I Quit, My Grumpy Alpha Goes Regret-Crazy

Chapter 1

As the chief secretary of Silvermoon Pack, I stood outside the frosted glass doors of the conference room, holding an iced Americano in my hand.

The glass couldn't block the Alpha's pheromones, cold as ice. The scent of cedarwood mixed with whiskey filled the room, pressing so heavily against the Betas inside that none of them dared lift their heads.

The man's voice was colder than ice, his words firing off like a machine gun.

"This merger proposal is riddled with holes. You can't even get the basic business logic straight, and it doesn't come close to industry standards. You still had the nerve to bring it to me? Did I spend money hiring you people just to fill empty seats? Was this merger proposal written with your ass instead of your brain? If I chopped you all up and fed you to the pigeons in the city park, even they wouldn't touch you.

"And this project proposal? I read 30 pages and still couldn't figure out what point you're trying to make. With communication skills like this, I could walk into a funeral and still have no idea who died. Did evolution forget to give you wolf brains? Can any of you put in some actual effort? I'm paying you seven-figure salaries. Is that just so you can come here and piss me off?"

The executives seated at the front, men and women alike, were too terrified to lift their heads.

His insults were infuriating, but Silvermoon Pack had always been known for its relentless, high-pressure work culture. Ethan was notoriously demanding, but his tirades never targeted anyone's gender or background. He only went after the quality of their work.

That was why his reputation outside the company was actually pretty good.

Among the employees, of course, it was a different story.

Inside the company, though, he was basically the devil incarnate.

Inside the conference room, everyone kept their heads down, barely daring to breathe.

A few of the younger Betas even had their ears drooping from fear.

I wisely turned around and walked away with my coffee.

The Alpha was clearly in a foul mood. I'd have to have a death wish to walk straight into his line of fire right now.

He could survive without one iced Americano. But if I took another round of his verbal abuse, there was a good chance my instincts would go into overdrive and my wolf ears would show.

I hid in the break room and spent ten minutes grinding coffee beans.

Once I figured he had probably finished venting, I made a fresh double espresso and headed toward the CEO's office.

The door was slightly ajar.

Someone had gotten there before me.

It was Chloe, the Omega secretary assistant who had been pushed into the company through connections in the finance department.

She was wearing a body-hugging pencil skirt that looked one breath away from splitting, paired with ten-centimeter red-soled heels.

Her pheromones were sickeningly sweet, a cheap vanilla scent that gave me a headache.

One whiff told me she'd had pheromone-modification surgery. The trend had taken off a few years ago. It was sold as a way to alter a wolf's scent, break free of an involuntary mate bond, and find "true love." In reality, it was just another cash grab cooked up by greedy corporations.

'Those sleazy cosmetic surgeons care about nothing but money. Don't they know altering a wolf's pheromones can seriously damage their health? It can even mess with other people's sense of smell!'

I kept those thoughts to myself and stepped aside.

'Did she seriously not do any research? The Alpha hates vanilla more than anything.'

She lowered her voice into a sugary tone.

"Alpha, here's the coffee you asked for."

As she spoke, she bent forward, her neckline plunging almost to her waist as she deliberately leaned closer to his desk.

Ethan sat in his black leather executive chair.

His custom-tailored suit emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist.

His face looked carved by an ancient Greek sculptor, with sharp brow bones, deep-set eyes, and features that made him widely recognized as one of the most attractive wolves in the entire New York werewolf circle.

But at that moment, his gray-blue eyes were frozen cold.

"Who are you? Who allowed you in here? Is this even your job? Did anyone ask you to do this? Get out."

The smile on Chloe's face froze.

"Alpha, I'm Chloe, the new secretary assistant. Lyra was busy, so she asked me to bring this over for her."

I blinked. 'Since when did I tell her to do that? Great. Now I'm going to get dragged into this.'

I sighed to myself and stayed tucked behind the door, ready to step in if I had to. I wasn't about to take the fall for someone else's mess. Chloe kept smiling sweetly and, without being asked, started flipping through the documents on his desk. "Alpha, let me go through those for you. You can take a break."

Ethan didn't even look up. His gaze swept over the merger proposal Chloe had opened without permission, and his frown deepened.

"Leave.

"Don't make me say it twice."

Chloe inhaled deeply.

Then, in the next second, her foot twisted.

She staggered forward, coffee in hand, aiming straight for him.

Ethan didn't move an inch.

His voice was cold enough to freeze the air.

"Before you spill that, think carefully.

"This suit cost thirty thousand dollars. Can you afford to pay for it?"

Chloe wobbled a few times before finally forcing herself upright.

Ethan lifted his eyes and slowly looked her over.

He paused as the overpowering scent of her pheromones hit him.

He let out a cold laugh.

"You came to work dressed like that? Are you here to find a date or actually do your job? Didn't you read the company's dress code or confidentiality policy? I honestly don't know how HR hired you. You don't have an ounce of professionalism. You want the Luna position? You're not even qualified to be a secretary. You don't have Lyra's professional presence, and you're not even a thousandth as capable as she is."

I couldn't help curling my lips into a smile from where I stood outside the door.

After half a year of tearing into me, this damn Alpha finally realized what I was worth?

But the next second, he added, "Of course, I'm not praising her, and I'm not insulting you either. I'm simply stating facts.

"Just like how Lyra dresses more conservatively than my eighty-year-old grandmother every single day. That's just a fact."

The smile on Chloe's face was barely holding on.

"Or do you think you can climb into my bed just because of your pheromones? If those modified pheromones of yours were enough to work on me, there'd be a line of would-be Lunas stretching around the globe."

The mockery in his voice was impossible to miss.

"Quit chasing things that were never yours to begin with. Instead of dreaming about becoming Luna overnight, maybe you should take a hard look at yourself first. And while you're at it, get your balance checked. You can barely walk straight."

I should have known.

Ethan's mouth was infamous throughout the entire New York werewolf circle.

Chloe ran out crying. Even when she passed by me, she still shot me a vicious glare.

Seriously?

The man's cold, indifferent voice came from inside the office.

"Lyra, how much longer are you planning to stand outside?

"Are you moonlighting as security?"

I sighed and pushed open the door.

This was completely an innocent victim situation.

Ethan slowly adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose, his slender fingers tapping lightly against the desk.

Judging by that posture... Great. I was about to get another lecture.

"Lyra, I don't pay you a seven-figure salary so you can stand outside my office watching a show. Know your place. You're my chief secretary, not some random spectator. Use some common sense. I'm currently the most powerful Alpha in this entire region. If someone slips poison into my coffee, you'll be the one answering to the Werewolf Council and spending time behind bars."