Kael’s POV
Being Alpha was exhausting.
Not the fighting part. Not the power part. Those came naturally. What exhausted me was everything else. The expectations. The loneliness. The constant reminder that the throne beside mine remained empty.
I pulled up to the building. Twenty floors of glass and steel. My creation. My legacy. The thing I’d built to prove that Blood Crown could be more than violence and intimidation.
I stepped out of the car. The morning sun was warm on my face. A beautiful day. The kind of day that should make you feel alive.
I felt nothing.
The glass doors loomed ahead. I hadn’t called ahead. Hadn’t warned anyone I was coming. I wanted to see how things ran when people weren’t performing for the Alpha.
I pushed through the entrance.
The lobby was busy. Workers rushing past with coffee cups and documents. The hum of conversation. The click of heels on marble.
Normal. Efficient. Exactly how I’d designed it.
I started toward the elevators.
And then someone slammed into me.
Hard.
A small body crashed against my chest. The impact wasn’t much—barely enough to make me step back. But it caught me completely off guard.
"I’m sorry!"
A woman’s voice. High. Frantic. Already scrambling.
"I’m so sorry, I wasn’t looking—"
She dropped to her knees before I could respond. Started grabbing things from the floor. A bag had fallen. Contents scattered everywhere. Lipstick rolling under a bench. A phone spinning across the marble.
I stood there. Frozen. Staring down at the top of her head.
Dark hair. Pulled back in a messy bun. Wisps escaping around her face.
Something tugged at my chest. A feeling I couldn’t name.
"Sorry," she said again. Her hands were shaking. Shoving items back into her bag without looking. "I have to go—my daughter—emergency—"
She was on her feet before I could speak. Already running. Already gone.
I watched her disappear through the glass doors. A small figure. Moving fast. Desperate.
*Wait.* Fenrir stirred. Alert suddenly.
There was no scent.
That was the strange part. She had no scent at all. No wolf. No pack. Nothing but the faint traces of soap and coffee that any human might carry.
A human?
Working in my building?
Irritation flickered through me. Then faded.
There was something about her. The way she’d moved. The curve of her shoulders. The desperate urgency in her voice.
It reminded me of someone.
No. Don’t.
Fenrir went quiet. But the feeling lingered. That hollow ache in my chest. The one that never really went away.
Every woman reminded me of her now. Every flash of hair. Every delicate frame. Every soft voice.
I was losing my mind.
I shook my head. Forced myself to move. The elevator was waiting.
Focus. I was here to inspect the company. Not to spiral into another pathetic episode of missing a woman who’d vanished three years ago.
The elevator hummed as it climbed. Floor after floor. Higher and higher.
By the time the doors opened on the executive level, I’d pushed the incident from my mind. Mostly.
The receptionist looked up.
Her face went white.
"A-Alpha Blood Crown?" She shot to her feet. Nearly knocked over her coffee. "We didn’t—no one told us you were—"
I walked past her. "Where is Director Black?"
"Her office. End of the hall. Should I—"
I was already moving.
The executive floor was quieter than the lobby. More subdued. People worked at their desks with focused intensity. The kind of productivity that came from competent leadership.
Good. At least something was working properly.
I reached Director Black’s office. Pushed through the door without knocking.
She looked up from her desk. To her credit, she barely flinched.
"Alpha Blood Crown." She rose smoothly. Inclined her head with perfect respect. "This is unexpected."
"Surprise inspections usually are." I scanned her office. Neat. Organized. Efficient. "How are things running?"
"Smoothly, sir." She gestured to a chair. "Would you like a full report?"
"I would."
I sat. She returned to her seat. Pulled out a stack of documents.
"Revenue is up twelve percent from last quarter. We’ve secured three new partnerships this month. The manufacturing contracts are ahead of schedule. Employee retention is at an all-time high."
Numbers. Facts. The cold comfort of data.
"Any problems?"
"Minor ones." She flipped through her papers. "Some scheduling conflicts that were resolved yesterday. A few personnel changes. Nothing that requires your attention."
I nodded. Waited for her to continue.
"We’ve also hired a new assistant for the executive floor." Director Black’s voice was carefully neutral. "Started few days. Exceptional qualifications. She’s already made significant improvements to our organizational systems."
"A new assistant." I leaned back. "Where is she?"
Director Black’s expression flickered. Just for a moment.
"She had a family emergency this morning. Her daughter’s school called."
"So she left."
"With my permission." Director Black met my eyes directly. No apology. No excuse. "She’s a single mother, Alpha. Her child is young. These situations arise."
I said nothing. Just held her gaze.
"Her work has been exemplary," she continued. "In one day, she accomplished more than the last three assistants combined. I made a judgment call."
Something nagged at me. A connection I couldn’t quite make.
"When did she leave?"
"About ten minutes ago. She was in quite a rush."
Ten minutes ago.
The woman in the lobby. The one who’d crashed into me. The one with no scent and desperate eyes and a daughter who needed her.
My jaw tightened.
"I may have encountered her." The words came out flat. Cold. "In the lobby."
Director Black’s eyebrows rose. "You met her?"
"If you can call it that." I stood. Walked to the window. Stared out at the city below. "She slammed into me. Scattered her belongings across the floor. Then ran off without so much as looking at my face."
Silence.
"I see." Director Black’s voice was carefully measured. "I apologize for her rudeness, Alpha. I assure you, it’s not characteristic of—"
"She had no scent."
The words hung in the air.
Director Black paused. "Sir?"
I turned. Fixed her with a hard stare.
"No wolf scent. No pack markers. Nothing." I stepped closer to her desk. "Are you telling me you hired a human to work on my executive floor?"