Chapter 190 Take Me Back

The Wood family clinic still smelled of simmering broth, mint, and fresh herbs.

Eira had spent nearly an hour picking through the lamb stew, eating mostly the vegetables until she was too full to take another bite.

"Have some broth, sweetheart," Mrs. Wood said. "It’ll settle your stomach."

"It’s gone lukewarm," Barry muttered, peering into the stockpot. "It was still steaming when we sat down."

Eira reached for the ladle.

Alpha Killian got there first.

He slid his untouched bowl in front of her and kept one broad hand around the rim. The veins stood out across the back of it.

"Have mine. It’s still hot. I haven’t touched it."

His voice was low beside her ear, warm enough to brush across her skin.

Something flickered in Eira’s eyes.

"Thanks."

"Mm."

By the time they finished eating, it was after four. Dinner was no longer happening.

Alpha Killian still needed to stop by Sterling Tower, so he took Eira with him.

The moment they stepped into the lobby, Eira headed toward the R&D wing.

Alpha Killian turned his head and gave her a cool, warning look.

[Try it.]

Eira stopped.

He nodded toward the private elevator.

"Fifty minutes until five fifty-two."

She looked at him. "Five fifty-two?"

"A full day means a full day. Not one minute less."

Right.

The twenty-four-hour girlfriend deal.

She still owed him fifty minutes. For now, she was technically his girlfriend, and apparently that meant going upstairs with him instead of disappearing into the lab.

But what was she supposed to do up there? Keep him company while he worked? Sit in his office and wait for him to finish?

Before she could ask, Alpha Killian placed a light hand at the small of her back and guided her toward the elevator.

The doors closed behind them.

"Do girlfriends usually tag along to their boyfriends’ offices?" she asked.

The question was out before she realized how ridiculous it sounded.

Alpha Killian glanced down at her.

"Sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

"Boyfriends do it too." His mouth twitched. "They also wait around while their girlfriends finish their work."

Then his expression grew more serious.

"Eira, forget how Alpha Sebastian treated you. He never learned how to treat anyone properly. And forget whatever the Hales taught you to accept as normal. There was nothing normal about that family."

Something tightened in her chest.

She had known very few families up close. There had been her mentor and his wife, the Davies household, and a few brief glimpses of what a healthy family looked like.

The Hales were the only family she had ever lived with long enough to understand.

Now that she was away from them, Alpha Killian’s family was the only other one she knew.

Compared with the Sterlings, the Hales looked even more broken.

"Understood," she said.

And she meant it.

The corner of Alpha Killian’s mouth lifted.

"Good."

The elevator carried them toward his office and the fifty minutes she still owed him.

When the doors opened, the familiar executive floor came into view.

Eira’s old desk was still in its usual spot. Her things had not been packed away or moved. Her notebooks were stacked beside the monitor, and the small mug she used sat exactly where she had left it.

Natalie and Kate brightened when they saw her.

They were already starting to wave her over when they noticed Alpha Killian beside her, standing there like a stone-faced security detail.

Their hands stopped halfway up.

Eira walked over to them by herself.

"Go on, Killian. I’ll wait out here."

Kate and Natalie exchanged a long, loaded look.

Alpha Killian gave them both a brief glance, then turned toward his office.

He had work to catch up on.

Eira took her old seat, opened the company laptop, and got back to work.

Through the glass wall of his office, Alpha Killian could see her whenever he looked up.

Five fifty-two came and went.

Neither of them mentioned it.

Eira was too busy working on the company laptop.

Kate glanced at her screen, saw the equations, and immediately looked away. She had a liberal arts degree. That was way beyond her.

With a nine o’clock overseas call on his schedule, Alpha Killian sent his driver to take Eira home.

Natalie and Kate stayed late for overtime.

Eira saved her files, waved good night, and texted him.

[Heading out. Good night, Killian.]

His reply came almost at once.

[Mrs. Jones set dinner aside for you.]

A small smile tugged at Eira’s lips. That unfamiliar warmth stayed with her all the way home.

It vanished the moment she stepped out of the car.

Alpha Sebastian stood at the gate.

His perfectly styled hair was a mess. His dress shirt was wrinkled, his tie hung loose, and his suit pants were torn at the legs. Clear bite marks showed through the fabric.

Two German shepherds strained against their handlers, snarling with their lips pulled back from their teeth.

Security told Eira Alpha Sebastian had been there since seven. One of the dogs had already bitten his calf, but he still refused to leave.

His bloodshot eyes lit up when he saw her."Eira—"

The dogs lunged between them.

Alpha Sebastian froze.

"Miss Crawford!" Mrs. Jones hurried out of the house in her apron, still holding a spatula. "Come inside, honey. Dinner’s ready."

Eira did not look at Alpha Sebastian.

"Coming, Mrs. Jones."

"Eira!"

He lunged after her.

One of the dogs snapped onto his calf as the handlers grabbed his arms. Alpha Sebastian fought through the pain, reached past them, and caught Eira by the wrist.

"I didn’t do it," he said through clenched teeth. "I never signed the papers. I never even got the certificate. It doesn’t count. None of it counts. I tore it up!"

Eira turned and looked at him.

He was bleeding, disheveled, and barely holding himself together.

She felt nothing.

"So you tore it up," she said. "The dissolution is already registered with the Pack Council. Your approval isn’t required."

Her voice stayed calm.

"Sebastian, we’re done."

"No." He shook his head. "I was wrong, Eira. I never should’ve let Serena back into our lives. I never should’ve let my family treat you like that. Give me one more chance."

He pulled his wallet from his pocket and shoved several cards toward her.

"These are yours. Debit, credit, access to my accounts, my investments, my shares. Everything."

He fumbled with his phone and opened his banking app.

"I bought you a Porsche. It was supposed to be a gift. I just never found the right time to give it to you."

He held out the key fob.

Eira stepped back.

"Keep it. The dissolution papers were the best gift you ever gave me."

Alpha Sebastian stared at her, refusing to accept the answer.

When the money, the car, and his promises failed to move her, he raised his hand. His bond ring still sat on his finger.

"Eira." His voice dropped to a pleading whisper. "I’m not taking this off. We can re-bond. We can fix this."

He took one careful step toward her."Please."

Eira looked at the ring, then at him."Go home, Sebastian."

The handlers pulled the dog off his leg.

For once, Alpha Sebastian did not fight them.

He only stood there, staring at Eira as if she had just sentenced him to a life he could not survive.