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“When I say that it’s been no hardship to make the changes I’ve made, I mean it. You have never simply been a mere part of my life, Luke. You’re the most important thing in it. You have been since the moment you found me—or I found you. Whatever. Having you in my life has always been as easy as breathing. Always will be. Okay?”
His chest squeezed, and he felt his face soften. “Okay, baby.” His cat pressed against his skin, straining to be closer to her. Thinking that wasn’t such a bad idea, Luke drew her closer and fit his lips to hers. He sipped from her mouth, slow and shallow and sensual.
Sometimes, the knowledge that she was finally officially his hit him like a slap. It hadn’t fully sunk in yet. As she’d said, the whole thing was pretty sudden for him. Not that he had a single complaint.
She nipped at his bottom lip. “We should let our animals run together later. It would do them good.”
His cat perked up at that. “We’ll make it happen.”
Just then, her phone began to chime. His gut hardened. She’d changed her cell number, but he was still uneasy each time her phone rang; still wondered if just maybe her harasser had obtained that number somehow.
She glanced at the screen of her cell. “It’s River.” She slid her thumb over the screen and answered, “Hello.”
“I have news,” declared River with no preamble.
Hearing his pride mate’s voice, Luke relaxed.
“Selfridge House is located on Elmhurst Avenue.”
Blair hummed. “So not too far away, then.”
“Get this: Myra Rogers has shifter blood.”
Both Luke and Blair stilled. Damn, he hadn’t seen that coming.
“Shifter blood?” she asked.
“Yes,” said River. “Her mother is half wolf.”
“And yet Myra has no issue brokering deals that lead to shifters being poached?” Blair snorted and shook her head.
“I trust you’ll pass on the news to our Alphas.”
“I will. Thanks, River.” She hung up. “I take it you heard all that.”
Luke nodded. “I wasn’t expecting the latter piece of news.”
“Me neither. Maybe she has beef with her mom or something—I don’t know.” Her nose wrinkling, Blair tilted her head. “Why is it that you look close to smiling?”
Luke settled his hands on her hips. “It pleases me that River called you with the information.”
She frowned. “Well, it was me who asked him to look into Myra and her firm.”
“Sure, but he wouldn’t have reported directly to you unless he and his animal acknowledged you as their Beta female. It’s one thing for people to accept you. It’s another for them to recognize your authority.”
“Huh, I guess so.” She shrugged. “Well, they all need to get with the program, because I don’t want to go through one dramatic scene after another just to make my point like I did at the Tavern.” She paused. “Now we need to call Tate and bring him up to speed.”
“Then get to it.” It was her news to relay, after all.
Her brows inched up. “All right.”
Not long after she’d updated Tate, a bunch of the pride were gathering at the Alpha pair’s house at his request. It didn’t take long for them to agree on a plan of action. But it wasn’t until later that day, when Selfridge House would soon be due to close, that they acted on that plan.
Parked not far away from the firm, Luke watched as yet another person left. When Farrell had minutes ago taken a good look through the windows while in his avian form, there were only six people in the building.
At this point, only three remained.
Their hope was that Myra would be the last to leave, given it was her firm. If so, she would soon be alone in the building, and then they could sneak inside before she had the chance to vacate it. But if not, they’d simply follow her home and deal with her there.
Riding shotgun, Blair once more glanced at her cell screen, studying the photo of Myra that River sent her. “She looks so sweet. Like a kindergarten teacher or something. You’d never think she brokers shifter poaching deals. I don’t know how people can do that and still sleep at night.”
Luke lightly squeezed her thigh. “Me neither. I’ve come to believe that there are some people in this world who somehow don’t have a soul. Or, if such a thing is possible, that their soul is quite simply dead.”
“You know, I don’t find any of that hard to agree—Hold up, someone else is leaving. A woman. Not Myra, though.”
Soon, another person left.
“And then there was one,” said Luke. He peeked through the gap between the headrests, sweeping his gaze over the group in the rear of the SUV. “She’s officially alone. We need to move now.”
As they’d earlier agreed on, Alex led the way since—as a wolverine—there was no lock or security system that could keep him out. He easily tackled the lock on the building’s rear door, and then they all filed inside.
