the alpha's shawdow
The rain fell hard over the towering glass windows of the Blackwood Pack mansion, turning the night outside into a blur of silver and darkness. Inside, the grand hall was silent except for the steady clicking of heels against marble floors.
Damien Blackwood stood near the fireplace, arms folded across his broad chest. At twenty-eight, he ruled the strongest werewolf kingdom in the north. Every pack feared him. Every rival respected him.
And every servant stayed out of his way.
His icy gray eyes remained fixed on the storm outside as another clap of thunder shook the mansion.
“She’s late,” he growled.
The guards near the doorway exchanged nervous looks.
No one liked hearing the Alpha King angry.
Then the massive doors opened.
A young woman stepped inside, slightly breathless from the rain. Her dark curls framed her face, and droplets of water slid down the sleeve of her fitted black blazer. Despite arriving in the middle of a storm, she looked calm.
Confident.
Dangerously confident.
Selena Vale removed her glasses and met Damien’s cold stare without fear.
“My car broke down,” she said smoothly. “Unless you wanted me to fly here, Alpha, I came as fast as I could.”
The guards froze.
Nobody spoke to Damien like that.
For a long moment, silence filled the room.
Then—
Damien smirked.
“You’re either brave,” he said, walking toward her slowly, “or completely reckless.”
Selena lifted one eyebrow. “Maybe both.”
A low chuckle escaped him.
Interesting.
That was the first word that entered Damien’s mind when he looked at her.
Most people trembled around him. Selena didn’t.
Most people obeyed without question. Selena challenged him with every sentence.
And somehow… he liked it.
Damien turned toward the staircase. “Follow me.”
Selena grabbed her tablet and walked behind him through the enormous mansion. Paintings of former Alphas lined the walls, their sharp eyes seeming to watch her every move.
“You’ve read the contract?” Damien asked.
“Yes.”
“You understand what this job involves?”
“You mean organizing your meetings, managing pack affairs, handling political disasters, and preventing you from scaring every employee away?”
Damien stopped walking.
Selena nearly bumped into him.
The Alpha King looked down at her with narrowed eyes, but instead of anger, amusement flickered there.
“You really don’t know when to stay quiet.”
“You hired me anyway.”
Another dangerous smile crossed his face.
By the time they reached his office, the tension between them had already changed the air.
The room was massive, filled with dark wood shelves, maps of pack territories, and the scent of cedar and smoke. Damien sat behind his desk while Selena stood across from him.
“There’s one rule in this mansion,” he said firmly. “Loyalty.”
Selena nodded once.
“I don’t betray people,” she replied.
His eyes studied her carefully, as though trying to uncover a secret hidden beneath her calm expression.
Because Damien Blackwood trusted almost no one.
And Selena Vale looked exactly like trouble.
Suddenly, the office doors burst open.
A wounded guard stumbled inside.
“Alpha!” he shouted. “There’s been an attack at the eastern border!”
Damien rose instantly, his expression turning deadly serious.
“Who attacked?”
The guard swallowed hard.
“The Crimson Moon Pack.”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Selena watched as Damien’s eyes flashed gold for a brief second—the wolf inside him awakening.
Danger had arrived.
And somehow, she had walked into the middle of it on her very first night.
Damien grabbed his coat and looked toward her.
“You wanted the job?” he said coldly.
Selena straightened her shoulders.
“Yes.”
“Good,” Damien replied. “Because things are about to get messy.”
And deep inside, Selena realized one terrifying truth—
Working for the Alpha King might destroy her.
But leaving him could be impossible.
