Chapter 89 Caught in the Act

Serena Winthrop was never poor. Old Pack money, connections most people only dream about.

But research ate cash like nothing else. Millions, nonstop, for gear, staff, the works.

Her grandfather backed her, guided her, but even he couldn’t just siphon family funds into some long-shot project. The Winthrop Pack had obligations. That money belonged to a hundred people, not just one granddaughter chasing a dream.

That’s when she clocked Alpha Sebastian Hale’s rise. And that’s when she made her move.

Alpha Sebastian still loved her. One ask, and the money started flowing. Three hundred grand, every month, like clockwork. That kind of cash made her overseas gig a total breeze. Gear, materials, whatever she needed, covered.

Her own family could’ve paid for it too. Money was never the problem. The issue was every dollar came with strings, approvals, the whole Pack’s interests riding on it.

Alpha Sebastian’s money hit different. Fast. No questions. No paperwork trail leading back to a boardroom full of relatives.

Which made it a ticking time bomb.

Somebody digs into where that money’s really coming from, she’s cooked. And Alpha Sebastian’s married. Eira finds out he’s been quietly funding another woman’s career and decides to go after it in the divorce? Serena’s whole world implodes.

She already had her cover story locked and loaded. Private investment. Business call. Nothing more.

Except she never asked for any expense report.

Her inbox sat empty.

Serena stood there, scrolling like a maniac. Nothing. No request, no email, nothing.

"Sebastian!"

She crossed the room, voice cracking. "Someone’s been impersonating me. Called the institute overseas, wanted a full breakdown of every dollar you’ve—"

She caught herself.

Still Hale Pack land. Wolf ears caught whispers through closed doors, and this wasn’t a secret built to survive one.

Pack money, quietly funding his ex’s lab overseas. One wolf hears it, the whole Pack hears it by morning.

And they wouldn’t be asking about a grant. They’d be asking what kind of Alpha spends Pack funds on his ex, and what else he’s been hiding.

Alpha Sebastian’s jaw tightened. He’d caught it too.

He said nothing. Just grabbed her hand and pulled her straight for the door, out past the walls, where the wind ate words before wolf ears ever got the chance.

Once they cleared the walls, Serena laid it all out, face tight with worry. "Sebastian, does Eira know about the money?"

He shook his head, studying her. "You think it was Eira?"

"No." Shut down instantly.

Eira wouldn’t know where to even look. She never touched the accounts, never asked a single question about his money. Come to think of it, she was a rock-solid wife. Never complained, never dug for dirt.

Ethan’s voice popped into his head. "Dude, your wife’s a machine. Runs the house, handles your parents, handles your sister, never once complains. How are you not whipped for her?"

Whipped.

His mind wandered somewhere he didn’t expect.

Serena clocked the shift in his face instantly. Jealousy flared hot.

"You trust her that much?"

He snapped back. "It’s not her. Maybe this is just some routine flag, could be totally random."

"Random?" She stared him down. "Sebastian, you don’t believe me."

"I do. If I didn’t, I’d have suspected you the second Isabella pulled that stunt."

Serena froze. "What’s that got to do with me?" Voice sharp now. "Why would you even go there?"

A woman’s tears hit harder than any argument. Her eyes went glassy, and Alpha Sebastian knew instantly he’d screwed up.

"I’m not accusing you of anything."

"You are." Her voice cracked. "Isabella can’t keep a secret to save her life. If I was in on it, she’d have spilled same day. So it was Eira. She said something, didn’t she?"

He didn’t answer fast enough.

Serena wiped a tear, smile turning bitter. "Right. You’re married. She talks, you listen. She points at me, you follow. Years, Sebastian. Guess that’s nothing next to four years with her."

"Let’s just call us a one-time thing. Pretend none of this ever mattered." She turned to walk.

She knew better. No way a guy loyal to her this long just lets her walk.

"Serena!"

Called it.

He grabbed her hand. She yanked away first try. Softer the second. Let him keep it the third.

She stopped, turned, eyes wet. "Kiss me. Kiss me and I’ll believe you."

He looked at her lips. Eira’s face flashed through his head instead.

He froze up.

Serena went for it first, up on her toes, arms around his neck, deepening it. When he still wasn’t into it, she pulled her ace card.

"I love you, Sebastian. I love you so much."

Same three words worked at his apartment that night too, the ones that had him pulling her in, fumbling with her dress, drunk on more than just liquor. Same three words worked at the gala, whispered against his ear with her teeth grazing his lobe, and his hands were all over her within seconds.

Worked again.

His hands landed on her waist.

There it is. Her smile turned smug. Men never stood a chance against her, especially not a guy who’d carried a torch for her this long.

"Sebastian... Sebastian..." She was melting into it when a shove yanked her back hard.

His hands. Pushing her off.

"Sebastian?" She blinked, thrown.

His eyes slid away. "We’re in public. Cut it out."

Oh. That’s all.

Relief washed over her, and she turned the puppy eyes right back on. "Then let’s head to the apartment. You haven’t swung by in over a week."

The penthouse he bought her.

"Let’s get you home." He started walking.

Serena caught up fast, arm looping through his, smile back in full force.

--

In the shadows of a nearby grove, a woman in a black hoodie lowered her camera and popped off the telephoto lens, sliding it into her backpack. She pulled the memory card, slotted it into a reader, and plugged it into her phone.

The photos loaded one by one.

Dozens of shots. Alpha Sebastian and Serena holding hands. Wrapped up in each other. Kissing.

Each file ran thirty, fifty megabytes easy. Crystal clear. Zoom in tight enough, you could count the pores on their skin.