I froze, my fingers squeezing the edges of the files.Human.The word echoed in my head.I edged closer, careful not to make a sound.Was Mack in trouble because of me?
The conversation inside was muffled, but the anger was unmistakable.I caught words like “council,” “risk,” and “mate.”My heart thudded in my chest as Levi’s voice grew sharper.“You’re not hearing me.You could be in serious shit for this, Mack.If the council finds out, it won’t just be you on the line.You could put the whole damn town at risk.”
My ears burned, the shock of it all rooting me in place.What was I missing?Rules?Council?I didn’t remember seeing anything about a council or rules when I applied for this job.Something inside me twisted as I put the pieces together.
“She’s not just my assistant.She’s my mate, Levi.I will be damned if anyone—including the council, or you—gets in my way when it comes to her.”
Mate?My breath caught in my throat.I felt like I was going to pass the fuck out.The word didn’t sound like just a term of endearment.It sounded… primal.Final.Even dangerous.
A dull ringing filled my ears as I pressed my back against the wall, trying to disappear into the shadows.Had I misunderstood?Was I just being paranoid?But then I remembered the forum posts I’d read late one night, about Arrhythmia being a place for “castaway paranormals” and “misfit monsters.”At the time, I’d rolled my eyes, convinced it was a joke, some kind of local myth.But now, with Mack’s words echoing in my mind, I wasn’t so sure.
Bits and pieces came back to me—flashes of odd moments.The way Mack had handled James.How had he even known that I was in trouble?The day I’d seen a huge bear getting ready to eat Muffin.The way he’d growled—actually growled—at Colt and Jax in the office just this morning.The animal magnetism, the way he seemed larger than life, like he belonged to a world that was wilder and older than this one.
Was Mack… dangerous?Was he human?Was he a freaking bear?Or something else altogether?
My mind spun.My gut filled with panic and told me to run out the door and never look back.
But my heart hesitated.
Did it really matter?
Mack had protected me, stood up for me against James, and made me feel safer than I’d ever been in my life.He cooked for me, made me laugh, and looked at me like I was the only person in the world.Did it truly matter if he had secrets?
The door to his office opened suddenly, making me jump.I ducked around the corner before Levi or Mack could spot me.My breath came fast and shallow as I listened to Levi’s heavy footsteps fade down the hall, then the softer sound of Mack blowing out a breath on the other side of the door.
I pressed my hand to my chest, trying to steady my heart.If Mack was—if Arrhythmia really was—what those crazy online posts said it was, then I’d wandered into something far stranger than a simple new job.
But wasn’t that what I’d wanted?A new life, a fresh start, something wild and different?Here was my shot at it.
I made my way back to my desk, the file folders forgotten.My mind replayed every moment since I’d arrived in Arrhythmia.From the warmth of Mack’s kitchen to the easy camaraderie of his team.To the fact that everyone seemed to watch me like I was the new fish in a very odd pond.Did they all know something that I didn’t?
I stared at my computer screen, seeing nothing, my thoughts racing.Could I handle this?The fact that everything I’d researched about the town was true.
Mind fucking blown.
Was I brave enough to stay?I guess only time would tell.
The only thing I knew for certain was that Mack was more than he appeared.And maybe, just maybe, so was I.
I glanced down at my hands, feeling the faintest tremble.If he was a bear—or something like it—should I be afraid, or did it just make the impossible seem possible?After all, life had never been gentle with me.Maybe it was time to stop wishing for something ordinary.
From Mack’s office, I heard his chair creak, the low rumble of his voice on the phone.I took another deep breath, straightened my dress, and decided I’d do what I’d always done: take it one step at a time, secrets and all.
And if Mack Kingston really was some kind of monster, he was my monster.For now, that was enough.
12
It had been a few days since I overheard Mack and Levi’s heated conversation, and the words still rattled around in my head.Human.Rules.Mate.Talk about a mindfuck.
I’d been watching Mack closely ever since, searching for any hint that he was hiding something from me.But if there were cracks in his human mask, he guarded them well—no accidental slips, no cryptic admissions.Fucking nada!Just the same steady, solid Mack.Charming, dependable, magnetic…and mysterious as hell.
I caught myself examining every gesture, every look, and every little growl that slipped out when he thought I wasn’t listening.Any time he went for a “run,” I wondered if he was running as a man or as something else.I needed answers.I needed to know what I was truly a part of.It was driving me nuts.I know I should just ask him, but seriously.What the hell was I supposed to ask?How does one even bring upthatconversation?
So, when he laced up his shoes that evening and said, “I’m going to get some air and clear my head,” I felt my pulse kick up.After a minute, I slipped out after him, my thoughts as fucked up as they could get.
Was I really doing this?
Spying on the only man who’d ever made me feel safe and wild, all at once?But my damned curiosity and the need for certainty had me creeping through the house and out into the yard, every step driven by the curiosity that had been building inside me since that overheard conversation.
