Page 11 of Hidden Nature

“Morning, I need to speak with someone about transferring some funds from offshore accounts and adjusting some preferences and access to my current accounts,” I shared, knowing this would have to be done with a specially qualified employee.

She flashed me a smile and nodded, picking up the phone and speaking quickly. Pausing to listen, she nodded her head along with whatever was being said to her before she hung up and addressed me. “One of our personal bankers will be up to escort you to their office momentarily. If you head over to that small seating area off to the left, they will meet you there.”

Offering her a smile, I headed to the seating she gestured to. Before I could even sit, a man in a pressed black suit with a soft blue tie and shiny shoes approached. He paused when he saw me probably not being what he expected or the people he was used to dealing with. Most who would require offshore accounts didn’t dress in jeans and a T-shirt their mate created from a wetsuit.

The man quickly caught himself and reached out a hand to greet me. “Good morning, I’m Brian, and I’ll be helping you out today.”

When I gripped his hand, I discovered that he was attracted to me and not at all a fan of Rath, who was looming protectively over me. This elf was as bad as the wolves when it came to defending what they claimed as theirs. “Thank you. I appreciate the help,” I answered, trying to keep the two men from causing a scene.

“Right this way to my office. Can I get you a coffee? Hot tea?” Brian asked, leading the way into his cushy office.

“We’re fine, thank you,” Rath answered, his voice gruff.

It took everything in me not to roll my eyes and remain professional, but I’ve discovered some cracks in my cool, calm, and collected exterior with all the new emotions.

“Thank you for the offer,” I added, smoothing over Brian’s ruffled feathers as he glared at Rath. “Now, I have a few different accounts, but I would like to withdraw from one of the offshore Swiss accounts and pull enough over to the stateside, main account. I would also like to add on names of people who can access it as well.”

“Certainly. Do you have account numbers, or will I need to look those up for you?” Brian asked, rolling his chair up to his computer.

“If you hand me a piece of paper, I will write them all down for you,” I said as I slipped my ID over to him. “I assume you are going to need that as well to verify along with my signature and pin code?”

Brian blinked at me a few times before he got moving on what I’d asked him for. I quickly wrote out the account numbers and all the other information he needed to find them as he slid over a number keypad for me to input my code. Now that I had proven who I was, things moved quickly.

“How much did you want to take from the Swiss account?” Brian asked.

“Two million, please. I believe that should leave another eight in the account?” I questioned, wanting to make sure I’d kept track correctly.

“Actually, you have almost twelve in the account before we move anything. Does that change your numbers?”

I shook my head. No need to have more where I could get taxed or have someone trace it when I didn’t need to. “Two should be fine, and is it possible to get three hundred pulled out in cash for me to use now?”

“Absolutely, we can do that, not a problem,” Brian assured me as he typed away on the keyboard. Then something made him pause. “I’m sorry, but you want me to add Zander Vaughan to your account, the superstar?”

“Is that a problem?” I pinched my eyebrows together, forming a crease.

Brian shook his head, looking extremely confused. “It’s none of my concern, just seems strange when I’m sure he has more than enough money he wouldn’t need yours. I just want to make sure he isn’t running some kind of scam on you.”

Hearing him bad mouth my mate made my hackles rise and my magic spark under my skin. “You’re absolutely right. It is none of your concern. The only reason I am giving you justification is because, the last thing he needs is some rumor going around saying he’s tricking women into giving him money. He is my mate, and in the supernatural world, that is the same as being husband and wife. I’m sure you have plenty of people who add their significant other to their account, do you not?” My voice was hard as steel as I spoke, even as I kept my body relaxed and face blank, hiding the fact I wanted to rip out his throat.

“I’m so extremely sorry, ma’am. I never should have made assumptions,” Brian stuttered, panic was written all over his face.

Rath reached over and took my hand in his, pulling it up to his lips and flooding me with calm, soothing emotions to stabilize my own. “My love, forgive the ignorant human. He didn’t know any better,” he cooed before turning his gaze to Brian. “Is there anything else you need from her, or can you complete the rest on your own?”

While I never was the type to make others doing their job feel bad, Brian had no right to say what he did. What I did with my money or my personal life was none of his concern. “I agree. If I can get the cash I requested, I believe you have all the information needed.” I stood, settling my hands on Brian’s desk, and gave him the death stare of an assassin as I spoke the last part, “If I hear anything about Zander using women for money or the fact that we are mated, I will know where it came from and personally deal with the problem.”

Brian gulped audibly at my words as he stood, trying to put the office chair between us, letting me know he was taking me seriously. “Of course, ma’am, I apologize for speaking out of turn and butting in where I had no right. Give me a moment to get the cash and you can be on your way.”

Rath chuckled as he stood, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me tight against him, showing me just how much he enjoyed my possessiveness. “Nin mel, do your other mates know how lucky they are to have you? Not many women would think to ensure Zander’s reputation stays intact. It’s not widely known he’s tied to the Senate, but we elves find it best to know who the dangers are as we stay hidden. That and I’m around the same age as him, I believe.”

Gasping, I turned in his hold and looked up at him. “Zander is a hundred years old? How did we not know that? The Organization also likes to ensure we have all the best information on big players in the supernatural and human world.”

“As I said, they like to keep his information close to the chest with who his mother is,” Rath pointed out.

I was unable to ask more about that since Brian returned with an envelope of money and a paper for me to sign. As soon as we were finished, he escorted us to the front door. “Can I call you a cab to take you to where you’re going?”

“Thank you, but that won’t be needed,” I said before Rath could share his feelings on the matter. With a quick wave, I pulled my mate out of the bank and onto the streets. “Remind me that I should run errands like this alone. You all seem to make situations so much worse.”

Rath huffed as if I’d offended him by saying that. “Nin mel, there is no way that you will be going anywhere without one of us. The Dark Ring might not know yet that they failed to capture you, but they will be after you soon enough, and we don’t know the extent of the connection to the Senate. Personally, I wouldn’t discount your previous employers being a part of this as well.”