WAYLEN
I grabbed my jacket draped over the other chair and stormed to the door. Someone was toying with me, and I didn’t take kindly to that. I stepped out right as Beth was about to walk into my office, and we bumped into each other. The impact sent her flying back. Her hands sliced through the air, reaching for me in a last-second attempt to save herself. But it was too late as her butt met the ground.Angry eyes raised toward me as she picked herself off the floor. “You could have caught me.”
“You said not to touch you without your permission, remember?” She snarled, and I winked. “You should have shouted a warning or something. Called out for help.”
“Right,” she spat out.
“What do you need, Beth?”
Panic flashed across her face. She pointed at the open door of my office and brushed past me. Walking over to the mess I made on the floor, she picked
New day. Another bullshit lie. Client? What client? Waylen didn’t have a meeting for the rest of the day. He was just not getting to me, he was under my skin, an itch that was turning permanent. I pulled out my phone, doing my hardest to ignore him while he cleared his desk. All he was good at was moving his meetings and forcing me to dates.Me: You owe me your life.Joe: He said yes?I rolled my eyes. I would never have done this if Joe wasn’t the sweetest man I knew.Me: Yes. But wait for HR to contact you.Waylen had the decency to come along with his briefcase. The ride to the restaurant was quiet. I didn’t give him a chance to strike up a conversation. All his attempt was shut down with a monotone response. We reached, and I opened my door before he could. He eyed me with a note of curiosity and slight annoyance, and it took all I had not to lash out at him.We walked side by side to the restaurant. W
It was not a request, it was an order, and the only available option was yes. We stopped at the entrance, and Waylen opened the door. Rain lashed at us, not too hard to leave damage but strong enough to plaster the ends of my ponytail to my face. Maybe Mom and Lynn stayed back at home. It was the wisest option. If they were on their way, they would have texted me. But Mom had a spare.“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.The floor was wet with rain. Rain so strong you could hardly see before a few miles. No one was outside, save for us. I nodded again, more for my sake. Waylen groaned, strapping the briefcase over his shoulder. He undid the last two buttons of his jacket.“If we make a run for it, we won’t get too wet.”Right after the words left my lips, I dashed for his car. I steeled myself for the impact of the rain on my face, but it never came. Waylen was close, his jacket held over my head like an umbrel
I pulled my knees up to my chest, glaring at the door and confused by the thoughts swimming in my head. Why was I hurt? I didn’t want to be around Waylen. That man was annoying, a fucking psychopath.A soft knock sounded on the door about five or ten minutes later. I cleared my throat. “Who?”Waylen poked his head into my living room. I tucked my relief behind a mask of annoyance.“Do you want me to stay and watch a Gerard Butler movie with you?”“If you don’t have…” I trailed off at the glare he sent my way. Nodding, I replied, “Yes.”Waylen was barely in the living room when I hopped on one leg to set up the movie. Law Abiding Citizen. It was old but one of my favorite movies of Gerard Butler.“Seen Law Abiding Citizen yet?”“What’s that?” he asked.Waylen had gotten comfortable on t
WAYLENThe room was too quiet. The one advantage I had was their inability to read my mind. I stood before the council, hands crossed at my crotch. The governor was at the head of the table, flanked on the right and left my other members of the council. Did the people of Indiana know their governor was a werewolf? Sadly, they would never find out.“You broke the rules,” Governor Kane said.Oh, right. They were still not over the fact I buried Father without their permission or blessing. I tilted my head back to match his fierce stare. His platinum blond brows drew together over icy blues eyes that would have sent chills running down the spine of a regular human or wolf. But I stood straighter.“What rule?” I asked.A chuckle came from Kane’s left. There were thirteen other men present here, and it was too much of a hassle to remember their names. The final decision would come from Kane, after all. Father used
WAYLENI stood there, head bowed until every last one of them was gone. Beth would have a good laugh at me if she saw me now. The great asshole also answered to someone—people. I wiped the sweat decorating my forehead. I couldn’t put Beth down, and I needed a plan. Fast.My phone buzzed on my way outside. I waited until I was inside the car to check it. There was an unread text from Rey.Rey: over?Me: fortunatelyRey: so?Me: badRey: we will talk when you get backBut I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to fight. I ran my fingers through my hair. There was one pressing issue. Beth wasn’t pregnant. They couldn’t find that out. I kicked the car into drive and headed straight to the pack house instead of the hotel closer to work.From the distance, the giant expanse of land beckoned on me. Things were in order because of the council, but we needed a little ruck
The shoebox on my table was the first thing I spotted once I opened my office door. I tiptoed inside and dropped my handbag on the chair. I could almost tell who it came from, and I wasn’t disappointed when I opened it to a note with my boss’ initials. No message. Just W.E.P. I shut the box without removing the shoe to check if it fitted. It was the same pair from the day I sprained my ankle. This one was brand new. Oh, Waylen.I darted a look at the glass wall separating our offices and frowned. My reflection stared back at me. That wasn’t right. I should see into his office, not myself. I edged closer to the wall and curved my hand around it, but my eyes stared back at me.Waylen changed it. I stormed to his door and took a deep breath. He was still my boss. Whatever happened last week didn’t make us friends or lovers.After a quick succession of knocks on Waylen’s door, I opened it when I got no reply. His scent hung heavy in the
Evening came, and I was still at the office. My eyes burned from staring at my laptop screen too long, and I dabbed the corners with the crook of my elbow. It would seem my boss was good at pulling ideas out of his gorgeous ass. Why else did he want me to change the venue and date of the company’s annual ball within such notice? I glared at the wall blocking my view of him.What was he doing, sleeping? Why was it important to use a venue with sleeping arrangements? He couldn’t be thinking of making this about sex? It was a charity ball.One of the places satisfying this criterion was a hotel thirty minutes from the office. I would need to see the hotel’s manager. I shut the laptop and walked over to the door.“Come in,” he said before I knocked.Waylen had his legs on the desk. He was rolling a pen between his fingers but dropped it when I shut the door. I stopped in front of his desk, and he smiled. I frowned.&nb
“That was fun,” I admitted out loud.“Yeah?” Waylen murmured.The laughter in his voice made me smile. We were returning to his car, and he had his hand on my lower back. Ian was still inside the hut. The last time our eyes met, he looked constipated.“We really should start charging our clients for making us come all the way without showing up,” I said to break the silence.He chuckled. “You’re right. I’ll let them know the next time they schedule an appointment.”My body thrummed under Waylen’s touch, and at the thought of doing this another time. This should be the part where I edged away from him or give a warning to steer clear off me, but I leaned closer. He noticed, and his arm curled around my waist. We shared something back there in the hut, and if only for this evening, I wanted to play pretend.“So that’s the ex, huh?” Wayle