Chapter 165

Alexander's POV The business dinner with Alpha Malcolm was proceeding exactly as planned, but something felt off. I couldn't pinpoint the source of my unease. Suzanna, Alpha Malcolm's mistress, kept giving me strange looks across the table. There was something in her eyes that unsettled my wolf—recognition, perhaps, or calculation. "So we're agreed on the territorial boundaries for the joint venture?" Malcolm was saying, his fingers drumming against his whiskey glass. "Your pack handles security, mine handles logistics?" I nodded, keeping my expression neutral despite my wolf's growing agitation. "The terms are acceptable." The female wolf Malcolm had brought along as entertainment—a voluptuous redhead—slid closer to me on the leather booth, her thigh pressing against mine. Her heavy perfume assaulted my senses, making my wolf snarl in rejection. "Alpha Blackwood," she purred, trailing her fingers along my forearm, "I've heard so much about your...strength." I shifted away subtly, my w