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A tooth-bearing grin spread over Sonny’s face. “I need information on the new alpha of a nearby pride. Thomas Leone.”
Lorena’s gut twisted. She knew Thomas. He’d always been so kind to her whenever they ran into each other. Her father thought highly of both Thomas and his mother as well.
Now, the saving grace for her father was asking her to betray Thomas for information.
“Why?”
Sonny waved her question away. “That’s not for you to be worried about. I just need some information to make sure I stay ahead of the game and know all the players’ intentions.”
Lorena knew better, but she also knew she wasn’t in a position to push.
“So, what do you say? Think you’re up for it?”
She didn’t want to, but she didn’t have a choice.
She twisted her fingers through the ends of her dirty blonde hair as she pondered what, if any, other choices she had.
There were none. She couldn’t lose her father; the thought was unbearable. She had to push aside her doubts for her father’s sake.
“I’ll do it. But what you pay me has to meet the payments for the hospital and then some. Also, an advance so I can get the procedures in place tomorrow. Deal?”
Sonny didn’t even wince. He stuck his hand out. “Deal.”
She shook it, feeling like she’d just made a pact with the devil.
“How do you want me to go about it?”
“Apply to be Thomas’s secretary. It’s open, and it’ll be perfect to collect intel and investigate things for me without raising suspicion.” He walked into the shadows as he called out, “You start tomorrow.”
Once he faded into the dark, Lorena let out her breath and unlocked her car, locking it again quickly behind her.
She looked at herself in the rearview mirror. “I’m doing what I have to do. There’s no other way.”
She turned the key in the ignition as she tried to ignore the sick feeling of guilt filling her.
Chapter3
Thomas
Thomas stretched his limbs as he swung out of bed.
The sun wasn’t up yet, but he was used to rising early. Motivation always drove him, and right now, he was more motivated than ever. “I need to clear my fucking head.” He peeked outside and nodded. “It’s a good morning to run.”
He wanted to set a standard for the rest of the pride. Not only did he expect them to take care of their shit, but he was going to play a vital part as well. If he held them to the highest standards, he better hold himself to them too. That way, respect was earned, and he had no reason to be undermined. Only the adolescents would be dumb enough to not see him for what he was.
Thomas also had the feeling that the challenges were far from over. Sure, Stefan and his pathetic wingmen tried to challenge him when he came back to town, but that’s because others were watching. They needed to get a feel for Thomas and what he was capable of or how he would react.
They saw it now, and he was happy about that.
He also knew that it wouldn’t stop the outsiders who had been circling the pride, waiting for a chance to claim it as their own or for even a few more of the newbies inside of the pride to possibly attempt to overthrow their alpha and take the throne.
Thomas decided against showering before heading out to patrol the borders. He wanted his scent heavy on his territory. “Otherwise, they forget whose it is,” he grumbled under his breath. He also wasn’t sure exactly what he would run into, given his less-than-warm welcome back. He’d clean up when he was done.
He inhaled a breath of fresh, cold air as he exited the house. His domain was on the edge of their borders, which allowed him to shift and be concealed by the forestry as he patrolled their boundaries.
He only had to shift back to human form in certain areas. He knew to keep a stash of clothes along with a weapon at those spots, but this early in the morning, he wasn’t going to need them. No humans were up besides joggers, and they didn’t dare come to this side of town.
Thomas shifted as he leapt out of sight and into the shadows, remaining low and easily hidden.
