ien

ond was

elry store, a ten-carat pink monstrosity that cost more than my fi

id frustration was

uldn't stop ringing. Bankers, investors, board members-all of them demanding answers

ded her patents, her bra

t the sales clerk, tossing

my phone buzzed. It was K

ed. "It's awful here. The people Geraldine left behind... they're ignoring

voice tight with impatience

project? And the nur

enzie!" I hung up, the mu

heavy weight in my pocket. The front desk clerk, a prim woman with sharp eyes, i

he wouldn't

ter I had her location: a table for one at Le Bernard

me at the entrance t

s section is closed

ine Carroll," I said, t

y, sir. The guest has requ

as wearing a shimmering, silver dress that clung to her body like a second skin. She looked... radiant. More b

e and slid the velve

ke gravel in my mouth. "I was wrong. I

d a piece of her sea bass, her movements fluid

I sat down opposite her. "From nothing. Remember those nights in our tiny

mine. They were cold, devoid of

rust fund also part of our team-building exer

t was for the baby... to give him a secure fut

throw it in my face. Instead, she slowly, deliberately, poured the entire glass over the mill

able with a soft click and delicat

ur apologies, and I certainly don't want your pathetic excuses

I hissed, leaning across the table. "You'd b

se me

ee a tall man in an impeccably tailored suit standing beside our

rk's guest," the man said. His eyes

lpha King of the entire Eastern Seaboard. A Lycan so powerful, so far

cold. It wa

to Geraldine. A sickening thought entered my mind. "

am-colored card. She flicked it open. It was an invitation, embossed with a golden wolf cres

rocess what I was seeing. I reached f

ized behind me. They each grabbed one of my arms in a grip

light. She walked around the table and leaned in c

y, the position, the future... I'm going to take

ng the first man out of the restaur

center of one of New York's finest restaurants. A pathetic, str

-