Page 29 of The Wolf Prince's Mate

I’ve seen situations where people promised to keep the company they were acquiring intact, only to tear them apart and sell them bit by bit, rendering the employees jobless.

And in the same vein, I’ve seen very strong and influential men reduced to something less than a beggar in order to make up for lost profit and fend off investors. I didn’t possess the ruthlessness the regular businessman had, so it was a shock to me when Adrian said he was leaving the business to me. I had objected, listing out my inadequacies, but he reasoned that he trusted my intuition and believed that if I could extend his lifespan, I could do the same for his business.

“I guess I’ll have to put my trust in your famed Midas touch.” Henry smiled, pulling out an office file.

Midas touch. It was a term I’ve come to be associated with over the years as a result of my famed ability to restore things to their optimal value.

Henry signed his side of the file and shifted it to me, and I stamped my side with Adrian’s company seal. With the deal concluded, we shook hands, and he excused himself to a family meeting.

I let out a sigh of gratitude, sending a quick prayer to the goddess for a successful deal. If things went the way I intended them to, I should be done and out of New York in a month.

My moment of thanksgiving was cut short as a familiar curly-haired woman with the most striking green eyes made her way towards me, eating up the distance between us with long, determined strides.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were glowing with rage, narrowing slightly when they found mine.

“You, stupid bitch.” she snarled, knocking the cup of coffee out of my hands.

My eyes swept through the café, but everyone appeared too engrossed in their business to notice the brewing catfight.

“Hello to you too, Lilith. To what do I owe the displeasure of your company?”

Her eyes widened slightly, and I felt my wolf beam with pride. Lilith was probably expecting the meek and kind maid she knew back in the palace, but she was in for a rude awakening.

“You listen to me and listen well,” she started, taking a menacing step closer. I could feel the dominance pouring from her and pushing against me, but I held my ground, pushing back with equal force. “You’ll crawl back into the hole you came from and stay away from my family. If I catch a whiff of you around Griffin I’ll—”

“You’ll what Lilith? Materialize a bottle of pheromones from the air and accuse me of using it to seduce him?”

She let out a dark chuckle, her face contorted into the perfect image of evil. “The pheromones are the least of what I am capable of. Don’t let me show you just how dangerous I can be.”

I let out a humorless laughter. It was almost pathetic how hard she was trying to scare me, and even worse was how desperate she had become to keep Griffin. I looked her up and down, wondering how someone so vile and awful ever made me feel insecure. I decided she wasn’tworth my time.

“Go home, Lilith. I have no interest in you or your family. If you have any bones to pick, you should talk it out with Griffin.”

She scoffed.

“Griffin will never look at you first. You might’ve decorated yourself with beautiful clothes and expensive jewelry, but beneath all of that, you’re still the desperate little bitch who was thrown into the dungeon right after you lost your virginity while the palace watched. Riches will not replace the ugly stench of your lowly wolf or desperate plea to be loved.”

Her words stabbed a wound I had spent years trying to heal from. It ripped it open, and the pain was as raw as the day the damage was done. My fingers curled into a fist, and I fought the urge to slam it into her perfectly constructed nose.

Rage like an active volcano coursed through me as I watched the smug smile playing on her lips. She knew her words had hit the right spot. I wanted to fight her. I wanted to damage her and make her feel half of the pain I was feeling, but that would only drag me down to her level, and I would be damned if I let her drag me back into a hole I fought so hard to crawl out of.

“Have a nice day, Lilith,” I said, picking up my bag. Before I could take a step from the booth, I felt a burning pressure on my scalp, pulling me back and forcing my head on the table.

“Don’t you dare walk out on me,” Lilith snarled, intensifying her hold on my hair.

We had attracted a fair share of attention at this point, but that was the least of my problems. I twisted and scratched at her hands, ignoring the pain in my head. I just needed to free myself so I could give her thebeating of her life.

Almost as suddenly as she had grabbed me, Lilith’s hands were torn away from me, and I looked to find Victor staring daggers at her while gripping her wrist.

“If I catch your filthy hands on her again, I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget in a hurry.”

Lilith looked between Victor and me, her eyes glazing over like she just made a world-class discovery. “Going after two brothers? Quite the whore aren’t you?”

Victor’s grip on her wrist tightened, and she winced, making wasted efforts at prying his hands off her.

“I’ll let you go for the sake of respect and your position in my brother’s life. Don’t let me find you sniffing around her again.”

With that, Victor dropped her hands, roughly shoving her in the direction of the door.

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