I bite.
We know.
The pause that followed was brief.
Then we heard her laugh.
Our life would never be the same again.
Kael knew it. I knew it.
Neither of us minded at all.
Chapter 30
Nika
The two scents and duplicate-faced Alphas had triggered Bad Girl into a point of no return.
The imposter had looked wrong, smelled wrong, sounded wrong—as if he were a fault in the fabric of something she understood instinctively and couldn’t explain. Then he’d stepped closer and I felt the panic move through her like a current, fast and total, and before I could do anything useful about it the dress was ruined and I was on the floor.
Thankfully, he left.
We began to assess the situation.
Neither of us had attacked. That felt worth noting.
His wolf was immense—black and dense and genuinely intimidating right up until the point he dropped onto his side and just lay there like a very large, very deliberate pile of fur. It was difficult to maintain a state of high alert against something that was actively showing you its stomach.
How had I not known he had a twin brother?
I’d searched Conrí online before the dinner. No social media. Nothing about his family. Nothing personal at all—just the company, the board, the carefully managed public profile of a man who had decided the internet didn’t need to know anything about him.
Note to self. Search harder next time.
I don’t like him, Bad Girl said.The brother.
He didn’t do anything.
He is wrong, she snapped.I wanted to kill him. A pause.I still want to kill him. He’s an abomination.
I sighed.
We’d come so far.
His wolf spoke again.
Why haven't we scented you before? We worked in the same building for years.
Bad Girl paused before answering as if gathering her thoughts and recollection of events.
I was activated after a wolf bite in Croatia. Our blood is old, but weakened through cross-breeding with humans.
There was no shame, only facts. She didn't care what he thought of our bloodline. If his pack had some kind of snobbery against wolves like us they could fuck off as well. I thought of his brother. The same face. Same body. Part of me understood why she reacted so badly.
Kael shuffled a little closer. Bad Girl froze, but he paused and settled again, staring at us as if he wanted to rub noses or lick our fur.
Bad Girl growled at the thought.
