ログインAsher stood before Darcy, his tall frame blocking most of the light. His gaze stopped at her neck, a muscle ticking in his jaw. The fir scent around them had turned noticeably heavier, and several guests nearby quickly steered clear.
Darcy knew he had caught the scent Hector had deliberately left on her skin.
"Who is he?"
3:40 p.m. Darcy watched Hyde sprint past her office door for the third time.The first time, he had been carrying a thick stack of border patrol records.The second time, he had a supplementary resolution from the Elders' Council tucked under his arm.The third time, he was holding the shift rotation sheet for a meeting Asher was supposed to chair himself at 4:30.Darcy finally stopped typing and looked up. "Is everyone leaving early today?"Hyde skidded to a halt, clutching the papers against his chest, his expression caught somewhere between exasperated and amused. "Not everyone."
The risk control office was quiet that afternoon.Sunlight slanted across the stacks of case files. Voices drifted in from the hallway, and a young patrol wolf knocked, carrying the shift schedule. He needed Darcy's sign-off on a few rotation details.He stood half a step from her desk, respectful and focused, leaning in to point at the map.Then, through the half-open window, a wave of fir scent rolled in.It wasn't the restrained warmth of the morning. This was heavier, almost territorial, pressing into the room and drowning out the smell of paper and ink.The young wolf was mid-sentence when the fine hairs on the back of hi
When Darcy woke up, her first thought was heat.It came from the body pressed against her back. Asher's arm was draped across her waist, his palm still resting loosely against her side, his breath falling in slow, steady rhythms against the back of her neck. Last night's new mark still felt warm, while a faint soreness lingered through her shoulders, neck, and waist.Darcy stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. Then the scattered fragments of last night started surfacing without warning. She remembered saying "Mark me." Everything after that became less suitable for early morning recollection.She closed her eyes. The more she tried not to think about it, the clearer the details became. Asher's barely contained gold bleeding through his eyes. The fir scent so thick it was almost suffocating. And the way he had leaned in, carrying an intensity that was nothing like the controlled Alpha she saw during the day.She even remembered, at some point, getting a
9:00 a.m.The small conference room on the top floor of the main building was full. Pack elders filled both sides of the long table, their faces calm but watchful. There was none of yesterday's arguing, none of the sharp confrontation. Morning light fell through the blinds across the carpet, and a few older wolves flipped through last night's supply records. The only sound was the soft rustle of paper.Darcy pulled out a chair near the door and sat, sliding a thick stack of documents toward the center of the table."Last night's medical shipment is accounted for here, along with the west side exchange follow up." Darcy pushed the file forward. "The leak through Chloe has been contained. It won't affect routine patrols."Tap.Evelyn pressed a hand flat on the file. She didn't open it. She pushed it aside half an inch."Not today." Evelyn took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yesterday's accounts were settled last night when
"The Pack nursery's fever medication will only last through tonight."The meeting room door opened and Hyde walked straight in.Darcy snapped back to attention and looked up at him. She had been spacing out, her hand still resting on the edge of the table.Hyde walked to the table and placed a freshly printed manifest in front of her. "The North is holding two supply trucks at the Kingston border. Officially, it's a routine inspection of unmarked cargo. Unofficially, they're holding our entire winter medical shipment."Darcy's eyes swept across the list. Drug codes. Transport costs. Original route. Estimated delay. The numbers lined up in her head almost automatically—alternate western route, or force the North to absorb the breach penalty.Her fingers were about to touch the tablet when she stopped. This morning, Evelyn's words hit her without warning: *"Did you consider us?"*She stared at the list for two seconds, then looked up. "Who are these for?"Hyde blinked, clearly caught of
"Last night was the first time I regretted letting her anywhere near Pack defense."Darcy's hand had just touched the meeting room door handle when Evelyn's voice slipped through the gap. Her wrist went rigid, knuckles whitening. There was no slamming of tables inside. Evelyn's voice was low, almost like a sigh."She pulled patrol teams last night, using Asher's schedule as bait. The North took the bait, sure, but it wasn't until I saw the deployment order this morning that I realized what she'd actually done.""The bait worked." Asher's voice came through, his fingers tapping the table edge. "Hyde sealed the border. No one crossed.""Yes, her calculations were precise. Everything went ex







