Calculated Worth

Genevieve

Vaughn’s heavy silence hung in the air of the Alpha's office, a thick cloud of unspoken pity that Tessa had zero use for. She broke his stare, turning her attention back to the massive mahogany desk. The separation paperwork lay before her, a stark white testament to the end of her existence in the Obsidian Moon pack. She picked up the heavy silver pen and methodically signed her name on the final stack of documents. Her strokes were sharp, precise, devoid of any trembling.

She pulled her pack-issued belongings from her pocket, lining them up on the polished wood. She took deliberate photographs of every single item, ensuring undeniable proof of her surrender. Keys, access cards, the pack insignia pin.

In exchange, a sleek, brand-new phone was slid across the desk toward her. Her only tether to the outside world now.

Vaughn exhaled a ragged breath, pulling open the top drawer of Maddox’s desk. He retrieved a large, heavy official ink stamp and a dark ink pad. He flipped the pad open, resting the stamp against it, but he didn't press down. Instead, he lifted his gaze to study her closely. The worry swimming in his dark eyes was palpable.

“Tessa,” Vaughn began, his voice rough with genuine concern. “Do you have a plan? Somewhere to go after this?” He gave her his full, undivided attention, leaning forward over the desk.

Tessa nodded confidently, her clinical mind already operating several steps ahead of the Beta's emotional turmoil. “Mm,” she murmured, peeling the plastic film off the screen of her new phone. “I’ve always had a plan in place. I keep track of the need for pack doctors in our world.”

Vaughn blinked, the worry shifting into confusion. “You’ve always kept track?”

“Yes, Vaughn,” she replied evenly, tapping the screen to boot up the device. “It would be stupid of me not to. There is an ironwolf employment page on the hospital’s intranet specifically for medical staff. Currently, there are four other packs in need of a pack doctor. I can go to or apply for trial work inside their territories, see if I like the environment.”

Vaughn fell quiet, silently processing her pragmatic, chilling foresight.

Tessa shrugged, not looking up from her screen. “Maddox only needed to be mated to me until he found his Goddess-Gifted. For all I knew, that could have happened on the very first full moon after I arrived here. Any full moon following the finalization of our mating alliance could have been the end. So, I kept my eyes and ears open all the time. Knowing this day would come.”

“When was the last time you checked the listings?” Vaughn asked, his tone laced with a strange mix of awe and sorrow.

“Hmm.” Tessa paused, thinking back. “That would have been the day you all left to go to that mating ball.” She let out a small, hollow chuckle. “Between delivering pups. It was a busy night.”

While Vaughn directed his melancholic concern at her future whereabouts, Tessa wasted no time. She connected her new phone to the guest network and opened a browser to set up a brand-new, independent bank account. She typed rapidly, ensuring the institution was unaffiliated with the bank Maddox utilized for the pack's vast financial network. She wanted zero ties.

The account activated. She looked up at Vaughn, sliding the phone onto the desk.

“Just one last thing to be attended to,” she stated, gesturing to the computer monitor angled between them.

They had systematically ticked off every single item on the separation agreement. Only the final financial payout remained. As Vaughn turned to the keyboard, Tessa’s mind automatically ran the cold, degrading numbers. Eight grueling years of her life. Working tirelessly in the pack hospital, acting as Luna, bleeding for these people. She calculated her worth based on the baseline of the archaic contract.

Twelve thousand dollars a year.

Eight years.

A grand total of exactly ninety-six thousand dollars.

It was pathetic. Human teenagers working drive-thrus earned more than that in a year. But it was all she was allowed. Her own father had sold her off for a measly sum of one thousand dollars a month.

She was worth nothing to that man. Not even the use of her body was worth anything. Two hundred and fifty dollars a week. She had never earned an actual income here inside the pack. Because Maddox owned her outright, he didn’t have to pay her wages for being a doctor. That was all part and parcel of his ownership, she knew.

Tessa stopped that train of thought before she did the math in her head that put a value on the use of her body by him. She was cheap, that much she knew. Less than a $100 a fuck, that was a given. She shook it off and ruthlessly forced herself not to think about it. She would not cry over being treated as cheap property.

Suddenly, her eyes darted to the computer monitor. Vaughn’s fingers were flying across the keyboard, typing numbers into the pack’s electronic treasury transfer portal. She saw the digits multiply into a massive electronic transfer.

One million dollars.

“Don’t do that,” Tessa commanded sharply.

She lunged forward, reaching out across the desk. She grabbed his wrists, pushing his hands hard away from the keyboard. Vaughn started in surprise, his chair squeaking as he slid back.

Tessa leaned over the desk, her fingers hitting the backspace key until the massive sum vanished from the screen. Without hesitation, she typed in her strict minimum: $96,000.

“That is the minimum,” she stated flatly. She slapped the enter key, hitting send before Vaughn could recover his bearings.

Immediately, her fingers danced across the mouse, navigating to the transaction routing details in the system. She clicked delete, wiping her new bank's trace from the pack's treasury logs. He couldn't possibly send another cent later even if he tried.

“Do not waste pack funds on me,” Tessa snapped, settling back into her chair. “I don’t even really want that money, Vaughn. But seeing as I never earned a single cent while here...” She held up a hand to stop him from speaking when he opened his mouth. “Not entitled to, I know, since I was sold to him. I need something to get my life set up once I leave. That is the only reason I’m accepting this at all.”

Vaughn was frowning deeply at her now, his thick brows drawn together in frustration over her stubborn refusal of the million dollars. But he didn't argue. He picked up the heavy stamp from the ink pad.

He brought it down hard on the desk.

Thwack.

Dark red ink bled onto the crisp paper. The word 'VOID' stamped across the front page of the Mating Alliance documents. He turned the page and stamped the next. Thwack. And the next. He marked void across every single page of the copies, destroying the chains that had bound her to this territory.

Tessa watched the ink drying on the final signatures. The physical voiding of the contract settled deep into her bones. She was officially free. After eight long years of servitude, she was no longer Maddox's property.

She took a steadying breath, the air tasting different in her lungs, and stood up from the leather chair. She picked up the new car keys resting beside the paperwork.

“I’ll move the rest of my things into my car,” she stated calmly.

She looked back at the Beta one last time. “Vaughn, please tell Alpha Maddox I’ll sever myself from the pack link after I leave and have found a place to stay for the night.”

She gripped the keys tightly. “If he’s unhappy about it... well, I guess he can sever me from the pack anytime he sees fit prior to me doing that. I would, however, like him to give me the courtesy of waiting until I’ve found somewhere to stay. I hear it hurts, and I don’t relish having a car accident while driving out of the territory.”

Vaughn looked at her softly, his imposing frame softening with a gentle empathy.

“He isn’t that cruel, Tessa,” Vaughn replied gently, his voice carrying a quiet certainty. “You know that. Maddox will not sever you from his pack. It’s unsafe for you out there as a rogue. So, it will be on your terms. He’ll likely just let you be a pack member forever if you never do it. A pack scent will give you some protection out there.”

Tessa nodded slowly, acknowledging the logic. “That is decent of you to say so.”

She glanced down at her watch. Only five hours. Five hours had passed since the verbal rejection echoed in this very office. Five hours since Maddox accepted it. It hadn’t taken long at all to pack up a life that was never truly hers. Most of the time had been spent boxing up her small personal items. If she hadn't had the help of Bethany or Vaughn in her doctor's office, it might have taken longer. But in just five hours, her entire existence here was closed out, finalized, and boxed up. The sun outside the tall windows was only just starting to go down, casting long, amber shadows across the floor.

She looked at Vaughn. He had always been nice to her. The entire unit had treated her with a modicum of respect. She offered him a small, polite smile.

“I’ll head off shortly,” she told him, turning toward the heavy oak doors. “I just need to bring the things from the Luna Suite down and put them in the car.” She glanced at the metal keys in her palm, still baffled by the gesture. Why buy a car for a woman who was never allowed outside the pack borders? It was a mystery she no longer had the energy to solve.

“If you have any trouble out there, Tessa, you can come right back here for help,” Vaughn stated firmly, stepping out from behind the desk to walk her toward the office exit. He meant it. He was offering the Obsidian Moon's future military or financial assistance. “Or call us for assistance.”

Tessa stopped in the doorway and shook her head, flatly declining the offer.

“I don’t think there will be any trouble, and I won’t be coming back, Vaughn. I am no longer his mate. I am no longer your Luna. And I don’t think the new Luna would appreciate my coming back, or even calling this pack for assistance. I kind of got the impression she clearly despises me.”

She stated it simply, logically. She had no intention of ever returning to this place. Tonight, she was going to make a new life. She didn’t know exactly where yet, but she planned to spend her first night of total freedom in a nice, anonymous human hotel to figure out the logistics of her new life.

Tessa left the Alpha's office behind, making her way down the grand hallway and heading up the sweeping staircase to the Luna Suite to load her remaining boxes.

When she emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later, carrying a heavy cardboard box, she stopped short.

Vaughn was standing in the wide foyer at the top of the stairs. He stood tall, his broad shoulders squared, hands clasped behind his back. He was standing watch like a sentinel, his sharp eyes scanning the hallways.

Tessa adjusted the box in her arms, eyeing his lingering presence with suspicion. “Why are you standing out here?” she questioned.

Vaughn turned his head and smiled gently at her. It wasn't a smile of pity this time, but one of duty.

“It is the final stipulation of the mating alliance,” Vaughn answered smoothly, his voice echoing lightly in the empty foyer. “The new Luna is not allowed to harm you. I am physically guarding you to ensure you make it safely out of the pack territory without the jealous new Luna causing you any harm.”