Chapter 24 – Stay Away from Us
Fiona’s POV
Oh Moon above… no. No. Not him. It can’t be him.
The words came out before I could stop them.
“What the fuck?”
I heard myself say it, loud and unfiltered, echoing through the sleek glass conference room.
Alpha Matthew’s head whipped toward me, his eyes wide. “Excuse me?” His voice carried the careful weight of someone not used to being spoken to that way. Especially not in his own Packhouse.
I opened my mouth, then immediately regretted it. My heart was in freefall, my stomach a tangled mess of dread and disbelief. I swallowed hard, scrambling to rein in my reaction. “I-I’m sorry.” I croaked, though my voice was shaking. “I didn’t mean-
But I couldn’t even finish. Not with him standing there. Not with that same smug, infuriating expression on his face like this was just another game and I was the prize he’d tossed aside and suddenly remembered.
My palms were slick with sweat. I wiped them on my pants, trying to hold my Alpha composure.
Matthew’s confusion was written all over his face. “Do you two know each other?”
My gaze snapped away from Dorian,and I looked at Matthew, heart hammering against my ribs.
“It’s… complicated,” I said.
Matthew raised an eyebrow. “Complicated how?”
“Alpha Matthew,” I cut in before he could dig any deeper. “Can we have a moment? Alone.”
I didn’t even wait for a yes. I was already halfway toward the door, ready to rip it open and shove Dorian out by his collar if I had to.
Matthew hesitated, clearly reluctant, but sensing the firestorm brewing between us. “Alright,” he said slowly. “But if there’s something I need to know-
“There’s nothing,” I said too fast, too sharp. “We just need to talk.”
He lingered for a second longer-smart man, probably knew something wasn’t adding up-but finally gave a tight nod and stepped out, closing the door behind him.
As soon as it clicked shut, I spun to face the bastard who still haunted my worst nights.
“What in the goddess’s name are you doing here, Dorian?” My voice cracked, and my wolf was already pacing inside me, hackles raised. “Are you stalking me now? What is your goddamn problem?!”
He didn’t flinch. Instead, he leaned against the doorframe like he owned the place, arms crossed, muscles flexing under that pretentious shirt, smirk plastered on his face.
“Well, well,” he drawled, his voice still that same cocky hum. “Good to see you too, Fiona. Missed me?”
I growled. “Answer the question, Dorian. Why. Are. You. Here?”
He shrugged lazily. “Fate, sweetheart. Funny thing, isn’t it? The world’s smaller than we think.”
His smirk widened.
And then he said it.
“How’s my pup? How’s Jamal?”
My vision blurred with rage. “Don’t you dare call him your pup.”I hissed, stepping forward, fists clenched. “You lost that right the second you walked away. You think you get to waltz in here, years later, and throw his name around like you earned it? Stay the hell away from us.”
Chapter 24 – Stay Away
He raised both hands, fake-innocent. “Whoa. Relax. I didn’t even know you’d be here. It’s just business, Fiona. Just a coincidence.”
“Bullshit.” My voice cracked like a whip, slicing through the polished calm of the room. “You’re not a coincidence. You’re a curse I worked damn hard to survive.”
“Harsh.” he muttered with a chuckle, pushing off the wall. He took a slow step toward me, his gaze flicking over me like I was still his to claim. “I didn’t come to pick a fight. I’m here to work. Alpha Matthew brought me on board.”
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.” His voice dropped, low and smug. “Looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.”
My wolf surged, teeth bared. I wanted to shift right there in that damn conference room. Tear the arrogance right off his face. But I held myself together. Barely.
“Don’t get comfortable,” I spat. “This deal is business. That’s it. You stay out of my life, and more importantly, you stay away from Jamal.”
He didn’t say anything for a second. Just stared at me with that unreadable, infuriating look. Then he leaned in, his voice barely above a whisper.
“You can hate me all you want, Fiona. But you can’t erase me. Not from my pup. Not completely.”
“You don’t get to use Jamal as some excuse to hang around.”
My voice came out sharp, ragged with rage, but I didn’t care anymore. The dam had broken. The fury I’d kept bottled up for years finally erupted.
“You abandoned him. You abandoned us,” I hissed, stepping closer, my wolf snarling just beneath my skin. “You don’t care about him, and you sure as hell don’t care about me.”
For once, Dorian’s smug smirk wavered. It slipped, just enough for me to catch a glimpse of the cold, calculating bastard underneath.
“I care more than you think.” he said, his voice dropping into that dark, low Alpha register that used to make me weak. Now it only made me sick. “Just because I wasn’t around doesn’t mean I don’t have a say.”
My claws itched to come out.
“You have no say!” I snapped, my voice cracking with the weight of everything he’d destroyed. “You forfeited that right the second you walked out that door, and your son, me to fend for ourselves!”
He didn’t flinch.
“You really think you can keep me out of his life forever?” he asked, stepping closer. “He’s going to want to know who his father is eventually.”
My breath caught. Goddess, I hated that he was right. The thought haunted me late at night, when Jamal curled up beside me, asking innocent questions I never had the heart to answer.
But I didn’t let Dorian see that crack.
“He has a father.” I said tightly. “A real one. Someone who shows up. Someone who loves him with every ounce of his being. Not someone who shows up whenever it’s convenient for him.”
Dorian’s eyes flashed with something dangerous, something feral. “You think you’re doing the right thing by keeping him from me? You think he’s better off not knowing who I am?”
“Yes!” My voice shook the walls.
“Because you’re poison. Dorian. You’ll ruin him the same way you ruined me.”
His jaw clenched, eyes narrowing, but then-just like that-the cocky smirk slithered back onto his face like a mask.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said coolly. “Business partners or not, I’m back. So get used to it.”
My pulse pounded in my ears. I could barely breathe. My wolf was ready to rip him apart, to defend my pup the way any mother would. I jabbed a finger at his chest, shaking with fury.
“Watch yourself. Dorian. “I spat. “You think you can waltz back into my life like nothing ever happened? You have a mate, a family. What the hell are you even doing here-trying to mess with me again?”
