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This is the best-case scenario. She goes, and she’s no longer my problem. This is good.
I scoffed aloud, even before the words finished playing in my mind. The scent of her body lingered in my office, forcing my nose upward, following like a fifties cartoon character chasing after a pie on a windowsill. Yeah, I wanted her, but this was a physical pull, harder than what was in the base of my tracksuit, urging me to shift and go for her.
Still, I managed to contain myself with a simple image.
Ilona.
The mere thought of her name drew me back into the depth of my office and into my chair, forcing my restless body into a sitting position.
More than two hundred years had passed since she was in my life, and the feeling still haunted me. Why would I ever endure such pain again?
Mortals weren’t to be chased, shifters or not. Even if Bianca was a wolf, her lifespan was much shorter than mine. She wasn’t an original.
Of course, Jesse deserved to be taken down every single notch and drowned in the bottom of the deepest ocean. But he wasn’t my problem.
She belonged to Jesse, which made her untouchable. She was sexy as sin. And damn it, she was a damsel in distress. The whole trifecta was going to break me.
I sprang from my chair and started my infamous pacing. Unsurprisingly, Sage entered a moment later.
“Did she go again?” the fae asked dryly.
“I need to get a fae healer into Jesse’s compound,” I blurted out.
Instantly, I winced. I hadn’t meant to say that aloud.
Sage raised an eyebrow. “Dare I ask?”
“There’s an injured wolf inside, and she needs help.”
Sage inhaled sharply. “Something to do with that girl again?”
“Does it matter?” I demanded defensively.
“I would answer that, but I suspect you already know the response.”
I ran my hands down my face, sure I was losing it. “Bianca’s sister was hurt. I don’t know the extent of her injuries. Jesse’s incompetent healers are doing little for her recovery.”
“Healers are not soldiers, Atlas.”
My eyes narrowed. “Are you telling me about hierarchy?”
“I’m reminding you because apparently, you’ve forgotten,” she replied evenly. “This is not a matter of sending messages among guards. If one of our healers is caught on Forny land, they won’t be offered any protection, regardless of their ties to you.”
If we were going to help Dahlia, she would have to come to us. But that would mean another kind of danger.
No. Stop. I can’t…
“She’s got quite a hold on you,” Sage commented.
“She’s hot,” I retorted sharply. “That’s all there is to it.”
“Ilona was hot,” Sage intoned.
My head jerked up. “What?”
She shrugged nonchalantly, but I sensed her nervousness. She’d gone too far, and she knew it.
“Ilona is exactly the reason I wouldn’t pursue another mortal,” I hissed. “Not to mention the fact that she’s tied to Jesse.”
