A Gift to Settle an Insult

Milley Pov 

By the time the meeting began, my feet already ached.

I moved between the long table and the sideboard, filling glasses and clearing plates while the Alphas argued over border disputes, patrol routes, and the attacks on trade caravans. Their voices carried across the hall, confident and unhurried. Nobody interrupted them unless they had the rank to get away with it, so I kept my eyes on my work.

"Your northern patrols have been reduced," one Alpha said. "How do you intend to secure the border?"

Liam Sprouse's commander sat beneath the black-and-silver Sprouse crest, and he answered without hesitation. "Our numbers haven't changed. We've adjusted the rotations and reinforced the crossings. The reports went to every Pack involved."

"And your Alpha approved these changes? Personally?"

The commander set down his glass. "The orders carry his authority. If you have concerns about the patrols, I'll answer them. If you came to question whether my Alpha can run his own Pack, say so plainly."

The room quieted. Our Alpha leaned back in his chair, watching with open interest. "No need to bristle, Commander. We're all concerned about the stability of the Sprouse Pack."

"Then read the reports. You'll find the borders are secure."

The talk moved on, but the questions kept coming, and before long another Alpha raised Liam's absence. "Your Alpha hasn't attended a gathering in months. Should we assume that's permanent?"

"He has matters to attend to at home."

"Matters that keep him from leaving his own Pack?"

A few men traded knowing looks. Everyone knew what had happened to Liam Sprouse. He had once been a powerful Alpha, but the attack that nearly killed him had stolen his ability to shift. His Pack had survived the crisis. His reputation hadn't come out of it nearly so well.

Our Alpha rested his elbows on the table. "An Alpha's duties don't vanish because his circumstances change. The rest of us still have borders to defend and alliances to keep. If Sprouse can't attend to those himself, his absence becomes a concern for every Pack that deals with him."

"His absence hasn't affected a single agreement between our Packs."

"Not yet." He said it quietly, but it carried across the hall. He lifted his glass. "Of course, we should be understanding. Losing one's wolf must make even ordinary duties difficult. I'd hate to see Sprouse burdened with anything more demanding."

A few Alphas laughed under their breath. The commander didn't join them. "If you're finished discussing my Alpha's health, we can return to the agenda."

Our Alpha's smile sharpened. "Actually, Commander, you've given me an idea." His eyes slid to me. "Milley. Come here."

I set down the pitcher and went to him at once.

"Stand beside me."

I obeyed. He turned back to the commander. "Your Alpha has enough on his shoulders. Perhaps he needs someone to handle the little things he can no longer manage."

The commander glanced at me, then back at him. "What are you proposing?"

"A servant. One of my own. She'll cook, clean, and attend to his personal needs, and she'll follow instructions without complaint."

"I didn't come here to negotiate for household staff."

"Of course not. You came to represent an Alpha who couldn't bring himself to attend." He pressed on before the commander could answer. "Take her back with you. Let her manage his meals, his clothes, whatever else has become too difficult. Perhaps with someone keeping his household in order, Sprouse will manage to join us next time."

A few Alphas laughed openly now. My face burned, and I fixed my gaze on the table and held my hands still.

"My Alpha has never asked your Pack for a servant," the commander said. He didn't look amused.

"I'm not asking whether he asked. I'm offering a gift."

"We don't accept people as property."

Our Alpha's fingers closed around my shoulder. "She's an Omega. Her family has served this Pack for generations. She's been raised for this work, and she'll be better provided for in a Pack that can use her." His grip tightened. "Unless the Sprouse Pack has grown so weak it can't even accept a servant."

The commander's gaze dropped to the hand on my shoulder. "Release her."

The room fell silent. Our Alpha let go slowly, his smile never reaching his eyes. "Careful, Commander. You're a guest in my Packhouse."

"And you're using a woman to insult an Alpha who isn't here to answer you. You made your intention plain the moment you tied the offer to his condition."

For a moment neither man moved. I wished I could vanish into the wall. I knew better than to lift my head, but I could feel every gaze in the room resting on me. To the Alphas, I wasn't a woman caught between two men. I was proof of one man's authority and another man's supposed weakness.

Our Alpha raised his glass. "Then let's make this simple. I offer a servant to the Sprouse Pack as a gesture of goodwill. Accept her and keep the courtesy between our Packs, or refuse her before these witnesses and let them decide what the refusal means."

That was the real threat. If the commander refused a gift in front of every Alpha, our Alpha could claim a diplomatic insult. If he accepted, he would carry home the very humiliation meant for Liam. The commander saw it too. I could tell by the way his jaw locked.

He looked at me once, and I kept my eyes lowered. Then he turned back to our Alpha. "I'll take her to our Pack. But understand this: accepting her here doesn't mean my Alpha agrees to your arrangement."

"Naturally," our Alpha said smoothly. "I'm sure Sprouse will appreciate the consideration."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then he's free to decide what to do with your gift."

The commander rose. "You've made your point, Alpha. I suggest we leave it there."

Our Alpha raised his glass in a mock salute. "Give Sprouse my regards. And tell him I look forward to seeing him at the next meeting."

The commander didn't answer. He motioned for me to follow, and I did, and we left the hall without another word. Behind us the Alphas went back to their drinks, their laughter trailing us into the corridor. I didn't turn around. I had been given away in front of the most powerful wolves in the region, and not one of them had asked my name.

By the entrance, a guard waited with the commander's cloak. "You'll travel with us," the commander told me. "You'll be fed and given a place to sleep on the journey. No one mistreats you under my watch."

"Yes, Commander."

He studied me a moment, perhaps waiting for more. I kept my head lowered. "Do you have belongings to collect?"

"My things are in the servants' quarters."

"Then get them. We leave shortly."

"Yes, Commander."

I turned to go with a hundred questions pressing at me. Would I ever see my parents again? Would the Sprouse Pack treat me any differently? What would happen if Liam Sprouse refused to keep me? But questions had never changed my circumstances. All they had ever done was teach people where to hurt me. Still, I couldn't stop wondering whether things might be different in a Pack that had defended its Alpha instead of laughing at him.

I asked nothing aloud. I knew better than to mistake a possibility for a promise.

I went to collect my things, the little book still tucked beneath my apron, the same one Mara had tried to destroy. It was the only thing I owned that belonged to the future I wanted. By nightfall I would be leaving the only home I had ever known, and for once, I couldn't tell myself that obedience would keep me safe.