Evaline:
By the time I stepped into the Council headquarters, the morning sun was already high in the sky, casting a warm glow through the tall windows that were lining the hallway.
My sneakers made no noise at all against the marble floors as I made my way toward River’s office.
It had been three weeks since the Alpha Gathering incident, but the tension was still clinging between us like a second layer. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for another encounter with the Rogue Alpha King, not after how things went the previous weekend.
But when I entered his office and found the room empty, I released a breath I didn’t know I had been holding.
Good. No River.
I didn’t waste any time. I dropped my bag on the guest chair and got to work. There were still a dozen reports to review, a stack of letters to respond to, and an overwhelming amount of coordination updates from the border patrol teams to filter and file.
The familiar rhythm of work was soothing, numbing the uncomfortable thoughts swirling in my mind. For a while, I managed to forget that he even existed.
That peace lasted exactly one hour.
My phone buzzed sharply on the table beside me. I glanced at the screen and saw the Council’s internal number. It was River’s secretary.
With a resigned sigh, I answered.
"Miss Evaline?" came the polite voice of the secretary, one I had grown familiar with over the last couple of weeks. "Alpha River has asked that you come to his company office. A driver is waiting downstairs to escort you. He has some documents and tasks he would like to hand over personally."
I blinked. "His company?"
"Yes," the woman confirmed. "He’s currently occupied with meetings and cannot come to headquarters today."
And the line went dead with that. She didn’t even wait for me to confirm, probably because she knew I was going to decline.
I stared at the phone for a long moment while annoyance rose like bile in my throat. What kind of Alpha King summoned someone like they were a glorified messenger? I was working at the Council headquarters. His request was definitely outside my responsibilities.
Frustrated, I stomped my way to the front desk. I was intent on clarifying my work scope and telling that secretary exactly where she could shove her instructions.
Unfortunately, the answer I got wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
"As Alpha River’s personal assistant," the front desk lady said carefully, "any task that falls under the scope of administrative or support work can be assigned to you... regardless of location."
Translation: as long as I wasn’t being asked to clean his shoes, I had no excuse.
"Of course," I muttered under my breath, suppressing a groan.
It was an hour long ride before I arrived at the location.
I had heard that River ran a business on the side, something beyond his duties as Rogue Alpha King and a member of the High Council. But nothing prepared me for the reality of it.
His company - no, corporation - was standing like a glass giant against the skyline, looking sleek and intimidating. The building was twenty-six stories tall, adorned with the Riverstone logo etched in steel above the revolving doors.
Uniformed staff was moving with professional precision, and expensive cars were lining the private lot. This wasn’t just an Alpha with a side hustle, this was an empire.
No wonder he was the richest Alpha in the shifter world.
A receptionist greeted me with a polite nod before escorting me to a private elevator. We rode in silence to the twenty-fifth floor, where I was guided through a corridor of executive offices until I finally entered a space that could only belong to one person.
His office was massive, more like a luxury suite than a workplace. Floor-to-ceiling windows were offering a panoramic view of the city, while the walls were lined with shelves of books, artifacts, and framed photographs of historic moments.
A sleek desk was sitting near the center, but what drew my attention was the plush leather couch set near the side which was clearly meant for guests or, in this case, reluctant assistants.
"Please wait here," the assistant said. "Alpha River is in a meeting and will return shortly."
I took a seat on the couch and began scanning the room. Every inch of it was screaming River. Powerful. Precise. Regal. Even the air smelled faintly like him.
Ten minutes passed before the door finally opened.
River walked in, talking on his phone. His expression was unreadable as always. He was wearing a navy-blue suit that clung to his tall frame perfectly, and the subtle shift of dominance in the air made it impossible to look away.
His gaze swept over me briefly and he actually nodded in acknowledgment before he ended the call and crossed the room to his desk.
"If you thought I called you here to waste your time," he said as he set a stack of files on the desk, "you’ll be disappointed."
I raised an eyebrow but said nothing.
"I need these cross-checked," he continued, gesturing to the papers. "And these emails reviewed. They are from the northern patrol division and require detailed feedback. Also, we need to coordinate the arrival of the new trainees at the border outpost next week. You’ll find their files in the folder."
So... actual work. Related to the pack operations I had been overseeing for the last two weeks.
"Understood," I said, even though I hated how smug he looked as he walked away from the desk and left me to bury myself in paperwork again.
The hours passed faster than I expected. The couch was surprisingly comfortable, and though I would never admit it aloud, working in his office came with a quiet efficiency that even the Council building couldn’t offer. No interruptions. No distractions.
Just me and a mountain of tasks.
By the time the clock struck six-thirty, I was done organizing the last file into its folder and was stretching my arms overhead when I heard the rustle of fabric behind me.
He entered the office, back from another meeting.
"You are done?"
"Yes," I replied, stacking the folders neatly. "I’ll be leaving now."
But before I could even take a step, his voice stopped me cold.
"You are coming with me."