(Audrey's POV)
Mrs. Shadowcrest reached into her designer handbag with manicured fingers, her wolf eyes gleaming with calculation. She pulled out a checkbook bound in expensive leather, the Shadowcrest Pack emblem embossed in gold on its cover.
"Perhaps I'm not being clear enough about the benefits of accepting my offer," she said smoothly.
She uncapped an elegant fountain pen and placed a blank check on the table between us, sliding it toward me with one perfectly manicured finger.
"Fill in whatever amount you desire," she said, her voice dripping with false generosity. "Consider it... compensation for your cooperation."
I stared at the check, not bothering to hide my disgust. "A blank check? Really?"
Mrs. Shadowcrest smiled thinly. "Money is just the beginning."
She snapped her fingers, and a Beta assistant I hadn't noticed standing in the corner stepped forward with a sleek tablet. She tapped the screen a few times before turning it to face me.
On display was an impressive c
