Chapter 4

We just asked who got her the internship and she said it was the Alpha. Turns out she grew up in his house — he adopted her. She's basically his little sister."

"That's why the Alpha came to this Pack specifically even though he has companies all over the place. He came to watch out for her."

"Oh no, I'm way too into found-family romance right now and they're honestly such a good-looking pair—"

"I know, right—"

Their voices dropped lower and lower.

I frowned at a spot on my new jacket.

Something had gotten on the elbow. Red mud, looked like.

I thought about it.

Then I found my old sleeve covers and put them back on.

Late morning, Cain called. He wanted me in his office.

When I got there, Elara was already on the couch with a glass of juice, talking to Cain in a low, soft voice. The sunlight through the window made everything around her look bright and fresh.

Cain waved me over.

He gave a quick outline of Elara's background, then said, "She's choosing between Operations and Finance. Operations has a lot of late nights out. I'd rather have her with your team."

I listened carefully.

I was trying to figure out whether he wanted me to properly mentor her or just let her observe from the sidelines.

"So what do you think?" He paused, and then looked up at me.

"You have room for one more?"

The same shiver hit me again.

He looked perfectly normal, like it was a routine work question.

I pushed down the sound of my own heartbeat and answered quietly.

"...I do."

"Good." His gaze moved away, back to what he'd been doing. "Let's try it."

Elara settled into the Finance Division.

She was pretty and natural with people, and the Alpha's adopted sister title didn't hurt. Within days everyone in the Pack had warmed to her. People found excuses to stop by just to chat.

Someone asked her whether the Alpha had come to this Pack specifically because of her. She went shy like a teenager.

"I'm not sure. He never says why he does things. I did mention once that I wanted to intern near this area, and then he was already here before I knew it."

My two subordinates made dramatic noises.

It startled me, honestly.

One afternoon I went to report to Cain and stopped at the door.

He'd dyed his hair white.

He talked throughout the whole meeting exactly as he always did. Completely calm. I kept glancing at his head, wondering if my eyes were going.

When I got back to the office, the three women were clustered together whispering. Elara looked especially pleased, flushed a little.

"So I was having dinner with him the other day, and I mentioned I'd been playing this game where the main character has white hair and I really liked him..."

The other two groaned like they were dying.

"Everything is going exactly as expected."

"Honestly, it actually suits him. Like, a lot."

I had no idea what they were so excited about.

Basically, as long as they did their actual work, I didn't interfere much.

Work was long and dull, mostly.

The way they could laugh and talk so freely — it felt like something from a long time ago, when I used to be capable of it too.

Because of a new Pack project, I ended up working with the Operations Division a lot more over the next while.

Declan and Vivienne had never been discreet, but now they weren't even trying. Lingering touches, standing too close, all that suggestive body language.

I was unmoved.

Declan seemed almost irritated by that.

I didn't understand what he wanted.

When we were Bonded I hadn't been bothered. After the Bond was severed, I certainly wasn't going to start.

We'd been introduced through a Pack Elder arrangement. The Elder thought we were a good match. We'd met, talked, and it had seemed reasonable.

Declan had told me upfront that he'd had four serious relationships before. He was an adult, he'd said, and these things happened. Then he'd asked how many I'd had.

I said one.

He was surprised.

"You're thirty. You're that good-looking. Only one?"

The first two years of the Bond, he had been good to me.

He made big promises — he'd rise to Operations Director and become someone I could count on. No one in the Pack would dare give me trouble once he had power.

And now.

He had power.

He used it for someone else.

I was the one dealing with the trouble.

To get through the workday, I'd slowly taught myself to keep a hard face. Wear clothes that didn't draw attention. Keep my voice flat. No emotion in it.

The younger members of the Pack started treating me like a wall.

I became, in their words, the uptight old Finance head.

...

A burst of laughter from the corner of the room.

I reached up and touched my own face.

At least Cain hadn't recognized me.

A month later, the new project was finalized. We traveled to a neighboring Pack to sign the treaty.

Four of us. Cain, me, Declan, and Vivienne.

At the dinner, Cain was different from how I knew him in the office. He had easy, sharp humor. He moved through the room without effort, raising his glass at the right moments. The whole room responded to him. I kept staring.

Declan was in his element, glass after glass, face going red.