ELLA'S POV
The woman in Adrian's doorway is beautiful in a way that makes my confidence shrivel up and die. Perfect red hair, expensive suit that probably costs more than my rent, and a smile that doesn't reach her calculating green eyes.
"Vivian." Adrian's voice comes out hoarse. I watch in real-time as his wolf ears flatten against his head and slowly, painfully, disappear back into his hair. His tail retracts with a sound like bones popping. Within seconds, he looks fully human again. "This isn't what it looks like."
"Really?" Vivian steps into the office, closing the door behind her with a soft click that sounds way too final. "Because it looks like you've transformed in front of a human." Her eyes slide to me, evaluating. "How exciting."
My brain is still trying to understand that Adrian's body parts just retracted like a turtle going into its shell. "I should go," I say, backing toward the door.
"Oh, don't leave on my account." Vivian moves to block my way. She's tall—taller than me—and something about the way she moves reminds me of a cat playing with a mouse. "I'm Vivian Park, VP of Operations. And you must be Ella Chen, the marketing director who's been working such late hours lately."
There's something dangerous in how she says my name, like she's been paying attention to me directly.
"Vivian," Adrian steps between us, and I'm startled by the protective move. "Whatever you think you saw—"
"I saw your tail, Adrian." Vivian's smile sharpens. "And your ears. And I can smell the mate bond all over this room." She tilts her head, sniffing the air carefully. "Fresh too. Just finished. How very... against the rules."
"Mate bond?" I repeat. Both of them ignore me.
"You'll keep this to yourself," Adrian says. It's not a request—it's an order, given in a voice that makes the hair on my neck stand up.
Vivian laughs. "Will I? That's quite a statement, Alpha."
The stress in the room spikes so high I can barely breathe. Adrian's hands clench into fists at his sides. For a frightening moment, I think he might actually attack her.
"What do you want?" he asks softly.
"Now we're talking." Vivian sits on the edge of Adrian's desk like she owns it. "I want what I've always wanted. What I deserve. What you promised me before you became obsessed with this—" she waves a hand dismissively at me, "—human."
My anger flares. "I have a name."
"Do you?" Vivian's eyes lock onto mine, and I see something flash in them—something animal and aggressive. "How interesting that you're still standing here. Most humans run screaming when they learn what we are. But you're different, aren't you? Took pictures. Made threats. Very bold." She says 'bold' like it means 'stupid.'
"Leave her alone," Adrian warns.
"Or what? You'll report me to the Council?" Vivian's laugh is sharp as broken glass. "I think we both know who they'll punish when they find out Seattle's Alpha has taken a human mate. Spoiler alert: it won't be me."
The way she says 'Council' makes my blood run cold. It's the same tone someone might use to say 'executioners' or 'death squad.'
"What's the Council?" I ask.
"The governing body of all shifters," Vivian says, still watching Adrian like she's waiting for him to break. "They make the rules. Enforce the rules. Execute those who break them." Her smile turns nasty. "Like the rule that says humans who discover our existence must die. Or the rule that forbids shifters from mating with humans. You're breaking two capital rules right now, Adrian. That's almost impressive."
My knees feel weak. "Capital rules. As in... death penalty?"
"For both of you," Vivian confirms happily. "Though probably Adrian would get the worse sentence. He's an Alpha. They expect better from him."
Adrian's jaw clenches so hard I hear his teeth grind. "Name your price, Vivian."
"I want Luna position." The playfulness drops from her voice, showing something harder underneath. "You were supposed to choose me. We would have been wonderful together—fox and wolf, strong alliance, approved bloodlines. Then she—" another dismissive move at me, "—showed up, and you've been useless ever since."
"Luna?" I'm so lost. "What's a Luna?"
"An Alpha's mate and partner," Adrian says without looking at me. "The female leader of the pack. " Oh. Oh no. The implications hit me like a truck. Mate bond. Luna. This woman thought she would marry Adrian, and I accidentally stole her place by kissing him during a file landslide.
This is the worst Monday of my entire life.
"I'm not interested in being anyone's Luna," I say strongly. "You can have the job. I just want to go home and pretend this day never happened."
"It doesn't work like that," Vivian and Adrian say at the same time.
Adrian finally turns to look at me, and the expression on his face is pure misery. "The mate bond is forever. Once it's triggered, it can't be broken. You're my mate whether either of us wants it or not."
"That's insane!"
"That's shifter biology."
Vivian stands up, fixing her skirt. "Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to give you both twenty-four hours to figure out how you're going to handle this disaster. If I don't like your answer..." She pulls out her phone, taps something, and shows us the screen.
It's a contact page. The name at the top reads: MARCUS STEELE - COUNCIL ENFORCER.
"I make one call," Vivian says softly, "and the Council falls on Seattle like the wrath of God. They'll investigate. They'll find your little secret. And then they'll kill both of you in the public square as an example to other shifters who think the rules don't apply to them."
My vision blurs at the edges. This can't be real. Six hours ago, my biggest trouble was a misaligned bullet point.
"You're blackmailing us," Adrian's voice is deadly quiet.
"I'm negotiating," Vivian corrects. "Twenty-four hours, Adrian. Come up with something good." She walks to the door, pauses with her hand on the handle. "Oh, and Ella? Welcome to our world. Try not to die too quickly. It would be a waste."
She leaves. The office falls into horrible quiet.
I sink into the nearest chair before my legs give out totally. "This is really happening. This is all really happening."
Adrian doesn't answer. He's looking at his phone, which is buzzing with an incoming call. When he sees the name on the screen, his face goes white.
"Who is it?" I ask.
He shows me the calling ID.
MARCUS STEELE.
The Council Enforcer. The one Vivian just threatened to call.
"She already called him," I whisper. "She called him before she even came to your office."
Adrian's hand shakes as he answers the phone. "Marcus. What a surprise."
I can't hear the person on the other end, but I watch Adrian's expression shift from fear to horror to something that looks like acceptance of a death sentence.
"I understand," he says finally. "Yes. Tomorrow morning. I'll be there."
He hangs up. Sets the phone down carefully. When he looks at me, his eyes hold something I never thought I'd see from Adrian Wolfe: complete and total defeat.
"Marcus is coming to Seattle," Adrian says quietly. "He's performing a 'routine inspection' of my pack tomorrow morning. He'll be here for a week."
"That's bad?" "Ella. " He says my name like it hurts. "Marcus is the shifter who killed my parents fifteen years ago. And now he's coming to check me while I'm hiding a human mate in my office."
Before I can reply, the lights in the building flicker once. Twice. Then they go out totally, plunging us into darkness.
Adrian's eyes flash gold in the darkness.
"Someone's in the building," he growls. "Someone who shouldn't be here."
From somewhere far below us, glass shatters. Then I hear it—a howl that doesn't sound human at all, echoing up through the stairwells.
"Stay behind me," Adrian says, and his wolf ears pop back out.
"What's happening?"
"The Council doesn't wait for inspections," he says grimly. "They're already here."