The Alpha Imposter Wife

Chapter 37: Warren Writes

NORA POV

“It came this morning” Conrad said.

He was holding an envelope. Cream coloured, heavy paper, the kind that cost more than normal envelopes and was chosen specifically to say that. He held it out to me across my desk and his face was doing the thing it did when he had information he thought I needed to have and was not sure how to frame.

“You read it” I said.

“It is addressed to the Luna. I am responsible for correspondence security.” He did not apologise for it. “Yes.”

I took the envelope. The name on the front stopped me for a second.

The Luna of Blackwood Pack.

Not Rhett. Not Alpha Blackwood. Not even both of them together the way formal pack correspondence usually went.

Just the Luna.

I pulled the letter out.

It was one page. Neat handwriting, not printed, which meant Warren had written it himself and meant for that to be noticed. The date at the top was yesterday.

I read it.

Dear Luna Blackwood,

I write to express my sincere appreciation for the hospitality extended to my delegation during our recent visit. Blackwood Pack continues to exemplify the warmth and strength that has long distinguished it in the region.

In the days since my return, I have been reviewing some historical pack records and have come across material I believe may be of mutual interest to both our packs. The material is sensitive in nature and I feel a private conversation would be the most appropriate setting in which to discuss it.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet at your convenience. I remain, as always, committed to the goodwill between our packs.

Warmly,

Warren Steele

I read it again.

Then I put it flat on the desk and sat back and looked at it.

Historical pack records. Sensitive in nature. Private conversation. At your convenience.

Every single word was chosen. Every sentence had two layers. The polite layer sitting on top like a clean tablecloth and underneath it the actual meaning, which was I have something and I want to talk to you specifically and I am being very careful about how I say that.

“He addressed it to me” I said.

“Yes” Conrad said. “Not the Alpha.”

“Did you tell Rhett?”

“I came to you first. As it is addressed to you.” He looked at me steadily. “It is your correspondence.”

I picked up the letter and stood.

Rhett read it once. That was it. He did not go back for a second pass the way I had. He read it once, the way he read everything, fully, and then he set it on his desk and looked at it.

His jaw did the thing.

The small tight thing at the back of it, the clench that happened without him seeming to notice it was happening. I had learned to spot it. It meant something had landed and he was processing it and the processing was not comfortable.

“She is not going to meet Warren privately” he said.

“I know.”

“Under no circumstances.”

“Rhett, I know. I already know that.” I sat down across from him. “That is not the part I need to talk about.”

He looked at me.

“He wrote to me” I said. “Not you. He bypassed the Alpha of this pack and wrote directly to the Luna.” I kept my eyes on his. “That is not an accident. Warren does not do accidents.”

Rhett was quiet.

“He thinks he has something over me that he does not have over you” I said. “He is right. He does. My face is in that photo. The visiting family member in the east wing is my twin sister. Everything he is building points to me, not to you.” I looked at the letter on his desk. “He wrote to me because he thinks I am the weaker point. He thinks if he can get me in a room without you, he can work on me separately.”

“He is not getting you in a room without me.”

“I said I know.” I leaned forward slightly. “But Rhett. The fact that he tried this means he thinks it is worth trying. That means his confidence is higher than it was when he left.” I kept my voice even. “The scout. The visit. Whatever he walked away with. He feels ready enough to make a move like this.”

Rhett looked at the letter. He picked it up and read one specific line again and set it back down.

“Material of mutual interest” he said.

“Yes.”

“He is showing us he has something before he uses it.” He looked at me. “He wants to see how we react to the signal.”

“So what do we do?”

“We do not react.” He said it flat. “We do not respond to this letter today. We do not respond in a way that shows any urgency.”

“And when we do respond?”

“We respond together. Formally. From Blackwood Pack leadership. Not from the Luna specifically.”

I nodded. That made sense. Remove the separation he was trying to create. Put Rhett back in the frame.

“He is going to try again if we redirect it” I said. “He wrote to me for a reason. Redirecting it to you tells him the approach didn’t work but it doesn’t stop him from trying a different angle.”

“I know.”

“He could contact me directly. Phone. Message.”

“Yes.”

“He has my number already.”

Rhett’s jaw did the thing again. Slightly harder this time. “I know.”

The office was quiet for a moment. The letter was sitting between us on the desk and it was polite and warm and completely threatening and it had my name on it and not his.

Warren was trying to cut Rhett out.

He had decided the Luna was the softer wall. He had decided that if he could get to me without Rhett in the room he could do something with whatever he had.

And the part that sat in my chest cold and heavy was that he was not completely wrong.

He had leverage over me that he did not have over Rhett. My face. Dana’s presence. The five years. The lie the whole pack was still living inside.

All of that was mine. All of it pointed at me.

“He’s right” I said quietly.

Rhett looked at me.

“About me being the softer point. About having leverage over me that he doesn’t have over you.” I met his eyes. “He is right about that.”

Rhett looked at me for a long moment.

“No” he said. “He is not.”

I opened my mouth.

“He has information” Rhett said. “That is different from leverage. Leverage requires the other person to be alone.” He held my gaze. “You are not alone.”

The pressure in my chest pulsed. Slow and steady.

I looked at the letter.

Warren had written it to me and not Rhett because he thought I was standing alone in this.

He had been watching this pack for years and he had still got that wrong.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​