Page 26 of Shadow of Fury

Eventually he scrubbed a hand over his jaw and sighed, “I’ll stand if that’s okay with you.”

“Suit yourself.” She nodded.

Dominic paced around the office as she started a pot of coffee and turned back to her computer. She tried to ignore him as she readied the schedule that she knew the Alpha would want to see before he started his day. Dominic surprised her when he slid onto the edge of her desk and leaned close, forcing her to glance up at him.

“Yes?”

“Do you know what they’re talking about in there?”

“No idea.” She shook her head. “Do you?”

“I wouldn’t be asking if I did.” He grinned, leaning back a little but not retreating from her space. “It’s weird we can’t hear them though right? I mean, wolf hearing? We should be able to hear them if they’re talking, shouldn’t we?”

Wren sighed, “Not necessarily. The Alpha’s office is insulated to be soundproof, that way people can’t listen in on his important meetings.”

“Soundproof?” Dominic looked surprised. “I didn’t know that.”

“It’s not one hundred percent foolproof. If they were yelling we’d be able to hear. Even if they speak at a normal volume but close to the door, sometimes I can hear inside. But if they're purposely keeping their voices down…”

“You think they’re being quiet on purpose?”

She bit the inside of her cheek, not wanting to give away anything more than she already had.

“Wren?” he drew out her name. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Lots of things probably, because it’s none of your business.” She smiled up at him to soften her words. “Whatever is going on in…”

She was mid-sentence when the door to the inner office came flying open so hard it slammed into the wall behind it with a resounding thud. Logan’s face was red and as he looked between her and Dominic it only became more so. Dominic jumped to his feet as Logan’s eyes narrowed on his old friend.

“Hey I…” he started but Logan jerked his head.

“Let’s go. Now.”

Without giving her another glance, he stormed outside. Dominic shot her a worried look before turning and following Logan out of the office. Wren watched through the big windows as Dominic hurried to catch up until both men were out of sight. She frowned, not liking anything that had happened so far this morning.

“My apologies for my son’s rude behavior.”

Wren sucked in a breath and pushed down every roiling emotion inside of her before she turned back to the Alpha. He must have gotten up to follow Logan when he rushed out, but he hadn’t been quick enough to catch him. The elder Kemp stood in the doorway of his office and she noted that his own cheeks looked flushed as well, though if it was from the argument with his son or from the exertion of chasing after him, she didn’t know.

Either way, she much preferred the sickly gray pallor on the old man, but as usual, he seemed healthier this morning than he had when he’d left the day before.

She’d been keeping track of him long enough to know that his shifter genes were trying to heal him from whatever was making him ill. Overnight, he always seemed to regain some of his strength. His color returned. He stopped coughing. And he at least appeared to be recovering for a while. But the signs of his illness always came back and she’d noticed recently that his state of recovery seemed to be lasting for a shorter and shorter interval.

He used to be able to make it all day, or very near to it, before the hacking cough returned. Then he started leaving earlier and earlier saying he would work from home to be closer to his sick wife. Yesterday had been the first day he hadn’t come back to the office after lunch, only messaging that he had his phone if anyone needed anything.

Everyone in the pack knew his wife was severely ill and bedridden. Nobody had seen her in months. Wren had even started to wonder if she was dead but if that was the case, and if the Alpha was suffering this sickness due to his bond with an ill mate, wouldn’t he have gotten better after she passed? That or, if the bond was strong enough, he should have followed her to the other side not long after.

Yet he was still standing, and Wren couldn’t be sure of anything when it came to this man.

She forced a pleasant smile back onto her face, “You don’t have to apologize to me.”

“No. I don’t.” His lips twisted into a wry smirk. “But it’s the polite thing to do.”

“Well, thank you.”

He tilted his head, hazel eyes watching her intently, “Your presence here seems to have struck a nerve with my son. He was very unhappy to find out that you’re my assistant. He was angrier still when I refused to fire you at his behest.”

Wren’s jaw clenched, “I appreciate that, sir.”