Chapter 33 · The Expansion

A human journalist asked whether Luna title helped the IPO rumor. Zaia said Z Design wasn't seeking IPO—it was seeking clients who respected boundaries. The journalist wrote *Designer Luna Builds Without Crown.* Zaia framed the clipping next to Milo's stick-figure family.

Z Design's new headquarters occupied three floors of a renovated warehouse in the arts district—glass, steel, wolf-free branding that still felt like Zaia's pulse in the walls.

She stood in the unfinished lobby while crews installed the sign: *Z DESIGN — CLARITY BY CHOICE.*

Priya, creative director and war-tested friend, waved a tablet. "Silverfang wants the conference room named after Elena if we close today."

"Close today," Zaia said. "Elena gets the room. She sent us our first national contract when Blackwood headlines were still trying to bury us."

The expansion had been five years of inches becoming miles—twelve employees to eighty, three continents, clients who hired Zaia for ruthlessness disguised as elegance. She'd refused Blackwood merger offers. Sebastian had stopped proposing them. That restraint had mattered more than solstice vows.

Marcus Hale appeared at noon with contracts, not pack commands.

"Alpha sends congratulations," he said, stepping over paint tarps. "And these—security upgrades for the parking garage.