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For two hours, she perfected the slim devices that’d function like an explosive. Given their range and target, no one would suspect foul play, and the fallout would be ruled a gas leak. Satisfied with their creation, she huffed a sigh.
No getting around it; she couldn’t stay cooped up in here all night. Besides, she needed to inform the alpha that an Elemental was going to be his latest guest and she’d be here whenever Riaz gave the thumbs up.
Oh, joy.
Strapping on her stilettos, Cortana strode into the great hall, a bit perplexed to find a pile of wolves still lazily stretching by the hearth. She loved the way fluffy tails and big paws went every which way. There were even sightings of toe beans.
She shook her head with a smile still plastered on her mouth, gazing around the room to see if she could find one of the betas or, heaven forbid, the alpha himself.
Her … mate.
She frowned in surprise at the giddy excitement that stirred inside. Why did her heart leap, when the concept previously conjured up only feelings of entrapment and fear?
The last time she’d partaken in a relationship of this magnitude, it hadn’t ended well. Only one of them had gotten out alive.
Shuddering internally, Cortana took off toward the offices where the irksome alpha might be hiding. She was all of three steps into the hallway before Gadriel stuck his mop of red hair out of his door.
“What’d you do to my alpha?”
His tone was so light and playful that it almost disguised the shiver of upset that ran beneath. Cortana balked, halting in the hallway like an errant child who’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
What had she done to Riaz? Ticking off the mental checklist, she tapped a finger to her chin: teased him, criticized his organization skills, lied about his effect on her and wanting him.
“Nothing.”
Narrowing eyes suspiciously, Gadriel’s lighthearted nature gave way to barely concealed irritation. “Sure. Well, he’s in Ava’s office.”
She padded down toward the other woman’s domain, sticking her head through the door to glance about the room. Ava was working quietly at her computer, peering at Cortana with a befuddled expression but saying nothing.
Seconds later, she spotted Riaz.
At the base of Ava’s contemporary desk, Cortana spotted his massive mahogany body curled up, eyes closed, tail over nose, looking positively adorable.
Immediately, she strode to the giant fluff ball, diving her hands into the warmth of his velvet coat. Each stroke tickled her palms, the fur curling around her fingers while she smiled in earnest. The wolf remained motionless, leading her to believe Riaz knew it was her and was studiously ignoring her.
“Come on, Fido.” Cortana’s hand stilled in his coat. “I need to talk to you.”
One triangular ear flicked her way, the only sign he was indeed listening. Resisting the urge to talk about what she’d come for, she instead reached out to lovingly stroke his velvety ear.
As soon as she made contact, she melted. She’d never felt anything so soft, and it was all she could do not to whimper at the feeling. Riaz, of course, tilted his head away, trying to pull his ear from her grasp, but she held on with a mischievous smirk.
The ear was hers now.
“If you don’t listen, I’ll steal your nose next.”
Riaz gave her the wolf equivalent of a stink eye. He bared one side of his lips, revealed a long row of razor-sharp white fangs. Scoffing, Cortana thumbed a line down his ear once more. “Shift back, Riaz.”
Nothing.
A lofty sigh escaped Riaz’s beast as he stood up and stretched, turned, and then settled back into the same curled position at the foot of Ava’s desk, except this time, he was facing away from Cortana. Grumbling, she proceeded to poke his furry rump to encourage a response.
No movement.
Disheartened, Cortana shoved at the wolf’s rear, unapologetically using her vampiric strength to prompt him to action. Riaz weighed a ton, his body in both forms stacked with solid muscle. She barely managed to move him an inch.
Still nothing.
Climbing to her feet, she refocused on Ava. “Does Riaz pull this petulant child act very often?”
