at tall, shadowed figure outside the glass lingered in my mind. I rubbed my temples, trying to convince myself that the adrenaline had conjured illusions. It had to be. A h

l. And I had always known that danger did not come with warning label

y desk, I stared at the spreadsheets and reports as if they could anchor me to some semblance of safety. But numbers

me as his mate. Yet, in every subtle shift, every glance he had cast my way, eve

uickened, that the thread

e sudden ring of my phone. I yanked it from

s Va

carried both authority and something

id, masking the t

and deliberate, made my wolf stir. He could not smell me, and yet he still had the a

to a place where he could not dominate me without scent as leverage. But the pull and th

ry passing floor. When the doors opened, the faint scent of him, the faintest mix of cologne and

intensity that could shatter glass. His dark hair fell slightly over his fore

id, his tone smooth

en moments away from leaving the office entirel

ross from his desk. I took it, acutely aware of the

ng mine. "It is imperative that nothing interferes. Not your team, n

here than just business. Always more. The subtle, unexplainable pull I felt whenever he was

ights in the office flickered. Just for a mome

fr

?" I asked, keepin

Then he smiled, a small, almost imperceptible curve of

e me. Something had moved

quickly as it appe

k of my neck stood on end. He noticed. Of cour

ht that made my chest tighten. "I do not understand why I

That was exactly what it felt like, like a thread had been

t, what I knew. He could not smell me, could not recognize me as his

ken. The predator and the prey, the Alpha and his hidden mate, were

ng just short of touching me. "But you

move. Not away, not back. The invisible thread between us was taut and burning

hts went out

ed only in the faint glow of the city

guttura

t

behind me. Fast.

d, but there

, fear and adrenalin

as g

ing primal. My wolf surged inside me, and for the first time

ithout recognition, something or s

t was, it was