Chapter 4 The Billionaire CEO

LUCIEN’S POV

“Are you sure this is the right building?” Thomas asked as he stared through the car window at the enormous glass tower rising above the busy streets of the capital. “This place looks more like a government headquarters than a private security company.”

I looked up at the building as our car slowed near the entrance, taking in the silver lettering stretched across the front.

“It’s the right place,” I replied as I gathered the documents from my lap. “Whether the woman who owns it is willing to help us is the part I’m not sure about.”

Thomas gave me a doubtful look before opening his door, and I stepped out after him, straightening my jacket as we headed toward the entrance.

“You’ve been trying to secure better medical support for Ashcroft territory for months, and now the most powerful security company in the northern territory has agreed to meet with you,” Thomas pointed out as he walked beside me. “Try not to scare her away before she even sits down.”

I glanced at him but kept walking, studying the heavily secured lobby and the employees moving through it with quiet purpose.

Everything about Vale Corporation felt controlled. Guards watched the entrances, employees moved efficiently through the building, and nobody seemed interested in impressing visitors. There were no unnecessary displays of wealth, yet the place somehow felt more powerful than most royal estates I'd visited.

“Alpha Lucien Ashcroft?” the receptionist asked as we approached her desk, checking something on her tablet before offering a polite smile. “Ms. Vale is expecting you and your Beta. Please take the private elevator to the thirty-second floor, and someone will meet you outside the conference room.”

I nodded and stepped toward the elevator with Thomas following behind me.

“You know what’s strange?” Thomas asked as the elevator doors closed and the numbers began climbing. “Almost nobody has actually met Selene Vale. There are photographs of her company everywhere, but almost nothing about the woman herself.”

I watched the city disappear below us through the glass wall before answering.

“That’s probably intentional,” I replied as I slipped one hand into my pocket. “People who want privacy usually have a reason for wanting it.”

Thomas gave me a knowing look, but the elevator reached the thirty-second floor before he could answer.

The doors opened, and a sharply dressed assistant led us into a large conference room overlooking the city. I took the seat at the head of the table while Thomas arranged our files and checked the medical contracts one last time.

“We have the territory numbers, medical contracts, security reports and proposed partnership terms,” Thomas explained as he tapped the top folder. “If she accepts the package we're offering, we can finally secure the medical supply routes before winter.”

I nodded as I looked toward the closed doors.

“Then we make our case and see what she says,” I replied as I leaned back. “We didn't come here to beg, but we can't afford to walk away without a solution.”

The doors opened, and a woman walked into the room. For one strange second, I forgot how to breathe as I watched her approach. She wore a simple black suit, her dark hair falling neatly over one shoulder, and carried herself with the calm confidence of someone who had never needed anyone's approval.

Yet it wasn't her appearance that unsettled me; it was the strange feeling that hit me when she looked directly at me.

“Alpha Lucien,” she said as she stopped across from me, her expression professional and unreadable. “I hope you haven't been waiting too long.”

Her voice struck something deep inside me, something I hadn't felt since the woman I had spent seven years trying to forget disappeared.

Serena.

The name flashed through my mind before I could stop it, and I forced myself to remember that Serena Blackwood had died seven years ago. There had been an execution, an explosion and an official declaration of death, so whatever strange familiarity I felt, this woman couldn't possibly be her.

“Not at all,” I replied as I stood and offered my hand. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Ms. Vale.”

She looked at my hand briefly before accepting it, her handshake firm and confident.

“Selene is fine,” she said as she released my hand. “And I agreed because your proposal interested me, not because you’re an Alpha.”

Thomas shifted beside me, clearly surprised by her bluntness, while I found myself almost amused by her confidence.

“Good,” I replied as I returned to my seat. “Then we can skip the formalities and discuss the actual agreement.”

Selene took the chair opposite me and opened the folder my office had sent ahead.

“I’ve already reviewed your proposal,” she explained as she turned several pages. “Your territory wants access to our security network, priority medical transportation and protection for the supply routes, but your proposed payment structure doesn’t match the level of service you’re requesting.”

Thomas immediately leaned forward, but I watched Selene carefully, realizing she had studied our situation far more closely than I expected.

“We’ve offered the standard rate for regional Alpha territories,” Thomas explained as he opened his file. “It’s actually higher than what several neighboring territories currently pay.”

Selene lifted her eyes toward him, her expression remaining completely calm.

“And none of those territories have lost three medical shipments in the last six months,” she replied as she closed the folder.

Thomas went silent, and I studied her with renewed interest.

“You’ve done your homework,” I said as I leaned forward. “Most people who come into this room don't know enough about Ashcroft territory to negotiate like this.”

Selene met my gaze without hesitation.

“I study everyone I do business with,” she answered as she folded her hands together. “Your family isn’t special.”

Something about the way she said it almost made me smile. Most people became nervous when discussing my family, but Selene spoke as though we were simply another name on a business file.

“Then tell me what you want,” I said as I gestured toward the documents between us.

Selene calmly explained her revised terms, asking for a longer contract, greater control over the security routes and guaranteed payment regardless of whether the territory experienced another shortage. The demands were aggressive, but after reviewing them carefully, I couldn't deny that they were reasonable considering the risk her company would be taking.

“If we accept your terms, you’ll provide the medical security coverage immediately?” Thomas asked as he looked between us.

Selene considered the question before answering.

“Yes,” she replied as she closed the folder. “Once the contract is signed, my people can begin securing the routes within forty-eight hours.”

Thomas looked toward me, waiting for my decision, and I knew we had finally found the solution we needed.

“You have a deal,” I said as I extended my hand across the table.

Selene looked at it briefly before taking it, and the moment our fingers touched, my wolf reacted so strongly that I nearly pulled away. For the briefest moment, Selene's expression changed too, and I knew she had felt something, even though neither of us acknowledged it.

“It's settled,” she said as she released my hand and reached for the contract.

I was about to ask whether she had felt the same strange pull when my phone began vibrating against the table, immediately drawing my attention away from her.

I picked up the phone and answered immediately, already sensing from the number that something serious had happened back home.

“Alpha Lucien speaking,” I said as I pressed the phone against my ear.

The voice on the other end was breathless and urgent, and within seconds, every thought about the contract disappeared.

“Your Majesty, you need to return to Ashcroft immediately,” the guard said as his voice shook with barely contained panic. “An Alpha has been found murdered, and we think the killer may still be inside the territory.”