LOGINI walked away from the heavy wooden door, but the terrible words followed me down the quiet hallway.Jett is my fated mate, but I do not want to mate him.The rejection echoed in my mind over and over again, hitting my chest like a physical blow.I pressed both hands over my mouth to keep from sobbing out loud.Hot tears blurred my vision so badly I could barely see the carpet under my feet.My world shattered into dust with just one sentence.I gave my body to a stranger in a dark hotel room because the physical pull was too strong to ignore.I thought I was just making a stupid mistake, but he knew exactly what he was doing.He knew he was a werewolf, and he knew we were mates.He used a fake name to hide his identity, and then he walked away from me the next morning.I spent months working right outside his office while I slowly fell in love with him.I cried in the breakroom over a ghost while the real man sat behind a glass wall and watched me suffer.He orchestrated my life just
Enzo just stared at me.He looked like I had just hit him in the jaw with a baseball bat.The heavy silence stretched across my private office."Your fated mate," Enzo repeated.His voice was barely a whisper.I nodded slowly."The human secretary sitting right outside that door is your destined mate.""Yes," I said.Enzo took a slow step backward.He fell heavily into the leather chair across from my desk.He dragged both hands down his tired face, trying to process the massive secret I just dropped on him."And you do not want him," Enzo stated.He looked up at me in pure disbelief."You spent months searching for the boy," Enzo argued. "You bought his entire company out of nowhere. You moved him into your office just to reject him?""I am not rejecting him," I said immediately.I stepped closer to the desk and kept my voice very low so the sound would not carry through the wood."I do not want to mate him right now, Enzo."Enzo dropped his hands to his lap.He shook his head, looki
My knuckles were just an inch away from the thick wood.I stopped moving when I heard the harsh shout from inside the private office.The angry voices bleeding through the door were loud and sharp.I recognized Enzo’s frustrated tone immediately.Then I heard Ren’s deep, rumbling voice answer him.I slowly lowered my hand and let my arm drop to my side.I stepped closer to the door and pressed my shoulder against the heavy frame.I did not mean to eavesdrop on a private pack meeting.I just wanted to wait in the quiet hallway until they stopped yelling before I knocked.I wanted to give Ren the brown envelope when he was calm.But then I heard my own name."Leave Jett out of this conversation," Ren warned from inside the room."I cannot leave him out of it," Enzo shot back. "He is the exact reason you are acting like a lunatic lately."I held my breath.My fingers gripped the edge of the brown envelope tighter.Why were they fighting about me?I pressed my ear closer to the wood, stra
I paced across the thick carpet in my private office.My boots made heavy thuds against the floorboards.My inner wolf was pacing right along with me, scratching at my ribs and making my skin run hot.Enzo sat in the chair across from my desk.He watched me walk back and forth.His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, and his jaw was locked hard."You cannot keep ignoring them, Ren," Enzo said, his voice hard. "The council elders are not going to wait forever."I turned around and walked back toward the large window behind my desk.I looked out at the bright city skyline, trying to control the fierce anger burning in my blood."I told you to handle the council calls today," I replied without turning around."I did handle them," Enzo shot back. "I spent an hour making excuses for you on the phone. I told them you were busy with human corporate accounts."He stood up, the legs of his chair scraping loudly against the floor."But they do not care about the human business," Enzo cont
The sun was barely up when the sudden wave of nausea woke me.I threw my blankets off and scrambled across my dark bedroom.I barely made it to the bathroom before my stomach heaved.I dropped to my knees on the cold tile and gripped the edges of the toilet bowl.My fifth month had officially arrived, and it brought the morning sickness back with a brutal force.I stayed on the floor for ten long minutes, waiting for the horrible sickness to finally stop.My chest ached, and my throat burned.I leaned my head against the cool porcelain and focused on taking slow, even breaths.My hands rested gently on my lower stomach.A soft, sudden flutter tapped against my palm.The baby was kicking again.It was a small movement, but it made tears sting the corners of my eyes."It is okay," I whispered to the empty room. "I know you are growing. We are going to figure this out."I pushed myself up and leaned heavily against the bathroom sink.I turned the faucet on and splashed cold water over my
I locked the bathroom door and slid the deadbolt into place.The executive washroom was completely empty.I grabbed the hem of my thick gray sweater and pulled it over my head.The cold air hit my damp skin.I let out a long sigh of relief and tossed the heavy wool onto the edge of the sink.I turned to face the large mirror over the counter.It was the middle of my fourth month.My stomach was undeniably round now.The tight curve pushed out against my thin white undershirt, changing the entire shape of my body.I rested both hands over my lower belly and rubbed my thumb over the fabric.A sudden, sharp flutter tapped against my palm.I gasped and looked down.The baby was kicking.It happened a lot more often these days.They were getting stronger.Sometimes it felt like a tiny bubble popping, and other times it was a distinct, solid push against my skin.I pressed my fingers gently against the exact spot where the kick landed.A second kick answered my touch just a moment later.A







