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I was relatively safe tucked away in the science library or the lab at Parallel Uni, but there were still times when it was hard to avoid unwanted attention. In line for dinner at the cafeteria, shopping for groceries, and walking home after my one late night class. Even without makeup and with more curves than the average wolf, I attracted attention.
Despite the taunts about being the world’s biggest nerd when I was a kid and the general shunning involved with being on the Alpha’s Shit List, I know I’m attractive. I’ve seen the way men’s eyes follow me when I cut through the park or even pop out to take the trash to our apartment building’s communal dumpster. They’re definitely interested in a way that has more to do with the way I look than my sparkling personality or dazzling wit.
My mother says I’m beautiful and I shouldn’t be surprised if one day the wolf of my dreams falls at my feet, but she’s my mom.
She has to say things like that.
Mom…
I wonder where she is now. I wonder if she’s safe and if she’s as worried about me as I am about her.
Probably more worried.
I wish there was a way to tell her I was okay without putting her in more danger. But there isn’t. The safest thing for my family is to cut them out of my life completely, the way my sister Kelley did when she left.
I swallow hard and fight the wave of emotion shoving up my throat, but a tear slips down my cheek anyway. Good thing I didn’t put on any mascara.
I wipe my face and pull myself together just as Dara calls my name from the front of the locker room.
“I’m ready,” I say.
Or as ready as I’ll ever be.
Chapter 4
Maxim
I swirl the amber contents of my second bourbon of the night—never more than two and never closer than an hour apart—in my glass, waiting for the knock at my study door.
It comes just after midnight.
“Come in,” I say, and Dara pops her head in.
“She’s settled, Sir,” she says. “Is there anything else you need from me tonight?”
“No, thank you,” I say, then add warmly. “I appreciate your help, Dara. And your discretion. No one needs to know where we’re keeping our guest except you, me, and Hermione. Understood?”
“Absolutely, Sir. You can count on me,” she says, and I know I can. Dara’s mate was shot last year during a drug delivery gone wrong. I carried Jenkins back to the tower myself, on my back, keeping pressure on his wound the entire way.
It’s no less than I would have done for any of my men—no less than I should have done as Alpha—but since that day I can do no wrong in either of their eyes. I have their loyalty and their secrecy whenever I have need of it.
“But you can tell Jenkins,” I add, triggering a relieved smile from the petite wolf.
“Thank you, again. Hard to keep a secret from the man who’s slept in your bed for over a decade.”
“I would imagine so.” I lift a hand to let her know she’s dismissed. “Sleep well. Both of you.”
After she’s gone, I down the rest of my drink and rise, leaving my glass on my desk as I open the secret door in the corner of the study. Tucked behind a curio cabinet with all the china inside firmly glued down, it opens with a creaking sound and a puff of dust.
It’s been years since anyone’s taken this passage into the consort’s quarters, not since my father visited my mother there when I was a child. But my mother’s been dead a long time and Father never sought another mate. The rooms were redecorated, but it wasn’t until I became Alpha last year that the cleaning staff added maintenance of the consort’s wing back into their weekly rotation.
My loyal staff continues to maintain the rooms, despite the fact that I’ve shown no interest in finding a mate, which meant all was in place for my prisoner to be made comfortable there tonight.
But not too comfortable…
There’s something about this woman, something…off, that has every instinct in my body warning to proceed with caution.
I make my way through the secret passage to the entrance to her private bathroom, wait a moment to ensure there’s no activity in-process inside—I don’t intend to respect her privacy, but surprising women on the toilet isn’t one of my kinks—and then slip in through the full-length mirror.
