She couldn’t help but notice how his muscles strained against the fabric of his suit as he walked. He was the picture of authority and control, and Tyler, her wolf, immediately perked up, ears pricked in attention.
It was the first time Bella had laid eyes on him since leaving the pack. She had been forcibly kept away during her rescue, drugged with wolfsbane and restrained with silver cuffs. Seeing him now, her wolf whined softly. This was the father of her pups.
He looked impeccable, every detail meticulously polished. Bella recognized the tactic—dressed to kill, indeed. She could almost guarantee no female reporter would dare ask him anything too confrontational, not when he could silence them with one of his icy stares. He likely wanted them drawn to him, their attraction drowning out any hard-hitting questions that might tarnish his carefully curated public image.
His clean-shaven face and slicked-back hair gave him an air of sharp professionalism, though Bella preferred his hair slightly tousled. Not that it matters, she reminded herself, scolding her wandering thoughts. Tyler seemed to agree, her wolf’s interest in him unmistakable. Bella clenched her fists.
“Stop it,” she snapped internally. “Remember what he did to us.”
Tyler whined in protest, but Bella pushed the feeling aside, knowing her wolf’s response was likely influenced by their connection through the triplets. Still, it had to be kept in check.
Luke cleared his throat casually and tapped the microphone. His voice was calm, calculated, and commanding. “I will make a short statement this morning regarding Miss Bella Freeman and the events surrounding our recent encounter.”
Reporters shouted questions at him, but with a simple wave of his hand, he silenced the crowd. The power in his gesture was undeniable.
“First, I would like to offer my sincerest apologies to my childhood friend,” he began, his tone sincere yet deliberate. “Yes, Bella and I have known each other since we were small children.”
Bella’s jaw tightened as she watched him play his audience. He was crafting an image—a bond of trust built on the foundation of their shared history. Sneaky bastard, she thought. It wasn’t surprising, though. If she were his lawyer, she would have advised him to take the same approach.
“My apologies, Bella,” Luke began, his voice steady and calm, though it carried a weight of authority that sent chills down her spine. “Yes, I did send for you to return to our hometown. However, I want to make it absolutely clear that I did not order for you to be kidnapped, drugged, or harmed in any way.”
Bella snorted under her breath, her lips twitching with bitter disbelief. Yeah, right, she thought. That black envelope with wolfsbane was plenty clear. Your intent wasn’t exactly a mystery.
“I was also completely unaware of your status as a single mother,” Luke continued, his tone carefully measured. “Not having spoken to you in six years, I had no knowledge of your situation. If I had known you were the mother of five-year-old triplets, I would never, ever, have sent anyone to bring you home. I would have come myself. To your very door.”
Fear began to coil in her stomach, creeping through her body like an icy tide. He knows. Every word was aimed directly at her, thinly veiled behind his polished delivery. He had discovered the truth about her children—their children. The secret she had worked so hard to keep from him was now fully exposed.
“I sent three letters prior to this unfortunate incident,” Luke went on, “asking you to come home of your own volition. My sole intent was to address your outstanding debt to my family, which arose from our agreement to pay your law school tuition. You committed to repaying it by working in the Cupper Corporation’s legal department for five years post-graduation. This was an agreement you willingly signed.”
Bastard, Bella thought angrily, watching him deftly redirect the narrative. His lawyers had done their job well, spinning the story to make her look like the one at fault, someone who had shirked her obligations. The reporters would eat it up, their focus shifted away from him and onto her supposed breach of contract.
As if to drive the point home, Luke held up the contract—one she recognized instantly as the agreement they had drafted years ago. Her tuition, the terms of repayment, all spelled out in black and white.
“However,” he said, his voice softening, “due to the current circumstances and the tragic nature of what has occurred, which deeply upsets me, I would like to extend an olive branch. First, this contract—” He paused dramatically, then tore it cleanly in half. “Gone. You owe me nothing. I consider your monetary debt repaid in full. I have no desire to add to your grief by forcing you to repay this sum.”
Bella’s breath hitched slightly. She couldn’t deny the move was calculated, a deliberate attempt to paint himself as generous and forgiving.
“Secondly,” he continued, his tone becoming almost conciliatory, “I would like us to sit down and mediate the current situation. Please consider our longstanding friendship, Bella. You know as well as I do that I never laid a hand on you.”
She clenched her fists, anger rising at his manipulation.
Luke pressed on, unwavering. “Your statement on record confirms this. You clearly acknowledged that the harm inflicted on you was the work of the men who acted against my will, taking you without your consent.”
Bella could feel her wolf stirring uneasily, Tyler pacing in her mind as Luke’s words wrapped around them both like a tightening snare.
“And thirdly,” he said, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the camera lens, “I would like the opportunity to personally apologize to your children. I deeply regret any distress or trauma they may have experienced due to your disappearance or your injuries upon your return. I want to assure them—and you—that I pose no threat to you or your family. None whatsoever.”
The intensity in his gaze never wavered, his words striking Bella like a physical blow. He wasn’t speaking to the public now. He was speaking to her. Every word was a message, a declaration.
A shiver ran down her spine. He wasn’t just apologizing—he was staking his claim. He wanted her to know that he had discovered the truth and that he had no intention of staying away. He wanted her children—their children—and he was making it clear that he intended to come for them.
Her precious babies.
