I pulled out my phone and dialed my PR team, the elite media specialists I kept on a seven-figure retainer for situations requiring discretion and immediate action.
“Faulkner,” I said when my head of PR answered on the first ring.“I need the full package.Roberts Mining contamination scandal.Give it everything we have.Front page headlines, investigative features, social media blitz.This story breaks on every platform by morning.”
“Sir, that’s an aggressive timeline.The legal team will need—”
“Double their fees.Triple them if necessary.”My tone left no room for negotiation.“This goes beyond business.People are dying.”
I ended the call and immediately dialed my personal office.“Allocate twenty million for medical relief and water filtration systems.And I want Song Timber’s environmental division redirected to Angel Spring.Full decontamination protocol.”
The power of wealth had always felt hollow before, just another form of family control.But now, with the power of using my resources to protect rather than exploit, I felt something unfamiliar.Purpose.
Like instinctive muscle memory, I dialed Sabrina’s number.While I told her everything, I navigated the truck down the mountain road, dirt and gravel pinging against the undercarriage.Sabrina went silent for several heartbeats, and I could almost see her processing, that brilliant mind working through implications.
“We’ll shut the mine down,” she finally said, voice firm with resolve.
My chest tightened with something between pride and worry.“It’s not that simple.Without the heir of the Roberts pack’s assets signing off—”
“Then we find him,” Sabrina cut in.“Who owns the mine now?”
My mind raced through old connections, half-forgotten conversations at pack gatherings.“Tanner Roberts.Estranged, but the only heir left.”I pulled over just long enough to text my assistant:Find Tanner Roberts.Get him to Angel Spring ASAP.
By the time I reached the clinic, I had settled into a state of vigilant calmness.The rage hadn’t disappeared, but it had transformed into something focused.
Sabrina was already packing up her supplies into her bag when I walked in.She looked up, those warm brown eyes assessing me in that way only she could.“Your eyes are still amber,” she said softly, setting down a stack of bandages.“The wolf is close.”
I hadn’t realized my partial shift was still visible.With anyone else, I would have hidden that vulnerability.With her, I didn’t bother.
I caught her wrist as she reached for more supplies, feeling her pulse jump beneath my thumb.The connection between us sparked like a live wire, making my wolf rumble with satisfaction.
“Sabrina.”
She turned, and I cupped her face, my fingers tracing the delicate line of her cheekbone.Against my rough, calloused hands, she felt impossibly soft.The contrast between us, her warmth against my cold fury, her healing touch against my destructive rage, struck me as the miracle it was.
“You healed me,” I murmured, the words coming from somewhere deeper than thought.
Her eyes softened.“You let me.”
I exhaled, feeling the last of my defenses crumble.“I was afraid.Of failing the town.Of failing you.”The admission cost me, but her presence made it possible.
Sabrina leaned into my touch, her eyelids fluttering closed for a moment.“You’re not alone anymore.Now let’s end this for good.”
Later, I sat in my study, reviewing the press release draft.The language was clinical and precise, laying out Victoria’s connections to the mine’s management, the contamination timeline, and the suspicious circumstances of Roberts’ death.Every claim backed by evidence, every accusation a loaded gun aimed at my aunt’s empire.
Sabrina watched from the doorway, arms crossed over her chest.“You’re really going nuclear with this, huh?”
Outside, dark clouds hung over the mountains.A storm was approaching, both literally and figuratively.Time was up.
I looked up, meeting her gaze.“It’s the only way to stop her.”
Sabrina came over, leaning over the back of my chair.She rested her chin on my shoulder and wrapped her arms around me.“Just be careful.Power like this, it’s a double-edged sword.”
I nodded, my voice softening.“I know.But I’m doing this for them.”My eyes held hers.“For you.”
The next morning, the story broke.Headlines screamed about Roberts Mining’s negligence and Victoria’s shadowy involvement, even questioning the CEO’s cause of death.My phone buzzed constantly with calls from reporters, investors, and business associates.Then finally, Victoria’s number.
I silenced the device and pocketed it.Let her stew.Let her feel, just for a moment, what it was like to have your life controlled by someone else.
Sabrina found me on the porch, staring at the mountains as the sun rose over the peaks.
