Chosen as the Cursed Alpha's Seventh Bride

Sebastian’s POV

I stared at the vase Henry had just placed on my desk.

"What the hell is this?" I asked.

Henry’s face lit up with an eager smile. "Isn’t it the condition to win the bid? I spent ten million at the Phoenix Center auction this morning, just as your proposal specified."

My brain short-circuited for a second.

"A condition to win the bid?" I repeated slowly, wondering if he’d somehow gotten high on wolfsbane. "What the actual fuck are you talking about?"

The color drained from Henry’s face. "The Phoenix Center charity auction—whoever bids highest on the items gets construction rights to your Hope Primary School project. It was all in the bidding proposal."

"Who told you that?" I demanded. "There’s no such thing."

"That’s impossible!" Henry’s voice rose to a near-shriek as he stamped his foot. "Alpha Sebastian, you can’t go back on your word! Ten million might not be much to you, but it’s everything to a small pack Alpha like me!"

"Alpha Henry, I have no idea what delusional fantasy you’ve been sold, but I never said anything about a charity auction. If you have proof I promised you anything, show it to me. Now."

Ryder snarled in my mind. "Someone’s playing games, and I don’t like it."

Neither did I.

Henry’s hands shook as he fumbled for his phone.

"Linda! Get to Simons Corporation headquarters immediately!"

I didn’t need supernatural hearing to catch Linda’s startled squeak through the phone before Henry hung up.

I reached for my mind-link.

"Fynn. Get in here. Now."

My Beta appeared in my office, his expression shifting from casual to alert the moment he saw Henry’s ashen face and the ridiculous vase.

"Beta Fynn," I said, "please tell me when exactly we finalized a bidding proposal that involves a charity auction."

Fynn’s eyebrows shot up. "We didn’t. Alpha, the bidding proposal is still in development. I haven’t even submitted the final draft for your approval yet."

"Lies!" Henry shouted, making both Fynn and me frown at his disrespect.

"My daughter saw the documents with her own eyes! She told me everything!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Henry, your daughter is either mistaken or—"

"She’s not mistaken!" He was vibrating with panic now. "Linda wouldn’t lie about something this important!"

"Want me to throw him out?" Fynn asked through our mind-link, his tone hopeful.

"Tempting, but he’s technically my father-in-law now, let’s see how this plays out first."

Twenty minutes later, Linda burst through my office door. Her eyes darted between her father’s furious face and my cold expression.

"Linda!" Henry grabbed her arm. "Tell Sebastian right now—you saw the bidding proposal with your own eyes, didn’t you? Tell him about the Phoenix Center auction!"

Linda’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. "I-I did. Alpha Sebastian, I saw it in your study, in the middle drawer. The folder clearly said ’Phoenix Center Charity Auction Bidding Proposal.’ How can you deny it?"

I was furious that she’d invaded our private space.

"You went into my study?" I asked. "Who gave you permission to enter my private office and rifle through my documents?"

"I just... I was looking for a book, and the drawer was already open—"

"Bullshit," I snarled.

Fynn cleared his throat delicately. Through our mind-link, his voice sounded amused.

"Alpha, I think the problem isn’t at the company. This particular mystery seems to have originated in your own home."

"Fine," I growled, standing abruptly. "Let’s go. We’re settling this right now."

The drive back to the pack house was tense. Henry sat in the back seat muttering prayers to the Moon Goddess, while Linda gnawed her bottom lip with anxiety.

When we arrived, I led them straight upstairs to my study. Linda rushed to the desk and yanked open the middle drawer.

It was empty.

"That’s impossible!" She tore through the other drawers, papers flying everywhere. "It was right here! I saw it two days ago! Sebastian, you moved it, didn’t you? You’re hiding the evidence!"

"For the last fucking time," I said patiently, "there was never any proposal in this drawer because the proposal doesn’t exist yet. The details are still being discussed at the company. If you don’t believe me, I’ll schedule a meeting with every single executive so they can personally tell you you’ve been played."

"Then why didn’t you say anything when I asked about the project before?" Linda’s voice turned shrill.

I stared at her like she was an idiot. "Why would I discuss confidential business matters that haven’t been finalized? What part of ’internal discussion’ is confusing to you?"

Then Linda’s face twisted with rage.

"It was her!" she shrieked suddenly, spinning toward the door. "It was Emilia! That manipulative bitch set a trap for us! Dad, don’t you see? She planted that fake proposal for me to find! She wanted us to make fools of ourselves!"

She grabbed Henry’s arm. "I’m going to confront that scheming witch right now. I’m going to—"

"STOP."

My Alpha command cracked through the air, forcing Linda back a step. Even Henry flinched, his wolf submitting to my authority.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" I advanced on Linda. "What do you think this place is? I haven’t even begun to address why you violated my privacy by entering my study and touching my personal belongings, and now you want to attack my wife?"

"But she—"

"My wife," I continued coldly, "is a senior executive secretary at one of the top corporations. She handles confidential business information daily. She understands discretion, contracts, and professional ethics better than you ever will. So please, enlighten me—why would she risk her career and reputation to set up a petty trap for you? Aren’t you supposed to be family?"

Linda’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly.

I turned to Henry. "Alpha Henry, I didn’t expect you to raise such an undisciplined daughter. I have to say, I’m deeply disappointed."

"Dad, please," Linda’s voice cracked as tears started streaming down her face. "I really saw the document. You have to believe me. I really—"

SLAP.

Linda stood frozen, one hand slowly rising to her reddening cheek. Her eyes were wide with shock—clearly, her father had never struck her before.

"You foolish girl," Henry’s voice shook with rage and humiliation. "Do you have any idea what you’ve cost me? Ten million dollars! Gone! Because you couldn’t tell the difference between a real proposal and a planted fake!"

"Dad, I—"

"Get out," Henry hissed. "Get out of my sight before I say something I’ll regret."

Linda stumbled backward, still clutching her face. She turned and fled from the study.

Henry stood in my study awkwardly. "Alpha Sebastian, I... I apologize for this disaster. I don’t know what to say."

"Then don’t say anything," I replied. "Just leave."