Rise of the Banished She-Wolf Chapter 42

Evelyn

"Thank you for meeting me," I said as Devon's sleek black SUV pulled away from campus later that evening. The leather seats were heated, a welcome relief from the October chill.

"Of course." His voice was smooth and confident, one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting casually on the console between us. "What did you want to talk about?"

I took a deep breath. "How much do you know about Gray Enterprises?"

Devon's eyes remained on the road, but I caught the slight twitch of his jaw. "It's a mid-sized company, primarily focused on real estate and some tech investments. We've had some dealings with them through our subsidiary companies. Why do you ask?"

"My grandfather transferred thirty percent of the shares to me. There's a shareholders meeting on Friday, and I..." I hesitated, hating how vulnerable this made me feel. "I don't know what to expect. It's been three years since I've had anything to do with the family business."

Devon nodded thoughtfully. "Would you like me to help you prepare?"

"If you don't mind," I said, relief washing over me. "I don't want to walk in there completely clueless."

"Do you have access to the company's financial reports? That would be a good place to start."

"Yes, my grandfather's beta, Marcus, dropped off a file with all the reports for the past three years."

Devon glanced at me, his blue eyes reflecting the streetlights. "Then let's go through them together. We can stop by your place, and I'll walk you through what to look for."

I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. "Thank you, Devon."

"No need to thank me," he said, his voice softening. "That's what..." He paused, seeming to search for the right word. "That's what friends are for."

Friends. Was that what we were? After that kiss, after all that had happened between us, I wasn't sure what to call our relationship. But "friends" seemed safe enough for now.

---

Back at Moon Bay Apartments, Devon surprised me by heading straight to the kitchen while I went to get the financial reports.

"What are you doing?" I asked, setting my laptop and the file of reports on the kitchen island.

Devon was already pulling ingredients from my refrigerator—meat, herbs, and vegetables I didn't even remember buying. "Making us something to eat. Financial analysis works better on a full stomach."

I watched, fascinated, as his large hands deftly sliced and seasoned the meat. There was something oddly intimate about having him in my kitchen, preparing food as if he'd done it a hundred times before.

"I didn't know you could cook," I said, opening my laptop.

A small smile played at his lips. "There are many things you don't know about me, Evelyn."

Thirty minutes later, we sat at the kitchen island with plates of perfectly cooked steak—rare, just how wolves preferred it—and my laptop open to the Gray Enterprises financial reports.

"Look here," Devon said, pointing to a series of transactions from the past three years. "See these transfers? Jonathan has been systematically moving assets out of the company's main accounts."

I leaned closer, squinting at the screen. "Are you saying he's stealing from the company?"

"Not technically stealing. He's the CEO; he has authority to move funds. But he's been transferring assets to shell companies and subsidiary investments that consistently underperform." Devon scrolled through more documents. "Meanwhile, Ethan's international ventures are showing consistent profits, but those gains are being redirected into Jonathan's failing projects."

"So my father is running the company into the ground?" I said, feeling a mixture of anger and concern.

"Not completely, but he's definitely mismanaging it. Your grandfather was smart to transfer shares to you. It gives you voting power to challenge some of these decisions."

Devon spent the next two hours walking me through the reports, teaching me how to spot red flags and understand the true health of the business behind the fancy financial jargon. I was surprised by how quickly I caught on—numbers and patterns had always been my strong suit in coding, and apparently, those skills transferred to financial analysis as well.

"You're a quick study," Devon remarked, his eyes bright with approval as I correctly identified a questionable investment before he could point it out.

"I just see patterns," I said, trying not to sound too pleased with his praise. "It's not that different from debugging code."

Devon nodded, a contemplative look crossing his face. "That's actually a brilliant way to look at it. Business is just another system with its own kind of logic."

We continued working, and I found myself genuinely enjoying the process. There was something satisfying about making sense of the tangled web of transactions and investments, about turning chaos into order.

---

It wasn't until Devon stretched and checked his watch that I realized how late it had gotten.

"It's past three in the morning," he said, stifling a yawn. "We should probably call it a night."

I blinked in surprise, glancing at the time display on my laptop. We'd been working for over six hours, and it had felt like no time at all.

"I had no idea it was so late," I admitted, closing the laptop. "Thank you for all your help. I feel much more prepared now."

Devon stood up, collecting our long-empty plates. "Consider it a consultation fee, payable later. I should get going and let you get some sleep."

As he moved to leave, a thought occurred to me. It was so late, and he looked tired. The responsible thing would be to...

"You could stay," I blurted out before I could overthink it. "In the guest room, I mean. It's so late, and you've been driving me around all day."

Devon paused, turning to face me with an unreadable expression. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's fine," I said quickly. "It's the least I can do after all your help. Besides, you're Lily's uncle. It's not like it's weird or anything."

Something flickered in Devon's eyes—a flash of silver-blue that reminded me of his wolf nature. The temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees.

Before I could react, he was in front of me, one arm sliding around my waist, pulling me closer than was strictly necessary. His scent enveloped me, and once again, my wolf stirred restlessly beneath my skin—just like it always did around him.

"So that's how you see me?" he murmured, his voice low and dangerous. "As your friend's uncle?"

My breath caught in my throat as his face lowered toward mine, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath against my lips. "Is that all I am to you, Evelyn?"