Liam stormed into the sleek, glass-walled headquarters of Lycaon Industries, his jaw tight enough to crack diamonds.
The city skyline, usually a source of grim satisfaction, was today just a blurry backdrop to the dumpster fire that was his life.
Before he could even shed his bespoke Italian suit jacket, his phone buzzed.
It was a news alert: Lycaon Industries' stock was plummeting faster than a lead balloon in a hurricane.
"What in the actual wolfsbane is going on?" he growled, the words barely audible above the frantic ringing of phones and the hushed whispers of terrified employees.
His executive assistant, a perpetually caffeinated young woman named Sarah, nearly tripped over her stilettos rushing to meet him.
"Mr. Lycaon, Olivia Sterling from Sterling Innovations just pulled out of the deal. Said there were… unforeseen circumstances."
Unforeseen circumstances?
That was corporate code for "someone screwed up big time." This deal was supposed to be a slam dunk, a guaranteed win that would solidify Lycaon Industries' position as a tech titan.
Now?
It was circling the drain.
As if summoned by Murphy's Law, his phone buzzed again.
This time, it was a text message from Isabella.
Just her name sent a jolt of electricity through him, a painful reminder of what he was about to lose.
*We're done, Liam.
I never want to see you again.
*
The words hit him like a physical blow.
Isabella.
His Isabella.
The woman who could silence a room with a single raised eyebrow, the only person who saw past the alpha male swagger to the wounded wolf beneath.
He'd messed up, he knew it, but he thought they could fix it.
Apparently, he was wrong.
The one-two punch of professional disaster and personal heartbreak left him reeling.
He felt like he'd been thrown into a washing machine set to "agitate" with a load of bricks.
He needed to get a grip. Now.
Liam barged into the emergency board meeting, his presence instantly silencing the room.
The air was thick with panic and the faint scent of desperation – a fragrance he recognized all too well from his competitors' offices.
"Alright, people," he barked, his voice resonating with the authority that came from generations of werewolf lineage.
"Let's cut the theatrics. I want solutions, not excuses. What the hell happened with Sterling?"
Henry, the company's oldest and seemingly most loyal board member, a man who had been with Lycaon Industries since its inception, cleared his throat.
"Liam, my boy, this is a catastrophe. Olivia claims there were… concerns about our proprietary technology. Something about a potential security breach."
Henry's words were carefully chosen, his tone oozing concern.
Liam, however, couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Henry had always been a little too eager to agree with him, a little too quick to offer platitudes.
Now, his concern felt… rehearsed.
"A security breach?" Liam repeated, his eyes narrowing.
"That's impossible. Our systems are tighter than Fort Knox after a caffeine binge."
He spent the next hour grilling his team, demanding answers, dissecting every possible scenario.
The more he learned, the more convinced he became that this wasn't just a simple case of cold feet.
Someone had deliberately sabotaged the deal.
Someone inside Lycaon Industries.
The thought sent a shiver of ice down his spine.
A traitor in his ranks?
Unacceptable.
Driven by a desperate need to salvage what was left of his day, Liam decided to confront Isabella.
He knew it was a long shot, but he couldn't let her go without a fight.
He raced to her office, his heart pounding with a mixture of hope and dread.
He found her packing up her desk, her movements precise and efficient, devoid of any emotion.
She looked every inch the ice queen, the woman he had fallen for precisely because she was so damn impenetrable.
"Isabella, please," he pleaded, his voice raw with desperation.
"Let me explain."
She stopped, her back to him.
The silence stretched, thick and suffocating.
Finally, she turned, her eyes like chips of glacial ice.
"There's nothing to explain, Liam. I know what you did."
"You don't understand—"
"Oh, I understand perfectly," she cut him off, her voice dangerously low.
"Goodbye, Liam."
And with that, she turned and walked away, leaving him standing there, alone in the wreckage of their relationship.
The scent of her perfume, a delicate blend of jasmine and sandalwood, lingered in the air, a cruel reminder of what he had lost.
Back at his office, the weight of the day crashed down on him.
He felt like he was drowning in a sea of paperwork and broken promises.
As he sat down heavily in his leather chair, a crisp white envelope slid out from under his keyboard.
It was unmarked, anonymous.
He tore it open, his fingers trembling slightly.
Inside was a single sheet of paper, with a message typed in stark black letters:
*This is just the beginning, Liam.
There's more to come.
*
Rage, hot and primal, surged through him.
This wasn't just about business anymore.
This was personal.
Someone was deliberately targeting him, trying to destroy everything he had built.
But who?
And why?
He leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed on the city lights twinkling in the distance.
He was a wolf cornered, wounded, but far from defeated.
He would find out who was behind this, and they would pay.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
It was Alpha Max, his uncle and the head of their werewolf family.
Liam knew that a call from Alpha Max at this hour could only mean one thing: trouble.
Serious trouble.
"Liam," Alpha Max's voice was grave, "we need to talk. Now."
Liam took a deep breath, steeling himself for whatever was coming.
He knew, with a chilling certainty, that his life was about to get a whole lot more complicated.
The storm had only just begun.