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Then I stared at my phone, almost daring it to ring again as I ran the conversation back through my mind. That last part had been the scariest of all. He’d directly referenced my attack.
And I’d thought Patrick had organized that.
I’d assumed the guys were Silver Claw pack because only Apex was chasing Gold Moon. The wolves had told me to take the next offer. I’d only had one on the table.
I’d formed the logical conclusion.
Except I’d been wrong. And the guys didn’t belong to Patrick. They belonged to a man…to acompany…I didn’t know. There were people out there I didn’t know, who wanted to hurt me.
Against all of my instincts, I wanted to reach out to Patrick. I wanted to hear his voice, and shit…
I needed to apologize. Again.
I’d thought the worst of him, and it hadn’t been warranted.
Remorse brought a wave of nausea. I had enough going on without needing to apologize to the alpha of the Silver Claw pack.
It was fine, though. I could decide what to do later — there was plenty of work to be done here and now as it was. I flipped through another file, but I didn’t take in any of the words written there, so I set it to one side for later.
It was probably time to go home. Apologizing to Patrick Crenshawe would definitely keep for another time.
Charmaine knocked on the door, but she was inside the office before I could reply to tell her to come in. She stood against the door like she could physically hold it closed.
“Patrick Crenshawe’s here,” she said. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer and he’s coming down the hall to see you. He seems really angry.” Her face was pale, and she lowered her voice to a soft hush.
There was another knock on the door behind her and she side-stepped out of the way, apparently not sure she should try to hold it closed after all.
Patrick’s nostrils flared as he stepped into the room, and his hair looked like he’d been running his fingers through it. As if to verify my assumption, he raked his fingers through it again.
“Well?” He barked the single word, and I locked my knees to prevent suddenly sitting on the floor again under the sheer force of his anger.
He was relatively quiet, but the fury radiated from him in waves.
“Well, what?” But I knew what? I’d left him that voicemail and I hadn’t minced my words.
I’d probably managed to be both offensive and insulting on that call, and it turned out that he hadn’t deserved either.
I stood my ground, though, just watching him, not volunteering any more information or making the apology he deserved to hear. He didn’t get to simply turn up at Gold Moon whenever he wanted, and this was the second time he’d done exactly that.
He raised one eyebrow, the motion surprisingly delicate for the force of his next question. “Who attacked you?”
I just watched him, and as I did, almost as if he couldn’t help himself, he let loose a growl and shifted, the transition so smooth that I could barely believe it. One moment an angry man stood in my office, the next, a huge, light-brown wolf, almost looking like steam might pour from his nostrils as anger hummed almost visibly over his fur.
As if he’d summoned her, my wolf ripped from me, the shift so quick that the files I’d still been holding fluttered to the floor, the paperwork they contained spilling out.
Charmaine backed against the wall, her eyes wide, her breathing rapid as Patrick’s wolf advanced toward me, his nostrils still flared.
I stood my ground, my wolf not intimidated, even by this alpha. We were at Gold Moon, on my territory.
He stepped closer, the motion smooth and sleek. Was I prey?
I’d never be his prey. Not while I had teeth and claws.
But he bent his neck, something submissive in his greeting, and he waited, his eyes still fixed on me.
Curiosity and something else burned through me, and without even thinking about it, I stepped to him, close enough that our noses touched as I lowered my head as well.
His tongue flicked out and licked the side of my nose, and I drew away in surprise, but when I met his gaze, mischief and passion burned there.
