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Margaux Pov

The moment my eyes hit the first page, my fingers stiffened against the white paper. The air in the room suddenly felt thin, leaving me with a heavy, hollow sensation in my stomach that made it hard to swallow.

Beta Marcus Gray.

Northern Region Territory.

The Bloodwood Delegation.

Pack names. Territory names. People connected to the exact world I had run from three years ago.

"Mara? Why do you look like that? Is something wrong with the list?" Mrs. Vera Calloway asked, leaning forward, her eyes scanning my face. "You look like you've seen a ghost, dear. Are you sick or something?"

I quickly forced my fingers to relax, lowering the clipboard slightly to hide the subtle shaking of my hands. "No, Mrs. Calloway. The list is fine. Just… a lot of names to memorize."

"Well, get used to them," Mrs. Vera said, tapping her pen against the desk. "These aren't regular city folk, sweetheart. Isabella told me they are very selective about who serves them. They don't like new faces, and they will be here in twelve hours."

"I understand," I whispered, my eyes burning into the next name on the sheet: Marcus grey.

He was from the Northern Territory. If he was coming, it meant his trackers would be here too. And if he didn't like new faces, why was I supposed to be the one to usher him in? He had never seen me before. I looked up at Mrs. Vera, the question practically on the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed it down. If I asked too many questions, I might lose my job and my shelter. It was better to keep my mouth shut.

Deep inside me, my wolf thrashed, a sudden, heavy pressure pushing against the walls of my mind. She wanted to run. I pressed my forearm flat against my chest, physically forcing myself to take slow, quiet breaths through my nose until the internal chaos quieted back down into the dark.

I walked out of the parlor, my feet moving faster and faster until I reached the privacy of the back stairwell. I leaned my back against the cold stone wall, my chest rising and falling in short, jagged gasps. My shirt felt too tight. The air in the stairwell felt completely still, suffocating me.

They won't recognize you, I told myself, gripping the wooden railing. It's been three years. You look different. You don't smell like a wolf anymore. You're just a caregiver.

Instead of going down to the basement, I headed straight to my room. I needed to be behind a locked door.

I threw the binder onto the small wooden table and sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the names under the dim, flickering light of my single bulb.

"You are not part of that world anymore," I whispered aloud to the empty room. "You don't have a pack. You don't have an alpha. You are just another staff member at a wedding. And besides, you were never from the northern packs anyway, so chill, Margaux."

I reached up, my fingers tracing the faint, jagged scar on my neck, trying to rub away the phantom ache in my chest as I finally laid my head down.

"Mara, the first car is at the gate!" Clara gasped, bursting through my room doors with wide, panicked eyes. "Mrs. Calloway wants you at the main entrance right now with the guest list!"

"I'm on my way," I said, sliding out of bed.

I slipped my shoes on and ran out of the room as fast as my legs could carry me.

The heavy front doors of the estate were already flung wide open. The bright morning sun streamed into the entryway, and outside, the deep, synchronized rumble of a fleet of black SUVs idling on the gravel driveway made the glass windowpanes vibrate.

Vera was standing near the entrance, smoothing down her ironed skirt, her jaw set into a stiff, professional smile.

"Mara, where have you been?" she asked, turning her head quickly as I approached.

"Just taking a quick break, ma'am," I responded, wiping my damp palms on my apron.

"Oh, well, it's necessary that we're ready," she murmured, gesturing for me to get into position.

I ran to her side.

"Stand right behind me," Vera whispered quickly, her eyes fixed forward. "When they walk in, check their names off immediately. Do not make them wait, dear."

"Yes, ma'am," I whispered back, flipping the binder open.

The loud slam of a car door echoed from the driveway, sharp as a gunshot. Then, heavy, synchronized footsteps crunched across the gravel, heading straight up the stone steps.

Three men walked through the double doors.

They were massive, easily towering over the human staff, their shoulders broad and their faces set in hard, unyielding expressions. They wore expensive, tailored dark suits, but everything about their posture screamed brute force. The man in the lead had sharp, gray eyes and a jagged scar running along his jawline.

Beta Marcus Gray.

My stomach completely dropped. I kept my eyes fixed firmly on the paper in my hands, my fingers gripping the edges of the leather binder so tightly the material groaned. This time, the wolf inside me didn't snarl. She shrunk back into the deepest, darkest corner of my mind, completely still.

"Welcome to the Calloway Estate," Vera said, her voice shifting into a polite, welcoming tone. "We are absolutely thrilled to host you for the event. I am Mrs. Calloway, and this is our lead registry coordinator. If you could just provide your names, we will have your keys ready."

Marcus Gray didn't smile. He looked at Vera, his sharp eyes sweeping across the grand entrance, lingering on the staircase before finally dropping down to me.

"Marcus Gray. Bloodwood delegation," he said, his voice a deep, gravelly baritone that vibrated through the floorboards. "The Alpha will be arriving anytime from now. We require the entire room to be cleared of all human staff by five o'clock."

Vera blinked, her smile faltering for a fraction of a second before she recovered. "Oh. Of course. We can certainly accommodate that. Mara, check the rooms for the Gray party."

I forced my finger to glide down the page, finding his name. My voice was barely a whisper, but I kept it entirely level. "Rooms 204 through 208 are fully prepared, Mr. Gray. The keys are already in the lockboxes outside the doors."

Marcus didn't move. He stared at the top of my head, his nostrils flaring slightly as he took a deep, sudden breath.

I held my breath, freezing in place.

"Is there a problem, sir?" I asked, forcing myself to look up, meeting his gray eyes with a blank, entirely submissive expression. I didn't look like a wolf. I didn't act like one. I was just a tired human maid.

Marcus kept his eyes locked on mine for a long, suffocating moment, his brow furrowing. "Your scent," he muttered bluntly.

My throat went dry.

"My scent, sir?" I kept my face entirely still.

"It's just the cleaning oils, Mr. Gray," Vera interrupted quickly, stepping in with an apologetic, light laugh. "We had the floors heavily polished this morning for your arrival. I apologize if it's too strong."

Marcus looked from Vera back to me, the confusion slowly leaving his face, replaced by a cold, dismissive sneer. He clearly didn't think a human maid was worth his time.

"See that it's cleared out by five," Marcus barked, turning on his heel and signaling to the two large men behind him.

They moved past us without another word, their heavy boots thumping up the grand staircase toward the eastern wing.

The moment they disappeared around the landing, I let out a long, ragged breath, my shoulders dropping.

"Goodness, they are very dangerous and scary," Vera whispered, patting her forehead with a tissue. She tapped my shoulder gently. "But you handled that perfectly, Mara. I told you that you wouldn't get scared."

"Yes, Mrs. Calloway, you said so. But when are we going to be done here?" I asked, my voice completely hollow as I looked down at the next page of names.

"We have the Ashenmere delegation coming in next, and they are supposed to be much more cooperative than the Gray party. At least, that's what Isabella promised," she answered.

I stared down at the lines of names, my skin cold. I just wanted this wedding to get here and be over as soon as possible.