The Arrogant Ex and A Grave Debt

The very man I had once desperately hoped would love me was now stopping right in front of me.

Cormac Hastings leaned casually and arrogantly against the baggage claim counter, radiating an entitled, sophisticated ease. Three burly guards instantly flanked him, their sharp eyes scanning the terminal while their Alpha focused entirely on me. He completely failed to recognize who I was. To him, I wasn't the scarred, pathetic mate he had thrown away. I was just a stunning stranger who had caught his eye.

A sudden, bitter sting of tears violently pricked at the corners of my eyes. The mind was a cruel, twisted bitch. I truly thought I was over his betrayal. I had convinced myself that I wouldn't feel a single damn thing when I finally saw him again. But watching him stand there, looking so powerful and in charge, made my chest physically ache. I swallowed hard, turning my head slightly to sniffle and ruthlessly force the tears back down. I absolutely refused to let him see me break.

"So, I had to come over to speak to you myself," Cormac purred, his voice a smooth, confident rumble. "How daring."

My throat felt suffocatingly tight. I was terrified that if I tried to speak, my voice would crack and betray the violent storm of emotions thrashing inside me. What was he even doing here? Was he picking someone up?

"What's the name?" He tilted his head, his gaze sliding over my face with obvious, predatory appreciation.

I said absolutely nothing. I wouldn't even look him in the eye.

"Hello?" he prompted, a slight edge of impatience bleeding into his tone.

"I don't feel like disclosing my name to strangers," I finally managed to say, my voice tight and clipped.

His eyes danced with a playful, undeniable amusement. And there it was. An expression of warmth and genuine interest—something he had never once spared me during our miserable, agonizing year together. The stark contrast felt like a rusted knife twisting in my gut.

"Let's just say I'm overly excited today," Cormac sighed, leaning closer. "I'm stuck here at the airport, waiting for a certain bitch to arrive."

I couldn't help but give him a genuinely puzzled look.

"My ex-mate," he clarified casually, waving a dismissive hand. "We already went through the first step of the rejection. Now we just have one tiny little step to go so we can finally sever our bond at the temple. I'll finally be free of her."

I scoffed softly, shaking my head. He was unbelievable.

"I would have done this much sooner, you know," he continued, completely misreading my reaction, chuckling with raw, unfiltered disdain. "But the horrid girl has been missing for years. Stressed us the hell out trying to find her."

"What makes you call her horrid?" The words tumbled out of my mouth before my brain could stop them.

Cormac laughed aloud, shaking his head as if recalling a bad joke. "Trust me, honey. She's a monster. If you ever saw her, you'd share the exact same opinion. She is, without a doubt, the ugliest thing I have ever laid eyes on."

Hot, blinding anger exploded directly in the center of my chest. My blood practically boiled in my veins. It took every single ounce of my self-control not to let my emotions rush out and slap him right across his perfectly chiseled face. He had absolutely no idea he was standing before the very woman he despised so deeply. What would his proud, arrogant Alpha ego do if he knew the truth?

It all made perfect sense now. He was waiting at the airport to ambush me, to forcefully drag me to the temple and cut the ribbon right then and there. Well, I absolutely refused to let him publicly humiliate me again by revealing my identity right here in the middle of a crowded terminal.

Fortunately, the warning buzzer sounded, and my bags finally dropped onto the metal carousel.

"Sorry for the delay, ma'am," the young airport worker murmured as he hastily rolled my luggage toward me.

Without sparing Cormac another glance, I grabbed the handles and made to leave. My abrupt dismissal must have completely shattered his fragile ego.

"Wait, I'd love to speak to you some other time," he called out, stepping into my path. "Your phone number, if you don't mind."

I stopped dead in my tracks. For a long, tense moment, I stood with my back to him, carefully contemplating my words. I let the silence stretch until it was almost deafening. Then, I slowly turned around to face him, my voice dripping with absolute icy politeness.

"Even if giving up my number was the only way to save my own life from you, I still wouldn't do it," I stared him down, meeting his gaze with lethal calm. "Alpha."

When my words finally sank in, absolute shock danced in his eyes, quickly followed by a flash of genuine, wounded hurt. He was completely stunned, his jaw slightly slack as he failed to find a single word in response.

A powerful, newfound pride violently blossomed within my chest. Leaving Cormac standing there utterly speechless, I turned on my heel and rolled my bags away. For the first time in my life, I had the upper hand.

Soon after, Gideon's sleek car pulled through the massive iron gates of my father's lavish estate. I stepped out of the vehicle and immediately heard the thumping bass of a live band. We had arrived right in the middle of my stepmother's extravagant birthday party.

May the Moon forbid I actually intended to attend this circus. I just happened to arrive at a coincidentally perfect time.

I wasn't dressed for a high-society gathering. I wore simple, unassuming jeans and a plain, fitted shirt, my hair pulled back into a messy ponytail. Yet, the moment I pushed open the grand double doors and stepped into the glittering ballroom, the music seemed to fade into the background. Heads instantly snapped in my direction. The whispers started almost immediately.

I shifted uncomfortably, feeling a heavy wave of awkwardness wash over me. The sheer, overwhelming level of attention was something I was still desperately struggling to adjust to. I never knew I could receive so many compliments, so many hungry stares, until I finally lost my massive facial scar. Now, people could hardly look at me without tripping over themselves.

Through the sea of designer gowns and tailored suits, my stepsister, Valerie, spotted me. Her eyes lit up with predatory interest, and she walked right up to me, sporting a sickly sweet smile.

"Hi there!" Valerie chirped, her tone dripping with fake friendliness as she eyed my flawless face. "You're a little late for the party. What's your name?"

It was typical Valerie. Ever since we were young, she had always desperately wanted to befriend the wealthy-looking, beautiful girls. She had despised me with every fiber of her being because I was a 'stain' on her spotless reputation. I was the scarred, hideous sister she wanted to keep hidden in the dark. Just five years ago, she had cruelly slammed a heavy oak door right in my face, leaving me sobbing on the other side while she laughed. Now, she was practically vibrating with eagerness to be my best friend.

I decided to cut straight through her fake pleasantries.

"I'm not here for the party," I replied, my voice a cold, dismissive blade. Without waiting for her reaction, I physically pushed past her shoulder, ignoring her offended gasp as I scoured the crowded room to locate my father.

I finally spotted him standing comfortably in a dimly lit corner, nursing a drink alongside my stepmother and a few high-ranking Alpha guests. He was the entire reason I was here. I needed to know exactly what was so damn urgent that he demanded my return.

My father noticed me approaching. He narrowed his eyes, staring blankly at the beautiful stranger invading his wife's private celebration. I offered a polite, shallow bow to the visiting dignitaries before stopping squarely in front of him.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" my stepmother asked, her voice laced with aristocratic annoyance.

I met her harsh gaze and let out a dark, slow smirk. "Am I truly that different that you cannot even recognize me?" I shifted my attention back to the Alpha of the house. "What about you, father? Am I too different for you to remember?"

The revelation hit the room like a physical shockwave. Audible gasps rippled violently through the clustered guests.

Valerie, who had hurried over to scold me, suddenly stopped dead. She covered her mouth with both hands in absolute, horrified disbelief. "It's... it's not possible," she muttered, shaking her head frantically.

"Who is this imposter?!" my stepmother practically shrieked, her face turning an ugly shade of red. She pointed a trembling finger at me, loudly accusing her husband. "Do you honestly think we lack knowledge of what Maeve looks like? Do you think we would fall for a con artist's scam?!"

But Alpha Desmond wasn't listening to his screeching wife. His widened eyes were locked onto mine, slowly filling with stunned, undeniable recognition.

"Maeve?" he breathed out, his voice barely a whisper beneath the party's clamor.

Ignoring the collective, paralyzing shock of my treacherous family, I straightened my spine. "I am only here because you specifically said there was something incredibly important you needed to discuss. If you don't mind, I demand that we have that urgent, private conversation right now."

The heavy, soundproof doors of my father's private study clicked shut, instantly killing the pulsating music from the ballroom. In the quiet isolation of the room, the tension between us felt thick enough to choke on.

My father collapsed into the leather chair behind his massive mahogany desk, still staring at my flawless skin as if I were a ghost.

"What happened to you, Maeve?" he asked, his voice trembling slightly. "That silver-base scar... it was entirely impossible to get rid of. How did you do it?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, explicitly refusing to explain the miraculous disappearance of my scar. I wasn't about to share the agonizing, horrible things I had endured over the past five years. I was still running from those nightmares.

"I don't wish to discuss my face right now," I firmly stated, my tone leaving zero room for argument. "Just tell me the true, hidden reason you desperately needed me back here."

Desmond's face instantly soured deeply. The shock in his eyes was rapidly replaced by a heavy, suffocating dread. He rubbed his temples, looking like a man standing on the edge of a sheer cliff.

"Yes... that," he sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. "You have absolutely no idea how relieved I was when my trackers finally found you after searching for years. You just vanished into thin air. But... we have a massive problem, Maeve."

He stood up, pacing nervously behind his desk. "Our Pack is in a terrifyingly deep mess. I—I made a catastrophic mistake. I took a gamble and I lost a massive, insurmountable amount of money. A whole lot of it. And now, our entire Pack is completely indebted to the Ironfang pack."

My stomach dropped. I did not like where this was headed.

Ironfang was a legendary, generational wolf pack. They were universally known for producing only the strongest, most ruthless Alphas who permanently dominated the top of the hierarchy system. They were avoided at all costs by sensible packs, strictly because they were so vicious. You did not cross Ironfang. You did not owe them money. And you certainly didn't get tangled up in their affairs unless you had a death wish.

Panic heavily laced my father's voice as he continued. "If word of this bankruptcy gets out to the council, our Pack will be completely doomed. We would plummet down the ranks overnight. Coming from a legacy that is so used to sitting comfortably at the top, believe me, it would destroy us. We would lose everything." He stopped pacing and looked directly into my eyes. "But... they are willing to let it go."

I furrowed my brows, every single one of my instincts screaming at me. A heavy, highly dangerous trap was waiting right beneath his desperate words. The Ironfang pack didn't just forgive debts out of the kindness of their hearts.

"It doesn't make any sense," I said slowly, bracing myself. "What is the condition?"

My father swallowed hard, gripping the edge of his desk as he finally dropped the devastating bombshell. "They will forgive the massive debt entirely. But... only if we provide them a Luna from our family, strictly for the duration of a single year."