"You cannot keep running every time the ground shifts under your feet," Alpha Vance said, his voice cutting through the heavy silence before I could reach the door.
My hand froze inches from the heavy brass handle. I turned back slowly, forcing my expression to remain empty. "I am not running, Alpha. I am leaving a room where I am no longer needed."
"You are needed where I tell you to be," Vance replied, taking a single step toward me. The subtle shift in his stance immediately exerted his dominance, filling the space between us with unspoken pressure. "You think you can just walk out of the packhouse whenever this arrangement becomes uncomfortable for you? That was not part of our agreement."
"Our agreement was based on mutual respect," I said, holding his intense stare despite the ins
