Bound To The Billionaire Wolf

Jacob closed his eyes as he listened to his coworkers read him the financial statistics of a company he was interested in purchasing. It was his fourth meeting that day, and he was relieved that it was also the last. He pinched the bridge of his nose as they described what they'd discovered about the place. Jacob tried to focus, but his mind seemed to have an ulterior motive as his thoughts whipped back to a night he had tried to forget for the last sixteen years.

The ground was drenched with water as his wolf pushed through the mud in the forest. He was chasing something, but Jacob couldn’t see what. Jacob heard the sound of a car coming up the road, and his brows furrowed when he saw his wolf stumble into the middle of the wet path. He ran to push his wolf out of the way, but all he saw were headlights flashing right at him. He heard the crunch of metal as he rushed over to check for survivors.

He could smell blood and heard a weak cry from the back of the car.

“Mr. Sullivan?”

Jacob’s eyes opened wide when he heard his name called out by one of his associates. He sat up in his chair and didn’t miss a beat about the details. “The numbers sound good. Collaborate with Felix to get the contracts ready,” he ordered.

“Yes, Mr. Sullivan.”

His colleagues quickly collected their belongings and exited the room as his assistant stood at the door and waited.

Jacob got up from his chair and walked to the window as he looked out into the city. He enjoyed this time of year when the days were shorter and the nights were longer; there was something about the day ending and night slowly creeping in. As much as he enjoyed living in the city, he felt something was still missing.“What is it, Kaitlyn?” he inquired; even though he hadn’t looked at her, he could sense she was there.

“There’s a Mr. Reed here to see you,” she answered.

Jacob’s head perked up when he heard his long-time friend was here to see him. “Send him in,” he instructed as he still looked out at the city.

Gavin Reed walked with suave confidence into the office of his friend Jacob. His chocolate hair was slick back, and his hands were tucked into the pockets of the monkey outfit he wore to blend in. His body tensed as the material of the suit rubbed against his skin. He couldn’t wait to get out of these clothes and all the grease out of his hair, but there were more important things to attend to at the moment.

Jacob turned and coughed into his hand, trying to suppress his chuckle as he looked at his friend's attire.

Gavin had a curve to his lip as he tried to contain the snarl he had sitting on his chest.

“That will be all, Kaitlyn. You can go home,” Jacob said.

Kaitlyn nodded as she eyed the other man who came to see her boss one last time before closing the door behind her.

Jacob walked toward him. “It’s been a long time, old friend."

“I wish it were under better circumstances,” Gavin admitted as he shook his friend's hand.

Jacob looked at him with a curious brow as his blue eyes filled with concern. “What’s wrong?”

Gavin rubbed his hand over his jaw, feeling the stubble against his fingers. “I need you to come back. It’s time you take your place as Alpha and protect the pack.”

Jacob sucked in a breath and stared at the man before him. It had been sixteen years since he left his home and hadn’t been back since. He remained to show his cool, calm demeanor, although his thoughts were running wild on the inside. “It’s not that simple,” he whispered.

“Santos is starting to sniff around. He’s been seen hanging around the border points, testing our weaknesses.”

Jacob growled when he heard the name that haunted him, just like those memories did.

“I need to think about this,” Jacob said as he ran his hand through his tightly cut black hair. “Everything that I have worked so hard to build with this company has been to help the pack. All the money and resources we’ve used to strengthen our boundaries are because of what I do here. It won’t be easy to step away from all of this.”

Gavin placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, giving him support. “I know I’m asking a lot. But I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think this was serious.”

Jacob nodded as he moved away from his friend and returned to the window.

Gavin turned and headed for the door; with his hand on the handle, he turned back, “I forgot to mention, old man Winters is in the hospital. It doesn’t look good.”

Jacob gave a menacing growl as he quickly turned and stocked toward the door. “Why didn’t you start by telling me that?” he hissed as he pushed his friend through the door and slammed it shut.

***

Cassidy had never liked hospitals. The smell always took her back to the night her parents died in a car accident, and somehow, she walked away from that wreck with nothing more than a scar on her leg.

She sat watching the man who raised her breathing through an oxygen tube as she waited on the test results to diagnose what was ailing him. She was scared; she didn’t want this to be the end. She had suffered enough loss and didn’t need to lose another loved one.

Cassidy’s eyes shifted to the door when she heard a knock and watched it open. Her best friend and roommate Natalie popped her head around the door. “Hey, how’s he doing?” she whispered.

“Still sleeping,” Cassidy answered as she stretched her arms and messed with her wavy chestnut hair before dropping it back down.

“Come on, let’s go grab something to eat. You’ve been here for a while; you must be hungry,” Natalie suggested.

Cassidy shook her head. “I should stay here in case he wakes up.”

Natalie wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She pulled her auburn hair into a loose bun and narrowed her green eyes at Cassidy. “Cass, you need to take care of yourself so that when your Pop Pop wakes up, he’s not worried about you. He doesn’t need that.”

Cassidy sighed as she said, “OK, but we can’t be gone for too long.”

Natalie smiled as she opened the door for them.

On the way to the elevator, Cassidy felt a burn course along her scar — like she'd pressed it against a hot oven — as she moved closer to the elevator.

As she was about to step in, she passed by a tall man in a business suit, whom she initially paid no attention to. But as they passed, an electric current flowed through them, and the burning sensation in her leg became nothing more than a tingle that raced through her body. Once inside, Cassidy looked up to find the gentleman looking straight back at her with piercing blue eyes. A shiver shimmied through her as she stared back at the man until the elevator closed, and he was gone.

Jacob sat beside the bed, waiting for the man in it to wake. He sat with his jacket unbuttoned and the top button of his shirt undone. It had been a long day for him, but Kevin had been a long-time friend to him and his family and had to see that he was okay.

His thoughts should have been about his friend, but he couldn’t help thinking about the mysterious girl with the hazel eyes. He shook his head as he closed his eyes, trying to envision the girl once more. The smells from the hospital were hindering his senses, and he couldn’t get a whiff of how she smelled. A minor reason for that could be the fact that he’s spent the last sixteen years living amongst the humans and refraining his wolf from using his powers. But something awakened inside him when he felt the electric connection as his fingers grazed hers. He felt like there was something familiar about the girl, but he couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

Jacob lifted his head when a groan came from the older man lying in the bed. The older gentleman turned his head while his eyes slowly opened and blinked to get them to focus on the person sitting next to him. Kevin smirked as he turned his head back to its original position and said, “I must be dying if the great Jacob Sullivan is here to see me.”

Jacob shook his head as he smiled. “I’m sorry that it’s been so long between visits. I’ve been away on business.”

Kevin turned to Jacob, giving him a knowing glare, and said, “We both know why you have come to see me.”

Jacob leaned forward in his chair. “Kevin...”

But Kevin lifted his hand to stop him from saying anything more. “I made my peace with it a long time ago. Besides, there are more important things we need to discuss at the moment. It’s about the cabin.”

Jacob leaned back into his chair and crossed his legs. “You needn’t worry about any of that right now. Let’s focus on getting you better. I’ve requested the best doctors to attend to you. You’ll be feeling better in no time,” he assured.

“I wish it were that easy. I’ve been sick for some time, and now it’s finally catching up to me,” Kevin admitted. “There are so many things that still need to be handled. My granddaughter, for one.”

But Jacob interjected, “I’m sure your granddaughter is fine.”

Kevin shook his head. “No, I need to tell her about the cabin. She doesn’t know.”

Jacob’s blue eyes widened with surprise and quickly returned to normal. He stood, started buttoning up his jacket, and said, “It’s good she doesn’t know. It’s safer that way for everyone. The less she knows, the better off she’ll be. I will have my people keep an eye on your cabin until you can return.”

Kevin shook his head, reached out, and wrapped his hand around Jacob’s wrist. A snarl came out from Jacob, but he softened once he realized Kevin meant no harm by it. “Promise me, promise me you’ll protect her. She’s the only family I have left. Please, promise me.”

Jacob sighed as he looked down at the older man and his pleading eyes. “I promise to keep her safe while she’s at the property,” Jacob confirmed.

Kevin released Jacob’s wrist and closed his eyes.

Jacob went to the door; he stopped when he heard Kevin speak out to him.

“One more thing. A man has been coming around to the property. He’s been pushing me to sell it to him.”

Jacob narrowed his eyes when he heard this news; he turned back to look at Kevin and said, “Get some rest, Kevin. I’ll look into this buyer and take care of it.”

“Thank you,” Kevin said softly.

Jacob nodded before he left the room.

Gavin met him outside the hall and asked, “How is he?”

Jacob shook his head. “Not good. Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

They made their way to the elevator, and just as their elevator closed, the one next to it opened, letting Cassidy and Natalie out.

Cassidy walked into her grandfather’s room, and her face lit up when she saw he was awake. “Pop Pop,” the young woman called out as she approached the side of his bed and hugged him.

“Cassiebee, what are you still doing here? It’s late,” he asked her.

“I had to make sure you were doing alright. You know I can’t sleep if I don’t know you’re okay.”

Kevin chuckled. He knew his granddaughter was a worry wort, especially when it came to him going up to his cabin. “Well, I’m glad you’re here,” he said as he looked at her. Her wavy chestnut hair and fair skin reminded him so much of his late wife. Her hazel eyes, he smiled, those she got from him. He was going to miss seeing her beautiful face.

“Cassiebee, I need to talk with you about something,” he started.

Natalie backed toward the door and said, “I think I’m going to hang out in the waiting room while you two talk.”

“Thanks, Nat,” Cassidy said with a small smile.

Cassidy turned and looked at her grandfather. She brushed her fingers through his silver hair. “You should try and get some more rest. We can talk later once you’re better and you are released from this place,” she assured him.

“Please, Cassiebee, we must discuss this in case I don’t make it.”

Cassidy pulled away and turned toward the window. She didn’t want to hear him talk like that. “No, don’t say that. You’re going to get better. I can’t; I can’t go through another loss. I’m not ready,” she pleaded.

It killed Kevin to hear the sadness in his granddaughter’s voice. “Cassie…” he started, but then a fit of coughs began, and he couldn’t catch his breath.

Cassidy rushed back to his side and tried to offer him some water to drink, but it didn’t help. Cassidy quickly pressed the nurse call button as her grandfather started to cough up blood.

“Pop Pop!” she cried out.

The machines next to his bed started to go off, alerting the staff that something was wrong. A group of nurses rushed into the room, pushing Cassidy toward the door. “I’m sorry, you’ll have to step outside and wait.”

“Cass, what’s going on?” Natalie asked as she rushed over to Cassidy’s side.

“It’s Pop Pop,” she said as her body shook with fear.

“Come, let’s sit down and wait,” Natalie said softly.

Cassidy sat down with her head in her hands and waited. After a short while, a doctor emerged from the room. He walked up to Cassidy, who lifted her tear-streaked face at him.

“I’m sorry.” the doctor said as he shook his head.

Cassidy just sat there feeling numb as the world around her came crashing down.