My Fated Alpha's Cruel Game (Elena and Marcus) novel Chapter 279

Chapter 279: Chapter 279 Transferable Power

Elena’s POV

Asher’s jaw clenches, barely perceptible. He stays back, doesn’t interfere. He knows I can handle this myself.

And I do.

With cold professionalism.

The envoy departs with vague promises about future discussions, alliance terms that need "further consideration." His final look burns across my skin, impossible to misinterpret now.

Not attraction, exactly. Assessment.

When the doors seal shut, the tension in the room dissolves.

Asher releases a controlled breath behind me. "He was studying you like a chess piece," he says quietly.

"I caught that."

"You shut him down clean."

"I always do."

His gaze searches my face, looking for cracks I might be hiding. Some sign of how this affected me.

Any reaction at all. "Did it get to you?"

I start to say no automatically.

The word dies on my lips.

"I need to update Ruth," I say instead, already moving toward the door.

It’s not an answer. He doesn’t press for one.

The truth hits me later, the way truth always does.

Sharp. Clear. Impossible to ignore.

Ruth tracks me down that evening in my private office, tablet clutched tight, her expression grim. I’d just finished my evening routine in the attached bathroom, toothpaste still cool and sharp in my mouth, anchoring me in something simple and real.

"Your gut was right," she says without preamble. "The attention wasn’t romantic."

Relief floods through me so fast it leaves me dizzy.

My tension eases slightly. "Political then."

"Exactly. Their Alpha believes an alliance with you personally would secure three disputed territories. You’re viewed as... transferable power."

The phrase lodges in my chest like a splinter.

Transferable.

"So he sent someone to test the waters," I say slowly. "See if I could be swayed. Bought."

Ruth nods grimly. "You weren’t being pursued as just a leader. You were being evaluated as a bargaining chip."

Ice spreads beneath my ribs.

Not objectified in the usual way.

That would almost be simpler to process.

Weaponized instead.

Turned into a tool for manipulating others into submission. A symbol that could be bartered. A name that could be signed onto treaties to guarantee compliance.

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