Third Person's POV Freya didn't flinch. Her lips curved faintly as she answered with disarming bluntness, "I did." Lana's eyes widened. "Moon above! And here I thought you'd hold out until the end of days. What made you change your mind?" Freya's only reply was a pointed roll of her eyes, but that alone told Lana more than words. Unfazed, the other woman pressed on. "Anyway, the show last night ended early. How about we go see the rest of it another time?" "Find someone else," Freya countered smoothly. "If I go with you again, the performance might stop halfway-again." For a moment Lana blinked, not comprehending. Then the realization struck her, and she let out a scandalized laugh. "No way! That interruption was because of Silas?" "Mm," Freya confirmed with a calmness that only made Lana gape further. "Spirits. That's so like him-Ironclad Alpha makes a move, and the world rearranges itself. No halfway measures with that male," Lana muttered, shaking her head. "Fine, I'll drag someone else with me." Her expression softened, though, as she tilted her head. "What about you and Victor? Did you two settle things?" "Settled," Lana said with forced brightness. "I said what needed to be said, and we parted. No lingering ties, no regrets." Freya studied her for a moment. "You and he…" "Nothing left," Lana cut her off with a dismissive wave, patting her shoulder firmly. "I can let go of what doesn't serve me. Don't worry." Satisfied, Freya inclined her head. "That's good." But Lana was never one to linger on her own wounds. Her eyes lit with fresh gossip, her voice dropping conspiratorially. "By the way, word just came in this morning-Ironhold Consortium is pulling its backing from SilverTech Forgeworks. Caelum is probably pacing his Alpha office like a wolf in a trap right now. Without fresh investment, he'll have no choice but to sell the company cheap." Freya's gaze cooled, though her tone remained even. "SilverTech was never worth much." "Exactly!" Lana snorted. "These flashy tech ventures live or die by the brains they house, not the steel and stone. And Caelum still doesn't grasp why he succeeded in the first place. He thought it was all his genius, when it was your patents, your work. He tried to steal them, but could never wield them." A small smile tugged at Freya's lips. "He was never going to use them. Not truly." "And divorcing you?" Lana's laugh was sharp. "That was his greatest blunder. Mark my words, Freya-soon he'll have nothing left but ashes." "Perhaps," Freya said softly, her golden eyes flashing with an Alpha's certainty. "But leaving him? That was my salvation." Lana leaned back, satisfied. Both women could already envision Caelum's downfall-the Silverfang Alpha, once untouchable, stripped to nothing. Across the city, in the steel-and-glass lair of SilverTech Forgeworks, Caelum Grafton's control finally cracked. The WolfComm device in his hand went sailing across the office, shattering against the wall with a vicious crack. His chest heaved with rage. How could this happen? He had begged-lowered himself in ways no Alpha should-but the investors were resolute. The Ironhold Consortium was out. They knew pulling their claws from his company would gut it, and still they walked away. No negotiation. No mercy. "Caelum!" Aurora burst into the room, narrowly dodging the shattered device on the floor. The Bluemoon Beta's daughter looked alarmed. "What happened?" He forced his fury down, though his voice was still rough. "Nothing you need to worry about. Why are you here?" Aurora stepped closer, her eyes earnest. "I know someone who can arrange a private credit loan. The rates are higher than the banks, but with your company needing funds now, this could save you. Once Forgeworks rebounds, you can repay it easily." "Credit loan?" His brows furrowed. Such lenders demanded stable operations and steady flows of gold. Since Freya's departure, SilverTech's fortunes had plummeted. Stock after stock had tumbled, investors whispered of collapse, and his once-feared name drew little but ridicule. What bank would back a dying Alpha's venture? Aurora pressed on. "It's not impossible. I spoke of you already. They're willing to lend fifty million." His eyes widened. "Truly? Not… one of those private sharks?" "It isn't illegal," Aurora hurried to assure. "The annual interest is steep, yes, but still within the legal limit-no more than thirty-six percent." Caelum's stomach sank. That rate was near ruinous, but the desperation clawing at his chest left him cornered. "Too high. I should-""Caelum," Aurora cut him off, voice urgent, "my uncle is preparing to launch his own drone project. Take this money, keep SilverTech alive long enough to negotiate with him. Once he invests, you'll have all the capital you need to pay back the loan. And in two months, your shares unfreeze. If you sell part of them, you could raise two hundred million easily. Enough to cover everything." Her words made sense. More than sense-they offered him the only path left. Slowly, reluctantly, he nodded. "Fine. I'll take it." Relief broke over her face, followed by a bright, satisfied smile. "I'll tell them at once." She turned, slipping her WolfComm device from her pocket, and her fingers moved swiftly across the screen. A message flashed away, not to the lender but to another number altogether. Forty-nine point five million, three days from now. Caelum never noticed. He was already planning which limbs of his empire he would cut away, which wolves he would sacrifice, all to keep the illusion of power alive a little longer. Elsewhere, a call came through to Freya from the Iron Fang division. "Freya Thorne," the voice on the other end rumbled. "We've recovered the drone your brother Eric left behind. The data core survived better than we expected. The SD module-our techs have restored a portion. You should come. See it for yourself." Her breath caught. Eric's legacy, thought lost to war and betrayal, was stirring again.