“Tomorrow?” Hunter questioned, narrowing his eyes and tilting his head to the side.
“You can move my stuff out tomorrow. I’ll be with my friends tonight to say goodbye.”
He’d already gotten his way far too easily, using alpha wiles to cloud my brain. Now I needed to double down on keeping as much distance between them and me as I could while living in their pack house.
I internally snarled at my beast, knowing she had a lot to do with this.I hope you’re happy with yourself. When they’re murdering us, I’ll be sure to say I told you so.
Her snort was filled with annoyed derisiveness; she thought I was an idiot, and she might be right. Just not for the reason she suspected.
From the elevator we headed toward a large reception desk where Hunter’s assistants sat. There were two blond women behind the computers, as polished and perfect as Fee. Both eyed me closely as I followed their boss past the shiny white desk and through to a massive office near the back of the floor. I noticed at least three other closed office doors on this level, and I wondered if everyone in the pack had space here.
Inside his office I crossed toward his desk while Hunter closed the door. Everything in here was massive, starting with the room itself, and followed by the dark timber desk that dominated the center of the space. His high-backed, black leather chair was as custom-made as his suits.
To my right was a whole wall of windows, giving him a royal view of Golden Claw. It was no surprise Hunter Reeves was used to getting exactly what he wanted. The world sat at his fingertips, along with all the power and control he commanded.
“Take a seat,” he said, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of his impressive desk. I found myself sinking into pure luxury, the leather soft as it cupped my body like a lover’s caress, padded in allthe right places for maximum comfort.
Hunter sat across from me and let the silence extend between us. As hard as it was, I didn’t squirm, letting him look his fill. Neither of us appeared to be in a rush to break the tension, even as the air crackled between us.
“You’re not what I expected,” he finally said, and I congratulated myself on waiting him out. Yeah, it was a stupid dominance game, but I had very little power in this situation, so I’d take what I could get.
“What did you expect?”
He leaned onto his forearms, still observing me in that unblinking way of a predator. “I expected a delta shifter. One with softer edges to temper our dominance.”
My forehead wrinkled as I tried to figure out if he was disappointed by me or not. “I’m an omega though. There’s no shifter with less dominance.”
“You are,” he confirmed, “and while I have glimpsed softness from you, most of your edges are sharp and biting. Omega or not, you have alpha energy.”
Your edges are sharp and biting. Sad but true.“I was tempered in fire,” I said, too truthful again. “I’m the product of my past and future.”
He probably wondered what I’d meant by being a product of a future that hadn’t come to pass yet, but I’d known how my life would play out long before I lived it.
I was surprised when he said, “We need your fire, little omega. Four alphas would have destroyed a delta, especially if she had the sweet, soft nature I envisioned. Now that I’ve met you, I can’t imagine anyone more perfect for us.”
My hands shook as I pressed them to the edge of the table. “You promised that there’d be no forced bonding.”
Hunter’s intensity faded, and he leaned back in his chair. “And I always keep my promises. Let’s talk about what you’re looking for in a job?”
It was a rapid subject change, but I welcomed it. I might have screwed up in agreeing to live in their pack house, but I couldn’t forget why I’d come here in the first place. A job was my ticket to freedom, and since he’d agreed to let me keep all my earnings, I’d be able to work hard and save even harder.
“I have experience with bar and diner work mostly.”
“You don’t want to work here in the office?” he asked, not looking all that surprised. “Better hours, pay, and less time lugging around heavy trays.”
The thought of being stuck behind a desk for eight hours had me wanting to throw myself from those impressive windows. “I know my strengths, and trust me when I tell you I’ll be most useful in the service industry.”
He gave in without an argument, which was very un-alpha of him. “We own two nightclubs and four restaurants in Golden Claw. All of them could use more staff.”
“I’ll take one club and one restaurant, and I’m happy with a mix of day and night shifts. Whichever is the busiest and needs the most staff.”
He didn’t show it, but I got the feeling my response had surprised him. “Okay, I’ll get a schedule to you tomorrow when you move in. Is there anything else you need, Emmeline?”
He drawled my name, dragging it out slowly, and I almost gave in to the need to squirm in my seat. The overload of sensation he created was a lot, and I was ill-equipped to deal with it.
“Nope, I think that covers everything.” I jumped to my feet. “You’ve done more than enough, and… thank you.”
It pained me to say those two words, because I didn’t ask to be here at this pack’s mercy. But here I was anyway, and he was being surprisingly reasonable.
