by Kym Grosso
“Don’t be embarrassed. You’ve been through a lot in the past seventy-two hours. You’re overcoming blood loss. He was a jerk. You asked, and he didn’t listen. No worries, chére.” Tristan felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest seeing Kalli so stressed over these pictures. He fully understood what they represented, but her face was as pale as if she’d seen a ghost.
Realizing that everyone was staring at them, Kalli attempted to get away from Tristan. She couldn’t afford to show weakness in front of his wolves; they’d eat her alive.
“Hey, where’re you going? You sure you’re okay?” he asked, refusing to let her up. He held her tight, not caring what anyone thought.
“Thanks, I’m fine. You’re right. It must be the blood loss. I think I’m okay now. I’ll use the bathroom and be right back,” she told him, hoping he’d let it go.
“Okay.” Tristan released her, watching as she tore down the hallway. It may have been panic, but he could sense the sheer terror coursing through her body. She was afraid of something. Perhaps the wolves she’d been sketching scared her. But he got the distinct feeling she was not telling him the truth. It was just a matter of time before he found out what the hell was going on with her. Giving Logan a look, he gestured for him to come over to the sofa.
Logan complied. “What’s up, boss?”
“How’s the clearance going? Anything yet?’ he asked impatiently.
“Not really. All we got so far is criminal records, which didn’t tell us much. No arrests. Not even so much as a parking ticket. Pays her bills on time. Been on staff at UVH for two years. Still diggin’. Should have more information this afternoon.”
“I want to know as soon as you hear from our guy. And I mean as soon as you hear it. No delays,” he directed. “She’s hiding something, and I damn well want to know what it is.”
Mira overheard their conversation from across the room and came over to see what was happening. Tristan’s intimate display with the human woman troubled her on a visceral level. What the hell did he see in her? Mira wasn’t usually a jealous woman. He’d fucked lots of women over the years. He’d even been serious, holding long-standing booty calls with detective Sydney Willows. He’d even asked her to move in with him, but she had the good sense to turn him down.
But this woman had insinuated herself into his life in less than twenty-four hours. The only way that could ever happen would be if he met his mate. Mate? No fucking way. No Alpha had ever mated with a human. Besides, she would have known if he’d found a mate. Logan would know. The entire damn pack would know. They’d all feel it. And knowing Tristan, he’d be broadcasting it over a satellite. There was something about this human woman that was all wrong, and she was determined to find out what it was. In the meantime, she planned to make her life a living hell, even if Tristan had decided she was staying with him.
“Hey, what’s up?” she asked innocently.
“Nothin’. Just talkin’ to Logan about running a security clearance on Dr. Williams,” he explained.
“Doctor, huh? Looks like she’s the one who needs to take a pill if you ask me. And while we’re all sharing, why the hell were you chasing her all over?”
Logan rolled his eyes, hoping Mira would know when to stop.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Tristan grinned, trying to get her to lay off the subject. “I’m just givin’ her a little sweet Alpha love medicine. You should know all about that, Mir.”
A chuckle came from Logan. The man had mad lines. He could talk the pants off a nun.
“Yeah, well, you’d better watch yourself, Tris. She’s human. Not to mention that you barely know her,” she warned.
“Thanks for your concern, chére, but I assure you that your Alpha can take care of himself.”
“But you can’t seriously be thinking of letting her stay here,” she interjected, raising her voice.
“Already done. She’s staying with me, in my home and will not stay with anyone else,” he remarked, looking at Logan, remembering the incident earlier in the day.
“But…”
He interrupted her before she could get another word in. She was overstepping her boundaries. Pinning her with his eyes, he forced her to drop her gaze in submission. “Drop it, Mira. Seriously, not another word. She’s in my care. She’s mine.”
He understood the implications of claiming her, the instant the word ‘mine’ left his lips. Looking at Logan and Mira’s faces he knew they interpreted it as much more than the context in which it was meant. As Alpha, all wolves were his. They were all his responsibility. Just because she was human, well, it shouldn’t make a difference. She needed his protection, and he needed her, for information only, of course. Sure, she was incredibly alluring and gave him an aching erection just about every time he talked to her, but it was just attraction, pure and simple. He’d have to be dead not to want to have sex with her.
As Mira and Logan gave each other quizzical looks, he narrowed his eyes on them. “What?”
“Nothing,” they both said at the same time.
Finishing up the description of the second wolf, Kalli waited for the artist to work his magic. She sat patiently, anticipating that he’d ask for her to confirm the sketch. The tall blonde had been shooting daggers at her ever since she’d returned from her room. Kalli stole glances over at Tristan and Logan working on the other side of the room and noticed the woman never left Tristan’s side.
Her business attire and laptop suggested she worked for Tristan in a formal capacity, but her intimate gestures toward both men indicated more than a professional relationship. Friends? No, her occasional touch to Tristan’s face implied more. Lovers? For some reason the thought of him having other lovers gave her a slight twinge in her stomach. She silently admonished herself for the feeling. She’d only known him for a day. So what if she was lusting after him like a bitch in heat? He wasn’t hers.
The phenomenon of physical attraction was undeniably compelling given the right chemistry between the right people. It could hardly be controlled. And then there was the very hard to ignore fact that Tristan was an Alpha who appeared to have made an art form of seduction, with the ability to turn on and off his intoxicating charm with the blink of an eye. Any woman who even looked his way would be hopelessly lost. She didn’t stand a chance.
She damn well knew that he probably had a stable of women, supernatural and human, ready and willing to warm his bed. What kind of idiot would get involved with an Alpha when she, herself, was pretending to be human and was on the run from her own pack? A fool.
But she could not deny that she wanted him sexually, and not in a nice hand-holding, missionary position kind of way. Visions of her gripping the headboard while he slammed into her hard, fisting her long hair in his hands was more in order. And she, screaming as the pleasure bordering on pain sent her plummeting into orgasm…oh yes, that was how she wanted him. Fast and hard. Biting and scratching. Animalistic.
Regardless, she couldn’t let these temporary lust-driven feelings cloud her judgment. She didn’t do jealousy. Perhaps what did bother her, though, was that this woman who didn’t even know her did not like her. Kalli didn’t understand why but then again, it didn’t really matter. And if she was reading things correctly, there was the possibility she’d also have to spend time with her over the next few days.
Not that she wasn’t used to dealing with cantankerous and even cruel pet owners from time to time; she’d become an expert at pulling down her professional aura, speaking to them in a dominant but calm voice. Articulately eviscerating pet owners who were abusive was an unfortunate reality of life in the city. She wasn’t the type to take shit from anyone when it came to protecting her animals. She reasoned that she could take care of the uptight blonde; it might not be pretty, but she wasn’t here to do pretty. She needed to stay alive and help Tristan find the wolves who’d killed that man in Louisiana and set his club ablaze.
Once this ordeal was over, she planned to
go back to her life’s mission of healing animals and teaching others how to help them. She’d return to hiding as a wolf in human clothing. Maybe finally date a human who didn’t mind a brainiac who worked long hours and was covered in pet hair when she got home. A hot kiss, one that brought her to her knees, with a spectacularly gorgeous Alpha wasn’t going to change that very real outcome. She glanced over at him again, hoping he wouldn’t see her looking yet again. God, he is delicious. I could lick him up….
“How does this look?” the artist asked, jarring her from her carnal thoughts.
“Um, yeah, that uh, that looks good,” she stammered. “We done?”
“Yeah, just saving them and then I’ll email them over to Tristan, Logan and Tony,” he murmured, continuing to work.
“Okay, thanks.” Tired from working, Kalli stood, unconsciously stretching her arms over her head like a cat who’d just awoken from a long nap.
Tristan stopped talking, noticing she was finished. His dick snapped to attention as she began stretching in front of everyone, her hard nipples pressing through her t-shirt. Was she aroused? Cold? He needed her close, thanking the Goddess that the artist wasn’t watching her. He’d have a heart attack at the delectable sight.
A low growl emanated from him as he strode across the room and wrapped his hands around her waist. He didn’t want anyone else seeing the lovely sight he’d just witnessed. Oh, he wanted to see her nipples hard, all right, but he didn’t need other males seeing them, especially in his own home. Before he knew it, he hugged her, running his hands down her back where they rested right above her rear. Taking in a long draw of her scent, he moaned, and then released her, realizing they had an audience. He caught a glimpse of Logan’s wide grin. Mira’s mouth was drawn in a tight disapproving line.
“All done?” he asked Kalli and looked down to the artist who was putting away his tablet.
“Yeah,” she said, surprised he’d just hugged her out of the blue. She wasn’t sure what to make of it, but it felt so good to be in his arms.
“Mr. Livingston, I’ve sent the files to your email address. Tony should have them by now. Pleasure working for you.”
“Thanks, I appreciate your work. And remember, you are to keep this in confidence. That means you are to tell no one, got it? Not even your mama,” he ordered.
Apprehensively, the artist shook Tristan’s hand. “Yes sir.”
“Logan, please see Mr. Mathers out, would ya?”
The artist hurried over to the elevator, looking like he couldn’t wait to leave. Sympathetic, Kalli understood what it was like to be intimidated by supernaturals. Even if the poor man didn’t spend a lot of time with them, he’d be aware of the danger. They exuded a natural intimidating aura, and most humans had the good sense to be wary. An elk didn’t need to know to be afraid of a pack of wolves skulking toward him. He instinctively knew to run.
“Come on over here. I want you to meet someone before we leave for the hospital,” Tristan insisted, dragging her by the hand over to meet ice woman.
“Mira, I’d like you to meet…”
“Dr. Kalli Williams,” Kalli interrupted, donning her professional mannerism. She extended her hand to her as she would a patient, looking her directly in the eyes. “Since you are friends with Tristan, please call me Kalli.”
Mira shook the human’s hand, astonished that she was so bold. Any wolf would have recognized her as an Alpha female and lowered their eyes. Humans. They grated on her last nerve. “Charmed I’m sure,” she uttered briskly, darting her eyes to Tristan’s.
Kalli quickly removed her hand. She didn’t have time for pissing contests. And if there was going to be one, her opponent was going to drown trying.
“Yes. Okay, well, nice to meet you, Mira,” she replied, not knowing what else to say to her. She wasn’t sure what came over her but before she knew it she’d turned her back on Mira. Closing the distance, she pressed her body to Tristan, not quite touching, her breasts mere inches from him. Resting a hand possessively on his waist, the other touched a palm to his chest. The electrically charged tension hung in the air between them.
“I have to go freshen up. Then can we swing by the hospital? I’ve got to get in there before they fire me.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to review the sketches real quick with Logan to see if anything about them seems remotely familiar. We’ll get them out to the rest of the pack so they can be on the lookout, too. You go ahead. Take your time,” he suggested, not moving an inch.
“Thanks.” Kalli took a deep breath, removing her hands from him, but letting her breast brush him slightly as she turned.
Before Mira had a chance to say another word, Kalli spoke. “Nice to meet you.” With confidence, she flipped her hair aside and walked away to go get ready.
“Humans,” Mira sniffed. “God, Tristan, it’s probably a good thing she’s not wolf. I might have to take her down a peg or two.”
Logan came up from behind her, wrapping his hands around Mira’s waist, snuggling into her shoulder. “Mir, what’s wrong, baby? Didn’t we have fun last night? I’ve never seen you so prickly. Tris, our girl got up on the wrong side of the bed. You see what happens when you leave us in the middle of our play?”
Tristan tried to focus on Mira’s reaction to Kalli, but was having a hard time, given the ache he felt below. The mere touch of Kalli drove him mad. He needed to take her soon, get her out of his system so he could think straight.
“What?” he asked, not having listened to the question. Ignoring it, he looked back to Logan and Mira. “Listen, Mir, I don’t know what’s gotten into you but you need to be nice to Kalli. She’s already skittish around wolves.”
“I was perfectly nice,” she protested, gathering her up her things. “If you’d stop drooling for five seconds, you might notice that she was the one who was disrespectful.”
“Seriously? Because she didn’t avert her eyes? She’s human. You need to get used to it. And she also holds a position of authority. In case you didn’t hear it right the first time, she’s a doctor. I get the feeling that she doesn’t mince words. Despite what happened to her, she’s no shrinking violet. She’s tough. It’s in her nature,” he told her.
Humiliated, Mira rolled her eyes. “Human nature. Don’t forget that, Tris,” she countered, cupping his face briefly. She turned, giving Logan a brief kiss on the cheek, before entering the elevator.
Tristan considered what had just transpired. Consciously or not, Kalli had physically blocked Mira from touching him, possessively rubbing her hands all over his torso, thereby asserting her role in his life. And she happened to put on the display in front of his beta, who also took notice. Mira’s feathers had been justifiably ruffled. He understood why, but it didn’t change what had just happened. However vulnerable Kalli had appeared yesterday, there was no mistaking the lurking dominance within her.
Chapter Eleven
Kalli sat across from Dr. Marcus Cramer, who wasn’t at all happy with her request for leave.
“Dr. Williams,” he began. “We really can’t have our doctors taking leave willy nilly. I understand you had an incident in the garage a few days ago, but you look fine to me.”
“Dr. Cramer,” she addressed him using his professional name, thinking that two could play that game. “You don’t seem to understand. I really don’t have a choice. I’m requesting a personal leave, effective immediately, which under my contract, I am entitled to do. And while I really do want your approval, I will escalate if necessary.”
She didn’t want to burn any bridges but she also wasn’t about to let the jerk push her around. She reasoned he was trying to strong-arm her, because he knew that it was just a matter of time before she was completely in charge of her own department. She supposed he felt she needed to pay her dues before moving upward within the administration. But then again, the man just seemed to be a generally disagreeable person, regardless of who he spoke to, staff and patients alike.
“I feel that as a court
esy you should tell me why you are taking the leave. Is it medical? Are you pregnant?” he challenged, raising his voice.
“What?” she nearly shouted back at him, incredulous that he’d even ask such a personal question. “That is none of your damn business. I need to take a personal leave. I am under no contractual obligation to explain the reasons.”
Tristan had heard quite enough. Kalli’s boss did not just ask her if she was pregnant. What the hell? Was that even legal? Even though he hadn’t wanted to leave her side, she’d insisted that he and Logan wait for her in the hallway while she explained the circumstances of her absence to her supervisor. Of course that didn’t stop him from listening to the entire conversation, given his enhanced senses.
Logan raised his eyebrows at his Alpha and took a deep breath, realizing that the shit was about to hit the fan. Truthfully, Kalli’s administrator seemed like a total dickhead and was about to get what was coming to him. He smiled, thinking to himself that this was going to be fun to watch.
Tristan launched out of his seat and stomped across the waiting room. To the dismay of a very concerned receptionist, Tristan opened the door to her boss’s office like a wild tornado. Dr. Cramer literally jumped in his seat at the sound of his door hitting the wall. As it bounced back, he looked up to see a large, very irritated male glaring down at him.
“What are you doing in here? Who are you? Get out of here right now, before I call security,” he demanded.
Tristan growled, hands fisted at his side. He restrained the beast within, which was ready to rip out the good doctor’s throat.
Kalli shot to her feet, ready to pull him away. “Tristan, it’s all right.”
He shot her a look, warning her. “Sit, Kalli.”
She found herself complying without argument. Nervously watching him, she tried to stifle the seed of excitement growing in her belly. His dominance called to her inner wolf.
“Dr. Cramer, allow me to introduce myself.” Tristan leaned forward, putting his palms onto the desk.