Page 188 of Beasts of Mine

“Then get the full details.” Mara suggested as she stood and reached for her water bottle. “You don't have to solve the rest before you know exactly what they're asking you to agree to.”

“That actually is useful.” I told Mara as I pulled the keyboard closer, smiling when she gave me an unimpressed look.

“Don't sound so surprised.” Mara replied as she pointed the bottle toward me, then paused near the doorway. “And your six o'clock check-in still applies even if you're sitting twenty feet from me.”

“You can literally see me.” I reminded Mara as I gestured toward the station beyond the doorway, where her own workspace was visible.

“Rules are rules.” Mara answered with exaggerated authority before heading onto the walkway, her boots thudding against the old boards as she left.

I shook my head and returned to the email. I didn't accept immediately, but not because I needed permission from anyone. Malek, Tavian, and Luca didn't get to decide whether I was allowed to accept a professional assignment, and I wasn't going to walk into the temple and ask three Alphas whether they permitted me to work somewhere else.

But the fact that they didn't get to make the decision didn't mean the decision had nothing to do with them. If I loved them—and apparently I did—then being gone for months affected all four of us.

Telling them wasn't asking permission. It was acknowledging that what we were building mattered.

I wrote Caroline back, told her I was extremely interested, confirmed that the proposed dates didn't conflict with my current contract, and asked her to send the complete field brief and final terms before I formally accepted. Then I returned to the kingfisher photographs because despite the unexpected complication in my personal life, I still had work to finish.

The six o'clock check-in happened exactly on time, mostly because Mara stood across the room with her arms folded until I made it. Afterward, I finished sorting the remaining folders and waited for the active backup to complete before safely ejecting the drive and shutting down my laptop. Since Caroline could send the full brief at any point and I already knew I wasn't going to have the patience to wait until morning if it arrived tonight, I slid the laptop and drive into the padded section of my work pack. Once everything was secure, I ate enough dinner that nobody could reasonably accuse me of surviving exclusively on fruit, added what I needed for the night, and headed out.

By the time I stepped onto the trail toward the temple with my work pack secure against my back, the air had cooled slightly beneath the canopy, though humidity still clung to my skin and the vegetation remained damp from an earlier shower. Insects pulsed from somewhere beyond the trail, frogs called near standing water, and the last birds of the evening shifted noisily through the branches overhead. Halfway there, I realized I had never seriously considered spending the night at the station.

That realization no longer bothered me as much as it probably should have.

By the time I reached the ruins, the final daylight had faded behind the canopy and the old stone walls were disappearing into the blue-gray shadows of evening. Tavian appeared along the path before I reached the courtyard, a piece of fruit already in one hand while his amber eyes swept over me with immediate recognition.

“You're late.” Tavian accused me as he approached, but the relief brightening his face and the way his shoulders relaxed once he got close enough to scent me ruined any chance of making the complaint convincing.

“By four minutes.” I told Tavian as I accepted the fruit he pushed into my hand, citrus leaves and spice strengthening around him while he fell into step beside me.

“Four minutes is still more than zero.” Tavian pointed out as his shoulder brushed mine, his attention briefly checking the work pack on my back before returning to my face.

“You survived.” I told Tavian as I took a bite of the fruit, the sweet juice welcome after the hike.

“Barely.” Tavian replied with a dramatic sigh, though his mouth curved almost immediately. His attention stayed on me as we walked, and the humor slowly gave way to genuine interest. “Did work go well?”

“It did.” I answered Tavian as we passed between two sections of old stone where vines spilled over the tops. “The kingfisher reshoot finally gave me what I wanted, and I finished another part of the shot list this afternoon.”

“The rude bird?” Tavian asked as recognition sparked in his amber eyes.

“The very rude bird.” I confirmed to Tavian as I shook my head. “Unfortunately, he might have been right about me taking too many photographs.”

“I like him more now.” Tavian told me as his grin widened, but the teasing faded when he studied my face again. “Something else happened today.”

For all the nonsense that came out of Tavian's mouth, he paid considerably more attention than he liked pretending.

“It did.” I told Tavian as we reached the courtyard, adjusting the strap of my work pack higher against my shoulder. “I want to tell all three of you at once.”

“Bad?” Tavian asked as he stopped beside me, concern replacing the last of his amusement.

“No.” I reassured Tavian as I briefly touched his arm before continuing inside. “Just important.”

Tavian nodded and followed without pushing for the answer.

Luca sat at the worktable repairing the strap on one of the storage bags, while Malek stood near the open side of the courtyard checking something along the stone wall. Both men looked toward me immediately. Their familiar scents reached me before either spoke, and the tension I'd carried through the walk eased from my body almost automatically.

That reaction would have been considerably easier to ignore if I hadn't spent the afternoon admitting exactly what they meant to me.

“You have the work face.” Luca observed as he set the strap down, his green-gold eyes moving over me with quiet attention while sandalwood and herbs warmed through the courtyard.