Ryan's roar was primal, a sound that should have shattered the glass walls, but his voice was trapped—muffled by five years of human composure he barely recognized. "You kept them from me, Elara. You had my sons and you lied."
Elara's expression didn't shift. She was a CEO speaking to a difficult subordinate, not a rejected mate facing her Alpha. "I kept them safe. Safe from your pack, safe from your rejection, and safe from the disgrace you heaped upon them simply by association with me." She steered the twins—Elias and Leo—to a small, soundproof play area cornered off in the suite. "Ryan, this is a meeting about the hostile acquisition of Lycan Holdings. My children are not on the agenda. Control yourself, or my legal team will escort you out."
The corporate delegation, frozen by the sudden shift from high finance to raw, supernatural intensity, finally found their footing. The older board member, Mr. Hawthorne, stammered, "Alpha, perhaps we should recess—"
"Sit down," Ryan commanded, the sheer power in his voice snapping the men back into their seats. His eyes remained locked on Elara, the amber now burning with a desperate, possessive fire. "You brought my heirs into my negotiation, Elara. They are Lycan. They belong with the pack."
"They are Thorne," she corrected, using her adopted surname, a name forged in vengeance. "And they belong where I decide. You have two options, Ryan. We discuss the corporate terms of the merger—which will end with me owning a controlling share of your family's land—or we discuss the terms of your access to my sons. But you will not have both, and you will not have control."
Elara opened a folder labeled ACCESS AGREEMENT. It was thick, bound in dark leather, and contained more clauses than the merger document. Ryan snatched it, scanning the pages. Every paragraph was a restriction, a barrier to his Alpha nature. No shifting in their presence, no bringing pack members without permission, no telling the boys about their heritage until she deemed them ready.
The final clause hit him like a physical blow: Ryan Lycan waives all and any parental rights and responsibilities if he violates the terms of this Agreement, including but not limited to the right to visitation and the transfer of Lycan family assets.
"You're trying to muzzle me," he snarled, crumpling the paper slightly.
"I'm trying to protect my children from the consequences of your cruelty," Elara stated, her voice sharp as glass. "Your weakness cost you your mate. Your pack's outdated tradition cost them their Luna. And now, your inability to control your corporate spending is about to cost you your empire. Choose, Ryan. Pack or company?"
Ryan was trapped. The pack elders would destroy him if he let Elara bankrupt them. But his wolf was screaming for the twin heirs Elara had denied him.
"I accept the corporate negotiations," Ryan ground out, straightening his shoulders. "But this isn't over, Elara. You can't keep my blood away from me."
"Try me," she whispered, her eyes promising a war.