Chapter 247

Grace

I fell asleep after that and slept for at least a few days. It sucked, but when I woke up, I hurried to get ready and get back to Wolfe Medical. Eason was there, dressed like he was there to work and smiling at me with his laptop, files, and coffee in hand. He'd grown again. I was sure of it. A moment of quiet passed between us as we looked at each other.

His eyes drifted over my head, probably taking not of all the extra gray hairs.

"Congrats," he said. He smirked. "And you really could pull off salt and pepper."

I threw my arms around him, laughing. He squeezed me tight. His scent was different, muted. I guessed that was part of only being a werewolf instead of a hybrid, or maybe it was because he was becoming more witch and lycan by the day.

"You know," I whispered into his shoulder. "I always knew you'd outlive me..."

He squeezed me closer. "Don't get morbid on me. Twenty dollars, huh?"

"Twenty dollars!" I cried, pulling back and grinning up at him. My eyes stung with tears. "I think there's a chance we could get it cheaper one day, but if it's just a once a month dosage, maybe we won't need to."

He snorted. "We're charging at least sixty if it's proven for monthly dosage."

My jaw dropped. "Sixty?!"

He grinned. "Don't you want to pay your boyfriend back sooner rather than later?"

I huffed and fell into step with him. I frowned. "Where's the cooler? It's weird to see you without it."

"George and Ethan have it," he said lightly. "Still filling it."

I nudged him. "And... how is that going?"

He smirked down at me. "I'm doing my best to push every button possible. I think we're about... three days out from a solid fucking."

I snorted. "You're terrible."

"I relish that fact," he said. "Give me a brief on the dosage. Pill? Vial?"

We walked past my office as I rattled off the properties we assumed the pills had. I pulled out my research binder for him and whatever else I could manage to find before we headed to the conference room.

"Meeting?" I turned around to Charles' voice. He was freshly shaved and dressed the way he always was.

"Debrief and... celebration!" I grinned at him. "Twenty dollars."

"We're charging at least forty."

I whirled on Eason. "Hah! He said forty."

"I'm sure I can persuade him that sixty is better," Eason said. My notes floated in front of him. He seemed to skim through it. Then, he smirked. "They're using cauldron materials."

Charles scoffed. "A hundred."

Eason laughed and I gawked at Charles. His eyes twinkled as he came to my side. He kissed my forehead.

"I'll hear you out after I grab my notes. Meet in the conference room?"

I pouted following Eason down the hallway. How he was reading and walking all at once was beyond me. I smirked.

"I remember when you would have gone tumbling all over yourself just trying to walk and carry things at one time."

The door swung open without him touching it. Eason smirked.

"I was a damn adorable klutz. Sex cured that, by the way."

I rolled my eyes and entered the conference room. I settled at the table.

"How's re-entering Northfall?" I asked.

"Ah," he looked up at me. "I should probably explain that your ex never touched my funds. Since I wasn't born in the States, they couldn't establish a trust fund here."

I blinked. "It's been with the Clans all this time?"

"You have one, too," he said and dropped his gaze to the pages. "The grands' are setting up ones for Cecil and Richard, too."

I bit my lip as Charles joined us with a grin.

"I'm going to pay you back for my program."

He blinked. "I already told you. I just want your diploma."

I scowled at him. "Eason says we have trust funds in the Clans."

His eyebrows lifted. He sat and opened his laptop. He clicked around for a moment, humming.

"The Stormclaw family endowment, I see... they must be sub-accounts." He hummed and shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I'm not accepting anything else."

I blinked and winced, looking at Eason. "Are you--"

"I'm not leaving until after Cecil's birthday," Eason said. "I will allow you to use me as a speech-to-text machine."

I nodded. "Thanks."

I opened my notes. "Now. The patent office has given us the green light to head into clinical trials. I was thinking we should make a statement first and invite a group of people. Werewolves of all ages for it. Maybe a hundred?"

"The patent office should be giving you a limit with your paperwork," Eason said, waving his head. "In the States, they're tied to the rules of engagement for the food and drugs."

I blinked, staring at him. "How... did I not know that?"

"Not something they teach at the Academy," Eason said, flipping through the research.

I chuckled, watching his eyes dart across the page. "You know... You've always been like that. I wonder why we never thought anything was strange about it?"

Eason glanced at me. His eyes were soft and warm.

"Because you were preoccupied with corrupting your next boyfriend."

Or being stupidly jealous.

I could see him at the dining room table with books spread out around him, eyes dancing across the pages, typing wildly. I remembered being so fucking jealous how he could write his paper the night before it was due and not even have to pull an all-nighter.

My high school career and even my college career hadn't been so easy.

I shook my head. "Maybe." I looked at Charles, who looked just as happy; a soft red light lay behind his green eyes.

"I'm glad you're excited," Charles said. "But before we talk release, you need a plan to deal with Lunar Remedies. Addressing them has to be a part of this."

I scowled and stole Eason's coffee. He didn't seem bothered. "I'm still for a hostile takeover if we can."

"Hostile takeover, huh?" Charles chuckled. "Vicious. I like it."

The playful glint in his eyes and the hint of admiration in his drawl sent a shiver down my spine. "Can we make that happen?" I looked between him and Eason. "Capital wise?"

"We could tank their stocks," Eason said, typing away and conjuring a glass of water. I blinked as he sipped. "What you say at the press conference will go a long way.... He's already putting out information that he'll be releasing the drug soon."

I snarled. "How does he even--"

I blinked. How could he know we were almost done other than there had to be a mole in Wolfe Medical? The patent office didn't know we had a new formulation.

"How do we figure out who has been passing information along?" I frowned. "No one should really know..."

"Admin," Eason said. "We'll out them, quickly.... maybe use them if they exist..."

"You don't think they do?" I asked.

"Fenris is in Sean's corner," Eason said. "It follows that if the patent office gave you the green light you'd be moving to clinical trials ASAP. He knows your financial status."

I sighed. "I hope that's all. I really can't deal with any more betrayal."

"Are you talking about Devin or Jackson?"

I blinked. "Both."

Charles smirked. "So, what's your plan, Grace?"

"Do we have the capital for a full-on hostile takeover?"

"No."

I huffed. "Do we have a shot to make them think we have the capital?"

"Yes."

I grinned. "That's good enough for me. We'll buy or bid whatever is the most useful for us and leave the scraps... We'll have to keep hidden what exactly we're ordering. Ordering outside of the States should help with that, right?"

Charles nodded. "If it's getting shipped via air or through Silver Eclipse. If it's coming through the Clans, I'll put an Enforcer team on the escort."

I grinned, excitement hitting me as I drank some more coffee. Then, I frowned. Eason did not drink coffee. He never had, let alone mochas. I looked at him. He wiggled his eyebrows without looking up from my research.

"You're the best."

"I know."

I looked back at Charles and went still. Charles eyes darkened, looking at me. His gaze traced a slow line down my neck. His eyes were bright red with light. It felt like a hot caress down my neck.

"You were saying about gutting Lunar Remedies?" Charles said.

"I'd like to gut Fenris, actually."

"Grace," he murmured, his voice husky, "your ruthlessness is becoming quite… attractive."

My heart hammered against my ribs. It felt sensual and too close to sexual. I glanced at Eason who didn't look up.

"If you two are going to flirt and fuck in the conference room, I'm leaving."

I scoffed and scowled at Eason. "What's it going to take for this to go through?"