I sat in my office while my personal assistant read off my agenda for the rest of the day—the multiple appointments I had booked with businessmen, pack issues and resolutions, and alpha phone conferences.
That reminded me that I had yet to call Violet’s father and thank him for sending Violet to my territory. Even if I wasn’t the one who’d authorized it, to respect my mate’s father, I had to at least call him.
“And to finish off the day, you have a productivity and finance meeting with the managers and team leaders.” Tiffany exhaled in exhaustion at the end after reciting my schedule.
I nodded. “Bring me the consolidated balance sheets and cash flow statements for the previous two fiscal years. I’ll need that for the meetings with the managers and team leaders.”
Tilting my head to the sound of her pushing back her chair and standing, I could make out the shadows of her moving and picking up her laptop.
It was like seeing things through a blindfold, and it was hard not to squint.
“Oh and Tiff?” Her heels stopped clicking on the floor. “Call Alpha Conner. If he picks up, forward the call to me.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
I leaned back in my office chair and closed my eyes, suppressing the urge to think about Violet Conner.
I didn’t know my mate. I had never met her. There was no need to. My father had arranged a marriage for me when I was a child, and I had never acted on it.
I had heard stories about her from Alpha Conner, though, when we had met every now and then to follow up on pack matters and government issues.
He had told me about his twin daughters. Violet had a mouth on her, he’d explained. She was upfront and less restrained.
I’d pushed it off as a small warning and never paid much heed to Alpha Conner’s rants and news about my mate until now.
Violet had never crossed my mind over the years, but she hadn’t left it once today. Her scents randomly popped up out of nowhere. I wondered what she looked like.
I hadn’t even properly touched her, other than her hip and waist, but God damn, that woman had curves on her.
Snarling, beyond frustrated, I stood and walked toward the window, where the light was the brightest. I rubbed a palm over my face and exhaled.
Everyone had a certain scent that sticks to their bodies. Some people masked it with cologne or perfume, but some people wore little or nothing.
Violet’s body wash was pleasant. Coconut. Sweet and gentle. Underneath that, she smelled almost like she’d been outside too long, with Mother Nature’s scent clinging to her.
My door opened and Tiffany announced softly, “Beta Peyton is back from his meeting and here to see you.”
“Send him in.”
I was still pissed off at the fool. He went against my orders in bringing Violet here.
“So, I went up to the Werewolf Affiliation,” Peyton began. “They are still sending out agents to find out more information regarding that night. The case is open and awaiting a hearing.”
“Who was all there?” I asked.
“Frederick, Emerson, Lance, Kylie, and Rebecca.”
The five supreme prosecutors for our kind. Werewolves with high positions ranking. Those positions were not negotiable. They were passed down from generation to generation.
I nodded before exhaling and running a hand over my face again.
“I’m fucking exhausted,” I grumbled.
Peyton chuckled. “Exhausted, or you want to go home to see Violet?”
“How about you shut that mouth before I shove my foot into it?” I growled.
I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my trousers to stop myself from pummeling my best friend’s face. He had a habit of crawling under my skin and pissing me off.
He laughed even harder at that. “I’m not going to lie. I think I made the right decision in bringing Luna here. You were a fucking pain in the ass.”
That was all I could take. I threw a punch, guessing where he was, and hit him square in the chest.
“Hey! I’m only speaking the truth,” he protested.
“Say one more word, Peyton, and I’ll beat that pretty face of yours so badly you’ll have to wear a bag over your face to get laid.”
“Damn, Alpha, you’re brutal,” my beta mocked me. “Darkness has changed you.”
I turned to lunge at him but was stopped by a soft knock on the door.
“What?” I snapped, annoyed at the intrusion.
I heard the door open, and a familiar scent filled the room. I knew who it was even before she announced herself.
The tight knot in my stomach unwound. It was fucking odd how that knot had been there and I hadn’t even realized it.
When she said, “Hi,” I could hear the smile in her voice, light and soft.
“Luna, what are you doing here?” Peyton sounded ecstatic to have the luna interrupt. He knew he’d escaped from a good beating.
Another scent filled my nostrils. She’d brought lunch. I could smell the alfredo sauce.
I wondered what ingredient she’d forgotten this time as I heard her sit in front of me.
She opened the lunch bag and assured me, “Don’t worry. This time I had Marco cook it.” She took hold of my hand and placed a fork in it.
Peyton cleared his throat. “Well, I have other things to take care of. I’ll be back to pick you up, Alpha.”
“No need,” I said. “I’ll come home with Violet.”
She broke in, surprised. “What?”
“You aren’t leaving right away, are you?” I asked. Why was I hellbent on pushing her to stay by my side?
“Well…no.”
“You have nothing else to do, do you?” I pressed.
“No.” She sighed.
“Well then, that settles it,” Peyton laughed and walked out of the office.
I looked down at where I thought she had placed the container in front of me. I was a goddamn alpha, and unable to do one simple thing. It was humiliating and degrading.
I felt her body warmth to my right. Her hand wrapped around mine and she pulled the fork from my hand. I frowned, but then I felt the pasta touch my lips.
“Let me help,” she offered.
Hesitantly, I opened my mouth and took the food. I heard her set the fork down before a napkin touched the corner of my mouth. She said nothing as I allowed her to feed me.
“Why did you decide to bring me food? I could have ordered in,” I asked after a few bites.
“When I was little, my mother made lunch for me to bring to school,” she explained. “Even though the lunch was a simple sandwich with carrots and apple slices, she took her time to make it beautiful.”
She paused to offer me another bite. “The lunch box was a little message for me, telling me she was thinking of me. Those kinds of details told me how much she loved me.”
The napkin touched my lips again and she went on, “In my opinion, food from restaurants can’t compare to food made at home.”
“But you didn’t cook this meal,” I pointed out.
She giggled and it was fucking adorable. The corners of my lips lifted upon hearing her laugh.
“True,” she admitted. She held another forkful of pasta to my mouth. I wrapped my hand around her wrist and stopped her.
“You should cook next time,” I told her.
“Oh no,” she retorted. “I am still horrified at presenting you with a grilled cheese sandwich without the cheese.”
I opened my mouth and let her guide the food in. She tried to pull back but I kept hold of her wrist.
“Dominic…” She tugged on her hand again.
My phone rang, and I released her hand to pick it up.
“Alpha, I have Alpha Conner on the line,” Tiffany announced.
I told her to send him through and waited through a brief silence before I heard Violet’s father.
“Dominic, how are you doing?”
“Good. I wanted to call you to thank you for sending Violet here,” I replied.
“Oh, not a problem at all. I hope she isn’t causing too much trouble.” John chuckled.
I heard Violet fidget next to me. Waves of anxiety were rolling off her, and I turned my head to the side with a frown. John was talking about something, but I wasn’t really listening.
“When do you think you will bring her back to visit us?” His question got through to me.
Visit? Hell, I hadn’t really thought about that. It had only been a day.
“As soon as I am able to settle some matters over here, I’ll bring her to visit you all,” I promised.
“Very well, take your time, Dominic. Is she there?” John asked. “Can I talk to her?”
I said goodbye and handed the phone to Violet. Her hand shook slightly when she took the phone from me.
“Dad?” Her voice shook and she cleared her throat.
“Violet, how are you, sweetheart?”
“I’m fine.”
“How are you liking things there? Have you had a chance to go out and explore? Enjoy things? I hope you aren’t causing any trouble, missy. You are setting an example for our pack.”
“Everything is fine. I am behaving.” Her answers were quick and clipped, as if she wanted to end the conversation quickly.
“Violet?” Her father had noticed it too.
“Yeah?” Her voice hitched.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?”
“Of course,” she insisted.
There was a long silence on the other line, and the emotions coming off Violet were so thick that I surely would have sensed them even if I weren’t a werewolf.
“Hey, Dad, listen, I have to go. I’ll call you later.”
“How about I call you?” her dad asked.
“No!” she shouted, sounding almost fearful.
“Violet?” Now he sounded genuinely concerned.
“Dad, I’ll call you later. Please, don’t worry about it. Trust me. I am fine. You are such a worrywart.” That was the most words she’d said to her father on the phone so far.
He sighed on the other end. “All right. Love you, sweetheart.”
“I love you too, Dad. Bye.”
She hung up the phone, and a long silence passed between us. It seemed she was going to brush off the fact that I had just witnessed her frantically trying to hang up on her father.
“Is something wrong?” I finally asked.
“Everything is fine. I just remembered there is something I have to do at home.”
I grabbed her wrist before she turned away, and with one sharp tug, she fell into my lap. I wrapped my arms around her to keep her trapped.
“What is it that you want to do?” I probed.
“Oh well…” She paused. “You know, just…stuff.”
I couldn’t stop the smirk that appeared on my face. She was so bad at lying. It was fucking adorable. I was starting to regret not having taken the time to know my betrothed mate before this.
I had only seen a glimpse of her picture, years ago, so I knew she had shiny brown hair and dark emerald eyes. By last night’s kiss, I knew my mate had plump, soft lips.
I wished I had taken the time to study all her features.
“‘Stuff,’ huh?” I couldn’t help teasing. “That’s some real deal right there. You should go home quickly and get it done.”
“That’s not funny,” she replied flatly.
I chuckled. “Stay. Keep me company at work today.”
Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
