Christina’s POV
I hadn’t seen Louisa Granger in months—not since my broken engagent with Niall.
She had always liked . Sotis I thought she loved more than my own mother did. When I was younger, she invited for tea in her sunlit drawing room, listened to my dreams of jewelry design, and smiled at like I was already her daughter-in-law. She wanted to marry Niall so badly it seed like her dream as much as mine once was.
But that was before everything shattered. Before Niall slapped , before he crawled back to Beatrice, before the Frostpelt Pack started unraveling from the inside out.
Since then, I’d kept my distance. Yet here I was, walking into a quiet café in downtown Highrise City. The kind of place with whitewashed walls, leafy plants, and soft jazz floating from hidden speakers. Safer than her house, which was haunted with mories I didn’t want to revisit.
She was already there, sitting near the window with an untouched coffee in front of her.
Louisa had always been immaculate—the type of woman who never had a hair out of place, who made sixty look like forty with the right lighting and an easy smile. The forr Luna of the Frostpelt Pack still carried herself with quiet dignity.
Today, though, she looked tired. Her blonde hair was still swept into its usual chignon, but the lines around her mouth had deepened, and the faint puffiness beneath her eyes spoke of sleepless nights.
"Christina," she said as I approached.
"Louisa," I replied, slipping into the chair opposite her.
We sat in silence. She stirred her coffee without drinking it. I folded my hands in my lap.
"You’ve changed," she said finally, her eyes scanning my face. "A woman now, not the girl who used to sit in my kitchen talking about gemstones and settings."
"I suppose I have," I said.
"You’ve made quite a na for yourself. I saw your work at the charity gala. Very elegant."
"Thank you."
Her mouth tightened. "You’re doing well. But Niall isn’t. If you’d stayed with him..."
I expected that, but the words still stung. "He hurt first," I said quietly. "He made his choice when he slapped and chose Beatrice."
"I know what he did," Louisa admitted, glancing away. "But he’s my son. No matter how badly he behaved, he’s still my son. And now... look at him. Drinking too much. Neglecting his duties as Alpha."
She pressed her lips together. "And you... you walked away. Perhaps you could have steadied him, but instead you left."
I bit back my instinct to defend myself. This wasn’t about , or even about Niall.
"Louisa," I said softly, leaning forward. "You know I always cared for you. I always will. But let’s speak plainly. You know why we’re eting today. Daniel isn’t going anywhere. Clive acknowledged him officially. He has the Granger na and his place in the company. Sabotaging him only creates instability, and you know instability is poison to a pack business."
Her eyes snapped to mine, sharp and cold. "So you’re here on his behalf? That bastard son sends you to plead for him?"
"No," I said firmly. "Daniel didn’t send . But I spoke to him, and I know he wants his rightful place. He’s ambitious and sotis reckless, but he has business sense. Undermining him only makes him more determined. What you’re doing won’t make him disappear. It’ll just weaken the Frostpelt Pack’s holdings."
Louisa’s face hardened, but she didn’t interrupt.
I took a breath and went for what mattered. "Niall will always be the Frostpelt Alpha. He’s going through a rough patch, but he’s stronger than Daniel. If Daniel has a place in the company, you can manage him better. Give him challenging projects, insert your own people. As long as you’re Niall’s mother, the forr Luna, the pack elders will support you, won’t they?"
Her eyes narrowed slightly, but I could see I had her attention.
"What if I could convince Daniel to share? Not managent, but shares. Enough for Niall to live comfortably. That way, you won’t need to fight Daniel. Niall will be secure, no matter what happens in the company."
Louisa’s grip tightened on her spoon. "And what about Niall’s position? He deserves a seat at the table. He is the Alpha."
"We both know Niall has no talent for business managent," I said gently. "He’s not cut out for it. After what I saw at the charity dinner, he needs to focus on his duties as Alpha, not get dragged into boardroom politics. Daniel won’t allow it anyway, and Clive knows the truth as well as you do."
Louisa inhaled slowly, her knuckles white against the porcelain cup.
"Niall is my son," she repeated, softer this ti, more like a plea.
"I know," I said. "And that’s why I’m suggesting this. Let Daniel rise. Stop undermining him. If he succeeds, the pack benefits. And if he fails, it won’t be because you sabotaged him."
I leaned closer, lowering my voice. "And Louisa, if Daniel ever tries to challenge Niall for Alpha position or take over the company completely, I promise I’ll help you stop him. You know I can."
Sothing flickered in her eyes—hope, maybe, or simply calculation.
"You were always like a daughter to , Christina," she said quietly. "Even now, after everything... If you and Niall could have worked things out, beco mates as nature intended..."
She trailed off, shaking her head. "Daniel wouldn’t dare move against us if you were our Luna."
"I’m with Hudson now," I reminded her gently. "But that doesn’t an I don’t care what happens to your family. You were my second mother for years. That doesn’t just disappear."
For a long mont, Louisa said nothing. Then she gave a small, bitter laugh. "You’ve beco clever, Christina. Too clever for to entirely like it."
"I’m only being practical," I said.
Louisa studied , then exhaled and sat back. "Very well. I’ll speak to my people. I’ll tell them to stop working against Daniel. But if he ever betrays this pack, it won’t be he’ll have to fear. It will be every wolf in the Frostpelt territory."
I nodded. That was as much victory as I could hope for.
When I told Daniel later that afternoon, his reaction was almost comical. He blinked at like I’d told him wolves could fly.
"She agreed?" he asked, voice thick with disbelief.
"She agreed," I confird.
He let out a low whistle. "Christina, you’ve done what I thought was impossible. Louisa Granger never changes her mind."
"She has this ti," I said.
Daniel grinned, shaking his head. "Then a deal’s a deal. I’ll arrange your introduction to Haldane. But I’ll warn you again. He’s under pressure. If you bring up the Sabreridge Pack or Laurent Global Holdings, he may cut the eting short before you even get a word in."
"I’ll take that risk," I said.
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