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“Maia Blake?” the man asks as I wrench the door open. He’s wearing a black suit and has a camera strapped to his chest. His dark hair is long and braided around his head. I’ve never seen him before in my life, and I do not like that he’s recording me.
I frown and nod.
He reaches inside his coat, and I gasp, but he pulls out a large brown envelope and hands it over to me. “You’ve received a summons to Family Wolf Court. Your local courthouse is at Lunar Hall. You are not permitted to leave the Wolfe Pack with the infant, Phoebe Elise Blake, and will face prosecution if you do not attend your appointed court date. Do you understand what I have outlined?”
“Yes,” I whisper as tears fill my eyes. My hands are shaking as I take the envelope from him, and he nods once before clicking a button on his camera.
“My name is Michael,” the man says, and his tone has changed from being so… empty, to having some feeling within it. I just can’t detect what it is. “Are you home alone, Maia?”
“Um, no,” I say, shaking my head as fear fills me. Why does he want to know if I’m alone? “My mate is upstairs.”
Can he tell that I’m lying? Does my heart give me away? The scent of the house?
Oh, no.
He frowns, his nostrils flaring as he takes a whiff, but ultimately nods. “Can you call them down? You’re shaking, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving you alone, right now. This is a huge shock, and I know you just want to look after your daughter, right?”
I flinch and drop the padded envelope by mistake as I cuddle Phoebe closer to me. He crouches down and picks it up with his slender fingers, giving me a strangely compassionate look. His eyes are a deep green, and he’s a good ten years older than me. He seems kind, despite his business for being here, but my brain can’t listen to my logic when we’re in such physical distress.
I can instinctively feel the presence of his wolf, and that’s the biggest issue for a human like me. He’s a werewolf, and that makes him dangerous. Dangerous to me and to Phoebe.
His eyes narrow, and he gives me a gentle smile. “I won’t physically hurt you, Maia. My job is done, but my mate would make me sleep in our dog house if I dared leave you alone right now.”
“Okay,” I whisper. I don’t know if he’s whispering, too or if my heart is beating that loudly that everything else pales in comparison.
“But we both know you’re lying about someone being home, so could you please call one of your mates to come back? I won’t come in or do anything else to hurt you,” he says softly. “You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“I’ll call him.” My voice trembles, and I move into the house to set Phoebe down on the carpet in the passageway as I drop down onto the bottom of the stairs. I can still see Michael in the doorway, and I pull my phone out of my pocket to call for Topher.
Alex is in a bunch of meetings, and as much as he told me to contact him if I needed him, I know the last few weeks have likely wreaked havoc on their business. Ben’s working on a tough case and actually told me to not contact him.
Seb should be free, but he’s not the comfort I need right now.
I need pretty promises, and maybe even an ounce of tough love, which Topher is the best man for. I need him.
There’s only one dial tone before a crystal clear, “Princess, are you okay?” rings across the line.
“No,” I say, biting my lip so I don’t cry. “Can you come home, please?”
“I’m on the way. I’ll be fifteen minutes, okay?” I nod, and I can hear his grin in his next words. “You need to tell me you’ll be okay, princess. Nodding doesn’t count.”
“I’ll be okay.” My voice is more confident, this time, and my legs have stopped shaking. Michael has a wide smile on his face as if he’s proud.
“Good girl. Will Phoebe be okay?”
“She’s perfect.”
“So are you,” he murmurs before the line goes dead.
I look over at Michael, who gives me a nod. “I’m sorry I had to do this.”
“It’s not your fault,” I say quietly. “I’ll be okay now.”
“Are you sure?” he asks. “I really do not mind staying here until your mate returns. I know that I’d want someone to do the same for my mate.”
“I’m sure you can smell, but I’m human.” I grimace a little when he nods. “Your presence doesn’t soothe me, it kind of sets me on edge, and I’m already a little wound up.”
“I understand. I’ll leave you to it then,” he says with another nod. “Once I’m gone, close your door and wait for your mate to come home.”
