1 Chapter 1: Heather Parker and Haley Butcher

“Champagne?” Haley offers it up with a smile, despite how her heart is constricting in her chest, trying not to burst. For all the man before her holds himself with a kind smile and strong shoulders, he’s dangerous.

“Ah, yes, thank you, Heather.”

“Of course, Alpha Parker. Here, let me take this glass from you.”

For a moment, she can’t even dare breathe as she takes his empty Champagne flute, replacing it with another. In that moment, she brushes against his suit as she fumbles for a moment with the empty glass, laughing sheepishly at her ‘slip up’.

Carefully coordinated and faked, and he chuckles at her apparent ‘clumsiness.’

“Careful dear, wouldn’t want to make a scene by breaking a glass tonight of all night.”

“I’ll be careful, though I should get another set of flutes, I’m starting to run low.”

Alpha Parker waved her away, letting her go do her job.

She’s quick to leave, doesn’t want to stay around just incase she’s truly clumsy or slips up in worse ways, like if she unconsciously corrected him about her name.

Haley didn’t mind being called Heather, no, she was quite thankful for it really. It meant that her act was holding up under the scrutiny of the Alpha himself.

Heather Parker, a distant relative of the rich and power Parker family who was working the night as a hostess for the Silvermane pack. That’s who she was right now, and Haley wasn’t going to break character that easily.

She had more than her pride on the line if she screwed this up. Haley patted her pocket, confirming that the phone she stole off of Alpha Parker was still there.

It was a bold plan, but Haley couldn’t help but be a little impatient and test the waters so to speak. She was still relatively unknown in the more powerful circles in their city.

If she got caught now, she could slip away, and if she got away with some of the info she was hunting for, well, then they’d be all the better for it. One hell of a risk for a major payout, but it would all be worth it in the end.

For now though, she was just Heather Parker, doing her rounds around the guests, offering Champagne and a polite smile.

The entire manor was so very festive, all the guests tettering about, dressed in their tailored clothes and beautiful gem encrusted accessories. It wasn’t every day that Alpha Solas of the Silvermane Pack turned 61 after all.

The Silvermane manor really was something though! Luxurious, grand, it was a bit overwhelming, but she managed to keep herself cool. Haley had never been to a place like this though.

Everything was so sleek and bright, absolutely gleaming and the people themselves were practically the room’s decoration. The furniture almost felt like an add on, even though they were just as grand as the rest of the place.

Silvermane, Winston, and Parker. Those three families were the reigning packs of Newday city, the ones in charge. The richest, most powerful people there were.

It wasn’t anything like how the humans would rule, no, they had their governments and ballots and all that. Werewolves were a bit different.

They liked the pack dynamic, easy to define and group together. A status quo that held just a bit too much weight—or maybe more than a bit. Haley herself didn’t mind the idea of packs, but these people were a bit more than that, she wouldn’t be here otherwise.

Newday city was like the werewolf version of Staten Island, up north, surrounded by water, but much MUCH further away from the mainland and the rest of the world.

It kept the peace—between them and the humans at least.

Haley carefully navigated through the crowds, feeling out of place, even in her silk blouse and pencil skirt. She was dressed just as every server, carrying a little tray of Champagne flutes and a smile on her face.

Heather Parker though? Oh, she was in her element. She was good with people, great with people, fit in so seamlessly that no one was any wiser to just who she really was.

She might’ve been taking a lot of risk being here, doing these things, SPYING on some of the most powerful people in the city, but she had confidence in herself and her skills and the iron will to succeed. There was no way she’d fail.

Her tray was almost out of flutes, which was perfect timing really. Now she had an excuse to leave the floor. She made her way towards the manor’s kitchens, passing the restock area without even a glance.

Instead, she went deeper into the manor and slipped off into one of the various unused rooms. The room didn’t seem like anything special; it was a bit plain honestly. Haley wasn’t even sure she could call it a room since it was rather narrow with the right wall being lined with doors.

She was alone though, and that meant there weren’t eyes on her. She could finally breathe, some of the tension leaving her shoulders.

Haley was a good actor, it’s one of the reasons she was doing this, but God was it stressful. She didn’t have much time though. ‘Heather’ had a job to do, and it would look suspicious if she was gone for too long.

She had to check the contents of the phone now, it was her only chance. She hadn’t thought her little slight of hand would work but she was glad it did. Her theater days really were paying off.

The phone itself though was a sleek touchscreen though, and Haley withheld a grimace.

A flip phone was the height of technology she could get her hands on and all those TV shows weren’t exactly going to help her figure how to work this thing. Turning it on was the easy part.

Step two decided to kick her butt when the lock screen appeared, and Haley cursed her stupidity.

He was Alpha f*cking Parker, of the prestigious Parker pack, one third of the power that ruled their city. Of course, the man was going to have a lock screen on his personal phone!

All risk and no reward, and worse, she felt f*cking stupid for not realizing it sooner. Well, it’s not like the economic disparity hadn’t screwed her over before. This was just another thing to add to the list.

Now she had to dump the phone somewhere and get back out there. Maybe she could eavesdrop on some conversations and gather some info, keep the night from being a complete bust.

“What are you doing in here?”

Those were not the words Haley thought would chill her blood like they came from the grim reaper but hey, she was experiencing a lot of things she never thought she would because of her job and her…she’d call it a ‘freelance undertaking’ for the moment. Seeing as she had given herself the role of a spy.

Really though, her first day on the job and this happens.

She was sooo screwed.