Page 38 of Baby and the Beast

"Don't." Kyle pressed harder, making Martin gasp. "Don't you dare lie to me. Cyrus found everything. The fake invoices. The inflated accounting fees. The second account where you've been hiding the money."

Clara gasped behind them. "Martin?"

"You have five seconds to start talking before I rip out your throat," Kyle growled, leaning in until his face was inches from Martin's. "Did my uncle know? Was he in on it with you?"

Martin's eyes darted around the room, looking for an escape, but finding none. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"No," he finally whispered. "He was too drunk most of the time to notice anything. I started small... just a little here and there. Then when your father died and your uncle took over..." He swallowed hard. "It got easier."

Kyle's wolf surged forward again, demanding blood, demanding retribution. His claws extended, pricking against Martin's skin.

"Kyle!" Clara's voice broke through his rage. "Please, our children—"

"Your mate has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from this pack," Kyle said without looking away from Martin. "Money that could have fed our wolves, housed our families, educated our pups. Money that belongs to every member of this pack."

"How much?" Pepper demanded, stepping forward with the note still clutched in her hand.

Martin's mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. Kyle eased the pressure slightly, allowing him to speak.

"Two... two hundred and thirty thousand," Martin choked out.

The silence that followed was deafening. Even Clara's sharp intake of breath seemed amplified in the restored room that suddenly felt like a tomb.

"Jesus Christ," Josh breathed.

Kyle's vision went red around the edges. His wolf was screaming for blood, for justice, for the satisfaction of watching this traitor pay for his crimes. The only thing that kept him from shifting right there was the knowledge that his pack—his guests—were just outside, and he had to find Cyrus.

"You will transfer every penny back to the pack accounts," Kyle said, his voice deadly quiet. "Tonight. And then you and your family have until sunrise to be off my land."

"Kyle, please—" Clara started, tears streaming down her face.

"No," Kyle cut her off sharply, but then something in her tone made him pause. There was more than just desperation there—there was guilt. "What else, Clara? What else did you do?"

Clara's face crumpled completely. "I told him," she whispered. "About the mating bond. I told Cyrus that mar-wolves don't form true bonds with alphas. That the bite would fade."

The room went deadly silent. Kyle's grip on Martin loosened as the words hit him like a physical blow. His wolf let out a howl of anguish that he felt in his very bones.

"You told him what?" Kyle's voice was barely a whisper, but it carried more menace than any shout.

"I thought... I thought I was helping," Clara sobbed. "He seemed so worried about the bite, so I explained that it wasn't permanent for mar-wolves. That you weren't truly bonded."

Kyle staggered back from Martin, his hand going to his chest where the ache had become a constant, throbbing pain. Everything clicked into place—why Cyrus had been pulling away, why he'd looked so devastated, why he'd left.

"You had no right," Kyle whispered, his voice cracking. "No right to interfere."

"I only wanted what was best for the pack," Clara pleaded. "For you. We need pups, Kyle. The pack is dying. When I realized what he was, I thought—"

"You thought wrong," Kyle snarled, his wolf dangerously close to the surface. "Cyrus is my true mate. My wolf recognized him instantly."

Clara's eyes widened in genuine shock. "But that's not possible with mar-wolves. The elders say—"

"I don't give a damn what anyone else says!" Kyle roared, making everyone in the room flinch. "I felt it. He felt it. We triggered each other's heat and rut. That doesn't happen with just anyone."

The pain in his chest intensified, making him grip the back of a chair for support. His wolf was howling, desperate to find its missing half.

"If I see any of you after dawn, I will hunt you down personally." Kyle's eyes never left Martin's terrified face. "And I won't be feeling nearly as generous then."

He released Martin so abruptly that the older wolf collapsed to his knees, gasping. Kyle turned away, unable to look at him without wanting to finish what he'd started.

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