Liv noticed my silence and tugged at my sleeve.
"She's willing. Just arrange it." I collected myself and gave Herman the order. "Trust her abilities, Herman."
Herman's mouth twitched, but he nodded.
"Of course. I'll take care of it, Alpha," he added. "After all, I'm your Beta. My job is to execute, not question your decisions."
He sounded displeased. I rubbed my nose and decided to pretend I hadn't caught his complaint.
Liv's onboarding was processed quickly. I personally escorted her to her work area and reintroduced her to the key department heads. She picked things up fast, not at all like someone meeting them for the first time. I thought perhaps her memories were slowly returning, even if she hadn't realized it yet.
"This is where you'll work. That's your desk. Take some time to get familiar with everything."
Finally, I brought her to the secretary floor on the twenty-first level and showed her to her workstation.
I reminded her patiently, "There's no rush to start officially until tomorrow. If you have any questions, contact Herman or call me."
Liv glanced at her seat. A faint scent of displeasure seemed to drift from her. I sniffed, puzzled, and looked at her. But when she lifted her face to me, all I saw was a cloudless smile.
Maybe I had imagined it.
"Thank you, Elias." She suddenly hugged my arm and pressed her body against mine. The soft contact made me stiffen immediately.
"You went to all this trouble for me. I'm so happy." She smiled coyly, then, before I could react, rose on her tiptoes and pressed a light kiss to my lips.
Muffled gasps and whispers rose around us. The secretaries were all stunned by this sudden scene. I felt countless pairs of eyes on us, the air thick with gossip.
I was startled. My feelings were… strange. I'd expected to be happy—after all, I was kissing the woman I wanted to marry. Her lips were soft, her scent pleasant. Nothing about her was off-putting.
Yet my heart refused to soar. Fenrir lay listlessly inside me, uninterested in everything, and his apathy bled into me. All I felt was awkwardness and confusion.
"As long as you're happy…" In the end, I pushed her away gently, putting some distance between us. "I need to handle some other business. Will you be all right on your own?"
"Don't worry. Leave it to me." Liv smiled.
I nodded, left her to her work, and returned to my office.
I shut the door and threw myself into work, trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling her kiss had left me with.
Files piled high on my desk. I signed, approved, and made decisions—all the familiar routines felt unusually tedious and chaotic today.
My hand paused. The pen tip dragged across the contract, and the ink stain ruined all my work.
I tossed the pen down in frustration and leaned back in my chair. My fingers touched my lips, and I rubbed them without thinking. For some reason, I suddenly thought of Serenity.
Alfred had released her over my head.
She had been out of the mansion for a day now. I had no idea where she was.
Those thoughts unsettled me far more than Liv's kiss.
At first, I'd been angry at how resolutely she'd left. I didn't understand how she could accept my protection all this time and then turn around and blame me. Did she think leaving the mansion and being 'free' was a good thing?
The pack members who resented her were just waiting for her to be alone. Without the mansion's protection, her life would only get harder.
But as time passed and reason returned, a quiet voice told me she hadn't actually done anything wrong.
She was right. Once Liv returned, I had already decided to cut ties with Serenity. Letting her go was the logical thing to do. She was still under suspicion, but there wasn't enough evidence to prove she was the traitor. I couldn't imprison her forever. It went against my principles and pack rules.
