I could feel it even without hearing the words directly—the shift in the pack's undercurrent, the quiet hum of thoughts that moved like shadows beneath the surface. The female staff carried a restless envy, their instincts drawn toward the Alpha, curiosity and desire tangled together in ways they barely concealed. The males, on the other hand, held a different tension, something sharper, edged with quiet resentment that settled into the space whenever my name was tied to his.
It was suffocating.
I sat alone in my office, pressing my fingers lightly against my temple as a dull ache pulsed through my head. The designs in front of me blurred, my earlier focus completely gone. No matter how hard I tried to redirect my thoughts, they slipped back to that moment on the street, to the heat of Elliot's lips and the way his presence had overwhelmed everything else.
Was it just repayment? Or something more?
