Chapter 18

DEREK’S POV I paced in my quarters, my hands shaking with barely contained rage. This wasn't how today was supposed to go. When I had walked into that settlement meeting, I had expected Eliza to grovel at my feet for mercy, to show some kind of desperation. Instead, that bastard Alexander had swept in like an avenging angel and turned everything on its head. I was the one who left empty-handed and with shame hanging over my head. Three million dollars. The number echoed in my mind like a death knell. I sucked at my teeth, wondering how this had happened. I was an Alpha of the pack for God's sake. A celebrated general, personally praised by the king for my efforts in the war, and yet I found myself in debt to the woman I had cast aside. It wasn't fair. If Alexander hadn't shown up when he did, then I might have been able to convince the auditor. The memory of Alexander's arrival made my blood boil. The way he had strode into that room, emanating power and authority, had immediately shif