Ava POV:
War in the modern world wasn't fought with claws and teeth. It was fought with contracts, supply chains, and public opinion.
Sarah had been busy.
I scrolled through WolfNet on my tablet. She had posted a photo of herself in my old apartment-before the movers finished-captioned: New beginnings in our nest! So sad that some people can't let go of the past and try to bully a pregnant mother. NewLuna LoveWins.
The comments were vile.
@AlphaMale88: Sterling girl is just bitter she's barren.
@PackMomma: How can she kick out a pregnant woman? Heartless.
"She's good at playing the victim," Leo said, sitting across from me in my office at Sterling Corp.
"She's a parasite," I corrected. "But parasites die without a host."
"What's the plan?"
"Tonight is the Urban Development Gala. Liam needs the raw materials from our mines to finish his new tech center. Without that center, his investors pull out. Without investors, his pack goes bankrupt."
I stood up. "Let's go cut the cord."
The Gala was in full swing. The air was thick with the scents of roasted lamb and expensive wine. I smelled Liam before I saw him. But this time, the smell was different.
It was the heavy, musky scent of a male who had recently mated.
I turned the corner toward the restrooms and nearly collided with Sarah. She was reapplying lipstick. When she saw me, her eyes lit up with malicious glee.
"Ava! I love what you've done with your hair. It almost distracts from the bags under your eyes," she chirped.
"And I see you're still wearing that dress," I said, glancing at her outfit. "Did you buy it, or did Liam charge it to the company account I'm about to freeze?"
Sarah's smile faltered. She stepped closer, lowering her voice. "You think you're so smart. But Liam doesn't want you. Last night... oh, last night he was wild. He told me I'm the only one who can handle his wolf. He said you were like a statue in bed. Cold. Lifeless."
It was a lie designed to hurt. But the image of them together just made me nauseous.
"You were exiled from the River Pack for sleeping with the Alpha's father," I stated calmly. "You signed an NDA. Did you tell Liam that? Or does he think you're just a misunderstood victim?"
Sarah paled. "You wouldn't dare."
"Try me."
Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open. Liam marched in. He must have been waiting outside.
"Is she bothering you, baby?" Liam asked, wrapping an arm around Sarah.
Sarah immediately melted into him, trembling. "She... she threatened the baby, Liam! She said she'd make sure we starved!"
Liam turned on me, his face red with rage. "You are toxic, Ava. I'm glad I rejected you. You're trying to kill my pack because you can't handle rejection."
"I'm not trying to kill your pack, Liam," I said, pulling my phone out. "I'm just conducting business."
I tapped the screen and held it up. It was a digital document. A cease-and-desist order on all raw material shipments from Sterling Mines to Crescent Tech, effective immediately.
"What is this?" Liam squinted at the screen.
"This is the end of your free ride," I said. "As of tonight, Sterling Corp is severing all ties with Crescent Tech. No more steel. No more rare earth metals. No more access to our transport routes."
Liam laughed nervously. "You can't do that. We have a contract."
"Read clause 14, section B," I recited. "The Sterling Pack reserves the right to terminate the agreement if the partner pack engages in conduct detrimental to the Sterling reputation. Publicly humiliating the Sterling heiress at the altar? I'd say that counts."
The color drained from Liam's face. He knew the numbers. Without our materials, his construction stops. His loans will default within a month.
"Ava, wait," he stammered, his aggression evaporating into panic. "This... this will ruin us. Hundreds of families in my pack depend on this project. You can't punish them for my personal life."
"You made your personal life public, Liam," I said, stepping around him. "You wanted to be the big, strong Alpha? Go find your own steel."
I walked out of the restroom, leaving the scent of their fear behind me.
