He shared almost everything with his inner circle, but not Camille. He hoarded her close to his heart. Possessiveness and the fear of how the pack would react to an elvish alpha he couldn’t even coax to his side meant he didn’t tell even his closest friends that he had been working on his den for years, always with her in mind.
Not wanting to get into itnow,of all times, Viktor swallowed his animal’s rage and loneliness. He sent his second an arch look. “I’ve got other things to think about, you know. Like uprooting our entire pack, building us a better future. Little things like that.”
Or big things like mile long legs of the softest lavender and wavy black hair that shone like oil in the light.
Like a soft, almost husky voice and a razor-sharp mind. Like the pleasure of watching her unravel under his hands as an orgasm nearly buckled his knees. Like a girl who’d given him her heart when she was at her most vulnerable and who would rather skin him alive than see him today.
“Uh-huh.” Benny cushioned his cheek on one of his meaty fists, his expression more knowing than Viktor would have liked. “You keep telling yourself that, Vik.”
“Hm. We’ll see.”
Reading him easily, Benny changed the subject. “How did the meeting go?”
“Great, until Ruben spoke up.” Viktor blew out a breath. “Fuckin’ hate that guy. Reminds me way too much of my dad.”
“Theyweretwo shitty peas in a pod,” his second astutely pointed out. “Remember when he and your dad used to fuck off to go gambling in the New Zone? Neither of them cared that they were taking money the pack needed to survive.”
Old, dark rage made Viktor flex his fingers into the arm of his seat. “Yeah, I remember.”
“We knew he’d be a problem, Vik.”
Viktor nodded and breathed out slowly, releasing the old poison that was his father’s memory. “Yeah, we did. I’m just hoping he won’t find a way to tank our bid.”
“He won’t,” Benny replied, utterly immovable. “You are going to land this, Vik. I know you will. The only way that old bastard could take it from you is if he killed you.”
“I almost wish that was still how we did things.” Viktor smiled ruefully. “I mean, not really, but it would be way simpler than trying to workwithshitheads.”
Benny snorted. “Agreed.”
Viktor thumbed his useless phone and stared out the window. He counted down the minutes until he could turn it on. He’d called in several favors to have Camille’s building watched. Worry for her ate at him constantly, and he relied on the updates he received to calm a small but necessary fraction of his instincts. If he at least knew she was safely in her apartment — even though he wasalsoworried about her self-imposed isolation after her mother’s death — he could get through another hour, another day.
And that was all he could count on now. The promise of seconds progressing into minutes, to hours, to days.
He wasn’t always so high strung. Twenty years was a long time to miss the other half of your soul, after all. He’d learned to cope, to find happiness in the day-to-day, to move on as best he could. With her almost never in the city, he’d managed to live a mostly normal life for an alpha in his prime.
He’d built strong bonds with his pack. He enjoyed his life. He took brief, nearly anonymous lovers when he needed to. Hemanaged.
All that was shot to the underworld now, though.
If he thought the mating instinct, the fever, was rough when he was sixteen, it was nothing compared to the torture he experienced at thirty-six. Now that he’d seen her, held her in his arms, breathed in her wild, floral scent, watched her come and tasted her skin, it was like she’d torn him open and pulled a monster out of him.
That monster only wanted her. It wanted to be near her, to rub its fur against her skin, to know she was in his den and safe, happy, sated, at all times. Ithungeredfor her.
And she wouldn’t fucking see him.
As soon as the tram landed on the platform in the private St. George airport, Viktor hauled himself out, his phone already flickering to life in his hand.
Truly, he didn’t expect any new updates. Camille hadn’t left her apartment since her mother’s private funeral the month prior. It was unlikely that today of all days would be different.
Still, he gritted his teeth as he climbed the fold-out steps of the waiting m-jet. He ducked his head, stooping to avoid being clipped by the low ceiling, and fell into yet another luxurious seat as his phone began to buzz.
Notifications piled in, as usual. Packmates sent him updates, asked questions, and added themselves to his calendar. Pictures of frolicking cubs came through, as well as a report from his financial advisers on several new, risky investments they wanted him to consider.
Finally, amongst the cascade, a message from the demon he’d paid to watch Camille’s building made it through. Viktor sucked in a ragged breath, his heart seizing.
Livia Hunt 11:02 AM: Left the apartment at eleven. Took a Solbourne town car.
Livia Hunt 1:15 PM: Came back at one. No guests.
