INICIAR SESIÓNShe leans back, studies the ceiling for a long moment, then snaps her attention to me. “So give them what they want. But on your terms.” I cock my head, curious. “Go on.” She taps the table, one finger at a time, a sound like slow applause. “Draft a retention package. Outgun Reynolds on the stabil
He flips the folder open, skims the first page. I watch his eyes flick from number to number. “You built this yourself?” I nod. “No one else cares enough to do the math.” He closes the folder. “I’m not the final say. But I appreciate the clarity.” I lean in, voice low. “Here’s what will happen if
As I work, the rain blurs the city into a watercolor of secrets. I bare my teeth at the night, and the night bares them back. Let them come. Let them all come. The restaurant is one of those shrines to excess, a velvet-cushioned crypt where every meal is a ritual and every client a lamb led to sl
He was here. Not long ago. Back in my office, I force myself to sit. My pulse is a drumbeat in my throat. I flatten my hands on the desk, line up the files with a precision that would make a drill sergeant weep, and stare at the Blackstone folder until the name blurs. There are three things I can
The rain slides down the window in thin, lucid sheets, every droplet stretching the city into slow dissolution. At this hour, the office is a ship at sea—empty corridors, the fluorescent hum, the blue-glow pulse of screens left on to guard against the dark. I’ve long since kicked off my shoes; the c
I drop into the brush, crouch low. I don’t need to see faces to know the rhythm: the truckers keep their eyes down, don’t speak unless addressed; the supervisor is nervous, constantly scanning the yard. I angle for a better view and pull my phone, camera lens set to max. The wolf in me zeros in on t
I gather the pieces of myself and leave the office. My own intentions are as fractured as his. I cannot think straight with the scent of him so fresh, so insistent, so much like a promise. The door swings shut behind me, cutting off the warmth and memory of Derek's presence with surgical precision
I stiffen, a snarl forming at the back of my throat, before I manage to smooth it into something more civil, more human. This is not what I expected, not what I am prepared for. I should have known. I should have known he'd come. "Mara," his voice drawls, easy and confident, but I hear the challeng
The lock clicks behind me as I slip into the office. I am the wolf, even in tailored business attire. Even with it all wrapped up so tight. The edge of my existence cuts deep. The aftertaste of the night clings to my senses, a raw, metallic tang that I cannot swallow away. My steps falter, then re
There is a freedom in it, a temptation that digs claws deep into my resolve and leaves it ragged and bleeding. I have spent a lifetime restraining the urge, tightening the leash until it bites into my own flesh. But the promise of release is a seductive whisper, its breath warm against my neck, its







