Defying the Lycan King-Chapter 54: Fluff and Fury

Meanwhile, in the sleek boardroom on the top floor of Wolfe Apex Global, Derek sat at the head of the long glass table. Nana was on his right, Uncle Crane on his left, Brian and several other Wolfe family shareholders, and some Volkov investors filling the rest of the seats. The meeting had been dragging on for nearly two hours, charts and figures flashing across the large screen.

Derek’s phone, resting face-up on the table, buzzed once. He glanced down at the screen, seeing a debit alert. A large one. He ignored it, returning his attention to the speaker’s droning voice. But then it buzzed again. And again. And five seconds later, again. The alerts began to come in a rapid-fire sequence, the phone dancing across the glass. The entire table started to notice. Heads turned. Uncle Crane raised an eyebrow. Brian smirked faintly. Nana looked at Derek.

Derek picked up the phone, jaw tightening as he scrolled through the notifications. He saw hundreds and thousands of dollars being debited from his account. The numbers were climbing fast.

"Is everything alright, Drek?" Nana asked, bringing his attention back.

"It’s not important," Derek replied, his jaw ticking. He wondered what on earth that woman was doing. Was she buying the entire mall?

He was already typing a quick message to Kira.

Why are you spending so much money at once?

Kira didn’t reply. He set the phone down, determined to focus on the meeting, but it buzzed one more time. He picked it up, expecting a defensive text. Instead, it was a video message.

He tapped it open.

Kira’s face filled the screen, bright and playful, hair slightly tousled. She made a cute, exaggerated pouty face at the camera, tilting her head.

"I’m having a good day, darling," she said, her voice chirpy and loud enough for Derek to turn the volume down hastily. "Hope you are too!" She blew a series of playful kisses into the camera lens and gave him a final, cheeky wink before the video ended.

Derek stared at the frozen frame of her winking face for far longer than was strictly necessary. His lips curved, just the tiniest smirk, before he caught himself. Leo was already rolling inside him.

Cheap bastard, he cursed inwardly at his beast.

"Your Grace? Your thoughts on the expansion?" his uncle asked, sounding annoyed.

Derek’s head snapped up, his expression morphing into a hard, cold scowl. "The expansion is premature. We focus on the internal infrastructure first. Don’t ask me again until you have the revised projections."

His curt reply silenced the room. He turned his attention back to the phone. His thumb hovered over the screen, right over the options.

DELETE or SAVE.

He hesitated for a heartbeat, his mind telling him to wipe the distraction away. But then, almost as if his hand had a mind of its own, he slowly tapped Save, set the phone face-down on the table, and returned his attention to the meeting.

***

Kira ended the video recording and a slow, devious smile spread across her face as she imagined the mighty scowl that would be on Derek’s face when he saw the video. He wouldn’t know what hit him when she was done with him in the marriage. She was going to be the chaos to his order, and she would love every moment of it. Pocketing her phone, she rounded the corner of the shopping mall aisle, scanning the bright displays of goods for Jessica. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost collided with a passer-by.

"I’m so sor—"

The apology died in her throat when the woman she had nearly walked into let out a sharp gasp, and the bottle she had been holding slipped from her numb fingers, clattering loudly against the tiled floor. The middle-aged woman stood frozen in place, staring at Kira with wide, shocked eyes, as though she had just seen a ghost. Kira’s brows furrowed, her head tilting in confusion as she stared back at the stranger.

"Oh, goddess," the woman whispered, her voice trembling. "Claire?"

Kira’s scowl deepened. "I’m sorry, but I think you’re mistaken. I’m Kira. You must have me confused with someone else."

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but before any words could escape, Jessica’s bright voice rang out from behind Kira.

"Kira! There you are!"

The stranger snapped her head toward Jessica, her expression shifting from shock to pure terror in a heartbeat. Without another word, she scrambled to grab her fallen item from the floor and bolted.

"Wait!" Kira called out, taking a reflexive step forward.

But the woman only quickened her pace, practically fleeing down the aisle as if someone were chasing her, never once glancing back. Jessica walked up and placed a gentle hand on Kira’s shoulder, looking in the direction the woman had vanished.

"Who was that?" she asked, frowning slightly.

Kira shrugged, though a strange, cold shiver was snaking down her spine. "I have no idea. Just some random woman calling me ’Claire.’ She looked like she’d seen a ghost. Must have been a case of mistaken identity."

She turned away, linking her arm through Jessica’s, and led her friend in the opposite direction, pushing the strange encounter to the back of her mind.

***

Hours later...

Derek trudged upstairs, feeling like he had been dragged through every committee meeting in the territory. All he wanted was a shower, food, and silence. As he neared the master suite, soft jazz music floated out. Slow, sultry saxophone that immediately made him suspicious. What was that girl up to again this time? He quickened his steps and pushed the door open.

And froze.

The room looked like someone had upended a boutique mood board into it. Cream throws draped everywhere, mustard-yellow cushions, a fluffy sage-green blanket folded just so over the end of the bed. A large ceramic vase of dried pampas grass stood in the corner. Even the lighting felt warmer. Softer bulbs, golden pools instead of cold white. A ridiculous number of scented candles flickered on every surface, filling the room with vanilla and bergamot. And goddess help him, a life-sized teddy bear in a tiny leather jacket sat propped against the pillows.

His entire Lycan system rebelled against the sudden riot of texture and colour.

"What in the seven hells...?" he growled low.

Kira, who had been fussing over a stack of cushions, turned around. She was clutching a fluffy lilac pillow to her chest and gave him a bright, sunny smile that set his teeth on edge.

"Welcome home, darling!"

"Stop calling me that," he bit out.

"Why?"

"You’re only allowed to be affectionate when people are watching."

She tilted her head. "You never know who’s listening. And besides..." She stepped closer, eyes dancing. "I’m doing this all for you, remember? Because as far as I know, I’ve got nothing to lose here except maybe my virginity. Practice makes perfect, right? We’ve got to play this game perfectly, unless you don’t want that coronation in six months."

Derek pinched the bridge of his nose. She wasn’t wrong. He hated that she wasn’t wrong. "You talk too much," he muttered, deflecting.

Kira’s smile only widened. "I know. It’s part of my charm."

Derek’s gaze scanned the room again. Gone were the slate-grey accents and the heavy, moody atmosphere. "What have you done to my bedroom?"

"I added ambience." She spread her arms. "If I’m moving in here, as you requested, then the moodiness has to go. Isn’t it gorgeous? Admit it. You like it."

"Like?" His voice dropped dangerously. "This is what you spent my money on? Irritating me?"

"Irritating you?" Kira scoffed, tossing a feather-light pillow at his chest. "Come on, who gets annoyed by a bit of colour? It’s called ’softness’, Derek. Try it sometime."

He snatched the pillow out of the air, fixing her with a glare. She was chaotic, a whirlwind of energy that was dismantling his orderly life. What had he done to himself?

"You don’t make changes like this without asking."

"Oh, but I did ask." She smiled sweetly. "At breakfast. I told you the room could use some colour. I listed everything. Creams, sage, mustard, a bit of rust. And you said..." She dropped her voice into a perfect imitation of his bored drawl. "’Do as you wish.’"

Derek opened his mouth to argue, but the memory hit him like a freight train. He had been half-listening to pack reports on his phone, nodding absently while she chattered about colours and half of the things he couldn’t even remember. Shit.

Kira watched realisation dawn and grinned wider. "See? The white linen looks so much cleaner than those funeral-black sheets anyway. It highlights the darkness of your mood so much better."

He glowered at her. "Darkness of my mood...?" He huffed. "You will remove this... all this fluff before sunrise."

With that, he turned on his heel and stalked back into the hallway, muttering curses under his breath.

Kira just smiled and patted the giant teddy bear she had propped against the headboard, the one she had cheekily named Derek. "Told you he would lose it, didn’t I? Sweet Kira: 3. Grumpy, ruthless king: 000."

She hugged the cushion tighter and grinned at her new, beautiful room.