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“And she shall. Once the contract is signed. I’ve invited two team members to serve as witnesses. At least you’ve already marked her so this part will be painless.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Cricket flicked her wavy brown hair and teased. “Time to release the big bad wolf.” She winked at Rachel as if she was up to some wolf-in-heat romp with her man. Or rather wolf. Small as Cricket was, no way would Rachel win a challenge against her. Petite or not, she-wolf Cricket must be equipped with lethal claws and canines.
Lev gave Rachel a parting look and left with the attractive brunette.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Rylee said.
As the door shut, a pang of jealousy washed over her. Spunky Cricket must be a love interest. Would they romp in the woods like lovers?
“Don’t worry. Cricket is mated to Prince Slade.”
A prince? So what was she doing here? Then again, her idea of royalty must not apply to the lycan kind. “Why would I be worried?” Rachel asked defensively.
“Try as you might, humans can’t hide the scent of their emotions from us.”
Crap. Might as well tell the entire world she had a lusty crush on Lev. Nonetheless, she felt relief Cricket had a mate. “We’re just friends.” Shit. Rylee’s lie detector powers would know the truth. “I thought Cricket and he were dating. I didn’t see a wedding ring.”
“Only humans wear wedding rings. It would be complicated always having to store jewelry before shifting.”
That certainly made sense in this crazy world of werewolves. Although, Rylee sported a very expensive-looking diamond ring. Was she engaged, married or something else? Did werewolves stay up all night buying on the shopping channel?
Rylee pointed to a leather sofa. “Please sit.”
“Thank you.” Rachel remembered her first job interview with trepidation. This one was different. An interview that had the potential to turn into death by fangs for acting like an idiot rather than not getting hired. Very unnerving to face the top company bitch.
“Would you like coffee, tea or water?”
“Just water is fine.”
Rylee opened a wooden door on the wall that turned out to be a refrigerator and took out a bottle of water. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” Rachel twisted off the cap and placed the bottle to her lips, but then stopped. “Sorry, I forgot. You drink first, right?”
Rylee gave her a pointed look. “True enough, except I’m not having water.”
“I see.”
“But good to ask. I don’t expect you to follow our rules just yet. I’ll give you a grace period to make human mistakes in etiquette. At least not in my pack. Any other pack, you must follow proper behavior. As a new human joining our society, I would not expect you to visit any other pack without undergoing a few months indoctrination into our etiquette.”
“That’s a relief.”
“You will be assigned a handler to learn about our culture. Once you are out of danger, you may work and live apart from us, but with the understanding your unique DNA will be susceptible to our kind.”
A glimmer of hope dangled before her like a carrot. She could leave them once the danger was over. Certainly, a place existed where she could stay away from their kind. Her heart ached at the idea of never seeing Lev. Leaving the man who had brought her back to life and made love to her like no other man bothered her more than learning their wolfish rules. Not to mention her alluring special scent, making her a target for other alpha males. “Will Lev be my handler?”
“Not a chance. Of all the members of my team, he is the last one I would choose to train you.”
Why? Did she know they had sex? That his wolf claimed her? Or was that a lycan version of a one-night stand? “May I ask why?”
“Until a few years ago, we considered Lev a rogue wolf. Not that he didn’t provide us with vital intelligence while he worked for the Russians, but he has not made a complete commitment. Point in fact, Lev has never chosen to live in a pack.”
“Doesn’t he belong to your pack?”
“Yes, he’s a member of Team Greywolf; unfortunately, he doesn’t wish to continue.” Rylee gave her a guarded look. “Now that you are here, I doubt he’ll ever leave.”
Rachel’s cheeks burned. “Not sure about that.”
