The Alpha Behind The Mask-Chapter 85: Refusing

Oliver’s POV

​For a moment, I was stunned.

I didn’t know what to say. I just stared at her.

She stared back at me, her eyes filled with desperation.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

We just looked at each other.

I saw the fear in her eyes...and it made me wonder—what was she so scared of?

​Inside my head, my wolf was pacing, claws scraping against the floor of my mind. Go to her, he snarled. She is right there. Stop this game.

He had been restless since the moment we left the Full Moon Pack, mourning the loss of her scent and the warmth of her presence. He was far more fond of her than I could explain.

​But I forced him down. I forced everything down. I put on the blank, emotionless look of the Alpha King, the one that had kept me alive in a world of political vipers and childhood pain.

​Aurora swallowed hard, the movement of her throat visible, then she took a step forward, her eyes fixed on mine. "I want my job back." She said again.

​I furrowed my brow, genuinely confused and terrified that I was misinterpreting the raw emotions in her gaze. "Why?"

​She didn’t respond; she just kept staring at me as if the words were too heavy for her to say.

​"You have your severance, Aurora," I said, leaning back in my chair and crossing my arms to hide the fact that my own fingers were shaking. "You have your freedom from me... that’s what you wanted, remember?"

​I watched her closely... noticing the raw emotions in her eyes. Was this guilt? Was it pity? Or was it the one thing I didn’t dare hope for?

​"Is it the money?" I asked, pressing on. "If the severance isn’t enough, I can double it. You don’t have to force yourself to be near someone you despise just for a paycheck."

​I wanted her to go. I needed her to leave. Every second she stood in my office, her scent—that mix of rain and something uniquely her—was eroding the walls I had spent all morning rebuilding. if I stop seeing her, maybe I’ll be able to let go of my feelings for her. Maybe I could forget the way her skin felt or the way my heart raced whenever she was near. I doubted it... but I had to try.

​But here she was, standing her ground, refusing to let me sink back into the safety of my loneliness.

​"My brother is in the hospital," she said suddenly.

​I looked up, my heart sinking.

​"The shifts at the club where I work... they can’t cover the expenses. I can’t get another job that pays as well as this one. So... I want to stay."

​My heart sank deeper. For a fleeting, foolish second, I had dared to hope. I had dared to imagine she was staying because she couldn’t stay away from me, just as I had struggled to stay away from her since I left her at dawn.

​But I was wrong... it was just for benefits. I was a paycheck. A way to solve a problem. Just like Cassey, she was looking at the King’s resources, not the man’s heart.

​I didn’t let the pain reach my face. I masked every flicker of disappointment, my expression turning back into the blank look of the Alpha King. I looked down at the file on my desk, the words blurring into meaningless black lines as I forced myself to pretend to read. I didn’t look at her. I couldn’t. If I met her eyes now, I might actually break.

​"I’m sorry, Aurora," I said, my voice composed and professional. "But your position is no longer available. As you saw, Elias has already been briefed and has taken over your duties."

​I turned a page of the document, pretending I was going through it when, in fact, I couldn’t see a word.

​"If it’s truly about the hospital bills, speak to the account manager on your way out. I’ll authorize a one-time grant to cover your brother’s medical expenses as a final courtesy for your service and also as compensation for the plane accident," I added, still not lifting my gaze. "But as for the job... the decision is final. You’re free to go."

​Inside, my wolf let out a long, mournful howl... He knew I was lying. He knew I was pushing away the only thing that mattered to us, but the man in me—the broken man she had identified so accurately—was too terrified to be used again.

​I expected her to turn and walk out. God, please, just leave, Aurora. Leave now while I still have the strength to let you go. Every second she stayed, I was a second away from pulling her to myself.

​"Please leave," I begged her in my mind, but she wasn’t moving. She stood her ground in the center of the office.

​I lifted my gaze, forcing a look of annoyance onto my face, and asked, "Is there anything else?"

​"I’m not leaving, Alpha Oliver," she said, her voice surprisingly authoritative. "I haven’t delivered my resignation letter to you... so technically, I still have my job."

​I felt a vein throb in my temple. What is wrong with her? "Then you are fired," I snapped.

​She didn’t flinch. Instead, she folded her arms calmly and looked me dead in the eye. "You can’t terminate my employment without any reason, sir. My performance has been exemplary, and according to the contract I signed, you need a valid cause for immediate termination."

​That was it.

​My wolf was practically cheering in the back of my skull, happy she wasn’t backing down.

I stood up, my chair scraping harshly against the floor, and walked around the desk until I was standing right in front of her.

​I was so close I could see the panic and emotions in her eyes and the way her pulse was jumping in the hollow of her throat. The scent of her—sweet and intoxicating—rushed over me, making my head spin.

​"You want a reason?" I leaned down, my voice dropping to a low, commanding rumble that was meant to intimidate her, though it felt more like a confession. "You want to know why you can’t be here? Because every time you walk into this room, I can’t think. Because I’m supposed to be running packs, and all I can focus on is the fact that you’re breathing the same air as me. You called me heartless, Aurora. You called me hollow. So why would you want to work for a man like that?"

​I searched her face, my heart hammering so hard that I could tell she heard it.

I searched her face. "Is it really just the money? Is that all I am to you? Is that all this position is for you?"

​She looked up at me, and for a moment, the determined look she was wearing slipped, revealing something raw and agonizingly beautiful underneath.

​"Is that really what you think?" she whispered.

​