Chapter 11 - The New Boardroom and the Shadow of Croft Industries
The transition of power at Cascade Pack was swift, ruthless, and entirely efficient—largely because Croft Industries’ legal and logistical teams operated with the precision of a military campaign.
Within three weeks, the old packhouse had been converted from a dusty, whiskey-stained den of political corruption into a modern, sunlit administrative center.
My father, Richard Hayes, had packed his bags and moved out to a small, isolated cabin on the northern edge of the territory, stripped of his title, his fortune, and his influence, reduced to a bitter old man muttering about ungrateful children.
Nobody missed him.
I sat at the head of the polished oak conference table in the newly renovated administrative center, reviewing the quarterly forestry supply logs, when the heavy double doors swung open.
Gideon Locke walked in, holding a thick leather-bound folio stamped with the golden seal of Croft Industries.
“Afternoon, Boss,” Gideon greeted with a faint, respectful nod.
I rolled my eyes, tossing my pen onto the table.
“Don’t start with the ‘boss’ routine, Gideon. I’m an administrator, not an Alpha.”
“Tell that to the three pack elders who tried to lobby me for a zoning exemption this morning,” Gideon replied wryly, dropping the folio onto the table in front of me.
“They asked if you were going to throw them in a dungeon like the medieval lords. I told them you were far worse—you’d probably audit their grocery receipts for the last ten years.”
“Only if they tried to expense luxury scotch to the community development fund,” I retorted dryly.
Gideon chuckled, pulling out a chair and sitting down.
“Kane’s chopper is landing on the helipad in ten minutes,” Gideon added, his tone shifting into something more serious.
“He’s bringing the revised regional security framework for the Olympic Peninsula merger.”
My heart gave a familiar, dangerous flutter at the mention of his name.
Since that stormy night in Croft Estate, Kane Croft had become an unavoidable, grounding presence in my life.
He flew in twice a week.
We reviewed ledgers together.
We mapped out ecological recovery zones for the valley.
And slowly, carefully, the walls around his scarred, over-stimulated nervous system had continued to fracture—not under force, but under the quiet, steady rhythm of shared coffee, silent understanding, and mutual respect.
“Is he managing the sensory flare-ups?” I asked, my voice dropping into a tone of genuine concern.
“Better than he has in five years,” Gideon nodded, resting his elbows on the table.
“The medical team ran his neurological diagnostics yesterday. The cortisol spikes have dropped by forty percent. The doctors are baffled. They’ve never seen an Alpha recover neural stability without heavy pharmacological sedatives.”
“What did they attribute it to?”
Gideon gave me a long, knowing look.
“They didn't attribute it to medicine, Harper. They attributed it to the fact that for the first time in five years, he has a partner who doesn't walk into his room trembling like a scared rabbit.”
I felt a warm flush creep up my neck, and I quickly looked down at the forestry logs to hide it.
“He’s just getting used to my auditing style, Gideon. Nothing more.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Gideon muttered with a dry grin, standing up from the chair.
“I’ll go meet him at the landing pad. Try to look like an intimidating corporate executive before he walks through that door.”
The heavy doors clicked shut behind him, leaving me alone in the sunlit conference room.
I stood up, walked to the large window overlooking the communal green where children were playing tag near the newly rebuilt medical clinic, and smiled.
Life wasn't perfect.
The pack still had a long way to go to recover from five years of financial ruin.
May you like
And Kane and I... well, whatever unspoken bond had formed between the Monster of Croft Estate and the debt-collecting daughter of a disgraced Alpha was still uncharted territory.
The sound of helicopter rotors beating against the mountain air echoed softly in the distance.
