LOGINHe hesitates, professional discretion warring with the desire to assist someone he perceives as a flustered colleague in trouble. I maintain eye contact, my expression a careful blend of embarrassment and hope. Finally, he nods slightly. "One moment, please." He returns with a folded receipt, cris
Derek sits at a corner table, his back to the wall, his position offering him a view of the entrance—the instinctive seating choice of someone with secrets to protect. Olivia sits beside him rather than across, her chair angled toward his with an intimacy that confirms what I already know. Her hair
"Just focused," I finish for her, offering a reassuring smile that feels like stretching an unused muscle. "The Hargrove case requires particular attention." She nods, not entirely convinced but too professional to press further. When the door closes behind her, I allow my facade to drop, the smile
My fingers trail across the polished surface of my desk as I circle to my chair, feeling the cool wood ground me in the present moment. The computer wakes at my touch, the screen illuminating with a blue glow that paints my skin in artificial moonlight. I enter my password, then a secondary authenti
Derek's smile contained a predatory satisfaction I recognized all too well. "And Mara still has no idea?" "None." Olivia's laugh was soft, conspiratorial. "She's too busy with the Westmoreland case to notice what's happening right under her nose. By the time she realizes anything's wrong, the trans
The financial statements spread before me like a map of betrayal, each page a territory Derek has claimed in his campaign against me. The desk lamp casts harsh shadows across columns of numbers, illuminating discrepancies my human clients would miss but my wolf eyes detect with predatory precision.
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
The crosswalk sign flashes red as I approach, an unwavering command to stop, to wait, to hold. I heed it, just this once. There is no harm in pausing when I know what lies ahead. The penthouse is a world apart from the one I now move through, but I carry pieces of it with me, fragments of luxury an
The lock clicks behind me, each sound an echoing note of freedom. I inhale the promise of the morning and the heavy shroud of Derek’s latest message unfurls in the back of my mind. I will not think about it, about him, until I must. The weight of obligation falls away as I step forward, closing the
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







