Chapter 6

Cain's face filled with confusion, and even some urgency. "Ivy, after everything he's done to you, why won't you leave him?" I thought for a moment. "There are a lot of reasons. The Pack, the business. I can't just walk away from it all right now." Dorian and I were more than mates. We were co-founders. We'd built the Pack's business together, pooled investors, run projects side by side. Too much of what we had was tangled together. A year ago, when we decided to try for a pup, I stepped back from the business. That was when I started losing my voice in Pack decisions. That was also when Dorian brought Serena in. From that moment on, I started to see what happened when you stopped working and stopped bringing in your own resources. Your standing in a Pack dropped fast. You couldn't even push an outsider out of your own home. So I went back to work. But giving up power is easy. Taking it back is not. I'd been at it for nearly half a year and still hadn't made it back to the core decision-making circle. If I severed the Bond with Dorian now, I'd lose what was rightfully mine. To that, Cain only said one thing: "Use me." Then he went quiet and left. I went home. Dorian was sitting on the front steps of the manor, staring toward the road the same way I used to stare waiting for him. The moment he saw me, his eyes lit up. He got to his feet and came to open the door for me. He asked carefully, "Ivy, where did you go?" When I didn't answer, he rushed to say what he needed to. "I sent Serena away. She won't appear in front of you again. Come back to how things were before — please." I shook my head. Before I could say anything, Dorian broke first. "Why won't you agree? Is it because of Cain? Do you know what he did to you?" "He's completely unhinged. He's been watching you for two years — since before you were even mated to me." After Cain heard I'd been bonded to Dorian, he only sulked for three days. After that, he hired investigators to track my movements. His plan was simple: if I was happy, he'd let go. If I wasn't, he'd find a way to take me. So he had me followed for three months. He'd intended to put me out of his mind, but watching me smile made him sick with jealousy. He sat in the dark like a rat in a drain, wishing bad things on Dorian. He started by wishing Dorian would cheat, but then thought that would hurt me too much. Better for it to be quick. He settled on wishing Dorian would die young — so he'd have a clear path. On and off for two years, he kept watching. Then he noticed the smiles on my face getting fewer. He dug into what was going on and found out about Dorian and Serena. His first reaction wasn't anger. It was a sharp, shameful flicker of relief. He finally had his chance. He ordered a pair of custom-made contacts, spent two months eating as little as possible until he was bone-thin, hired an acting coach, and learned how to move like someone with sensory processing disorder. Once everything was ready, he picked the right weather forecast, and on a rainy night, he walked up to my door. Dorian looked at my unsurprised face and couldn't believe it. "You already knew?" I nodded. "Cain told me everything." "And you don't think he's terrifying?" "You're not much better. You two are about the same." Dorian went pale. He stood there, tried to come up with something, and couldn't. I was done with him. I walked inside, packed up all my things, and moved into the guest room. It seemed Dorian understood what I was thinking, because he turned into a model mate overnight. He cancelled every social obligation and came home on time every evening, put on an apron, and made a table full of my favorite food. I was out building new business contacts most of the time and barely came home. Not a single meal made it to me. He also contacted every sales associate at every shop in the area, and whenever the latest arrivals came in — clothes, bags, anything — he bought all of it and had it delivered to me. That I kept. Freely given gifts weren't shared assets. If he wanted to give me things, I wasn't going to say no. Beyond that, his handling of Serena became the talk of the social circle. He didn't just cut off contact with her. He ignored their families' connection and had both Serena and the medical officer who faked her reports locked in the Pack dungeons. Everyone in our social circle told me: "Ivy, forgive him. No Alpha does what he's done. He loves you completely." I just smiled. Until Dorian brought my mother in.