None of his business.The wolf was growling now, low and constant.Our mate.Our concern.Tell him nothing.
“A business matter,” I said.“Nothing more.”
“Of course.”Alex’s smile was all teeth.“Distractions are dangerous, Vor.For all of us.The world watches, and weakness invites challenge.”
He turned then, a fluid motion that seemed to bend the shadows around him, and walked back toward the warehouse entrance.His guards followed in perfect synchronization.Within seconds, the cold that had preceded them faded, leaving only the normal winter chill.
The silence stretched for a long moment after they’d gone.
“He knows something,” Viktor said quietly.His voice was rough, the growl of a wolf barely contained in human form.
“He’s guessing.”I turned away from the door.“The Diamantis collect information the way they collect blood.It doesn’t mean anything.”
Viktor’s expression said he didn’t believe me.Worse, his eyes held something else.A question he wasn’t asking.A concern he would voice to Max the moment they were alone.
I’d been distracted during the meeting.I’d let my thoughts drift to her.To the kiss.To the way she’d grabbed my shirt and pulled me closer, meeting my hunger with her own.To the soft moan she’d made when my tongue had swept against hers.
And Viktor had noticed.
Stupid, the wolf muttered.Careless.But she is ours.Why shouldn’t we think of what belongs to us?
Because thinking about her in a room full of vampires was a good way to get killed.Because showing weakness to predators, any predators, was suicide.Because the Pakhan had rules about attachments, and Viktor reported everything to Max.
I walked toward the door, my brothers falling into step behind me.The night air hit my face, cold and clean after the stale warehouse.Snow was falling, light flakes that caught the streetlights and drifted down like ash from a distant fire.
In the car, I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the surveillance reports that had been streaming in all afternoon.
The boiler failure at 11:47 AM.Her immediate response, rallying staff before panic could set in.The spa converted to a warming station.Blankets distributed.Guests managed with a competence that would have impressed men twice her age.
I’d watched it all unfold through my network of informants.Had sent her those texts knowing exactly what she was dealing with, knowing she’d see them and understand that nothing escaped my notice.
The wolf purred with satisfaction.She’d read those messages and known.Known that even when I wasn’t physically present, I was there.Watching.Cataloging.Owning every moment of her day whether she liked it or not.
Good, the wolf growled.She needs to understand.She belongs to us.Every breath.Every crisis.Every moment that general manager stands too close.
Michael.The name sat like acid on my tongue.
I’d watched that too.The way he’d appeared at her side within minutes of the crisis breaking.The coffee he’d brought her, prepared exactly how she liked it.The way he’d touched her arm, her shoulder, her elbow.Eleven times throughout the day, my surveillance had counted.Eleven casual touches that weren’t casual at all.
He wanted her.It was written in every helpful gesture, every supportive word, every lingering glance.And she was too focused on the crisis to see it.Too trusting to recognize the calculation behind his kindness.
Kill him, the wolf suggested, almost conversationally.Remove the threat.She’s ours.
Not yet.Michael was useful.His competence kept the hotel running while she learned the business.His presence gave her someone to lean on, someone who wasn’t me, which kept her from becoming too dependent too quickly.
But if he touched her again…
I closed my eyes and let the surveillance footage play behind my lids.Her standing in the lobby, addressing a crowd of anxious guests with her chin high and her voice steady.Her walking the floors, checking on staff, solving problems as they arose.
But I was always watching.
Clever girl, I’d texted her.The words had been calculated.Praise wrapped in condescension.A reminder that her competence was something I noticed, something I permitted, something that pleased me the way a well-trained pet pleased its owner.
The wolf didn’t like that comparison.He saw something else in her performance today.Something that made his hackles rise with pride rather than possession.
Strong, he insisted.Worthy.A mate who can stand alone when she must.
I silenced him.She wasn’t a mate.She was a contract.
