Ryan returned to the Lycan Holdings tower on Monday morning, but he was no longer the distracted Alpha. He was now a calculated predator with a specific target: The Contract.
The emotional connection forged with the twins—the shared laughter over a collapsing block tower—had given him the resolve to obey Elara's rules temporarily. But his wolf knew submission was never a permanent state. He needed a loophole. He needed an angle that could invalidate the agreement without triggering Elara's nuclear threat of exposing the pack.
He spent the morning locked in his office, ignoring the anxious calls from Damon. He didn't read the financial reports. He read the legal documents he had signed.
The Co-Parenting Agreement.
Ryan had a photographic Alpha memory, and he replayed every clause, every paragraph. He noticed the glaring, deliberate omission: Elara had only requested his signature on a temporary access agreement. The comprehensive, fully binding, permanent legal framework was still a draft. She was testing his compliance, keeping the final, ironclad cage open until she was certain of his behavior.
He recognized the strategy: she was waiting for him to slip up, waiting for him to use his Alpha voice or a scent command, so she could permanently revoke his rights based on his violation of the preliminary terms.
Ryan smiled, a cold, predatory expression that didn't reach his eyes. Elara had given him a window. If he forced her hand to sign the final agreement immediately, he could negotiate minor changes now, before she knew his ultimate intention.
He had to strike before Damon—or the Council—discovered the true power of his heirs and started demanding outright custody, which would ruin everything.
He called his legal team. "I want a meeting with Elara Thorne's private counsel, Mr. Chen. Today. The subject is the immediate finalization of the custody agreement."
Elara received the news three hours later, sitting in her corner office. Mr. Chen, her lead counsel, looked perplexed. "Ms. Thorne, Alpha Lycan is demanding the immediate signing of the full, permanent contract. He's pushing to secure his rights now."
Elara's mind raced. Ryan was moving faster than she predicted. He had endured the humiliation of the supervised visit and was now trying to lock down his access. He was acting like a rational, compliant human.
But he's a wolf.
He wasn't trying to secure his rights; he was trying to secure the document. He must believe the final contract contains a technical weakness he can exploit later.
"Set the meeting for 4:00 PM," Elara commanded. "In our war room. And I want the clause concerning the heirs' potential inheritance modified. If he violates the contract, he doesn't just lose access; he loses all claim to Lycan Holdings' non-pack assets. Tie his entire financial empire to his good behavior."
Elara was betting on her legal team's mastery versus his Alpha arrogance. He was looking for a technical fault; she would build a legal fortress that would bind his wolf in iron chains.
The meeting was held in a sterile, white room designed for maximum psychological pressure. Ryan entered, flanked by his lawyers, but his eyes were only for Elara, who sat across the table. She looked magnificent—a weapon of human strategy.
"I believe you received my proposal," Ryan began, cutting through the lawyers' pleasantries. "I want the final, binding custody document signed today. I require certainty regarding my access to Elias and Leo."
"I appreciate your newfound enthusiasm for paperwork, Alpha Lycan," Elara drawled, picking up the massive final document. "However, the terms have been updated."
She slid the amended version to him. Ryan scanned the document, his Alpha memory processing the dense text at incredible speed. The main terms were the same: supervised visitation, no Alpha influence, and Elara as the primary custodian.
But the new clause, 7.5, stopped him cold.
Clause 7.5: Breach of this Agreement by Ryan Lycan, including, but not limited to, unauthorized exposure of the heirs' Lycan identity or coercion, grants Elara Thorne the immediate, non-revocable right to claim the entire Lycan Holdings corporate structure—including its liquid assets and public land tracts—as collateral damages for emotional distress.
It wasn't just a loss of access. It was complete, financial annihilation. She was betting everything on his pride.
Ryan looked up, his face a mask of cold fury. "You're trying to chain me, Elara. You're turning this into economic warfare."
"You started the war five years ago, Ryan," she whispered, her voice low enough that the lawyers couldn't hear. "This is the cost of my survival. And if you try to take my sons by force, I promise you, I will make your entire species vulnerable."
He knew she wasn't bluffing. Her genius wasn't just in business; it was in calculated, devastating vengeance.
Ryan's mind raced. He had come here looking for a loophole in the draft. He found none. Now, he was facing an unbreakable, permanent cage. If he signed it, he was submitting to her authority forever. But if he didn't sign it, she would use his refusal in court, arguing he was unstable and dangerous—and he would lose access entirely.
He took a deep breath, forcing his wolf down one last time. He had to sign. He had to secure the access and then find a way to manipulate the terms from the inside. He would play the compliant father until he found the weakness—not in the contract, but in her heart.
Ryan reached for the pen. His signature was powerful, decisive, and final.
Ryan Lycan.
He had officially traded his Alpha sovereignty for a piece of paper.
Elara took the signed document, her expression finally softening—not with joy, but with grim relief. The battle lines were drawn, and the power dynamic was fixed. She had won the opening war.
As Ryan stood to leave, Elara spoke one last time, her voice firm. "I expect you at the Hamptons next Saturday, Ryan. Do not disappoint your sons."
Ryan paused at the door. "I won't. But understand this, Elara: the Lycan pack is not your only problem. My Beta, Damon, is now asking too many questions about the corporate damage. She believes you are a corporate rogue using blackmail. She is loyal to the pack and she hates you. You may have controlled the Alpha, but you haven't accounted for the Shadow Luna."
He left her with the new fear—the reminder that his world had more than one enemy.
Ryan returned to his office, the heavy silence punctuated by the rain still hitting the windows. He had lost control of his company, lost his mate, and surrendered his authority, all for the two small boys who had called him "Mr. Ryan."
He sat at his desk, and for the first time in five years, he realized his only path forward was not to lead, but to deceive. He had to become Elara's ally to defeat Damon, and he had to pretend to be a compliant human to steal back his family.