Page 17

"And married to one."

"Honestly, Nell, I'm surprised you’re taking the whole shifter thing so well.”

"Oh, I have my breakdown scheduled for this weekend along with a spa date."

"That sounds nice."

"Will Mr. Wolfy let you off the leash to come get a salt scrub with me?"

Addie shrugged. She looked tired. Underneath that, she also looked happier than I'd ever seen her.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," she mimicked.

I sighed and flopped back onto the bed. "At least I got a whole company out of it."

"Yeah, you did. Nice one, boss."

“And now we’re in crime. Actual, high-stakes, international pack-war crime."

"Which is why I was trying to leave you out of this the day I left Sterling."

“Odhiambo, Blackwood & Associates. I’m the CEO." I sat back up, suddenly excited about my predicament. "I'm going to do so many great things with that infrastructure. I’m going to restructure the entire shadow economy if Magnus lets me off his leash.”

Addie laughed, but then she leaned in, her eyes dancing with that familiar, mischievous ‘girl-talk’ light we used to share over a bottle of wine in Brooklyn. “He’s a good one, Magnus."

"Sure. He just locked me in a cabin for kicks."

"Did the cabin actually have a lock?"

I glared at her. She was supposed to be on my side. I thought about Magnus in the kitchen; the gold in his eyes, the proprietary way he stood between me. I thought about the way he’d stared at my mouth when he conceded the company name.

"Addie?"

"Yeah, babe?"

“Would you mind if I fucked your brother-in-law?”

Addie blinked. Then she laughed. Then she snorted.

When I didn't laugh along with her, she cocked her head, looking at me with concern.

"Magnus isn't —" she started, then stopped. "He's the Alpha Heir. He can't mate with a human."

"Mate? Does that mean fuck?"

"No, it means marry."

"Ew. You know that's not my kink."

She snorted and gave me a playful shove. "I'm being serious."

"So am I. I just need one night. To get him out of my system. Fuck the rest of the shock out of me. And then I'll be good."

Addie wrinkled her nose, like she was still unconvinced. I mean, he was her brother-in-law.

"For stress relief. Purely transactional. You know I don't do the other thing. Feelings. Relationships." I shimmied my shoulders in a shudder.