Alpha's Twins Chapter 98

"Bullshit!"

Eric spat out the word, his jaw clenched tight as he watched Adrian climb onto the stage. Alpha Seth was already there, all smiles and handshakes like they were old buddies.

"I can't fucking believe this! How is this even possible?" Damia whispered furiously beside me.

My whole management team looked like someone had kicked their dog. The defeat in their eyes made my blood boil.

"Alpha Adrian, please say a few words," the Storm Forest Pack's beta called out.

That's when Alpha Wade stepped forward with this huge bouquet—looked like he'd bought out half a flower shop. As he handed it over to congratulate Adrian, something clicked in my brain.

My eyes darted from the bouquet to Adrian's face, and there it was—that smug-ass smirk aimed right at me.

I wanted to wipe that look off his face with my fist.

Son of a bitch. He was the one who sent me those red roses last night.

Adrian finally looked away and started his little speech.

"Good evening, everyone. I'm a man of my word—always have been. When I took over as head Alpha, my father made me promise to honor every alliance he'd built. The Storm Forest Pack is one of our oldest allies."

I nearly rolled my eyes out of my head. What a load of crap. This guy was faker than a three-dollar bill. I'd seen how he really treated his old man—nothing like this golden boy act he was putting on now.

"We're offering the Crystal Blood Pack seventy percent of the project profits."

You could've heard a pin drop. Hell, I think everyone's jaws hit the floor at the same time.

"Seventy percent?"

The whispers started immediately. Every Alpha in the room looked like they'd been sucker-punched. Wade was basically signing up to lose money hand over fist. What kind of business deal was that?

"That's right. But in return, Crystal Blood will provide twenty percent of their fighters to assist us in any conflicts."

Dead silence.

Now that changed everything. See, everyone knew the Storm Forest Pack was basically the neighborhood punching bag—other packs loved picking fights with them. So having their backing actually meant something. All the Alphas had been expecting maybe fifty-fifty at best on the profits, but nobody saw the military angle coming.

Crystal Blood was huge—one of the biggest packs around with fighters for days. Lending out that kind of muscle? That was a hell of a gamble. What if someone hit your own territory while your people were playing bodyguard somewhere else?

"Brilliant strategy from Alpha Adrian."

"Takes real balls to think outside the box like that."

"This is why he runs the biggest pack in the region."

The other Alphas were practically falling over themselves to kiss his ass now.

I couldn't take my eyes off him up there, standing tall like he owned the whole damn world.

"How do you feel about closing this deal?" the beta asked.

"Won't lie—this was just as important to me as it was to Alpha Wade. But not for the reasons you'd think."

"What do you mean?"

Adrian's eyes found mine across the room. "Someone thought they could muscle in on a few projects and bring me down a peg. I wanted to show that person what real power looks like."

Every word was a direct hit. I remembered his little note from last night, crystal clear now.

The bastard had orchestrated this whole thing just to mess with my head? To knock me down in front of everyone?

I could feel eyes turning toward me. Everyone knew exactly who he was talking about—I was the only one crazy enough to go head-to-head with him.

I wasn't about to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing me crack. I took a deep breath and kept my game face on.

"Jason called it," Eric muttered under his breath. "Guy's a complete asshole."

Eric had busted his ass on this project too. We all had—working around the clock, pulling all-nighters. This wasn't just my loss; it was screwing over everyone on my team.

"Guess your buddy was right," I said quietly. "Someone was gunning for this deal, and they got it."

I could still feel the stares burning into me from every direction.

When I looked back at the stage, Adrian was watching me, obviously trying to read my reaction to his little victory speech.

I wasn't giving him the satisfaction. Instead, I started clapping—loud and clear. Everyone else followed my lead.

"Boss," Damia whispered, confused.

"We're going to be professionals about this, Damia. Let the winner have his moment."

She nodded and joined in, though she looked about as thrilled as someone getting a root canal.

After the conference wrapped up, a bunch of Alphas came over to pat me on the back. They were impressed I hadn't thrown a tantrum or started any drama. Said I had class, just like my father.

Alpha Wade had set up a dinner buffet for everyone. The whole evening turned into this networking thing, with everyone schmoozing and making small talk. I made damn sure to stay on the opposite side of the room from Adrian.

It was getting late, and Eric was ready to head back to the hotel. I was nodding along when I tried to set my drink down on a nearby table. Of course, the glass slipped and dumped wine all over my dress.

"Give me five minutes to clean this up. I'll meet you outside."

Eric agreed, and I headed for the restroom.

I did my best to wash out the stain and blot it with paper towels, but my dress still looked like a crime scene. Whatever—it would have to do.

I was walking toward the exit when a voice stopped me cold.

"Not going to congratulate your competition, Natalia Hensley?"

His tone was pure mockery. He'd been behind me and now stepped around to block my path.

I looked up at him with all the warmth of an arctic freeze.

"Congratulations, Adrian Miller. You managed to save one project from slipping through your fingers."

He didn't even blink at my sarcasm.

I tried to walk around him, but he side-stepped to cut me off again.

His eyes traveled over my face like he was trying to memorize every detail of my frustration.

That devil's grin spread across his face again—he was getting off on this.

"Why so pissy? One little setback isn't going to break you, is it?"