Chapter 32 Terms and Conditions

The memory faded.

Eira kept her voice even. "I don’t remember. You stopped coming home for dinner, and you stopped asking me to bring food to the office."

That shut Alpha Sebastian up.

He knew exactly where he had been. Since Serena returned, he had picked her up from work almost every night. Dinner with her had become part of his routine.

"You know how busy I am," he said. "Late meetings. Client dinners."

The same excuses, recycled until even he believed them.

"Next time, pick up the suit yourself," Eira said.

His tone softened. "How’s Mrs. Thorne?"

"She’s fine."

"Good. Come home tomorrow. You’re not working this weekend, right?"

"No."

"Perfect. I signed you up for something. Check your messages."

He hung up before she could ask what he meant.

Four registration notices appeared on her screen.

Preconception Health and Wellness.

Family Planning for Pack Couples.

Newborn Care Basics.

Infant Nutrition and Development.

Two classes on Saturday. Two on Sunday.

Eira stared at the screen.

So this was his gift.

Not a conversation. Not an apology. Not even a question about whether she wanted children.

Just four classes built around a future he had never offered her until she started pulling away.

For four years, Alpha Sebastian had kept her out of his bed and hidden her from the world. Now that she was leaving, he wanted her to imagine a home, a pup, and the real marriage she had once wanted.

He did not need to give her that future.

He only needed her to believe it might happen.

If she believed him, she might quit her job. She might come home. She might start obeying him again.

It was not a promise. It was bait.

Eira closed the messages and returned to her desk.

Natalie was trying to unload a prepaid fitness package she no longer used. Kate had a local resale app open on her phone.

"Put it on BayPass," Kate said. "I sold a concert ticket there in six minutes."

"What’s BayPass?" Eira asked.

"Local tickets, memberships, prepaid classes. Anything the original provider allows you to transfer."

Eira looked at the four registration notices Alpha Sebastian had sent.

"Does that include course packages?"

"Usually." Kate glanced at her. "What are you trying to sell?"

Eira handed her the phone.

Natalie read the class titles and went still.

"Sebastian signed you up for family-planning classes without asking you?"

"All four of them."

Kate stared at the weekend schedule.

"That’s not a gift. That’s a hostage situation with a diaper bag."

A reluctant smile tugged at Eira’s mouth.

Natalie did not smile.

"Are you actually planning to have a pup with him?"

"Sebastian wants me to think we are."

The answer quieted both women.

Eira opened BayPass.

"I’m not falling for it."

She called the program office before listing the package. The registration was nonrefundable, but the workshops could be transferred once before the first session. Eira was the registered attendee, so only her authorization was required.

That was good enough for her.

She listed all four classes for one hundred dollars.

Natalie leaned over her shoulder.

"That package cost almost four grand."

"I want it out of my life by tonight."

"Honestly? Fair."

An hour later, she found a buyer named Rachel.

The transfer paperwork took less than ten minutes.

Then the program coordinator called.

"We can transfer the registration electronically, but we still need the serial number from your access badge. It was included in the welcome packet."

"I never received a welcome packet."

"Our records show it was delivered this afternoon to the address provided when Mr. Hale purchased the package."

After ending the call, Eira opened her text thread with Sebastian.

Eira: Did the welcome packet for the classes arrive today?

His reply came almost at once.

Sebastian: It’s at our place. Pick it up when you come home.

Not if she came home.

When.

He still thought the classes had worked. One hint about pups and a future together, and he expected her to fall back in line.

Eira typed her response.

Eira: I’ll stop by for the packet.

She would have to visit the apartment that night.

She called the Thorne estate.

Martin answered.

"I need to stop by the Hale apartment after work," Eira said. "I’m not sure how long it’ll take."

"I can have one of the drivers pick you up."

Eira glanced at the time. The driver would have to wait outside while she dealt with Alpha Killian, and there was no telling how long that might take.

"Thank you, but I’ll find another ride. I don’t want anyone stuck waiting on me all evening."

"Call if your plans change," Martin said. "Mrs. Thorne will worry if you disappear without checking in."

"I will."

The moment Eira ended the call, her phone buzzed.

Lila: I’m stopping by Sterling Tower to grab a tablet I left in Alpha Killian’s car. Still at the office?

A second message followed.

Lila: Also, one cup of coffee doesn’t come close to paying you back for saving my thesis. Let me buy you dinner.

Eira: Dinner sounds good. I just need to make one stop first.

Lila: Anywhere fun?

Eira: The Hale apartment. I need to pick up a package.

The typing bubble appeared almost at once.

Lila: Okay, so definitely not fun.

Eira smiled despite herself.

Lila: Take care of it. Text me when you’re done, and I’ll pick you up out front.

Eira: You don’t have to wait around for me.

Lila: I won’t. I’ll be getting tacos and pretending I’m a patient person.

Another message came through.

Lila: Take your time, though. If things get uncomfortable, call me. Dinner can wait.

The quiet concern beneath the joke warmed something in Eira’s chest.

For someone she had known only a few days, Lila was strangely easy to talk to.

Maybe that was because Lila had never asked Eira to earn her kindness first.

--

By the time she finished the transfer paperwork, most of the office had cleared out.

She grabbed her bag and headed toward the elevators.

Miles nearly walked into her as he stepped out of Alpha Killian’s office.

They both stopped.

"Still here?" he asked.

"Personal errand. I lost track of time."

Miles nodded and turned back toward the open office door.

"Compliance flagged another issue with Hale Group’s bid," he told Alpha Killian. "Three hundred thousand dollars a month is being routed through an overseas research foundation, but the actual beneficiary isn’t disclosed in the filings."

Eira froze.

She knew those payments.

Alpha Sebastian had called them research support. He had said the money allowed Serena to stay overseas and focus on her work.

Eira turned back.

The office door was still open.

She knocked once.

Alpha Killian looked up from the report in front of him. "What is it?"

"I know who receives the money."

Miles glanced at her, then at Alpha Killian.

Alpha Killian leaned back in his chair. "Come in."

Eira entered and closed the door behind her.

"The payments go to Serena Winthrop," she said. "Sebastian funded her overseas research for years."

Alpha Killian’s expression stayed unreadable. "That’s a serious claim."

"You can verify it."

"And what do you want?"

"If the records can legally be released, I want a copy sent to my attorney."

Alpha Killian held her gaze.

"For your separation case."

It was not a question.

"Yes."