I'm sorry, Alpha Alaric. There's been no progress." Ian carefully avoided meeting his boss's gaze, knowing that a disgruntled Alpha could be unpredictable.

Ian wiped his sweat nervously. "After young Luna left that evening, she didn't return to the nursing home where she worked. I also went to La Clairière, her hometown, to investigate in person, but the address she provided was false. Clan Darkwood didn't exist in that little country."

"The address was false?!" Alaric turned abruptly, his fangs grazing his lower lip, betraying his anger. His eyes shone with a menacing, almost bestial intensity.

"Yes. I went to the local police station to check her details, but they couldn't find anyone matching young Luna's description."

Alpha Alaric was dumbfounded. With whom had he linked his fate? A spy or something worse?

"She left with Asher Stormwolf that evening. Didn't you find any clues from him?"

"If the alpha Asher intends to protect young Luna, it will probably be impossible for us to locate her..." stammered Ian, aware that his answer might inflame his Alpha's rage.

The words "protect young Luna" made Alaric growl, a guttural sound echoing through the room. The beast within him was roaring, demanding answers.

"Asher Stormwolf has always been an honorable man. Why would he steal my companion?"

Ian hesitated, searching for his words. "Well... That doesn't really count as stealing. It's more like... caretaking?"

Alaric glared so icily that Ian felt a shiver run down his spine.

The image of Asher protecting Lyra that night still haunted Alaric. Asher had acted like an Alpha male claiming his partner.

For some reason, Alaric was deeply troubled by this.

How could Lyra, so self-effacing, charm a man like Asher? In the inner circle of elite wolves, Asher was famous for his heart of stone. Why had he risked going up against an Alpha for Lyra?

Alaric remembered that night, when their soul ties had weakened forever.

"Alaric, please, let's not break our bond."

"Because I love you!"

Those words echoed in his memory, but today they filled him with anger.

He paced back and forth in his office, his claws accidentally scratching the solid wood desk. The more he thought about it, the more he felt his wolf stir, torn between rage and desire.

Just then, his phone vibrated on the table.

Alpha Alaric pushed his thoughts aside and saw Celia's name appear. His heart sank. Celia wasn't his soul mate, but she always knew how to appear at the wrong moment.

"Celia, what's wrong?" he replied curtly.

"Alaric, I'm in the lobby of your office. Can you take me upstairs? I've prepared some snacks for you and I want you to try them as soon as possible."

Her honeyed voice made his inner wolf growl, expressing deep disinterest in this woman. Celia was just a distraction, but she had no connection with his soul.

Alaric hesitated, "I'll ask Ian to take you upstairs."

After hanging up, he felt restless. The broken soul link with Lyra was making his emotions chaotic, and Celia seemed to intensify this instability.

His phone vibrated again. This time, a shiver of respect ran down his spine when he saw his grandfather's name, Norton Bloodhowl.

"Yes, Grandpa?"

"You bastard! Do you ignore everything I say?!" roared Norton into the phone. His voice carried the imperious tone of a former Alpha, capable of making even the most dominant tremble. "I told you to stay away from that girl Celia ever since you got involved with Lyra! You broke your promise and brought her to your office?! You better get your ass back here right now!"

A few hours later, in the reception room of the Bloodhowl family home, the atmosphere was tense. Norton, sitting in his Alpha chair, was pounding the floor with his cane, his anger almost palpable.

"Tell me! What's going on between you and that female?" he roared, his voice resonating like a thunderclap.

"Dad, please calm down..." Gaspard hastily patted his father on the back and glared at Alaric.

"Grandpa, our three-year marriage contract has expired." Alaric's voice was husky, a slight vibration in his words betraying his wolf's restrained anger.

"You promised me that I would only need to marry Lyra for three years. Once that time was up, it was up to me to decide whether I wanted to continue this bond or break it."

Norton paled, as if struck by a bolt of lightning. The pack bond he shared with Lyra, though weak because of her human nature, had been part of his daily life for three years. He'd enjoyed her presence so much he'd forgotten about the contract deadline.

Alaric continued in an indifferent voice, although his eyes shone with a golden glow betraying the inner struggle with his wolf: "Now, I choose to end this marriage and be with the partner I truly love. Lyra has also agreed by signing the divorce papers. We will finalize this very soon."

"What?! You're already divorced?!" Norton roared, an Alpha rumble echoing through the room. When he stood up, his anger and age made him wobble dangerously.

Alaric rushed to support his grandfather, but Norton pushed him back with surprising vigor for his age.

"Daddy! Daddy! They haven't finalized the divorce yet. They've only signed the papers. Calm down, or your health will deteriorate!" cried Gaspard, alarmed by his father's condition.

"Damn it!" Norton struck the floor with his cane, a gesture that vibrated the Alpha energy-charged air in the room. "I've already put up with one obnoxious daughter-in-law in my life! Why can't I have a daughter-in-law I love?!"

Alaric froze, torn between the instinct to protect his eldest and defend his position. Gaspard, meanwhile, was caught up in his father's unjustified fury.

"I want Lyra! Go and get her! I can't eat well or sleep well without her. I don't want anyone else as my daughter-in-law. I want my Luna!" Norton, despite his respected Alpha stature, threw an almost childish tantrum, the loss of Lyra affecting him far more than he cared to admit.

"Alaric, why don't you call Lyra to come and see your grandfather?" insisted Gaspard, trying to calm the situation.

"Grandpa, there's no point in acting like this. Even if I ask her to come back and see you, it doesn't change anything. Our bond is broken. This marriage is over."

Alaric thought it best to be direct, to rip off the Band-Aid once and for all. His wolf, though boisterous, approved of this decision, preferring to move on rather than remain attached to a broken bond.

"Ahhh!" Norton slumped in his chair, his face pale, his breath ragged.

Alaric and Gaspard immediately panicked. They called the doctor and urgently sought out Norton's medication.

Feeling helpless in the face of the situation, Alaric had no choice but to try and reach Lyra.

However, to his dismay, all he got was an automated voice: "The number you have dialed is no longer available."

Lyra had disappeared, erasing all trace of her, right down to changing her number.

"Damn it!" roared Alaric, his fangs emerging slightly in frustration. His clenched fists trembled as his inner wolf roared with indignation.

On the other hand, at the Stormwolf World Hotel, all the top executives had gathered outside the main entrance to welcome their new general manager.

"I hear the new GM is a young woman!" whispered one employee, a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"I doubt she can turn the hotel around. The last four GMs have failed, some resigning, others being demoted. Why should such a young woman succeed where others have failed?"

"I hear she's President Wyalon's daughter..."

"President Wyalon has so many wives and children. This new General Manager must be one of his disadvantaged illegitimate daughters. Otherwise, why send her to such a difficult place?"

Giggles rippled through the group.

"There she is! The new boss has arrived!"

A Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up in front of the main entrance, followed by a procession of several luxury Maybachs. The arrival was spectacular, imposing a respectful silence among the spectators.

When they saw the "9999" license plate, a symbol of absolute power in their circle, everyone held their breath.

The first thing they saw was a black Louboutin, vertiginously high, emerging from the car with feline elegance.

The next, a gorgeous woman with a slender figure and lush black hair stepped out of the car with an elegance fit for a queen. Her imposing aura was matched by her piercing eyes, as cold as steel, which made anyone who dared observe her look away.

She paused for a moment in front of the silent crowd, her pink lips parting in a smile both provocative and calculated.

"Hello everyone," she said in a clear, confident voice, her impeccable posture reinforcing the effect of her words.

She swept her gaze over the crowd, before dropping coldly: "I'm your new General Manager. And for the record, I'm not an illegitimate daughter. Sorry to disappoint you."

The effect was immediate. Those who, only moments before, had allowed themselves to gossip about her turned pale. Some even avoided her eyes, their faces betraying a sudden panic. The atmosphere was tense, and beads of sweat were beading on their foreheads.

A few minutes before her entrance, Aurora was comfortably seated in the car, her laptop open in her lap. With a simple, fluid movement, she hacked into the surveillance cameras at the hotel entrance, obtaining real-time images and sounds of the employees gathered outside.

She had heard every word of their chatter.

The insinuation about her supposed illegitimate daughter status, the thinly veiled contempt at the idea that she could succeed where others had failed, and the unfair judgments about her skills had all reached her.

Aurora was no ordinary executive. Beneath her impeccable appearance lay a formidable mind and a nature that wasn't entirely human. Her wolf, silent but alert, gently growled inside her, demanding respect and obedience.

As she closed the laptop and stepped out of the car, a fierce determination shone in her eyes. These employees would soon learn that she wasn't here to play games.