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“It’s midnight, and you need to go to bed.”
“Okay.” She somehow managed to get to her feet, and as she stumbled away, I heard her mumble, “I’ll see you tomar…” she didn’t even finish the last word.
Watching her, I smiled and then headed for my bedroom. I needed a quick shower and a lot of sleep if I could stop thinking about a certain sexy shifter who could possibly be—nope—not going there.
I tried to continually reiterate to my wolf that taking a mate would be impossible. I didn’t know much about my other side, my magical side, but I knew that shifters, in general, would never pollute their bloodline with someone who wasn’t 100% pure wolf.
“It’s their loss, girl,” I said aloud. She didn’t understand and I didn’t know how to explain it. I lived in shades of gray and my wolf lived in black and white. In her eyes, Luca was our mate and that should be enough. But she didn’t understand rules and laws, the consequences of being different. Okay, I didn’t really know them either. Caroline never really explained them to me except to warn me away. And I wasn’t willing the take the risk.
After my shower, I climbed into bed but sleep never came. I couldn’t get my mind away from Luca, and my heart ached to be away from him. I felt like a part of me was missing, but that’s impossible, right?
All night, I mentally gave myself a pep talk on why it would be wrong to be with someone as powerful as Luca. But somewhere deep inside, the abandoned little girl wanted it all. She dreamed of someone like Luca protecting her, loving her, always being at her side. But that was a world of hopes and dreams and I lived in a world of logic.
Chapter 3
Luca
Axel, my beta, stood waiting for me by the front entrance as I headed inside the office building. “What happened to you? And why haven’t you answered me?” He asked, eyeing me up and down. Axel had tried to mind-link with me a couple of times, but I ignored him. After last night and then waking this morning, I was having trouble sorting the details in my head.
Bags under my eyes, wrinkled shirt and pants, I’m sure Axel had already surmised that I had slept in these clothes. Maybe not in them, they were lying in a heap on the floor. My eyes cut to his and I sighed, scrubbing my face. So, what did happen to me last night? That was a question I intended to find out.
When I scented the she-wolf, she smelled of apple spice and fresh morning after a violent thunderstorm. Unusual, and not wholly wolf but of somethingother. My wolf screamedmateand demanded that I mark her. But not knowing more, I fought to keep my claws from her skin and my teeth from her shoulder.
Holding Axel’s gaze, I admitted, “I am not sure.”
His eyes slid away from mine, probably calculating how many shifters could overhear. “Let’s talk about this in your office.”
For the first time, I took in the nearby lingering people, or should I say gossipers, since the staff consisted of shifters and humans. Not that the humans knew that we were shifters. This mishap showed how out of sorts I was. I mind-linked with Axel.Yes. That would be best.
Axel followed me to the elevator, and after taking the fifteen stories up, I stepped out and headed for my office. A large floor-to-ceiling window ran the length of the back wall and overlooked Brighten City. To the left, a family photo of my late great grandfather hung on the cream-colored wall behind my mahogany desk. A door stood to the right, which led to a full bathroom.
Axel’s face twisted in concern. I’m sure I looked haggard and in need of some rest and food. Not ready to have this conversation while in a state of disrepair, I said, “I need a shower first.”
Axel nodded. “I’ll have Celia bring in some coffee and food.”
“Thank you.” I needed to scrub the unease from my body. Last night had started amazing, but then my memory turned foggy, and I woke up around six this morning stinking of old food, alcohol, and sex. However, I don’t believe we mated because my wolf was pacing. And I couldn’t mind-link with her. When I finally did wake up, alone and groggy, I put on my wrinkled clothes and barely had enough time for the one-and-a-half-hour drive to the office. I probably should’ve rescheduled my 8 am meeting with The Agency.
After showering, I toweled off and dressed in a dress suit before stepping out and facing Axel. My mind was still a little foggy and unsure of last night’s events.
As I had sat down at my desk, Axel came strolling in with a box of pastries. Celia followed with a big steaming cup of coffee. Both smells cleared away some of the fog, but not much.
Axel grabbed a sticky bun from the box before asking, “What happened?”
I waited until Celia handed me my coffee and excused herself before I admitted, “I’m not sure, but I feel like I could have been drugged.”
Axel’s eyes widened. “It’s almost impossible to drug us. Our wolf burns through the chemicals too fast. How long were you out? Who drugged you? Should I call Devon?”
Devon, my chief enforcer, was hardcore and believed in our safety above all else. He would be a machine that wouldn’t relent until he got to the bottom of this puzzle. It was one of the things I admired about him. But I wasn’t ready to admit that someone, most likely the woman, had gotten the drop on me. If that’s what actually happened. The next time I saw her again, I would get my answers.
I held up a hand, stopping him from asking any further questions. “I’m not sure. I don’t know. And no. Does that answer your questions?” Axel balled his hands into fists, shaking his head, so I continued. “If it weren’t for this meeting with The Agency, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
Unlike my late family, I didn’t enjoy working from this office, constantly surrounded by bureaucrats. On the contrary, I enjoyed the comforts of the packhouse. I traded suits for jeans and tee shirts. Loafers for bare feet. But I had to maintain a specific image and conduct some meetings from the office.
“What do you remember?” Axel hated mysteries as much as I did. He hated that I had been vulnerable and could have gotten killed. We fought hard for our positions, and, in his mind, every threat needed to be swiftly dealt with. It was an embarrassment, but my wolf’s curiosity and insistence on mating her had caused me to let my guard down. Nevertheless, he still pushed me to find her and mark her as our own.
“A female,” I said. “I drove down to The Black Tavern in Providence to meet Ian about a missing shifter. Not long after I arrived, I joined her for a drink. She flirted—my wolf liked her. The next thing I knew, I was kissing her in the upstairs guest apartment, and we had sex. And then—” I shook my head trying to clear it— "I woke up this morning.”
“Was she there with you?” he asked.
