The problem, he knew, was the timing. He was an Alpha, and his wolf was restless. The pack was secure, their territory on Monster Island well-established and respected, but a part of him—the most primal, instinctual part—was hungry. For a mate. For a family. For something more than just pack politics and petty disputes. It was a dangerous kind of hunger, the kind that could make a male mistake simple attraction for something far more complicated.
No.He’d seen for himself the damage a female could cause, even a female wolf with a supposed mate bond. A human female would be even more dangerous. Just because his brother had been lucky enough to find a human woman who wasn’t a lying, manipulative—Stop it, Adrian. Don’t poison this with the past.
“You have an apartment,” he repeated, forcing the growl from his voice. “With furniture.”
“Yes.” She clutched the strap of her shower bag like it was a life raft. Her gaze darted towards the elevator, a clear signal of her desire to escape. “I should probably go. To the apartment. With the furniture.”
The morning light streaming through the atrium windows seemed to intensify, catching the damp strands of her hair and turning them into strands of liquid rose gold. She was beautiful in a way that caught him completely off guard, as delicate and fragile as her wildflower scent.
“My brother said your new security system is a work of art,” he heard himself say, the words sounding clumsy to his own ears.
The compliment, however awkward, seemed to throw her. Her gaze finally snapped back to his, her eyes widening behind the glasses. A faint blush bloomed on her cheeks, a delicate rose pink that made him want to see if she flushed that same color everywhere.
He should walk away, end the conversation, continue to Derek’s office, and forget this entire encounter. She was human. A city human, probably raised on concrete and fluorescent lights, who probably couldn’t tell a pine from a spruce if her life depended on it. She was exactly the kind of female he’d trained himself to avoid.
But his wolf wouldn’t let him move. Not yet.
“What are you doing here so early?” Her cheeks flushed darker. “I mean, not that it’s any of my business. Obviously. You probably have important Alpha… things. Pack… stuff. I’d better…”
“I’m meeting with Derek.” He kept his voice level, controlled. The voice of an Alpha, not a man distracted by big eyes and wildflower scent. “We have family business to discuss.”
“Right. Yes. Family business. Between brothers. That makes sense.” She started edging around him, giving him a wide berth, like she was trying to slip past a wolf in the forest.
Smart girl.
“Harper.”
She froze. He watched her pulse jump in her throat, watched her breath catch, and his wolf howled in triumph at the evidence of her reaction.She feels it too.
Stop it.
“Derek mentioned you’ve been putting in a lot of hours.” He let his gaze sweep over her again, noting the shadows under her eyes and the slight tremor in her hands from too much caffeine and not enough food. The way her cropped shirt had ridden up slightly, exposing another inch of that pale, soft stomach… “You should take care of yourself. Even geniuses need sleep.”
“I—okay?”
“Okay.”
He stepped aside. She fled towards the elevator without looking back, her pink combat boots squeaking slightly on the polishedfloor. His wolf wanted to chase her, to pin her against the wall and bury his face in her neck until she smelled like him instead of wildflowers and lavender shampoo.
He did none of those things.
He waited until the elevator doors slid shut, cutting her off from view. Only then did he allow himself a deep, steadying breath that did nothing to calm the raging storm inside him. The air in the hallway still carried her scent, a phantom presence that teased at his senses.
He shoved it away. She was a distraction. Nothing more.
Chapter Three
Instead of taking the elevator, Adrian ran up the stairs to the sixteenth floor, hoping the exercise would calm his wolf, but he was still frowning when he reached Derek’s penthouse. The penthouse occupied one corner of the roof, surrounded by formal terraces. The rest of the roof was given over to a huge enclosed garden where Derek’s wolf could roam freely.
“Outside,” Derek said quietly when he met Adrian at the door. “Julie’s still sleeping.”
His brother’s voice was soft, protective of his pregnant mate, and he nodded, following Derek out onto the pool terrace. In the distance, the range of mountains that bifurcated the island were outlined against the morning sky. The mountains where he belonged, not this noisy, crowded city.
There was a carafe of coffee on the table where Derek had clearly been working—a table right outside the bedroom where he could keep an eye on his mate. He would have done the same if Harper were carrying his pup…
Fuck.What the hell was he thinking? He’d only just met the woman.
“Harper Bailey,” he said, and the words came out as a growl.
