“You think Benson Senior is torn?” I outline her thinking. “He wants to get on with his golden years but also doesn’t want to leave his friends behind?”
She angles her body in my direction. “If you were to sell Moon Co., would you take a deal that might cut out your CFO and COO?” Her voice is low, like she’s speaking only to me.
“That’s different,” Billy argues. “We’re founders. Co-owners.”
“So are Mr. Benson’s friends, in his mind,” she replies in her smooth, confident tone. “So prove to him you’ll treat them well.”
I glance at Vance, who shrugs. “We could do it,” he says. “We were planning on keeping them in place anyway. We can guarantee them positions.”
“Legacy leadership to shepherd in Benson’s new era.” On the video screen Nickel waves a hand, presenting the spin.
“That’s it. Vance, Billy, fly out to help Nickel. Show them we’re serious.”
Vance and Billy nod.
“In some ways, this is simpler now,” Nickel says. “When we get Benson Senior on board, we close the deal.”
“Let’s do it.” I rise to see my top team out. When I return alone, Nickel is still on screen, looking a lot more confident.
“I have a good feeling about this,” he says.
“Do you need me?”
“No. We got this.” He knows as well as I do, it looks more powerful for me to stay behind while my lieutenants close the deal. A show of strength and loyalty the Adalwulfs can’t match. “Keep an eye on Adalwulf.”
“Will do.” I lean back in my chair. “Full moon tonight.”
“Yes. You going for a run?” I use our code for finding a safe place to shift and run as a wolf.
“Yes. Our old friend has space here for me.” He means Lucius the vampire king. I wouldn’t call a leech a friend, but a century ago, my ancestors negotiated a truce. In a world full of humans, we monsters need to stick together to keep our existence a secret.
“Good. Vance and Billy will head to the preserve as soon as they touch down.”
“And you? Heading back to the Berkshires before midnight?”
“Yes. Jake and Sully and the rest of the pack will be there. And I need to run.”
It’s a myth that we have to shift on the full moon. If we live our lives in balance, letting the wolf out to run on the regular, we can make it one night in the presence of humans without betraying ourselves. We’d have to spend extra time in the woods the day before and after, but it can be done. Some packs have a careful rotation so their members show themselves at all times of the month. In the city, we don’t have to bother. Most humans don’t notice the changing of the moon. Most humans are so self-absorbed, they barely notice anything about their environment at all.
Madi might notice. She’s smarter and more observant than any human I’ve known. But I have ways of keeping her distracted.
Nickel and I talk strategy through lunch, then I hang up and take the rest of my meetings. The top floor has an empty feeling to it. Other than an analyst team and a few assistants, everyone’s gone. All my pack brothers are busy or in flight to close the deal.
Madi slips back into the conference room, tucking a lock of dark hair behind her ear. I pin her with a glance, and she halts, freezing like she can sense my wolf is ready to pounce.
I am ready to pounce.
This is a problem. I can’t even be alone in the same room with her anymore.
What in the fuck am I going to do?
“Do you want to see the analysts now?”
I cover my desire with a glower. “Obviously.”
As usual, she’s unfazed by my toxicity. “I”ll send them in.”
“After you do, go home for the day.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I can’t take the fucking dress. It’s too much, Madi, and I need to focus.”
I watch flickers of both dismay and pleasure in her expression at my words. After a long pause, she nods.
“All right, Big Bad. I will dial it back.”
For some reason, her words don’t bring any relief.
In fact, I’m not sure if I can take being near her in any kind of dress during the full moon anymore.
I may have to get rid of my delectable assistant, after all.
My wolf thrashes and snarls, a dark rage forming that I can barely control. He’s pissed at me.
* * *
After my meeting with the analysts, my cell rings. I answer it absently, expecting it to be Nickel. Instead a voice void of all emotion rasps, “Working late?”
“Aiden.” Adrenaline slams into my bloodstream. I pace to the windows facing the Adalwulf tower, my wolf on high alert. “Keeping tabs on my work-life balance? I knew you were obsessed with me, but this can’t be healthy.”
“Just calling to see if you need any help with the Benson deal. I thought you might be a worthy opponent, but stealing your biggest acquisition was embarrassingly easy.”
His words make my joints creak with the onset of a shift. I force my wolf back down. Losing control is a weakness I refuse to indulge in. “You think of me as your opponent? I have eight wolves who could challenge you for your pack and win. Two of them are my sisters.”
He drops any pretense of civility. “You don’t have what it takes to lead a pack. You or your father-“
“My father was ten times the wolf that yours was.”
My only answer is his harsh breathing. He’s fighting to keep his wolf under control.
My own claws are out, ripping into the leather headrest of one of the executive conference room chairs.
I flick the shreds away and walk to the windows, glaring at the sole light on the top floor. I can imagine Aiden standing there, glaring right back. Will his perfect hair be mussed, fur sprouting out of his collar?
I’d like to think so.
The irony is Aiden is my age. He runs a successful business while balancing pack and family. A CEO hiding his secret life as a werewolf. He and I share more similarities than differences. We’re cousins. In another universe, we would be friends, but we were raised to hate each other. My father made it clear: the Adalwulfs are morally devoid monsters. But then my father built himself into a similar monster in order to be Odin Adalwulf’s equal.
And now the sins of the fathers have fallen to the sons. We’re locked in a death struggle, one we were destined to fight since birth.
“Be careful, Brick. You sit in your tower and let your little secretary fight your battles for you. I don’t blame you, her scent is delectable.”
My growl erupts, shockingly loud. Aiden speaks over it.
“You’re quite protective of such a lowly employee, aren’t you?” He’s so smug. “Is she there now? Attending to your every need?”
He knows.
I grit my teeth, fighting my panic. My wolf is clawing out of me, roaring, ready to burst out of me. For the first time since I was a teen, he’s out of control.
No. There’s no way he can know.
Stay focused. Protect Madi.
“Obsessed not only with me but with my assistant of the week,” I drawl. “This is a new low, Aiden, even for you.”
“Careful, Brick. You sit in your high tower, hiding behind your pack. You’re growing weak. The wolves are at your door, and one misstep, they will eat you alive.”
I hang up.
The elevator dings, and my wolf nearly breaks his bonds. The room blurs. Half a second later, I’m by the elevator, hovering there in human form, but my wolf is ready to pounce.
With Aiden’s threats lingering in the air, I half expect to see his vulpine face smirking at me when the elevator doors open. Instead, they open up to a custodial worker, Jerry.
“Sir?” I’ve scared him half to death.
His cart and equipment are coated with the harsh bleach scent-chemicals so strong, it covers up his scent. He’s a wolf and a pack member, which should mean I can trust him, but I suddenly realize that he would’ve smelled Madi’s and my combined scents that day I fucked her in the conference room.
Why didn’t I think of it before?
A growl bursts out of me, so loud it shakes the walls. Jerry averts his gaze, angling his head to expose his neck.
“Sorry, sir.” He trembles, vibrating as if he wishes he could dive and hide behind his cart. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Leave. Now.” I order, and he nods, keeping his eyes downcast as he presses the button to descend.
“Wait.” I slap the side of the door to make it roll back and fix Jerry with an alpha glare. “You never talk about what goes on here, right?”
“No, Alpha.”
“No colleagues. Not even an executive.”
“Never, sir,” Jerry rasps, sounding close to hyperventilating.
“Good.” I let the doors close.
Fuck. I’ve been stupid. I’ve lost my mind over a human.
Just to be extra sure, I call down to security. Within minutes, I have the best cleaning crew in the city on their way to deep clean the entire fifty-fifth floor. The cleaning company prides themselves on discretion, and what’s more, they’re all human. After they blast this place with industrial strength chemicals, they’ll destroy any trace of our combined scents. No one will be able to smell what went on here.
But I’d be a fool not to realize how obvious my interest is in Madi. I’ve used the stress of closing the deal as a cover. I haven’t outright lied to my pack, but I’ve lied to myself, telling myself my interest in Madi is because she’s smart and capable and smells incredible.
I need to work her out of my system.
Madi is unlike anyone, shifter or human, I’ve ever known. When she sways into the room, my senses come alive. Every day has been gray and unending, a relentless climb to the summit to achieve dominance and safety for my pack. My family. It doesn’t matter how hard I work, how high I climb. Every morning, I’m back at the bottom of the mountain, and I start the ascent again. That is my job as an alpha, my inheritance and my right. But until Madi came along, I didn’t realize how much I craved a moment to stop, to breathe, to take in the view.
Time with her isn’t gray and unrelenting. It is in technicolor. But she’s a weakness I can’t afford.
I call Billy. “I’m flying to California.” I need to be out of this office, away from the temptation of Madison Evans.
“Thank fuck,” he says. “I just found out things have gone sideways. Benson Junior is missing. They’ve searched all his usual party spots from here to Cancun and none of his friends have seen him. Benson Senior is distraught. He’s ready to throw his company away. Give it all to Adalwulf Associates and call it a day.”
“I’m coming. I’ll fix it,” I say. It’s a worst case scenario, but I’m grateful for the emergency. When my father died, focusing on business kept me going. Stay focused, close the deal, protect our pack. Nothing else matters.
Nothing else can matter.
Not even the human who turned my world upside down.
Three thousand miles of distance might not be enough to cool my longing for her, but it’s a start. In a week, the Moon Co. office closes for Thanksgiving.
Distance and time. That’s what I need to forget her.
Madi
I’m humming in the limo on the way to work. Even the sight of the Maserati parked in front of the fire hydrant doesn’t phase me although I wish I were a meter maid, so I could ticket it myself.
But when I walk through the doors, the security guard does a double take.”You’re here? Top floor is closed. We just got word. Special deep cleaning.”
I open my mouth. Close it. “Oh, yes, of course.” I act like I know all about it. “When will it be back open?”
“Should be a few more hours. Until then we have a temporary office for you to work in. Mr. Blackthroat specified this before he flew out.”
“He left?”
I’m his assistant. His only assistant. I should be the first to know. Instead I’m the last.
“Headed out to California last night. He told us he’d be back after Thanksgiving.”
“Right.” Next week is Thanksgiving. The offices are closed.
The security guard ushers me to my temporary office. I keep a smile pasted to my face and thank her. For the rest of the day, I’m going to have to pretend my boss didn’t just ditch me.
I was wondering if we could bridge the gap between a workplace fling and something real.
Today, I got my answer.
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