Chapter 47

Dominic

It had been weeks since I'd cut off Vivian. The month mark passed, and to my surprise, a garnished payment of the rent I had set did indeed come from Vivienne's citizen ID from a company in Brightclaw. I was even more surprised to find that it was Nordwell of all places. While I was glad that I wouldn't have to actually follow through on dropping her off at a shelter, I was curious. What could she possibly be doing at Nordwell? She was terrible at math, and she was barely attending her political science classes to my annoyance. She was doing just enough not to flunk out.

Nordwell wasn't the kind of place you would even need political science. I suppose she was just a clerk or an assistant somewhere in one of the departments. Nordwell had once been another member of the pack's company before I bought it. Much of the original staff was still here, still playing nepotism and politic games. That would change eventually, but at the least with a new round of interns, they had adhered to my blind interview process.

That thought made me think of Renee. She told me a while back that she had gotten an internship related to her major. I was happy for her, if a bit upset that she wouldn't tell me where she would be. But I respected her privacy and the reason for the secrecy. I didn't push to find out. I didn't want her family coming down on me like a ton of bricks, especially when I was still trying to get her custody transferred to them.

Today, I'd gone to Nordwell. There was some issue in the HR department that needed my attention. I shouldn't have been there for as long as I was, but it took longer than I expected. Period, from the moment I entered the building, I felt off. On edge. As if there was something in the building that was tugging on my instincts.

I was halfway down the corridor headed home when I saw Renee.

She was alone, seated at a desk in the dimly lit corner of the Finance and Audit department. A soft blue light danced across her face and another dim lamp cast a circle of light over the mountain of paperwork stacked in front of her. Her hair was pulled up in a hasty, messy bun, a few strands falling loose around her face as she scribbled furiously in a ledger, her brows drawn tight in concentration.

A bit of happiness fluttered through me. Renee had been hired here. That meant I could keep an eye on her, more than that it meant that maybe Vivian would pull her head on straight and apologize.

They would be co-workers, and in some ways even as an intern, Renee would outrank her in the company.

But what was she doing? It was late. Too late for her to still be here.

I hesitated, then turned, walking into the department without a word. She didn’t look up at first, didn’t even notice I was there until I cleared my throat.

“What are you still doing here?” I asked, keeping my tone level.

Renee looked up, startled, and then her expression shifted. She didn’t smile. If anything, she looked… annoyed.

She gestured at the paperwork with a sharp flick of her pen. “Working. What does it look like?”

I stepped closer, slowly, taking in the sheer volume of files on her desk. It was excessive.

“I can see that,” I said. “Congratulations, by the way. Getting hired through the blind process, it’s not an easy feat.”

She let out a dry laugh. “Yeah, well, the reward seems to be slow torture.”

I frowned, crossing my arms. “Your supervisor isn't here?”

“Cut out two hours ago,” she said. “I need this on his desk by tomorrow morning.”

She looked exhausted. , Her eyes were bruised with exhaustion, a quiet fire of frustration burning just beneath the surface. She looked thinner. Paler. She was surviving, maybe, but just barely.

“I don’t like that you’re here alone this late,” I said quietly, almost more to myself than to her.

“I’m not exactly drowning in options,” she replied, turning her attention back to the document in front of her. “And well, if you have the power to make him be a better supervisor, please do."

Her words stung more than they should have. If. Of course, I did.

I opened my mouth to respond when I heard footsteps. I turned to find a young, handsome man coming down the hall. He opened the glass door and paused seeing me. His presence seemed to fill the air around him. He was in a dress shirt and slacks. His tie was gone and on his hand was a crested ring.

"Oh…" He paused. "Alpha Brightclaw, a pleasure."

"A pleasure. And you are…"

"Neil Eira of Blackfang."

So this was Neil. I tried not to bristle. I tried not to glare. I kept my face as neutral as possible as I surveyed him. He had to be about Renee's age. The fact that he was here meant that he was likely also an accounting major. His father had said that he had never heard of Vivian. Nor Renee, which could mean that either they weren't close, or the young man wasn't talking to his father about his romantic prospects.

He walked in carrying two takeout bags and drinks, a cocky little grin on his face like he did this all the time.

“Snagged the last lemon poppy seed,” he said, setting the food down on the edge of Renee’s desk. “You still running on fumes?”

Renee glanced up at him with a tired smile. “You’re a lifesaver. Goddess-sent, I swear. How much do I owe you?”

"Nothing. Don't be ridiculous."

I stood there, stiffening, trying to tell myself this wasn’t jealousy twisting in my gut. Just concern. Professional concern.

Neil turned to look at me with a little unreadable expression. He didn't seem bothered or intimidated by my presence. Renee set her pen aside as Neil rounded the table and took the seat across from her, a stack of pages nearby.

Renee let out a little squeal of delight, pulling out what looked and smelled like a muffin.

"Eat some real food first before you crash," Neil said, his tone indulgent and warm.

Renee paused, the muffin halfway to her mouth. “I promise I'll only have a bite.”

“If I believed that I'd be a fool.” He pointed at the muffin and then to the table. "Real food. It's beef."

Renee sighed and nodded, looking forlornly at the muffin.

"Fine. Sandwich first. I'm never going to get through this anyway."

"Have a little faith in your skills," he said, grabbing his own sandwich. "You blazed through…"

The details of their conversation faded away as I watched the two of them interact. There was a familiar warmth there that put me on edge. The way he looked at her said a million things.

He liked her. Wanted her.

“Don’t stay too late,” I said turning to leave, my voice sounded tense to my ear.

"See? You should listen to your guardian, Renee. I'm hoping to get her out of here before nine," Neil said. "Thanks, Alpha Brightclaw."

Renee huffed. "Tell that to the hardass."

As I walked down the corridor toward the elevators, I felt that now-familiar tug low in my chest, the one I kept telling myself didn’t mean anything. As I heard her laugh, the urge to go back and drag Neil away from her was nearly overwhelming.

Goddess, give me strength.

Renee

I listened to Dominic leave, the echo of his footsteps fading down the hall, and felt... nothing like the relief I should have. For someone I once considered a protector, an alpha in every sense of the word, his visit left me cold. He saw the pile of work on my desk. He saw the exhaustion in my face. He knew I was here alone except for Neil, buried in work and all he had to say was don't stay too late?

I sat back in my chair, fingers curling tight around my sandwich.

A bitter part of me wondered if he thought I deserved this workload. If he assumed I was just too slow, too incapable, to get through it efficiently, or maybe he was just confident that I would figure it out.

Or if he just didn’t care.

I told myself that wasn’t true. Dominic had never been indifferent. I’d seen him be thoughtful, decisive, principled. But that version of him felt far away right now.

And maybe it wasn’t fair to expect anything from him. Maybe I just hated that I still did.

I looked at the stacks of documents, my stomach settling more with very bite and that muffin calling my name. I realized I was hurt. Not just tired or frustrated but actually hurt. Because if Dominic, of all people, allowed his staff to treat interns this way for the sake of results... then maybe I’d been wrong about him.

And I didn’t want to be wrong.

I didn’t want to believe he was anything like Philip.

But right now? I wasn’t so sure.