Series: Werewolves of Wall Street Series by Renee Rose
Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 66669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66669 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 267(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
“You just gave Aiden power, and I don’t doubt he’s out for blood with you closing Benson despite everything he did to block it.”
Ruby nods her agreement, but Blackthroat isn’t looking at her, or any of us. He’s staring into the distance with a haunted expression.
Eagle goes on, “This is–”
“Stop talking.” Brick’s words are quiet, but his authority is absolute.
Eagle immediately halts, closing his mouth with a sour expression. Ruby shakes her head, as if in exasperation, but neither of them say another word.
I stare at all three of them, trying to figure out what in the hell is going on, but it’s one of the few times in my life that I just can’t seem to follow the thread of logic or deduce a pattern from the known facts.
Brick
No one says a word the entire way back to Moon Co. Even Madi, who usually ignores my dictates if she decides they’re illogical, stands quietly beside me on the elevator ride up to our floor.
Dammit.
I lost control. I showed Aiden my wolf.
What a colossal fuckup. I honestly don’t know why I felt it important to bring Madison to the board meeting, but I did. Shifters rely on their instincts, and mine told me to bring her.
But now Aiden thinks he knows something.
My eyes must have changed color when I faced him. My wolf thought Madison was in danger and went nuts to protect her.
This situation with her is getting out of hand. I’ve been pretending it’s under control. Or that there isn’t actually a situation, but after this morning’s fiasco, I can’t deny it.
Somehow, it feels like another rending of my soul in two directions. Growing up, my love and loyalties were divided. We belonged to our father. We bore his name, were members of his pack. We loved him, and he loved us, but he demanded our absolute loyalty. Drilled into us the weight of the mantle we must wear as his heirs. Me, as his only son and the future alpha of the pack, especially.
But once a week, our mother was allowed to visit. We adored her–she was beautiful, loving, kind. Soft and sweet. She brought us gifts and made us laugh. That one day a week, she showered us with love and attention, except for the hour or so when my father took her upstairs and claimed her.
They hated each other, but the sex kept my father alive. It was part of the bargain struck between the two packs when it became apparent they were fated mates. He kept the young she bore. They kept her.
It’s not the same with Madi–she doesn’t belong to an enemy pack, but she also doesn’t belong to our world. I want her, same as I wanted my mother full-time, but I can’t claim her. I need to mate an alpha she-wolf to secure the throne. Then again, who can predict how these things will work? It’s not like a royal bloodline where the son automatically inherits. It’s whichever wolf is the most alpha of the pack. Normally, he comes from the same bloodline as the previous alpha, but it doesn’t have to be a son. It could be a nephew. Auggie is a strong and smart wolf. He might end up being alpha regardless of who I mate. Or Scarlett might bear the future alpha of the Blackthroat pack when she finds her fated mate.
All I know is that every day that goes by without claiming Madi, I go a little more mad.
I glance over at my lovely assistant. This is the first time I’ve even allowed my thinking to go this far. The first time I’ve truly examined the possibilities and ramifications of claiming her. It still seems impossible.
We step off the elevator, and I allow her to precede me. “In my office, please,” I murmur.
She darts a glance over her shoulder but obeys, walking ahead and waiting for me to unlock the door and remove my coat and suit jacket.
She shrugs off her coat, hangs it beside mine and waits. Somehow she knows to match me where I am. She’s not businesslike or flirty. She’s not her usual efficient self, zipping in to take care of my needs. She’s simply available.
Because she’s our mate, my wolf whispers. She knows what you need, even when you don’t.
I walk to my desk. My wolf is right, I don’t even know what I need now. It’s not the hot, aggressive fuck I’ve been demanding from Madison nearly every morning since Thanksgiving.
I just need her. I require her scent to calm me and soothe the rage I have on lockdown beneath my breastbone. I half-sit on my desk and reach for her, spinning her, so her back comes to my chest, my hand cradling the side of her face. I pull her hair to my nose and inhale deeply.