Chapter 30

Dorothy’s POV For a second she looked like she might slam it—a little show of teeth, perhaps—but she left quietly, dignity just intact. I didn’t waste time waiting on Sharon’s ‘dossier’ about Phoenix Industries. In the world I came from, only a fool trusted those who’d just tried to exile you from the den. Power meant doing the hunt yourself. I opened my own laptop, cross-checked business records, industry news, and community rumor. There was truth in Sharon’s story—Phoenix Industries’ founding stretched deep into the last century, an old wolf’s name on the mountain. But old wolves didn’t always mean safe. And Sharon, the same woman who’d looked me in the eye and told me a true Alpha didn’t belong in management, rarely extended help without an agenda. Something wasn’t right with Phoenix. Every nerve in me, honed by years of reading ulterior motives and calculating threats, said so. I flicked my gaze to the phone perched on my desk—and dialed the number I trusted for the real work. A so