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I felt guilt stabbing me through like a knife as I watched his retreating figure disappear from the room, but my wolf didn’t care. She was replaying the kiss and celebrating her little success.

******

“The flight should be scheduled for Monday morning, and the staff in London should be made aware of my return. I’ll be returning for good,” I spoke into the phone, making sure my personal assistant was getting the details of my instructions.

I had scheduled a meeting with the board a week after my attack to let them know of my intention to leave New York for good. The deals and money were great, but they were not worth endangering my life or that of my son. Luckily, they saw reason with my plea, especially after the attack, and they agreed to it on the condition that I pick a capable person from the board to oversee my duties while I was away.

I handed the duties to my COO and started making plans to leave. I had not seen or heard from Griffin since our kiss and part of me was hurt by that. I knew an official statement had not been made aboutmy relocation, but I was certain all my business partners were aware. News traveled fast in the business world, and the official statement was just for formalities. Still, there was nothing from Griffin. Not even a “Hello. I heard you were attacked. Are you okay?” Nothing. Just cold silence. Maybe it was for the best. His presence around me only spelled danger.

My mind traveled back to the time one of my attackers used the term ‘princess.’ I was convinced it was my mind playing tricks on me, but as the days passed and I healed better, my memory took a more consistent shape, and I realized it wasn’t in my head. It happened. I was still a member of Griffin’s pack, and there was only one princess.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. It had to be her. She was the only person who went as far as framing me and threatening me at a public cafe. I didn’t have any enemy that was so passionate about me. The conclusion strengthened my resolve to pack up what was left of my life and return to the peaceful life I had in London.

I missed the solitary life the city offered, and I’ll always be grateful to Adrian for asking me to join him when he was leaving. He knew how badly I wanted to leave the States. It was the move that saved my life.

My alarm beeped, and I was reminded of my meeting with Henry. I was supposed to officially inform him that my COO would be taking over the deal for me. At the same time, an email came in from his secretary, informing me of Henry’s busy schedule and his inability to make it to our meeting.

Not in the mood to deal with further delays in my plan, I made a last-minute decision to visit Griffin’s office and inform him of my departure. An email would’ve been fine, but I didn’t think it was appropriate. It wasn’t as if I wanted to see him or anything. We werepartners in the business, and it was his right to be informed of the change of plans in person and not by email.

I dismissed my driver, hopping into my car and entering Griffin’s office address in GPS. This was an impromptu decision, and I figured a drive would help me come up with the right words. But after almost thirty-five minutes of driving, my head was just as blank as it was when I started. I decided to just stick to work-related conversations.

“Do you have an appointment?”

A snobby blonde with an equally snobby nose asked the moment I stepped into the lobby of Griffin’s office.

“No, I don’t, but I’m certain your boss will want to see me,” I replied in the most polite tone I could muster. I hated girls like her who thought they ran the place because they checked the people entering an establishment. I took extra measures to make sure none of my branches hired her kind, no matter how well they pretended.

She looked me up and down, taking in my loose style jeans and silk shirt and decided I wasn’t worth a drop of her boss’s time. “He won’t see you without an appointment.”

I was done playing nice with her, so I left the desk, trusting my wolf to lead me to her mate’s office.

“Excuse me, you can’t go in there,” the receptionist called out, running after me, but she was no match in her pointy stilettos. I was in Griffin’s office before she caught up.

“I’m sorry, sir. I tried to stop her, but she wouldn’t listen.” she breathed out, sending me a glare. I didn’t bother to return her warmth.

“It’s fine, Sylvia,” Griffin said, his eyes not leaving me. “Leave us.”

She blinked and looked between Griffin and me before tucking her tail between her legs and making her way out of the office.

Griffin’s lips tipped at both sides.

“Does this mean we’re even, and I can threaten to call the cops on you, too?”

“I’m leaving.”

His lips straightened as soon as the words left my lips.

“I came to inform you my COO will be taking over my position, and you’ll be needing to continue the project. I thought it would be polite for you to hear it from me.”

He got up from his seat and was in front of me faster than I could blink. “What do you mean you’re leaving?”

“This city is not safe for me and the sooner I leave, the better for my son and me.”

“I know, but how will I keep you safe if you’re seas away from me? I can’t stand the thought of something happening to you without being able to get there on time again.”

My brows tipped. “What do you mean again?”

He blinked at me. “That’s not important right now. The point is, I want you to stay. I’ll keep you safe, I swear it.”