Chapter 147

Jasper Leon paced restlessly within me. He had been uneasy since the confrontation in the conference room,and that feeling had only intensified after Mia's convenient fainting spell. The pack doctor had found nothing physically wrong with her—"just stress," he'd said with a nervous glance in my direction. To ease Mia's supposed stress,I brought her home. Under my forced calm and steady touch,she finally drifted off to sleep in my arms. But even with her breathing steady against my chest,I couldn't shake the gnawing unease. My eyelids grew heavy,thoughts colliding—Mia's fragile act,Freya's icy expression in the conference room,the fragile balance of the pack tilting ever closer to collapse. Somewhere between wakefulness and sleep,the images blurred. And then— I tore myself from the heated moment with Mia,feeling the familiar post-desire clarity wash over me. My office was in disarray—papers scattered across the floor,Mia's clothing half off,my desk a mess. For a moment,I allowed myself