Chapter One

Natalie pov

The morning sun hit the tall glass windows of the Blackwood Group headquarters. Although the sun was bright, I felt cold inside.

I stood in the main lobby and looked around. The air smelled like cheap vanilla perfume and expensive floor wax, there were banners hung everywhere with black and gold silk floating from the high ceiling, marked with the giant wolf crest of the pack. 

The massive TV screens on the walls flashed picture after picture.

One picture was of Adrian standing at a podium, another was of him cutting a ribbon and another was of Adrian shaking hands with rich pack leaders. He looked strong, he looked like the king that he was.

I looked at every single picture. I searched and searched but I couldn't find myself in any of the. 

My reflection in the glass was the only place I existed. I looked small, dark circles sat under my eyes like purple bruises. 

I had not slept a single minute last night. While the rest of the pack slept, I sat at my desk with a desk lamp, staring at thousands of numbers until my eyes burned.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a second and told myself it did not matter. The pictures did not matter. The banners did not matter. What mattered was that Adrian and the entire Blackwood was safe. I had made sure of it.

"Hey! Watch it, human!" a voice barked.

A giant guard pushed past me, carrying a box of golden balloons. He did not even look at my face. He just shoved my shoulder and kept walking. 

My foot slipped, but I caught myself against a pillar.

"Sorry," I whispered to the empty air.

He did not hear me. Nobody ever heard me here.

I pulled my thin black jacket tighter around my body and walked toward the high-speed elevators. 

My legs felt heavy while I walked, it felt as though I was walking through wet concrete. Every time I took a step, my head throbbed.

Last night, I found a terrible secret in the papers for our new deal. 

Adrian wanted to buy the Ironwood Territory companies today. It was supposed to be his biggest win. But the people selling it lied. 

They hid millions of dollars in losses deep inside three secret accounts. If Adrian signed the papers today, Blackwood Group would lose everything. The pack would go broke and Adrian would look like a fool in front of every Alpha in the state.

So I worked on it. I drank bitter black coffee as my fingers flew across my keyboard until my wrists cramped. 

I redid the math, fixed the money path and rebuilt the entire plan from scratch saving him.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, jolting me back to the present. I stepped inside and pressed the button for the top floor.

As the elevator went up, my stomach dropped. My heart pounded hard against my ribs.

I held my blue folder tightly against my chest. Inside was the corrected paper. I wanted Adrian to see it. I wanted him to say my name.

The doors opened on the top floor. 

The room was full of towering, powerful male wolves in dark suits. They stood around the long wooden conference table. 

They all smelled like wet dirt. Their heavy wolf energy filled the room, making it hard for me to breathe.

In the middle of them stood Adrian.

He had a towering height as well with his dark hair brushed back. 

His shoulders were wide, and his grey suit cost more money than my family made in a whole year. When he moved, everyone else stepped back. He was truly a real Alpha.

"Miss Ernest," a man called out. It was Marcus, the head of finance. He looked nervous. His forehead was sweaty. "Did you fix the figures?"

I stepped into the room. My shoes made a tiny clicking sound on the hard floor. Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at me. Their eyes were cold.

"Yes," I said in a quiet but sturdy voice, "I fixed everything. The seller lied about their money. I found three hidden accounts. If we change the buying structure like this, we save thirty million dollars. We do not lose a single cent."

I walked up to the table and laid the papers down.

Marcus grabbed them fast. His eyes moved left and right across the pages. He turned one page, then another, then his jaw dropped open.

"Moon Above," Marcus whispered. He looked up at Adrian. "It is fixed. The whole deal is saved. Boss, this is brilliant."

Adrian did not look at me. He stepped forward and picked up the paper from Marcus. He looked at the bottom page where my handwriting fixed the big math mistake.

Then, two senior directors clapped their hands together.

"Incredible work, Alpha Adrian!" one director shouted. "You saw the trap before anyone else! You saved the company!"

"A true leader!" another man cheered. "Nobody else could catch a mistake that was hidden! Blackwood is lucky to have your mind!"

I froze, my breath catching in my throat.

'No,' I wanted to say. 'I was the one WHO found it. I stayed up all night while my eyes burned but I still fixed it!' 

I opened my mouth. "Adrian..." I whispered.

Adrian did not look at me. Instead , he let out a huge smile at his directors. He put his hands in his pockets and nodded his head slowly.

"We must always stay three steps ahead of our enemies," Adrian said in a deep and warm voice that felt like warm honey. "I will not let anyone trick Blackwood Group. Good work today, gentlemen. Let us get ready for the party."

The directors cheered again and patted Adrian on the back, talking in loud voices about how smart he was and about his powerful instincts.

I stood right beside the table. I was less than two feet away from Adrian. But to all of them, I was a ghost.

Adrian looked down at me then. Just for a quick second, his dark eyes meeting mine. He saw the pain in my face. He saw the purple spots under my eyes. He knew. He knew I did all the work.

He didn't apologize for taking credit for a job I obviously did, he didn't even thank me, . He just gave me a tiny, tight nod, then turned his back on me to talk to Marcus.