ASH LEFT AFTER THAT. He always knew when to make himself scarce. And the factory gradually emptied out as the work day ended.
Which didn’t mean I was off the hook. As long as a single wolf remained in my vicinity, I remained on call.
For example: “Do you need anything else, Alpha?” asked the ten-thousandth shifter to intrude upon my day.
I didn’t glance up this time because the speaker happened to be the lowest wolf on our totem pole. Perpetually terrified, he tended to pee his pants every time I made eye contact. “No, thank you,” I answered. “You can go home.”
Another two minutes of typing, then another voice: “Alpha, it’s quitting time and the pups are antsy.”
The spreadsheet in front of me contained far too many red cells. Negative income since we’d yet to find any buyers for our p
