by Fiona Archer
As a shifter, the wolf inside him wouldn’t allow it.
A server passed by with a tray of champagne glasses, and Magnus grabbed one. His metabolism burned alcohol too fast for it to have any effect, but holding a skimpy glass of the piss-colored liquid was better than skulking around with clenched fists as he navigated the tall tables dotted around the marble-floored lobby for yet another charity auction.
Passing three beautiful women, he smiled politely. The blonde in the middle gave him a once over, which he ignored. Instead, he stayed on course toward the back of the room. He was here for one reason only: to chase down the woman his wolf had decided would be their mate.
He found an empty table by a wall, which he leaned against as he surveyed the crowd. Another couple of women, and one of the men, glanced his way appreciatively. He knew people found him attractive, but it wasn’t just because of his looks. You could dress up any thug in an expensive tux, and people would faun all over him.
And thinking of ugly thugs, here was one now. The commanding alpha of the Western Packs, Arek Varg, entered the venue, scanned the room, and then set a course straight for Magnus. He sighed inwardly and resisted the urge to escape. Wolf called to wolf. There was no way to hide from a fellow shifter.
Arek plowed through the crowd, his piercing sky-blue eyes even more intense than usual. Dressed in a black button-down shirt tucked into slacks, also black, he looked underdressed.
“Nice outfit,” Magnus said when Arek walked up. “Shouldn’t an alpha dress better to the occasion?”
The other shifter stepped to the opposite side of the table and put his back against the wall. “I didn’t pack a monkey suit because I didn’t know I’d have to track you down at a circus.” His disdain showed clearly on his face as he looked around the room. “Why aren’t you answering calls or texts?”
Magnus shrugged. “I’m busy.” He stared at the ancient platinum medallion Arek wore instead of a tie. It was a wolf head inscribed with runes, with three interlocking triangles on its forehead. The triangles symbolized Odin. Like Magnus, the alpha had been born in Scandinavia, but several decades before himself. Rumors said the medallion had magical powers.
Magnus met the alpha’s hard gaze—because he could. His wolf was dominant enough to do so. One day they’d probably brawl to see who was more powerful. Not this evening, when regular humans could get hurt, however. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
A muscle in Arek’s jaw visibly tightened. “If you’d picked up your phone, you’d know,” he growled.
Magnus’s wolf rose in response to the anger permeating the air. He faked calm, even though he knew Arek would notice his beast. “Right.”
Arek glared at him for a few beats. His eyes lightened to the icy-blue color of his wolf’s gaze. “Don’t fuck with me. I’m in no mood for games.”
Fury drove Magnus’s beast even closer to the surface. His eyes would now be yellow, and he aimed that sulfur-colored gaze at Arek. “Games?” he breathed out in a low growl. “I’m playing games?” He laughed bitterly. “You are the one who likes political bullshit. I refused all that when I declined the alpha role in my old pack.” He tilted his head, still locking gazes with Arek.
The shifter returned the stare. “True, but remaining rogue is now impossible.”
Magnus sighed. “I’ve heard that before, remember?” The packs of the United States had during the last two decades formed larger coalitions. There were four Commanding Alphas. Arek actually cared about his packs, but Magnus had a healthy distrust of authority. He’d once sworn fealty to an alpha, which turned out to be a disastrous decision.
Suddenly, his wolf clamored for attention, and he looked around the room for the source of the beast’s agitation.
Jasmina Parker stood at the bar, dressed in a short red dress that hugged her delectable curves in all the right places. Her sculpted legs went on for miles before ending in a pair of strappy heels that made his mouth water. The overhead spotlights revealed red highlights in her shoulder-length light brown hair.
“I know you want to remain unpledged due to your…bad experience.” Arek relaxed and his eyes returned to their usual deep blue.
“That’s one way of describing it.” Magnus would characterize it as being tortured by a deranged sadistic alpha, but he’d lost the thread of the conversation because his wolf wanted—needed—to go see Jasmina.
Arek cleared his throat. “You’ve been rogue for decades now. It’s not good for your wolf. You need pack ties to help calm him. I can see that he is almost controlling you.”
He was right. The wolf was on high alert, but that was all Jasmina’s fault. A hundred pack mates singing lullabies would not calm the beast with her in the room. He’d been obsessed with her from day one, but she’d turned away from him each time. However, he could sense her interest, and it was time to let his wolf have free rein. Magnus pushed the glass of now warm champagne to the center of the table. “Talk to you later,” he said.
Arek grabbed his jacket sleeve before he could leave. “We are on the precipice of major changes. Dangerous changes. You cannot ignore this.”
Magnus snarled but took a breath when he saw Arek’s earnest expression. “We’ll have breakfast tomorrow.” He had to eat anyway. Discussing pack politics would suck, but agreeing to talk would get him quicker to where he needed to be.
Next to the woman in the red dress.
Chapter 2
Mina waited for the bartender to mix her gin and tonic. She needed fortification for the tedious evening ahead. Her new position at the magazine’s Lifestyle section meant she now wrote fluff pieces about Denver’s rich and beautiful instead of the hard-core investigative pieces she’d been hired to do. All because she’d been put in an impossible situation and refused to compromise her ethics.
Technically, she didn’t even have to attend this event to write about it. She had a copy of the guest list and the organizer had promised to email her the auction results. The magazine’s photographer would take care of the visuals for the piece. But her editor believed in giving the readers an “in the moment” experience. So here Mina was, eavesdropping on the rich and entitled so she could pepper the article with gossip.
The bartender finally finished making her drink. She was about to start mingling when a sizzle of awareness trailed down her spine.
Only one man ever caused that reaction. As if she’d conjured him out of her hot dreams, there he was. Self-made billionaire Magnus Flink. CEO of Dold, the most high-earning software security company in the United States, and voted Denver’s most eligible bachelor.
But it wasn’t his square chin, sexy dimples, taut body, or vast fortune that made him haunt her dreams. It was the aura of danger that clung to him. She’d always been a sucker for bad boys, and this bad boy in that tux had her hormones salivating.
Too bad he was the reason she now wrote articles that made her search the thesaurus for adjectives to describe rich people’s outfits.
“Jasmina Parker.” His deep tone did funny things to her insides, but she ignored that. At least she tried to. Flink ordered a beer and then aimed his emerald green gaze on her. “On assignment for another riveting piece about our city’s elite?”
She pasted a fake sunny smile on her lips. “I’ve told you before that I prefer Mina, but yes, I am. What kind of art does Denver’s most eligible bachelor prefer?”
His face clouded over as he grabbed the beer from the bartender and tipped generously. Flink had been grouchy the whole time she’d interviewed him for the bachelor article. If the contest hadn’t been to raise money for a homeless shelter, she doubted he’d have participated.
After that interview, she’d run into him at a few events. She always reacted with this hot, sizzling, instant sexual attraction that made her body hum in pleasure. The worst part was with a shifter’s power of scent, he knew his effect on her.
And that was the crux of the problem. Mina knew he hid a wolf inside him, and she’d nearly been killed b
y one of his kind. No matter how sexy Flink was, she’d never put herself in that position again.
The eligible bachelor interview had been for a good cause, but it had also been a cover to get close to Flink. Her editor wanted an in-depth article about how the billionaire had built his company and massive fortune. And she did find out, but had she written that he had been alive in the early days of computers—and yes, even when the term referred to humans doing calculations—her editor would have demanded she take a few weeks off, maybe years.
She’d dated a guy in college who hid a wolf inside him. When Flink’s eyes had turned yellow because the photographer wanted yet another pose, she’d recognized him as a shifter, and the danger he posed to her.
Flink turned toward her now, a polite smile on his lips. “My tastes? I like all beautiful creations.” Although his gaze never left hers, her nerve endings told her he slowly perused her body all the way down and then up again.
Her nipples tightened in response, or maybe that was just because he stood so close his body heat enfolded her. A blush heated her cheeks, and she looked down, fiddling with the straw in her glass. “I’m sure you’ll find many examples of beauty here tonight. Although many of the people have expressions as stiff as the portraits on the wall, because of Botox.”
His smile deepened into something more genuine. He cupped Mina’s elbow, steering her toward a table in the corner. Two other men were also heading that way, but a look from Flink had them quickly changing direction. “Seriously, why are you writing about high society?”
Mina put her drink on the table and next to it, placed her small evening purse. “I write about whatever my editor assigns me.”
He positioned himself with his back toward the wall, and yet his body sheltered her from the crowd. “Your editor is an idiot. I’ve read some of your articles.”
She ignored the warmth spreading through her body at his unintentional compliment. “You googled me?”
He leaned forward, elbows on the table. “I research everyone writing about me.” Foolish her for thinking she was special. “What happened that made your assignments change?”
Mina thought about giving the official spiel about new career opportunities and challenges, but her feet already hurt in the ridiculous high strappy sandals she’d chosen to wear.
For him. In case he’d be here.
Her hormones made her do it, and she couldn’t hide her reaction any longer. It was obvious he knew she was attracted to him, so she might as well give him the truth and tell him to get lost. She lifted one leg and rotated her foot to relieve her squashed toes. “You happened.”
“I caused your demotion?” His eyebrows rose.
“My editor wanted to find out why you are leagues ahead of your competitors, both in technology and earnings. He suspects something illegal.”
Flink shook his head. “He demoted you when you told him my success is due to only hard work and determination?”
“Oh no, I found the real reason for your prosperity.” She sucked down the rest of her drink. “You have personal knowledge of all historical computer research. Of course, nobody would believe me if I wrote that. I refuse to report lies, so I had to refuse the assignment.”
Flink laughed. “Personal knowledge? You think I’m immortal?”
“No, but wolf shifters live a very long time.”
“I’m a werewolf?” His voice lowered, and his eyes shifted from green to honey-color. His wolf observed her now. “Aren’t you a little too old for fairy tales?”
Even people who didn’t know shifters walked among them would instinctively flee from that yellow gaze. But she’d battled one big bad wolf already, so she leaned closer. “You can growl your denial all you want, but when your eyes turn yellow, I see the beast inside you.”
His eyebrows rose, and then he smiled. “Come home with me.”
Her body screamed yes. She ignored it. “I prefer to know my lovers on an emotional level before we have sex.”
He tilted his head. A very wolf-like gesture. “Does emotional closeness always have to proceed physical intimacy? Could a relationship not start the other way around?”
“Does that line ever work?”
“You tell me. I’ve never tried it on anyone else.” His eyes were back to emerald green.
Mina believed him, and she actually had no problem with causal sex. However, in this case, fantasizing about how hot the two of them would be together would have to be enough.
Her ex-boyfriend had turned obsessively jealous and had for days physically restrained her to stop her from leaving his house. He couldn’t help it, because his wolf had decided she was its mate. Dating a shifter was not an experience she would repeat.
“I’ve had a long day and am too tired for this game. Have a pleasant evening.” She picked up her bag and walked toward the exit.
Chapter 3
After the cold air conditioning inside the museum's lobby, Mina relished the warm summer night air that caressed her bare shoulders. The weather report had promised a balmy evening, so she hadn’t bothered with a coat. The way the close proximity to one hot wolf in a killer tuxedo had overheated her body, she wouldn’t have needed one even if the season had been an extra frigid Colorado winter. She took out her phone and opened the ride-share app.
Fast steps behind her had her turning around quickly with her breath held.
Flink slowed his steps as he got closer and grabbed her hand. “I don’t want to part on bad terms.” His callused palm felt warm against hers.
“We didn’t.” She resumed breathing and tried to free herself.
He held on. “Give me a few moments.” He stepped off the curb and tugged her with him. “I need to—”
The loud laugher of a group leaving the event interrupted him.
He pulled her with him as he stepped into a narrow alley between two buildings. The light from the glass walls of the lobby barely reached into the shadows but illuminated his face enough to where she could see his serious expression. “We need to talk.”
Mina shook her head. “I don’t think that is a good idea.” She tugged on her hand again. This time he let go, but she didn’t leave. She stood there, waiting for something, but she didn’t know what.
“If you won’t listen to words, maybe this will get your attention.” He bracketed her face with his palms. “I’ve been wanting to do this for months,” he whispered as he leaned in and captured her lips with his.
Mina closed her eyes and savored the kiss she’d pictured in her mind so many times. His firm lips slowly explored hers. She leaned into him. This was madness, but she’d been wondering for months what this would be like.
He tilted his head and increased the pressure of the kiss, demanding more access.
When she yielded, he groaned, and his tongue thrust into her mouth.
Her body ignited, and she pressed closer.
A moan escaped her as his hands slid down her back, pushing so that her heat met his hardness. Mina tugged on the collar of his shirt. She needed more.
She needed him.
Her nipples brushed against the structured fabric of his jacket, sending sizzles of pleasure straight to her core. Her eyes flew open, and she struggled to catch her breath. “This is crazy. We’re outside. Anyone could see us.”
She lost interest in their location when he buried his hands in her hair, tilting her head to deepen the kiss, and then those clever lips traced kisses along her jaw and down her neck. She sighed with pleasure and closed her eyes again as he went lower and sucked on her collarbone.
“More,” she murmured, pulling on his collar again, but Flink resisted—a little too much. She opened her eyes and leaned back. His jaw clenched, but his body remained as still as a marble statue. “What’s going on?”
His eyes turned honey-colored and focused on something behind her. A low growl rumbled in his throat.
Arms of steel grabbed her from behind, banded around her middle and neck, and pressed her against a hard
chest. “This is a sweet treat,” an accented voice said. She couldn’t tell if it was Russian or Eastern European. “I may have a little taste myself before I hand her over to the boss.”
Anger distorted Magnus' face, and a muscle pulsed in his jaw, but his body remained frozen.
Mina fought against the man. His grip wouldn’t budge. Instead, he increased the pressure around her neck, forcing her chin up as she struggled for breath.
Helpless, she stared at Magnus, whose eyes glared at her captor.
The man dragged her deeper into the alley. Mina relaxed all her muscles, but becoming deadweight just increased the pressure against her throat, cutting off her oxygen.
He dragged her around the building to a car parked beneath an overhang. When he had to use the arm holding her around her waist to open the door, she fought with all her might, scratching his arm and kicking his shin.
She stomped her heel on his instep.
The attacker shouted in a foreign language but renewed his grip around her waist so roughly that she lost her footing. She went down in a heap on the ground, dragging the man with her. The asphalt scraped the skin on her bare legs, but Mina ignored the pain and scrambled, trying to get away. She felt the man’s fingers in her hair, pulling hard, and then slamming her head into the pavement.
Everything went black.
Chapter 4
Four hundred and eighty seconds.
Eight fucking minutes.
That’s how long it took for whatever had frozen Magnus to lose its hold. He’d been counting every tick of the Breguet watch on his wrist. By the time he’d run down the alley to where the shifter had dragged Jasmina, they were long gone. There wasn’t even a scent trail to follow.
He raked his hand through his hair. There had been a thud and Jasmina’s screams had cut off. If that fucker had hurt her…he had to swallow the bile that rose in his throat.
How had the bastard cloaked himself from Magnus’s senses? And what in the hell had he used to freeze him? He’d lost complete control of his muscles and could only watch as the fucker dragged Jasmina, his Mina, down the alley.