Chapter 132 The House Was Never Hers

Before Alpha Sebastian could close the wallet, Serena reached for the ring. He caught her wrist.

"What are you doing?""What are you doing?"

Serena blinked up at him, green eyes wide with practiced innocence. "Trying it on. Isn’t that what rings are for?"

"It’s not yours."

The answer came too fast. Too sharp.

Her smile thinned. "Then whose is it?"

Alpha Sebastian took the ring from her fingers and slipped it back into the wallet.

"If you want jewelry, I’ll buy you something better."

Serena went still. "It’s for Eira, isn’t it?"

"It’s Eira’s."

The Bentley suddenly felt too small.

"The ring is Eira’s. You’re still hung up on Eira." Her voice cracked. "Is that where we are now? She’s useful, she’s all over the news, and suddenly she belongs beside you?"

"This has nothing to do with the Sovereign Processor Initiative."

"Then what does it have to do with?"

Alpha Sebastian’s jaw tightened. "It was our wedding ring. Mine and Eira’s."

The words sounded more final than he intended.

Serena gave a brittle laugh. "And what am I supposed to do with that? You’ll buy me cars, apartments, and jewelry—but not a place beside you?"

He said nothing.

"Will you give me a wedding ring, Sebastian?"

There it was. No more games.

"Anything but that."

Serena recoiled as if he had slapped her.

She had received his money, protection, research funding, and connections. Everything except the title, the bond, and the public commitment she wanted.

"Don’t do this to me." She threw her arms around him. "Please, Sebastian. Don’t leave me."

His hand lifted out of habit, then stopped. He let it fall.

"I have something to handle," he said, looking toward the restaurant entrance. "We’ll talk later."

"My grandpa will be fine." Serena changed tactics at once. "I’m already calling people. He has former students everywhere. Silix can ask questions, but no one’s going to crucify him over a misunderstanding."

Alpha Sebastian’s gaze sharpened. "I told you not to cross that line."

"I was trying to help you win." She softened her voice. "Your parents wanted Hale Pack to secure that chip advantage too. Your father asked about the Initiative more than once. Are you blaming them as well?"

That struck a nerve.

Alpha Roger had pushed for the deal.Luna Margaret had encouraged it. Everyone had wanted the same shortcut—energy independence, military contracts, and a stronger seat before the Pack Council.

Alpha Sebastian exhaled. "The bid is gone. The investigation is still active. As for Alpha Victor, I’ll deal with him myself."

Then he checked the time. Eira and Lila would be coming down soon.

He removed Serena’s hands from his coat. "My driver will take you home."

"You’re not coming with me?"

"I said I have something to handle."

He stepped out, closed the door, and gave the driver a short nod.

The Bentley pulled away before Serena could stop it.

"Let me out!" she snapped, slapping the window.

"Alpha Sebastian instructed me to take you home, Miss Winthrop."

"I said let me out!"

The privacy screen rose with a soft hum.

Serena kicked the back of the seat and immediately regretted it. Pain shot through her foot.

She knew exactly what Alpha Sebastian was handling.

Eira.

--

Back at the restaurant, Alpha Sebastian returned to the lobby and took a seat facing the elevators. He didn’t order a drink or check his phone. He simply waited.

When the doors opened, Lila stepped out with her arm linked through Eira’s, still laughing.

"Admit it," Lila said. "This place was worth the price. Next time, I’m dragging Mom here. She’ll pretend she’s too classy for truffle fries and then eat half the basket."

Eira smiled faintly—then spotted Alpha Sebastian.

He reached them before she could take three steps.

"Eira."

For a second, he forgot what he had planned to say.

She looked nothing like the quiet Luna who had once managed Hale Pack with grocery lists, staff schedules, and his mother’s endless complaints in hand.

This Eira belonged in boardrooms and federal briefings. She stood beside people Alpha Sebastian had spent years trying to impress.

He had missed all of it.

Worse, he had never bothered to look.

Lila immediately stepped between them. "Nope. Whatever you’re selling, we’re not buying."

Alpha Sebastian looked past her. "Eira, I’ve been trying to reach you for two days. You blocked my number."

"Maybe take the hint," Lila said.

Eira’s gaze stayed on him. "Shouldn’t you be checking on your $300,000-a-month investment?"

Alpha Sebastian went still.

So she knew.

Lila gave a humorless laugh. "Classic move. Keep the mistress on the payroll, then come crawling back to the wife when she blows up a federal project. What a strategy."

People in the lobby began to glance over.

Alpha Sebastian lowered his voice. "Can we not do this here? Come home with me. We need to talk."

"Home?" Eira repeated. "I don’t have a home with you."

"It’s your house." He followed as she walked away. "I signed it over to you. Hale apartment is yours."

Eira didn’t slow down.

"That house was always in your name."

Alpha Sebastian stopped.

A cold realization hit him. He remembered the paperwork, the signature, and the way Eira had remained perfectly calm while he signed whatever she had placed in front of him.

His stomach dropped.

"Then what the hell did you have me sign?"