MasukThe moment she stepped back into her office, the system's expedited response notification popped up on her screen.
[Judicial Review Board - Notice of Compliance]
Status: Temporary Authority Granted (3 Days)
Requirement: You are required to submit proof of Pack Affiliation within 72 hours. Failure to comply will result in immediate suspension of Crisis Control authority.
Three days.
Darcy leaned back against the cold leather of her
The shrill red alarm pulsed urgently across the hall's soaring dome.Four hulking wolf guards formed a semicircle around Darcy, their stun batons crackling with cold blue electricity. The watching ladies had retreated several meters, whispering among themselves as they waited to see how this scene would play out.Maeve's face had gone pale, but she still clung stubbornly to Darcy's sleeve.Darcy pulled Maeve fully behind her without turning, shielding her with her own body. Her expression remained calm. She didn't retreat. Instead, she pulled out her phone and dialed Cass Haute Couture's customer service hotline.The call connected. Darcy put it on speaker."This is Darcy Clark, Risk Control Director. Please connect me to the general manager's office."The customer service representative on the other end paused, clearly caught off guard. Her voice came back polished and professionally evasive."I'm sorry, miss. We don't have a 'Risk C
The elevator doors slid shut with a heavy thud in front of her.Darcy stood in the penthouse lobby, holding a heavy-duty access card that shimmered with a faint dark-gold luster. It was the highest-level clearance for Kingston's entire private estate, and the core commercial district beyond. The card was solid in her hand, cold against her palm, radiating the kind of authority that made lesser wolves step aside without thinking.Ten minutes ago, Asher had been urgently summoned to the security office for the post-hearing wartime sealing procedures. Before he left, he'd shoved the card into her palm without giving her a single chance to refuse."I don't like my employees dressing like that to work."His parting remark, a low, clipped statement that wasn't quite a complaint and wasn't quite an order, still echoed in her ears. There was no warmth in it, no explanation, just the absolute certainty of a man who expected his commands to be followed without ques
Asher slowly withdrew the crushing presence he'd unleashed in the central hall. The air in the massive space gradually returned to something breathable, though the tension lingered like a blade still hanging by a thread.He didn't spare a single glance at the ashen-faced, twisted-featured Elders on the dais. Men who had been so certain of their victory just minutes ago, now reduced to trembling silence. He simply turned his head slightly, his dark gold eyes cutting coldly toward the head of security stationed at the exit. His voice was low, commanding, carrying the weight of an absolute, unappealable verdict."Hearing adjourned. Under wartime sealing protocol, seal the hall. Records frozen.""If a single word spoken on this dais today leaks beyond these walls, the review board and the security detail will be held jointly accountable. No exceptions."No hysterical threats. No raised voice. Just the cold, precise imposition of order, delivered with the fina
Kingston's central hall. The towering glass dome fractured the remaining rain-light into cold, scattered flecks across the marble floor.Darcy stood at the center of the hall, the frigid air cutting across her skin. The cold sweat on her back had soaked through her shirt. The old wound deep in her left shoulder throbbed with a dull, persistent ache, as if tiny bolts of electricity were crackling through her bones."First question. Is Darcy Clark your birth name?"The Grand Elder's staff struck the stone floor, his voice landing like a hammer blow."Last night, the risk control gateway was nearly breached. Kingston's core data came within inches of being leaked. And yet, we've searched every archive on the continent. There is no record of the name 'Darcy Clark' anywhere. No birth registration. No family record. Nothing."The Grand Elder's gaze cut through the hall like a blade."A core officer with the highest risk control authority in Kingston, someone who could shut down the entire b
The black SUV came to a smooth stop in the underground garage of Kingston's top-floor private residence. After the engine cut out, the cabin fell into several seconds of dead silence, broken only by the dull thud of rain against the roof.Darcy didn't look away from his gaze. Her fingers rested on the inner door handle, her amber eyes clear and composed."You flatter me, Mr. Kingston. What else could I possibly be? If my background weren't clean, I never would have passed Kingston's rigorous screening in the first place."Asher's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. His dark gold pupils caught the dim garage light, gleaming with dangerous sharpness. He leaned in slightly, his voice dropping low and heavy."Don't brush me off. People from the North Barrens crossed half a continent to find you. If you expect me to believe you're just some ordinary Omega, you're going to have to try harder than that."Darcy didn't so much as blink. She met his gaze wit
The red alert on her phone screen continued to pulse in steady, rhythmic flashes.Darcy stared at the line that read[Doorlock Compromised]. There was no panic in her eyes. Not a flicker. Instead, she pocketed the phone and reached for her bag on the desk, her movements calm and deliberate.Asher leaned against the doorframe, his tall frame blocking most of the exit. His fingertips tapped a lazy, irregular rhythm against the edge of the door, his dark gold eyes fixed on her from his full height. The casual pose did nothing to hide the predatory awareness coiled beneath his stillness."Door's been forced. Are you heading over to collect a body, or to deliver yourself as the main course?"Darcy stopped half a step in front of him, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. Her amber eyes were cool and unhurried, completely unruffled by his presence."To see who took the bait."She tapped the side of her briefcase with one finger, her ton







