Chapter 9: Office

Alex POV

I knew the moment we crossed onto pack land my father would feel it. He always did some irritating side effect of being his son. So it was no surprise he was already waiting, at the top of those stairs like he’d been standing there for hours just to make an entrance out of mine. He never wasted a chance to demonstrate control, to make everything about his timing.

I just hoped he wouldn’t manage to scare Ivy off before we even made it through the front doors. I could feel her tense beside me, her heartbeat a nervous flutter in the night.

“My office,” he barked, before I could so much as get a word out, let alone introduce her, and disappeared back inside without waiting for a response. The doors swung shut behind him with a finality that left no room for argument.

“That’s,” Milo mind-linked, “him tying you down tonight.

“Not gonna happen,” I shot back, jaw set. “He could try, but I’m not the same boy he’d bullied into obedience.”

I stared at the empty space at the top of the stairs for a moment longer before turning my attention back to Ivy. She looked like she wanted to bolt, and for a second, I almost wanted to run with her.

“Ready?” I asked.

“But your father?” she said, glancing warily up at the doors he’d just vanished through.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s been like this as long as I can remember.”

“I don’t want to be the cause of—”

“You’re not,” I cut in, firm. She had enough weight to carry; she didn’t need mine too.

“It’s just Al…uhm, Alex’s father worries about him some days,” Milo interjected quickly, stepping in like he always did whenever I couldn’t find the right words. “I think we should probably head inside.” He shot me a look that said “move” before she changes her mind.

“Are you sure?” she asked again, and I caught the fear rising in her eyes, sharp enough that some protective instinct in me wanted to get back into the car and drive her straight home instead.

“I am,” I said, taking her hand. “Everything will be okay.”

I held her gaze, willing her to believe it even as I lied.

“You’d better get your ass in my office in the next two minutes,” my father’s voice thundered through the mind-link, “or I’ll personally send the guards to drag you in here.”

“You do know I have a guest,” I replied, jaw clenching.

“I don’t care if she’s the Moon Goddess herself.” He snarled. “Don’t make me say it again.”

I didn’t respond, instead, I took Ivy’s hand and hooked her arm through mine, and together we climbed the few steps to the top.

She stiffened the moment we walked into the foyer, I could hear her heart pounding, quick and uneven, loud enough that it took real effort not to react to it. She was doing her best to keep her chin up, but the place was overwhelming, heavy with history and expectation.

I stopped at the door and gently unhooked my arm from hers.

“Go with Milo,” I said. “Find your seat. I’ll be back in a moment.” I offered a small squeeze to her hand, hoping it would anchor her in the chaos.

I took a deep breath before I found the courage to turn around and walk down the long hallway toward my father’s office, every step echoed like a countdown.

I told myself Ivy would be fine at Milo’s side. Everything would be fine, but Max paced restlessly under my skin, senses stretched thin, ready for confrontation.

I stopped outside my father’s door, hands already curling into fists at my sides. The old urge to turn and leave warred with stubbornness.

“Goddess, I hope he understands,” I murmured to myself.

“You’d better get a move on and knock,” Max urged. “You know your father. He’ll drag you in himself if you hover out here much longer.”

Max wasn’t wrong. My father had never been what anyone would call the easiest person alive.

I knocked three times before pushing the door open.

My father sat behind his desk, fingers laced together in front of him, his expression carefully blank in the way he always did when he was working hard to keep his emotions in check, while the tension radiated off him like a storm about to break.

I stepped inside, closed the door behind me, and crossed the room to stand in front of his desk.

He lifted his gaze to meet mine, eyes cold and unyielding.

“Where the hell have you been hiding the last couple of months?” he snarled, releasing his aura.

For a moment I just stared at him like he’d grown a second head. He knew exactly where I’d been hiding. He’d sent warriors after me more than once I’d barely managed to slip past them each time, and he had the audacity to ask like the answer wasn’t already sitting in his own reports. The hypocrisy tasted bitter, but I swallowed it down.

Movement caught the corner of my eye, and my gaze flickered toward it.

“Alex,” my mother’s voice broke as she stepped closer, one hand pressed to her chest. “Oh, Goddess, is that you?”

I’d always been close to my mom, seeing her come undone at the mere sight of me left something raw and aching in my chest. She looked tired, worry lines deepening when she smiled, but her relief was real.

“Yes, Mom. It’s me,” I said, opening my arms. She didn’t hesitate she stepped straight into them, and I held her, some tight coil in my chest loosening for just a second.

“Answer me, boy!” my father snarled, slamming his hand against the desk hard enough to rattle the windows. “You have deliberately disobeyed me.”

“Enough!” My mother’s voice cut clean through his, sharper than I’d heard it in years. “My son is home. That’s all that matters right now.” She glared at him with anger.

“Mom,” I said, easing her back to arm’s length. “I’m not staying. I came to tell you both I’m not marrying the White Morning Pack heir.”

“The hell you don’t—” my father roared, the windows actually trembling this time. “You cannot just walk in here and decide to cancel a twenty-five-year-old marriage agreement!”

“I can,” I said, my voice leveled and controlled. “And you can’t stop me.”

“Believe me, I can,” my father hissed, stepping around the desk now, closing the distance between us. “You will marry the heiress, or—”

“Or what?” I asked, letting go of my mother and stepping forward to meet him face to face. “You’ll cut my inheritance off?” I tilted my head. “You already did that, and I’m still thriving without you.”