Aria’s POV
My hands started shaking before my brain caught up.
**ALPHA AFFAIRS SUMMARY**
The words blurred. Refocused. Blurred again.
I shot to my feet so fast my chair slamd into the desk behind . The sound echoed across the quiet floor.
"Why?" My voice ca out strangled. Barely human. "Why are you giving THIS to ?"
Director Black didn’t flinch. Didn’t react at all to my outburst. She just stood there with that impenetrable expression, watching like I was a specin under a microscope.
"The Alpha visited the company recently." Her voice was calm. asured. Like she was discussing the weather. "He was impressed with the work you’d done. The organizational systems. The preparation for his inspection."
My heart stopped.
Then started again. Too fast. Way too fast.
"He... he was here?" The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "When? I didn’t—I wasn’t—"
"You’d already left for your family ergency." Director Black folded her hands in front of her. "But he saw your work. Reviewed your files. And he made a decision."
No.
No, no, no.
"What decision?" I could barely breathe. "What are you talking about?"
"He personally selected you." She said it like it was the most normal thing in the world. "Going forward, you’ll be handling all Alpha-related affairs. Scheduling. Correspondence. Docunt managent. Everything that passes through this office regarding the Alpha will go through you first."
The floor tilted beneath my feet.
I grabbed the edge of my desk. Held on like it was the only thing keeping upright.
Because it was.
"Does he—" My voice cracked. I swallowed hard. Tried again. "Does he already know who I am?"
The question hung in the air. Heavy. Terrifying.
Director Black’s eyebrow rose slightly. The first real expression I’d seen from her all morning.
"Know who you are?" She repeated the words slowly. Like she was testing them. "Ms. Moon, the Alpha doesn’t have ti to morize the nas of every assistant in this building."
Relief crashed through . Then panic. Then confusion. All tangled together in a ss I couldn’t untangle.
"But you said he selected —"
"He selected your work." Director Black’s voice sharpened slightly. "He saw what you accomplished. The systems you implented. The efficiency improvents." She paused. Let that sink in. "He doesn’t know your na. He doesn’t know your face. He simply knows that soone on this floor is competent enough to handle sensitive matters."
I stared at her.
She stared back.
"If you perform well in this role," she continued, "you’ll eventually have the opportunity to introduce yourself properly. To et the Alpha in person. To advance your career in ways most wolves can only dream of."
et the Alpha in person.
The words echoed in my skull like a death sentence.
"I can’t." The refusal burst out of . Desperate. Panicked. "Director Black, I appreciate the opportunity, but I really think soone else would be better suited—"
"This isn’t a request."
Her voice cut through my protest like a blade.
I stopped. Closed my mouth.
Director Black studied for a long mont. Those sharp eyes missing nothing.
"Ms. Moon." Her tone shifted. Slightly softer. Almost curious. "Is there sothing I should know? So reason you’re so reluctant to take on this assignnt?"
Yes. A million reasons. A thousand reasons. Three years of reasons that I could never, ever explain.
"No." The lie tasted like ash. "No reason."
"Good." She straightened. Turned toward the door. "Then I suggest you familiarize yourself with those docunts imdiately. The Alpha runs a tight schedule. He doesn’t tolerate delays or excuses."
"But—"
She was already walking away.
"Director Black, wait—"
"This is a rare opportunity, Ms. Moon." She paused at the edge of my cubicle. Looked back over her shoulder. "I’d advise you not to waste it."
And then she was gone.
Just like that.
Leaving standing there with trembling hands and a racing heart and a folder full of docunts that might as well have been a bomb.
I collapsed into my chair.
The impact jarred my spine. Made my teeth click together. I barely noticed.
My eyes fixed on the folder. On that cursed Blood Crown seal staring up at .
I pressed my palm against my forehead. Felt the cold sweat beading there.
Fate was playing tricks on .
Cruel, twisted, absolutely rciless tricks.
What were the options here?
Refuse? Director Black had made it clear that wasn’t possible. This wasn’t a request. It was an assignnt.
Quit? And then what? Find another job? In wolf territory? Where every company of any significance probably had so connection to the Alpha?
Run? Again? Pack up Lina and disappear into the human world for the second ti?
My chest tightened.
No. I couldn’t do that to her. I couldn’t rip that away from her just because her mother was too cowardly to face her own past.
My hand reached for the folder.
Stopped.
Reached again.
The cover was smooth under my fingertips. Professional. Innocuous. Just paper and ink and binding.
Nothing dangerous about paper.
Right?
I opened it.
The first page stared back at .
**PRIORITY DELIVERY ASSIGNNT**
**Date:** [Today’s Date]
**Deadline:** 6:00 PM
**Task:** Deliver quarterly financial summary and territory expansion proposal to CEO Office (Top Floor)
My eyes jumped to the clock on my computer.
2:47 PM.
I looked at the deadline again.
6:00 PM.
Today.
THIS was today.
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