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Before I could do that, the panther shifted. I watched as the creature shed the form of a cat and took on the form of a man.
A man that I knew.
“Felix?” I asked, confused.
My heart hammered against my chest, and my fox still squirmed. Her flight response was at my fingertips, and I still considered dropping into fox form and making a run for it.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I should ask you the same thing,” Felix said. His face was hard, the warmth in his features gone. When I’d met him for the interview that first night, I’d liked him. He’d been open and welcoming, drawing me in.
Now, he was cold and calculated, and despite being in the shape of a man, his eyes were still that of the panther, a predator that tracked my every move.
“Is there some kind of rule against visiting small stores?” I asked.
“There is if you’re discussing Tate Armstrong.”
Blood drained from my face. “What?”
“That’s what I want you to tell me,” Felix said simply. “What the fuck are you playing at?”
“I’m not playing at anything!” My mind spun. How much had he heard? I tried to remember exactly what I’d said to Autumn, exactly how much Felix with his cat ears might have heard.
“Did you follow me?” I asked.
“It’s my business to know when someone is going behind the alpha’s back.”
“I’m not going behind his back.”
“So, you’ll be fine if we go to him and discuss Tate? I mean, I’m all for that.”
“That won’t be necessary,” I snapped. I couldn’t begin to imagine the shit that would cause. “Why did you follow me?”
“Something about you doesn’t add up,” Felix said. “I checked your background, and there’s this big part that’s missing.”
How had he checked my background? I wanted to ask, but he kept going.
“Maybe that’s the part where you’re in cahoots with Armstrong, and you’re here to fuck with Jameson.”
“I’m not,” I swore. “Tate isn’t a friend, trust me. If there’s anything Jameson and I have in common, it’s our hatred for the man.”
“Tell me why,” Felix said, narrowing his eyes.
I stiffened. “It’s none of your business.”
Felix laughed, but there was no humor to his voice. He looked around, and I took the opportunity to do the same. There wasn’t a soul in sight. Shit, I would have much preferred to be in a busy street rather than a quiet alley right now. I wasn’t convinced Felix wouldn’t hurt me in one way or another if he thought I was a problem he had to deal with.
“You see, that’s where you’re wrong,” Felix said. “Itismy business—everything about Jameson is. That’s why I’m his beta.”
I pursed my lips. I wasn’t going to tell him jackshit.
“Fine,” he said as if I’d spoken the words out loud. “I’ll give you one chance to get out of here.”
“What?” I asked.
“Leave and don’t come back, or else I’m outing you, and we’ll deal with this the hard way. Jameson isn’t a stranger to punishing those who double-cross him.”
I flashed on the things Nadia had told me about Jameson. The more I’d gotten to know him, the more I’d written them off as just rumors, but I’d seen the dagger in my dad’s face on his desk that first day we’d met, and I’d felt his hatred and fury after the mate bond had been forged.
