Page 14 of Knocked Up By My Fated Alpha
A mate, I’d allowed him to choose for himself, ignoring the opposing opinions from the pack elders. Regardless of how my past mating had ended, the truth remained that the relationship with one’s life partner was one so sacred it couldn’t simply be “arranged.”
Elias didn’t seem to share the same thoughts on the sanctity of the relationship with one’s mate. He didn’t even look up as he casually poured himself a glass of alcohol.
“Ivy isn’t my mate yet, and our relationship is frankly none of your business. Besides, I needed some time off from my company.” His jaw clenched and unclenched. “Or do I need to ask for your permission for that as well, Alpha?”
I tossed the file Sinclair had given me at him, and Elias glanced up at me, equally offended and mystified, before picking up the file, only to pale as he took in the contents.
“You…you audited my company?” Elias stuttered.
“Were you ever planning on telling me that you ran yet another of our subsidiaries to the ground with your reckless spending and dipped into the pack treasury to buy a damn club?” I growled. I hadn’t wanted to believe it.
I knew Elias’s less-than-stellar track record, but I always wanted to believe the best of him. Maybe it was easier and less painful than realising the sort of man my once kind, sensitive, and responsible nephew had grown into.
Elias’s initial disbelief and panic fell away, anger morphing the features that looked so much like my sister into an expression so ugly I could barely recognize him.
“You had no right,” Elias snarled, springing to his feet and flashing his canines at me. “It’s my business and my money. I can do whatever I choose with it!”
My hold on my temper fractured, my anger condensing into a cold, biting fury.
“That’s the thing. It’s not your business or your money. It’s mine,” I responded, my wolf’s dominance bleeding into my words and bearing down hard on Elias.
“And the treasury isn’t your personal spending account! It is meant to support the Shadow Thorn Pack and take care of the members of the pack you are meant to lead one day.”
Elias fought to stay standing as the full weight of my alpha dominance slammed into him. But in the end, he failed, bowing and baring his neck to me, acquiescing to my authority, a whimper of pain escaping him.
Hearing that sound brought me back from the edge, and I immediately leashed my aggravated wolf, remorse hitting me hard. Elias was flawed, but he was family, my sister’s son, and the only family I had left.
“Elias, I’m sorry—” I reached for him, but he shrugged off my touch, taking a step back, his expression dark.
“You drew dominance on me?” he chuckled, his gaze bitter and enraged. “For a few measly millions when our net worth is in the billions? Isn’t that too unreasonable, Alpha?”
I stared at Elias. The boy I’d been too lost in my grief to properly raise. How he’d turned out was solely my fault.
“You are right. That was too unreasonable,” I agreed. “Henceforth, you will no longer work at any of my subsidiaries and have voluntarily stepped down from your managerial role in the primary company. Your company cards and access to the treasury have also been cancelled.”
Elias’s mouth fell open in surprised outrage.
“You can’t—”
But I wasn’t done yet.
“If you refuse to clean up your act…I will not name an heir with questionable morals who doesn’t care for the reputation and well-being of the Shadow Thorn Pack.”
Yes, I’d failed Elias, but I wouldn’t fail my Pack by foisting off an irresponsible alpha heir onto them.
I’d coddled Elias, giving him whatever he wanted to make up for the times I had to be absent. But I wasn’t going to do it anymore. Elias needed to understand that his actions had real-life consequences.
Elias’s expression grew stormier, and a thin, reedy laugh escaped him.
“What about your questionable morals? You fucked and mated with a woman who betrayed our pack to enemies,” he taunted bitterly, cocking his head to the side almost curiously. “Is that your idea of caring for the ‘well-being of the Shadow Thorn Pack?’”
My vision went hazy with rage at the mention of Rielle, and I wasn’t fully aware of when I grabbed Elias by the lapels of his shirt and slammed him against the wall. Elias didn’t care.
“You killed my mother. Giving me this pack is the fucking least you can do,” he spat venomously, a sardonic smile on his lips. “Besides, it’s not like you have any other option.”
With those ugly, untrue, yet true, accusations hanging in the air between us, Elias shoved me away and stalked out of the room, and I let him go, that old guilt settling in my chest.
The meeting at Cityscape was impromptu. Part of my usual routine was to assess and personally oversee my new acquisitions anywhere from a month to six months before handing them over to my management team.
