Caroline’s POV
Monday morning came quickly. After dropping Liam off at daycare and informing them that Draven was Liam’s father with pickup privileges, we headed to work. At the office, Draven kept pulling me toward his office.
"Draven, my office is on the other side," I reminded him with a smile.
He groaned and closed his eyes. "I forgot."
As we approached my office, I saw Kyle leaving with a smirk on his face.
"Good morning, power couple!" Kyle greeted us enthusiastically. "Hope you don’t mind, but I’ve gone back to working with my old boss. I’m not in the mood to sit in the front office listening to you two... expressing your affection."
"Kyle..." I gasped, feeling my cheeks flush.
"Oh come on, girl, I know exactly what happens in the Alpha’s office."
"He’s not wrong, my mate," Draven said with a mischievous grin.
"Relax, Caroline. I’ve already moved everything back," Ava called from her desk.
When I entered my office, everything was perfectly arranged. As was tradition every Monday, there was a beautiful arrangement of tulips on the small table with a card that read, "You make me the happiest man in the world. My perfect mate."
My eyes welled up. These pregnancy hormones were turning me into such a crybaby. I hugged and kissed Draven, thanking Ava for her efficiency.
"So you’ve already stolen my assistant?" Ryan appeared, planting a friendly kiss on the top of my head.
"You stole her first!" Draven accused him.
"Watch out, or I’ll steal her again," Ryan threatened playfully.
I left them to their banter and asked Ava to join me for coffee. I wanted to know how things went with Theo. Ava shared that despite feeling sad about Joseph’s betrayal, she’d had a wonderful time with Theo and they’d agreed to see each other again.
Draven, Ryan, and Kyle joined us in the break room, followed shortly by Rose,who worked as the office cleaner.
"Finally, you two figured things out?" Rose pointed between Draven and me.
"Yes, Rose. You might want to sit down because I have lots to share..." Draven began excitedly, telling her everything. Rose’s face lit up with each revelation.
"So, that beautiful boy is your son!" Rose smiled. "He has your eyes, just like your father’s. I’m so happy for you both." She turned to Ava. "But why have you been looking so down lately, dear?"
"Rose, nothing gets past you, does it?" Ava sighed before explaining her breakup with Joseph.
"That man was foolish to let you go," Rose said firmly.
"Oh! I almost forgot," Rose added. "This might not be important or you might already know, but I should tell you. I’ve learned my lesson about keeping information to myself. My friend from the cafeteria mentioned that Howard and Linda were there together the other day, and Linda seemed very nervous."
"I didn’t know about that," Draven’s expression darkened. "Did your friend overhear anything?"
Rose shook her head. Draven immediately pulled out his phone and made a call. "Daniel, check the cafeteria security footage. Howard and Linda were there recently. Find it and send it to me. And explain why I wasn’t informed about this."
After thanking Rose, we returned to our respective offices. The morning passed quickly, and after lunch, Draven called Ryan, Kyle, and me to his office.
"Daniel found the footage," he informed us gravely. "Someone had deleted the video. He needed Leo from IT to recover it. We have at least one informant in security. I’ve notified Alpha Arthur, and Daniel is investigating everyone."
"How serious is this? How are they managing to corrupt so many people in this company and our pack?" Ryan asked nervously. "Let’s watch the video."
The footage revealed Linda and Howard in deep conversation. Their body language suggested a conspiracy.
"So that’s how they tampered with the pregnancy test at your trusted lab," Kyle pointed out. "I’ll call the lab owner immediately."
"Do that," Draven nodded. "To ease your minds a bit, Daniel informed me that Liz is in Switzerland. He’s monitoring her movements and will alert us if she returns."
"At least that she-wolf won’t cause more trouble," Ryan sighed with relief.
"Still, I think I need to hire additional security for Caroline and Liam," Draven said thoughtfully.
"That could be risky," Kyle cautioned. "We don’t know outsiders well, and it would be easier for enemies to infiltrate that way."
"I understand, but I’m worried." Draven’s jaw tightened. "Linda knows too much about our pack and the company. She’s been my father’s assistant for years and has access to sensitive information. If she’s working with Howard, they could be planning something bigger than we realize."
"What do you think they want?" I asked, feeling my wolf Rory grow anxious within me.
"Power," Draven answered simply. "Howard has always wanted to be Alpha of our pack. My father chose me instead of him, despite Howard being older. He thought I would appoint him as Beta, but I chose Ryan.He’s never forgiven us for that. Now he sees you and Liam as threats to his daughter Ella’s chances of becoming Luna."
I felt a chill run down my spine. "You think they might target Liam?"
Draven’s eyes flashed violet."I won’t let anyone touch either of you. You’re my mate and Liam is my son. I’ll die before I let anyone harm you."
"Draven, I trust Daniel. He hasn’t let anyone near me, and the guard assigned to Liam is his brother,Dennis. I don’t think we need to worry," I tried to reassure him.
"Maybe, but I’m still concerned," Draven insisted. "For now, we’ll maintain our current security and stay vigilant. It’s good that Mabel agreed to live with us as well. She’s from a trusted pack family."
We spent the remainder of the afternoon addressing work issues, but I couldn’t shake the uneasiness that had settled over me. My instincts were telling me something was wrong, and Rory was restless. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a wolf, it’s never to ignore those feelings.