Vince stared at me for a few more seconds, the wheels turning in his mind, and then he nodded. “I actually just remembered I had things I have to do. Brandon. Bring her to the security offices and introduce her to Rick. Her office is the one on the right.” Vince smiled. “Settle in. Rick will know what to do.” Vince turned around and went to leave but turned back. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to settle you in, but as long as you come in, do your job, and help this pack, you won’t have to worry about your position here.”I nodded and then bowed. “Thank you Alpha Vince.” Then he was gone, leaving me alone with Brandon. I turned to him and smiled. “Where to?”Brandon came around from behind and took the lead. “This way.”I nodded and followed. “So Rick?”Brandon looked over his shoulder. “An old wolf. Smart. His daughter is sickly, and my father takes care of her.” I could feel my stomach clench. Vince wasn’t the caring alpha. “That’s sweet of him.” I followed him down the rest of the hall
I tilted my head to the side and nodded slowly. “I am.” I smiled. “Did you know my father?”The man chuckled, the little extra he had around his waist jiggling with it. “Yeah, I know your dad. How is the old bastard?”I froze, and I forced tears to spring to my eyes and I looked down at my hands. “He passed away in a rogue attack a few years ago.” I looked up and I let one tear drop. “But you are right, before he went, he was one old bastard.” I smirked and wiped the tear away.The room was silent or a few minutes and Brandon leaned over and whispered to me. “It’s okay.” He rubbed my arm with his hand. I smiled up at him and nodded. “I’m sorry.” Rick sighed and rubbed his face. “I didn’t know.” He came over and stood with his hands in his pockets. “Now I normally hate any person Vince forces on me, as I feel like he is going to force me out once he has young blood in here. But for Gav, I’ll take you without complaint.”I laughed, sniffling along the way. “Sounds good.”Brandon turned
I was digging into my second sandwich when there was a soft knock on the door. I looked up to see Alannah staring down at the floor. “Alpha Amy?” I put my sandwich down and smiled. “Alannah, please. I am serious. You can just call me Amy.”She shook her head. “Alpha Vince likes the distinction.”I sighed. “Okay. What can I do for you, Allanah?”She bowed again. “Alpha Brandon is here to take you to lunch…” Her eyes flashed in terror as she looked at the food on my table. “Send him in.”Brandon came in a few seconds later but stopped short. “Oh…” He looked back and I heard Allanah running back to her desk. “I didn’t realize you were already eating. I wanted to take you out for lunch on your first day.”I smiled and winked. “I’ll have to reschedule. Maybe we can go tomorrow. Today, I have a date.” I rubbed my hands together and checked the time. Brandon furrowed his brow and walked over and sat down. “A date? With who?”I looked up, surprised to hear the jealousy in his voice. “With
The door to my office busted open. “Holy shit.”I smiled as I sat back. “What?”“You found me!” Rick rushed in and rounded my desk. I felt my face pinch as he came close. Before I could think, he had me in his arms and he was jumping. Literally jumping. “I can’t fucking believe it.” He seemed to freeze and then placed me back down on my feet. “Sorry.” He backed away with his hands raised. “Sorry, I just…it’s just.” He blushed, and I chuckled.“What?”“No one has ever found me. Shit, half the guys Vince shoves in here can barely make it past the first trap I threw at them.”I threw my head back and laughed. “The firewall that turned on me?” He nodded. “Seriously?” I furrowed my brow, and he just nodded again. “But that was easy.”He tossed his hands in the air. “Exactly!” He yelled as he spun in a circle. “I told Vince every damn time that they failed, it was the easiest trap to unravel. But no.” He finally walked around my desk and sat down. “I thought…”“You thought I was just going
We walked down the street hand in hand. Every so often someone would stop and stare, but I ignored the looks, until we turned down my street and my mother was pacing outside the door. “Mom?” We walked up, and she turned. I watched her face shutter when her eyes landed on Brandon. “Hey baby, how was your first day?”I looked up at Brandon. “It was great. Why are you out here?”My mom heaved a sigh. “Morgan is talking to Shannon again, and it isn’t going well.” She winced when another scream could be heard. I nodded sadly and turned to Brandon. “I’m sorry.” I pulled the flowers closer. “I can’t.” I looked to the house. “I really like the job, and you are an amazing friend, and…” I trailed off. “And what?” He pushed.“And maybe we could have been a good mating pair, but I can’t do this to my mom’s family.” I stepped back. “I know you wanted to talk to them but I don’t think it’s a good idea.” I turned to leave, but my mom stopped me. “Actually, I think it is.” She nodded to the hous
Six months later…“Good morning Alannah!” I swung into the office with a slam, startling our poor omega. But the swish of bags had her hopping up and coming around the desk.“Amy, what’s all of this?” Allanah rushed to my side and pulled the bags from my hands. “This is your birthday presents.” I squealed as I pushed her to her desk. She stumbled over her feet, and Rick mosied out to see what the commotion was. “What’s going on?”“It’s Alannah’s birthday!” I screamed as I pushed her back into her chair. “I know.” Rick smirked and turned back to his office. Alannah sat confused as the bags sat at her feet. “Amy, I can’t accept these.” “Of course you can. You have been my secretary for a few months now, and you never mess up my lunch.” I smiled big and then leaned in with a whisper, “and don’t think I don’t know the extra attitude you have been getting from Brandon. He’s been in a mood recently and I know you have had to take the brunt of him aura when he comes in here swinging.”S
I was deep into programming a new firewall when there was a tentative knock on my door. I looked up to find Alannah standing there, looking a little lost. “Are you busy Amy?”“For you? Not at all.” I saved my progress and sat back. “What’s up?”She stepped in to the office. “There is someone that wants to come talk to you, but I don’t want him too.”I lifted my brows. “Why not?”She looked down. “It’s Ternen.”I smiled. “Send him in.” I leaned my elbow on the desk. “I wanted to ask about his day yesterday.”“What, why?” Herr head snapped up. “Because Brandon said he was going to give him a new job in the house. I wanted to see how it went.” I watched her body tense and her face fall. “What’s wrong?”She shook her head. “It’s nothing.”“No.” I had a sinking feeling. I stood and walked around my desk, grabbing her hand and pulling her to sit. “Sit.”“I can’t.” She turned to look at the door. “Ternen is waiting.” I pushed her into the chair and walked to the door, opening it.Ternen sto
Shannon stepped back from whatever she saw on his face. “Amy told me about her birthday lunch, and since we all have become so close, I figured while she was busy, we could have lunch together.” She looked at his face, and winced. But I jumped at the chance. I stepped to her side and wrapped my arm around hers. “Shannon, that is honestly the best idea.”She looked at my arms around hers. “It is?”Brandon’s face morphed into a mask of confusion. “It is?”I nodded. “Shan is right. I mean, we have spent the last six months working on our friendship. And it’s made our relationship that much easier to go ahead with, knowing that we aren’t going to fight over you.” I smiled up at him and he considered it.I could see the exact moment he decided to go to lunch with Shannon. The exact moment he figured out he could have a little afternoon rendezvous with his lover, since I give him nothing. I saw the heat enter his eyes and knew I had him.“Okay. Okay.” I wanted to clap. “I give in. Go have
We all stood, and I turned to Shelly. “Are you ready to take the vow?”She took a breath and then nodded. “I am.” “Good. Repeat after me.” I walked her through the vow. “Are you ready?”She nodded. “I, Shelly Clark, vow to keep your words from everyone excerpt the goddess. I swear that nothing you say that could be used against you to cause harm will leave my mouth. Only the goddess will know our secrets and I beg her to keep them for us.” We all watched as her eyes widened. She turned to Rick. “That’s what you meant.” I lifted a brow. But she just laughed. “When he came home, he said that when you were out for lunch, you had a moment that filled him with an amazing sense of belonging.” She blushed as she rubbed her chest. “I was a little jealous, as I thought he meant you, but he meant the vow, the acceptance from the goddess.”Rick smiled and nodded. “Amy is great, but nothing came close to that feeling.” He turned to Shelly. “Except the day I mated you.” Then he turned to Abby. “A
A pin could drop. That’s how quiet the room was when I looked at Shelly. But she just stood there, hand hanging loosely by her side, staring down at me. “What did you say?”I took a deep breath. “Sit down and listen to the full story. I will ignore the fact you hit me because you are emotional and worried about your child. But make no mistake. I am an alpha wolf and I will not suffer disrespect so easily.”She stumbled back a step and sank down. Rick grabbing her hands and flashing me an awkward, apologetic smile. “What were you saying?” Shelly looked at him with a tiny bit of hurt in her eyes, but Rick just kissed her. “Let her speak. This isn’t her fault, babe.”Abby sighed and pushed up to her knees. She was face to face with her mom. “I now your worried, and you don’t understand, but Amy is the only reason I’m still alive.”Shelly stared down at her daughter and a tear slipped out. “I’m sorry.” Her eyes flicked up to me. “I’m so sorry. I just…” “I know, and it’s okay. Protecting
I had finally pushed enough power into the pup for it to lift her head. “Hello there sweet heart.” I brought her up to snuggle and then put her on her feet. “Nix.” I nodded, and she was already inching closer. She put her snout right against the pup and we waited. She was feeling her strength, trying to gauge how much time I bought them. She pushed closer, and the pup shuffled over and curled up on her front paws. She rolled over, showing her belly, and Nix nuzzled in, breathing in her scent. “A week.” Her words were soft. “We bought them a week.”I looked down at the two girls. “Can we do this every week?” I sat back on my heels. “Will this keep working?”Nix huffed out a breath as she settled with the pup. “I don’t know, but it means we will have to keep track until we can remove the hex.”Abby wiped her face. “We won’t die?”I pulled her into my arms and stood. “Not today.” I walked away, but stopped. “Are you staying here?”She placed her head down on to Nala. “For a bit, I want
My heart broke as I watched Abby comfort her wolf. “Nala?” I leaned over the three so I could see her face. Abby nodded. “I don’t know how, but as soon as I touched her, I knew her name.” She rubbed her face against the patchy, dull fur. “She is sick, like me, isn’t she?”I just nodded. “Yeah baby girl, she is.” She snuggled in closer.“Why is she so small?” She cracked open an eye and hugged her wolf pup closer. “Shouldn’t she be bigger? I should have met her soon, right?”I looked at Nix and remembered that I started talking to her when I was about five or six. She had always been there, strong, steady, and my best friend. My heart ached for the pair in front of us. “Yeah, she should be bigger, but so should you. The sickness ate away at you strength, at your power, and it stunted you.”She looked at me with sad eyes. “It’s okay, you know.”“What is?”“That I have to die.” She closed her eye as her puppy whined and rolled over into her arms. The tiny wolf cracked an eye and used a
“Okay.” I stood up. “I can grab the things I need from the kitchen after dinner. We will do it then. Okay?” Everyone nodded. “There is a reason I brought you here, other than the fact that we can speak freely.”Alannah looked around. “What is it?”“I need your blood.” I grimaced. I looked around and saw that once again my mom was ahead of me. In the bathroom on the counter, there were five plastic cups, a small knife, and one bandage. I nodded over to the bathroom and waited for everyone to walk in. I sat down on the toilet and gestured to the tiny cups. “It’s not a lot. But where I am going to take you, you need to be added to a spell so that you can’t be traced.”They just looked at each other before they nodded. Every one grabbed their cup except Abby, she walked over to me. “Could you help me?” She swallowed loudly. “I’m not supposed to get hurt cause it will make my sickness worse.” She was scared, but I pulled her close. “Can I tell you a secret?” She nodded. “When I was your a
Every one froze, but Shelly dropped down and pulled Abby to her. “Baby…” But she trailed off, because what do you say to a child who is too observant to be kept in the dark?“It’s okay, momma. I’ve known for a while now.” She reached up and cupped her face. “I just wanted to spend the best year with you and daddy so I didn’t tell you I heard you and the doctor talking about me.” Rick dropped down next to them and hugged them both to his chest.“It’s going to be alright.” He whispered to them, but I could tell it was to himself. He looked up at me, so ready to believe, and I nodded. “I can’t fix it today.” I held out my hand. “But I swear I will fix it.” Shelly looked at me. “How can you be so sure?”“Magic.” I winked, but she shook her head. I crouched. “I can’t tell you. Not before you are away from here. You can take a vow, Shelly, but Abby can’t.”“I won’t tell anyone. I swear.” She looked at me with slightly wounded eyes.“Oh sweet pea, I never thought you would tell on us. But
My mom ushered us all inside and we sat down in the living room. She went around and asked about drinks, then she looked at me. “Hey sweetheart? Why don’t you give everyone a tour? I’m sure Abby will love to see your bedroom. You have that small closet full of all your old teddy bears.” She smiled. “I just have a few things to finish up in the kitchen and by the time you come down, dinner will be ready.” With that, she was gone behind the wall and I turned. “Tour it is.” I brought them around the bottom floor, but I could tell Abby was being impatient. “Amy?” Her soft voice had me turning.“Yeah, sweetheart?” I crouched as she came up to me.“Your house is really nice…”“But?” I winked at her.“Can we go see your room?” She sounded a little hopeful.“Of course.” I looked up at Rick. “It’s upstairs.” My eyes flicked to Abby, and he nodded. “Come here, baby.” He swooped down and picked her up. “Stairs are still a little hard for us, aren’t they, baby?”Abby nodded. “I get tired.” “M
I pulled into the driveway and watched Ternen and Alannah park. Rick took off to grab his wife and daughter and said he would be here in five minutes. I got out as my mom walked out and we waited in the drive while the two got out of the car. I snapped a barrier around us and waited for the pair to join us next to my car before I asked my mom. “How did you know I needed an excuse to get them to come over?”My mom chuckled. “Nix is smarter than you give her credit for. She came to tell me when you all were at lunch, but I waited a bit when I knew I could maximize the effect.” I turned to her. But before I could say anything, she turned to Alannah and Ternen. “Hi. I’m Ainsley, Amy’s mom. You must be Alannah and Ternen.”They nodded. “We are.” Alannah bowed, but my mom stopped her. “Sweet girl. I haven’t been a luna for years now, and even when I was, absolutely no one had to bow to me.”Alannah straightened and looked between my mom and me. “Our luna demands it.”My mom scoffed. “That
I sighed and slammed my head back against my chair, then I groaned. “Fuck.” I put everything away into my purse, then stood. I walked out and smiled. “Hey. I had a question.”“Sure.” Ternen smiled at me but I could see the tension below the surface.“My mom wants me to invite you all to dinner.” I checked my phone. “Has Rick left yet?”Alannah shook her head. “No.” She smiled as she put her things in her purse. “And we would love to join you at dinner.”I nodded and then walked to Rick’s office door. I knocked and swung the door open. I froze when I saw Vince holding Rick by the throat. “Ugh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I spun in a circle, facing away from them. Vince grunted, and I heard Rick take a deep breath in. “Amy, what are you doing in here?”“I see that.” I coughed. “My mom called me and asked me to invite Rick and Alannah to dinner.”“Well, he’s busy.” I turned around and grimaced. “While I appreciate that, this is my mom.” I forced an awkward smile to my face.