I nearly run right into an enforcer heading in, and he stops in his tracks. “Hey, just the person I was looking for.”
I arch a brow in question. “Me?”
“Yeah, Alpha Hugo wants to see you.”
Perfect timing.
“Gotta go,” I call to Addie. “Alpha business.”
Looking disappointed, she sighs. “Fine. But this conversation isn’t over,” she says, pointing at me as I start walking with the enforcer.
“Yes, it is,” I say without looking back.
“No, it’s not!” she calls. “We are totally gonna girl talk about this.”
“Ugh, puke,” I mutter.
“I heard that!”
Fucking shifter hearing.
The enforcer beside me chuckles, and I dart a glance over to him. “You think it’s funny? Girl talk is the worst. They always want to sit around in a circle in pink pajamas while they paint each other’s nails and gossip about sex with romcoms in the background.”
“I heard that too!” Addie shouts. “And you’re exactly right! That is what we’ll be doing!”
I sigh.
By the time the enforcer leads me to Hugo’s office, nervousness has taken over. I’ve successfully avoided seeing the alpha unless it was to try getting my collar off or get an update that he’s still searching for the conjurer. Other than that, he’s given me my space. But I know his patience with me is thinning, and I don’t blame him. I can’t just mooch off him and his pack indefinitely. I have to make a decision.
Except...now things are even more complicated than before.
As if I wasn’t indecisive enough, now I went and got myself all tangled up with a boar. A very sexy boar.
As we approach Hugo’s office, I see a group of enforcers standing out front, talking in a circle, and my eyes immediately land on Jericho. The moment he looks up and sees me, his whole face softens, and he shoots me a wink. My ears heat up. Thankfully, my hair is still down to cover them, because I know he’d notice and tease me mercilessly.
“You can go on in,” the enforcer at my side says before walking off to join the others.
I take a breath and head inside Hugo’s office, dreading the meeting. As soon as the office door swings shut behind me, I’m slammed with an overwhelming rush of alpha power.
My steps falter for a moment on the threshold, the sting of angry scent in the air. My eyes immediately swing past the entryway and through the open door that leads to his office.
Hugo is sitting behind a large wooden desk, his forearm braced on the top while his other hand holds his phone to his ear.
“Yeah, and it’s that sanction that’s bullshit, Lutzo.”
My black brows arch up in surprise at the anger in his voice. I stay where I am, because I don’t know the rules here. Should I go back outside and wait? Or walk into his office and announce my presence? I don’t want to stand out here like an idiot and eavesdrop.
Of course, Hugo’s eyes swing over to me, because the alpha knew I was here the moment I opened the door. He surprises me by lifting his hand and waving me forward while he continues to talk.
“So put a new campaign out,” he says as I walk forward and take a seat on the chair across from his desk. His office is full of little wood carvings of different animals propped up on the shelves and windowsill.
Hugo makes a noise of frustration, more alpha power pulsing out of him like he’s a live wire ready to snap. My fingers and toes curl at the onslaught. I’m not in his pack, which means I don’t share an alpha bond with him, so any sort of threatening power grates against me, making my animal cower. If that power was directed at me? I have no doubt that he’d be able to take me to my knees without even having to fight.
I’ve been around thousands of alpha leaders, but never one that’s felt as powerful as he does.
“Fine,” Hugo bites out, his word more growl than voice. “Yeah,” he sighs. “Tell Marlene I said hi.”
He clicks the phone off and sighs, running a scarred hand down his grizzled face.
“Nice chat?”
He snorts and sits back in his chair, and I notice for the first time how tired he looks. There are circles under his eyes and tense lines around his mouth.
“That was Alpha Leader Lutzo,” he surprises me by saying. Not just because he’s choosing to tell me his business, but also because... “Alpha Leader Lutzo? As in, the alpha