His mannerisms always make me smile. He sometimes reminds me of an old man in a child’s body.
“Really?” Seren asks with a raised eyebrow, and I nod.
“But just this once. We can’t be doing this every day,” I say, looking meaningfully at Leon, who is beaming up at me. “And we’re both putting on more clothes before we go out.”
There’s no conversation during the ride. I sit in front with the security while Seren and Leon are in the backseat. Instead of eating there, we get ours to-go and hand Leon his cone in the car, which he finishes on the drive back.
As we step into Seren’s room to put Leon to bed, I notice a single bed in the corner and sigh.
I don’t understand this new Seren. She gets angry, doesn’t avoid confrontation, tells me whatever’s going on in her head, and then goes ahead and does these thoughtful little things. Is it just for Titan, or does she care about me, too?
Seren helps our son out of his clothes and reads him a story while I go get us some scoops of sugar-free no-churn mixed-berry gelato. I would’ve never chosen it, but after seeing her sighing over it, I bought two jumbo tubs.
The lights are off when I step back into the bedroom, but the window lets in enough moonlight for me to instantly spot Seren. I hand over Seren’s bowl to her and we sit by the edge of the window.
“There’s a ton of leftovers from dinner in the fridge, you know,” she says as she stabs her spoon into the bowl.
I smile and scoop out some ice cream with my spoon. “This looks good.”
The room’s dark and I’m not even looking at her, but I can sense her rolling her eyes.
She lets out a deep sigh as she takes the first taste of her ice cream, and I realize this must be something she loved before she left.
I slowly take my first bite, and swallow hard. We’re both experiencing the same thing together. The thought soothes something inside of me.
“What has Landon tried to get to you? Is their pack bigger than ours? I mean, do they have more wolves? Or more money? What do they want from us?”
I turn to face her, my gaze meeting hers. A genuine smile spreads across my lips at her interest in the pack. “He does have more land and more people. Our power is tied to business, stock, and bonds. He wants more dominance in the market, and Blackwood is the only thing standing in his way.”
A thoughtful silence falls between us as she considers my words. Then, with a determined look, she says, “So, this isn’t based on a family feud or revenge. He just wants your business ruined so he can be richer?”
My heart pounds in my chest as I recall his chilling threat. “The day Leon arrived, he texted me. He threatened to come for what’s precious to me.”
She sits upright, her eyes wide with concern. “I’m sure you guys must’ve gotten some proof by now. Why not go after him legally? You have your alpha king. Can’t he do something? Or you could try the human justice system.”
I shake my head, a bitter taste lingering in my mouth. “There’s never been anything concrete that ties back to him. He has an alibi for everything.”
She hums thoughtfully, her gaze drifting away from me. Then, with a renewed sense of purpose, she turns to me, hereyes sparkling with determination. “What’s the next big business project that you and Landon would be competing for?”
“Delta Corp has announced a massive project in California. Bidding would start soon,” I reply, curious about what she’s thinking.
She leans forward, glancing briefly at Leon and lowering her voice. “How about we get a sting operation done on him? The way you describe him, I have a feeling he’ll mess up. A sting can catch him in action.”
“He has contacts everywhere, since he’s married to someone with old money. A ton of people owe them favors.”
She shrugs. “So we get a third party involved. Someone who has no skin in the fight. An up-and-coming news agency would want to be the one to break the story. Exclusive stories get maximum eyeballs, especially if they’re scandalous. If bigger players are involved, they’ll bite hard.”
I’m impressed by her strategic thinking. “You’ve done this before?”
A playful smirk spreads across her lips. “Oh, it’s just a lawyer’s intuition,” she replies, taking another stab at her ice cream. There’s one part that’s still frozen solid in her bowl.
A surge of adrenaline courses through me. Her plan, though bold and risky, sounds promising. Suddenly a thought strikes me. “I thought you didn’t want me around. Why are you trying to help me now?”
She smirks at me, her eyes glinting with something I can’t quite place. “Because the moment Landon’s threat is dealt with, I no longer have to live under your roof.”
The little bit of hope that had awakened in me dies.
CHAPTER 27