LOGINAUTHOR'S POVIn his office the next morning, Chandler sat in his high-backed chair, staring at the thick, bound report in front of him. Across the room, his lead financial assistant, Aiden, looked as though he hadn't slept in three days. He was sweating, his tie was crooked, and he gripped his own tablet with white-knuckled intensity."Read it," Chandler commanded, his voice sounding hollow.Aiden cleared his throat, his eyes scanning the digital numbers on his screen. "Alpha, we performed a full audit on the primary development vaults at midnight. The rate of loss has accelerated significantly since Tuesday. We have lost another three million dollars in the last twenty-four hours."Chandler felt his stomach drop. "Three million? That’s impossible. We put the new security protocols in place.""The protocols were bypassed," Aiden explained, his voice trembling slightly. "The software is pulling the money out in micro-transactions, hiding the outgoing transfers within the daily mainten
AUTHOR'S POVSilverware clinked quietly against expensive porcelain plates.Sitting at the end of the long dining table, Chandler stared at his steak, completely unable to eat. The private dining room inside his packhouse was beautifully decorated, but the atmosphere felt heavy and suffocating. Across the table, Yvonne sat in a dark red dress, casually cutting her meat and taking small sips of red wine.Chandler felt a deep, twisting knot of anxiety in his stomach. He knew perfectly well that Yvonne had ordered Quinton, his own Beta, to spy on him. He knew that she was already aware of everything. She knew about the secret messenger he sent to the city, and she definitely knew about his highly public, embarrassing confrontation with Tracy and Sam Zach on the sidewalk.Expecting a violent screaming match the second he walked through the door tonight, Chandler was totally thrown off. Yvonne was acting completely calm. She smiled at him, talked about the new curtains in the hallway, and
AUTHOR'S POVLoud security sirens cut through the quiet packhouse at three in the morning.Sean jolted awake instantly. Throwing off his heavy bedsheets, he did not waste a single second. He pulled on a pair of dark combat pants, strapped his gun holster to his thigh, and grabbed his keys. Adrenaline pumped hard through his veins as he sprinted down the main hallway and out the front doors.Within minutes, his black SUV was tearing down the dirt road toward the eastern boundary of his territory.Arriving at the perimeter, Sean slammed the brakes and threw the vehicle into park. Bright white floodlights cut through the dark forest. Dozens of his armed guards were already swarming the area, holding automatic rifles and heavy flashlights. Approaching the tree line, Sean saw a massive hole ripped straight through the heavy chain-link fence."What the hell happened," Sean commanded, his voice carrying easily over the noise of the idling trucks.His lead border general, a scarred man named
TRACY Unlocking the heavy front door to my apartment, I stepped inside and slid the deadbolts securely into place. The adrenaline from the dark alleyway was completely gone, leaving a strange, lingering warmth in my chest. I couldn't stop replaying the image of Sean acting like a nervous, rambling teenager inside his SUV. A genuine, bright smile was still glued to my face as I kicked off my shoes and set my purse down on the entryway table. Sarah walked out of the kitchen holding a damp dish towel. She wore comfortable cotton pajamas, her hair tied up in a loose, messy bun. Stopping in the middle of the living room rug, she looked at my face and immediately narrowed her eyes. "Why are you smiling like that?" Sarah asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Like what?" I replied quickly, trying to wipe the expression off my face by rubbing my cheeks. "I'm not smiling. I'm just tired from the restaurant." Shaking her head, Sarah walked closer, completely unconvinced. "You are defin
TRACYThe evening air was cool and totally refreshing.Sitting across from Sean at a small, private table outside an upscale riverfront restaurant, I finally felt the heavy stress of the past few days leave my body. The city lights reflected beautifully on the dark water. We had left all the pack drama, the bodyguards, and the corporate servers far behind us. Tonight, it was just the two of us.Sean had been incredibly nice since the moment he picked me up. He opened my car door, pulled out my chair, and ordered the best food on the menu without making a big deal out of it. He wore a dark button-down shirt that hugged his broad shoulders, looking less like a lethal pack leader and more like a handsome, successful man taking a woman out on a normal date."So, the dummy server actually worked?" Sean asked, taking a sip from his water glass. He leaned forward, genuinely invested in the conversation."It did," I smiled, cutting a small piece of my steak. "It took us all night, and we almo
AUTHOR'S POVThe heavy grandfather clock in the hallway chimed midnight, but sleep was completely out of reach.Sean paced across the dark hardwood floor of his bedroom. He wore only a pair of gray sweatpants, his bare chest catching the dim moonlight filtering through the window. For the past twenty-four hours, he simply could not act like his usual self. Normally, his mind was totally focused on pack security, financial investments, and regional politics. Tonight, all of those things felt entirely useless.His brain was stuck on Tracy.Stopping by the large window, he leaned his forehead against the cool glass. He kept replaying the memory of her standing on the city sidewalk, pressing her hands firmly against his chest to stop him from ripping Chandler apart. The physical heat of her touch still burned on his skin. He wanted to drive downtown right now, bypass his own security guards, and walk straight into her apartment. The urge to see her, to sit in the same room and just be clo
TRACY"She's mine."Hearing Sean say that out loud hit me like a freight train. Instantly, a deep, heavy shiver ran straight down my spine. A sudden surge of intense heat flooded my chest, radiating outward to my fingertips. My wolf reacted violently to the Alpha’s dominance, pushing against my rib
TRACYEarly afternoon sunlight filtered through the large, modern windows of my guest bedroom inside Sean’s Packhouse. Sitting quietly on the edge of the plush mattress, I stared blankly at the far wall. My mind still felt completely exhausted from the terrifying shootout on the city street yesterd
AUTHOR’S POVThrashing under the heavy white bedsheets, Tracy could not escape the violent nightmare. Gunshots echoed loudly inside her mind. She saw the dirty concrete floor of the Gaunt slave labor camp, blending seamlessly with the dark pavement outside her new apartment. Smoke filled the freez
AUTHOR’S POV“You have a phone call from…” Came the robotic voice from the phone on the nightstand.Looking down at the digital screen, she saw an unlisted city number flashing brightly. She picked up the device and answered the call immediately, knowing exactly who was on the other end of the line







