Chapter 65

Vivian

She didn’t answer right away.

Instead, Marianne turned to her computer, logging out and folding her hands on her desk like she was running this company. Like Ii wasn’t the one with the family name and a lifetime of connections to back it up.

Then she said, perfectly calm, “Vivian, you have no authority in this department. Or any other. If you continue trying to manipulate people here, I’ll be speaking to your supervisor directly. Consider this your one and only warning.”

I blinked, stunned. “Excuse me?”

She looked me dead in the eye, calm as glass. “As it stands, I'll be sending a message to HR about you clearly targeting and harassing a chosen intern. I assure you the report will make it to your father within a few hours as he started replacing peple in HR first."

My hands curled into fists at my sides. “You think you can get away with talking to me like that? Threatening me?”

“I’m doing my job,” she said simply. “Maybe you should try it.”

The room swayed, fury rising like smoke in my chest.

“You know what?” I hissed, stepping forward. “Keep acting high and mighty. I’ll have you fired so fast you’ll be back auditing spreadsheets in a dumpster before the week’s out.”

Marianne didn’t flinch.

Didn’t blink.

Just looked at me the way people looked at gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe.

"I'll be sure to tell your father the same day as HR." I turned on my heel and stormed out. "Leave my interns alone, Vivian, or you're going to have a problem."

I slammed the door behind me. My pulse pounding, the fluorescent lights overhead too bright and unforgiving.

How dare she.

That smug little office drone, pretending like she was better than me like she wouldn't get on her knees and lick his shoes if he asked her to. She wasn't the only one. They all would. Every single one of them.

But I was a Brightclaw. I was the alpha's daughter! The richest, most powerful alpha of the whole country. I wasn’t going to be denied. I'd deal with her as soon as I got Renee away from Neil permanently.

Renee

The street was quiet, lit by the golden spill of streetlamps and the faint glow from the office windows still burning behind us. I lingered on the steps with Neil, the night settling soft around our shoulders. The others had long since gone, and for once, no one was watching and I wasn't dragging myself out of the building. No Vivian, no supervisors prying eyes. Just the two of us.

He stood close, closer than he needed to. His jacket brushed mine, and I could feel the heat of his body radiating out, his scent filled my nose, turning my stomach to molten goo, the easy confidence in the way he leaned slightly toward me like we were already in the middle of something tender made my heart race. His eyes searched mine, and the tension between us stretched tight, sweet and aching.

My mind was so quiet, and somewhere in the distance I heard him howling. Neil opened his mouth like he was about to say something.

Then his phone rang. He didn't pull back. He looked frustrated, but the ringtone must have meant something because he sighed and pulled it out. He winced, apologetic, glancing at the screen.

“It’s my dad. I have to take this.”

I nodded quickly, too quickly, as if I wasn’t just standing there on the edge of something I wasn’t sure how to name. “Go ahead.”

He stepped away, voice low as he answered, and I took that as my cue to breathe deep and try to calm down.

"I'm… just going to go home, I think."

Neil looked at me, nodding. "Let me walk you to the car?"

I bit my lip, but nodded, walking with him the few feet. He opened the car door for me in place of my body guard. There was something in his eyes that said next time, but I had no idea what would happen next time and I couldn't let myself think about it too hard either. He closed the door, wishing me a goodnight before answering the call.

I watched him watch the car leave as it pulled away from the curve and slumped back against the seat, disappointed as hell.

By the time I got home, the house was dim and quiet except for the kitchen, where Arielle stood stirring something on the stove. The scent of chocolate and cinnamon filled the air. Comfort in a mug as she called it.

She turned as I walked in and raised an eyebrow. “You’re home early. Dominic must be stepping up.”

I winced at the mention of him.

“I didn't expect you to be up,” I said, kicking off my shoes. "Heavy on the comfort, please?" I shuffled to the bar and dropped into a seat. I dropped my head on the table and pouted, letting the coolness of the counter top cool my face. I felt like I’d been running an emotional marathon.

In some ways I had been, sure, but this was different.

“I finished early,” she said, pulling down mugs and starting to fill them. She came over with them both and set one in front of me. “What’s wrong? You look like someone ran over your cat and then offered you a job.”

I laughed. "I hate cats."

"Dogs, then. Whatever. What happened?"

I took the hot chocolate, wrapping my hands around the warmth as I sat up. “It’s… complicated.”

“Obviously.” She sat down beside me, pulling her knees up. “Let’s hear it.”

I hesitated, chewing the inside of my cheek. “I like Neil. I mean, really like him. He’s kind and honest and he makes me feel seen. Safe, even.”

Arielle nodded, gesturing for me ton continue.

“But…” I looked down at the swirl of marshmallows melting into the cocoa. “There’s Dominic.”

Her brows lifted slightly, not in shock, but in that oh, we’re doing this kind of way. I didn't think Arielle had the capacity to be shocked anymore.

“I don’t know what to make of it,” I admitted. “There’s this… gravity to him. Like being near him just settles something inside me. And I don’t think it’s just because he’s, you know, guardian." She snorted. "Or that he stepped in for me at the Ceremony." SHe hummed. "It’s more than that. It’s in the air when he walks into a room. Or… doesn't."

"Doesn’t?"

"I don't know if I'm right, but sometimes I feel like… I can feel when he's near?"

She bobbed her head.

"And he's… I mean I have seen him a lot lately, but he's been careful with me." I winced. "Well, as careful as he knows how to be. I can understand that we're in a weird spot."

"… So are you tiptoeing around the fact that you two almost fucked or is it something else?"

My face heated. "I… we didn't… It was just a kiss."

She bobbed her head, offering me a mock toast. I scowled at her.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Glad to see that I was right and grandpa owes me money," she smiled. "I knew there was a lot more Mountainhowl in you than first seemed."

She let out a low sigh. "Now, do you want me to reply as Luna Mountainhowl or Ari'?"

"…against my better judgement, I have to ask what's the difference?"

"Legal and social steps and maybe a little sugar coating."

I blinked at her. "I'll take the sugar, thank you. I think you're having enough of a time on the legal and social fronts."

She grinned. "You're only delaying the inevitable. Fine. Dear cousin, Ari', it is." She leaned back and let out a low whistle. “Girl, you’re in trouble.”

My gut plummeted.

“I know he's---"

"You're too damn young to be so bogged down with the future," she said, waving her hand. "And making things more complicated than need to be."

My gut clenched. I thought she would say something like that. What kind of Mountainhowl, what kind of woman, thinking of two different men like this. I should be able to just choose the proper one, but were either of them even proper for me?

"You're saying I…” I groaned, covering my face. “It’s not like I’m trying to do this. And it’s not like Dominic is… available. He’s—he’s Dominic. I should pull myself together. It's so… I mean, it's not right, I---”

Something hit me in the forehead. It was small and pretty soft that it did nothing more than bounced off my forehead onto the counter. I was so stunned I blinked. It was a marshmallow. I didn't even know where it came from.

Where had it come from?

She chuckled. "Your face."

And I looked up at her. Nothing mocking or scorning in her eyes, just amusement, but I really wasn't sure what to make of the moment. There were more marshmallows on the cutting board beside her.

Arielle's amusement turned a little bitter as she tilted her head.

"Renee?"

"Why did you flick a marshmallow at me?"