Third Person's POV "I used a belt on you?" Lana asked, tilting her head. "Yes," Victor answered, "I should still have marks across my chest. Do you want to see?" The weight in his tone left little doubt-if she dared to say "yes," he would strip off his shirt right there in the crowded stall without hesitation. Lana flushed and waved her hands furiously. "N-no, that's not necessary." Victor leaned back in his chair, watching her squirm with the unhurried patience of a predator cornering its prey. His gaze didn't waver, the kind of gaze that could pin an enemy wolf to the dirt before a fight. "So, Lana," he said, voice deceptively calm, "you mean to tell me you don't remember what you did to me last night?" The sharp glint in his eyes sent a nervous shiver down her spine. She shifted uneasily, her pulse thundering in her ears. "I-I was drunk," she stammered. "My memory's… hazy." "Then should I remind you?" Victor's tone dropped, each word rolling out slowly. "Should I spell out, in detail, what you did to me?" Lana's stomach tightened. She drew a deep breath, as though bracing herself for a blade. "No need. Just… just tell me what you want. How do you want this settled?" Victor's lips curved into a cold smile. "If my mate had done such things to me, it could be called play. Bonded wolves have their own kind of fire. But if you are not my mate…" He paused deliberately, letting the silence drag until Lana's palms began to sweat. "Then what you did to me could be considered harassment. And I could take this before the Pack Tribunal." Her heart skipped. Harassment? Spirits above. The video proof looked damning, and even she had to admit it resembled something of the sort. Yet-he hadn't fought back. He could have stopped her at any time. Instead, he had allowed her to continue, almost as if… as if he had wanted her to. "You're setting me up," she whispered, half to herself. "You could've fought back. You didn't." Victor only chuckled, low and dangerous. "I'll compensate you," Lana said quickly, desperation edging her voice. "Money. We can resolve this quietly. Just name your price.""Compensate me?" His laughter was sharp, cutting through the night air like a blade. "Lana Rook, do you think I need your coin? Do you take me for a beggar scratching at scraps?" Her face burned. "Then what do you want?" He leaned forward, his words a quiet snarl. "I want you back. I want us to be together again. If you agree, you can do anything you like to me." Lana blinked, speechless. Victor Ashford, a man known throughout the Capital for his rigid honor and sharp intellect-was sitting before her speaking words that dripped with both brazenness and temptation. "I can't," she said quickly, shaking her head. "I have a mate now." "Do you?" Victor's chopsticks clattered onto the table as he set them down, his amber gaze cutting through her like a blade. "If you truly have a mate, I don't mind if you summon him here. Let him see the footage. Let him know that though you claim him, your body still remembers me." "That's not what this is!" Lana snapped, her wolf bristling beneath her skin. "I was drunk. My mate would understand. He's not petty like you." "Then summon him," Victor said softly. "But remember-I know how to uncover the truth. If you lie, I will know whether the man you call mate is truly yours." Her throat tightened, fury sparking in her chest. "Victor, what are you playing at? What do you want from me? Don't tell me this is some sudden realization that you love me, years after our bond was severed." He didn't flinch. His expression remained calm, but his words cut deep. "Since you left, I haven't taken another mate. Not once. My healers say the wound left behind from our severance still shadows me, poisons me. They believe I cannot heal unless I reconcile with you. Unless I return to where it all began." Lana froze, stunned. "You-what?" "Yes," Victor continued, his voice steady, though his hands clenched faintly on the table. "They say I carry a wound in the spirit. And that only time with you can mend it." Her thoughts spun wildly. Healers. Wounds of the spirit. For a fleeting moment, she recalled that despite his high standing, she had never once seen him publicly with another woman. Could it be true? "How long?" she asked, her voice low. "How long must I… stay with you?" "At least a year." "A year?" She gaped at him. "Too long. Two months. That's all I can give.""A year," he repeated, his tone flat and merciless. "No less. If you refuse, I will pursue this before the Tribunal. And when I do, it won't just be your name dragged through the dirt. The projects SkyVex Armaments is courting with other Packs will crumble before they even begin." Lana's breath caught, sharp and painful. To be dragged before the Tribunal for harassment-it would destroy her. With clenched fists, she whispered, "Fine. A year." Her wolf growled low in her chest, humiliated. She had no choice. Better to bend now than to shatter everything she had built. Far from the bustling markets, Aurora lay confined within her family's estate, resting under strict healer's orders. The child in her womb was fragile, and every day she stayed in bed, she thought not only of protecting her unborn cub but of finding the means to defend herself. She needed coin. She needed allies. Most of all, she needed a lawyer strong enough to stand against Caelum Grafton, Alpha of the Silverfang Pack and master of SilverTech Forgeworks. But the best lawyers refused her case. Those few with the strength to oppose Caelum demanded sums far beyond her reach. And Caelum himself? He didn't merely turn his back on her-he struck at her with sharpened claws. Rumor spread swiftly: he would accuse her of stealing fifty million from his personal coffers. If that charge stuck, she wouldn't just lose her name. She would lose her freedom, shackled in the darkest cells for the rest of her life. Now, in the SilverTech tower, Aurora faced him. Once, Caelum's gaze had burned with desire, admiration, longing. She had been his pride. His chosen. His Luna-to-be. But now, those eyes held nothing but ice and loathing. She stood trembling but unyielding before him in the polished steel chamber that reeked of power and industry. "Why have you come here?" Caelum asked, his voice sharp, his disdain unmistakable. Aurora lifted her chin. "I heard you plan to charge me. I came to hear it from your own mouth."