After My Alpha Gave My Title To His Lover

I drove back to the Shadowpeak pack house with the Northridge alliance contract signed and sealed in my messenger bag. Three weeks of solo negotiation in hostile territory. Three weeks of sleeping in cheap motels and eating gas station sandwiches because I couldn't risk pack house hospitality that might compromise my position. Three weeks of Alpha Marcus Northridge testing every clause, every concession, every word.

But I'd done it. The alliance that would anchor Shadowpeak's eastern flank for the next decade. The alliance Alec had been chasing for two years.

My wolf was quiet as I pulled through the gates. She was always quiet these days. We'd learned a long time ago not to expect much.

The pack house was warm and loud when I stepped inside. Dinner service was underway in the main hall. I could smell roasted meat and fresh bread. My stomach twisted with hunger I'd been ignoring for hours, but I went straight to Alec's office instead. The report needed to be filed. That was the job.

His door was half-open. I raised my hand to knock and froze.

Rose Dixon's voice drifted out, high and sweetly aggrieved. "It's just so cold, Alec. I barely slept last night. I know the guest quarters aren't meant to be luxury suites, but surely something can be done?"

I stood in the hallway, messenger bag heavy against my hip, and stared at the door.

"I'll have maintenance check the heating system personally," Alec said. His voice had that warm, attentive tone he used when he wanted someone to feel important. "You shouldn't be uncomfortable here, Rose. This is your home as much as anyone's."

I pushed the door open.

Alec was behind his desk, leaning forward slightly, his full attention on Rose. She was perched on the edge of the chair across from him, all graceful concern in a cashmere sweater that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Her floral scent—jasmine and something cloying I'd never been able to name—filled the room like expensive perfume sprayed too liberally.

My three-week alliance report sat on the corner of Alec's desk. Unread. Still in the envelope I'd couriered ahead two days ago so he'd have time to review it before I returned.

Rose saw me first. Her eyes flicked over me—my jeans, my worn jacket, the road dust I probably still carried—and something like amusement crossed her face before she smoothed it away.

"Cecilia," Alec said, glancing up. "You're back."

"I'm back," I agreed.

I crossed the room and set my messenger bag on the chair Rose wasn't occupying. I pulled out the signed Northridge contract, the finalized terms document, and the implementation timeline I'd drafted on the drive home. I placed them on top of the unread report.

"Northridge is locked," I said. "Full terms as discussed. Marcus signed this morning."

Alec's eyebrows lifted. "That's excellent work."

"Thank you."

Rose was watching me with that faint, polite smile she wore when she wanted people to know she was being gracious. "It must be so fulfilling," she said, "doing all that background research. I'm sure the Alphas appreciate having reliable support staff."

I looked at her. She looked back, still smiling.

I could have said a lot of things. I could have explained that I hadn't done background research—I'd done the negotiation. That Alpha Marcus had dealt with me directly for three weeks because Alec had been too busy to travel. That the terms on that desk represented leverage I'd built clause by clause, concession by concession, over seventy-two hours of continuous talks that had nearly collapsed twice.

I could have said that I wasn't support staff. That I'd been doing this job for ten years. That every major alliance Shadowpeak held had my fingerprints on it, even if my name was never on the paperwork.

But I was tired. And Alec was looking at Rose, not me.

"The full debrief is in the report," I said. "When you have time."

I turned to leave.

"Cecilia," Alec said.

I stopped.

"Good work," he said. "Really. This is going to make a difference."

His tone was warm. Genuine, even. Like he meant it.

I nodded once and left his office.

I didn't go to the dining hall. I went straight to my quarters, locked the door, and sat down at my desk. My laptop was already open. I stared at the screen for a long time, my hands resting on the keyboard.

Then I opened an encrypted browser and pulled up the file I'd been keeping for months. Research on smaller packs. Territory analyses. Climate data. Places far enough from the Northeast that the political games didn't reach.

I scrolled down to the entry I'd bookmarked weeks ago: Redstone Pack, southern Utah. Small. Stable leadership. Canyon territory. Alpha Camden Anderson—low political profile, no major alliances, no ties to the East Coast pack networks.

I opened a new message window and began typing.

*To: Redstone Pack Administration*

*Subject: Transfer Inquiry*

My hands were steady. I wrote three careful paragraphs outlining my skills, my experience, and my interest in a potential transfer. I did not mention Alec. I did not mention the mate bond. I wrote like someone applying for a job, because that's what it was.

When I finished, I read it over twice. Then I saved it as a draft.

I didn't send it. Not yet.

But I didn't delete it either.

I closed the laptop and sat in the dark for a long time, listening to the sounds of the pack house below. Laughter from the dining hall. Footsteps in the corridor. The low rumble of voices I'd lived with for ten years.

My wolf stirred, just slightly.

*What are we doing?* she asked.

I didn't answer. I wasn't sure yet.

But for the first time in a very long time, I felt something that wasn't exhaustion.

It felt like the beginning of a decision.