Secret company

Kael still couldn’t believe he had seen his mate, and that he had even kissed her. The moment kept replaying in his mind. The anger that surged through him when he saw her grinding against another man still burned in his chest. He had wanted to rip the man apart, to tear him limb from limb, but he held himself back. He couldn’t risk scaring her.

He’d seen the pain in her eyes when he walked away. He wished he could have stayed longer, just a little more time to hold her, but he couldn’t. He had to return to the pack before anyone grew suspicious. The last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself, not when things were already tense.

When Kael got back from seeing his mate, he ended up killing a few rogues who had tried to attack the pack borders, leaving their lifeless bodies behind. He made a mental note to tell his father about it later in the day.

The moment Kael realized he smelled like his mate, he quickly masked her scent. He couldn’t afford anyone picking up on it.

Now that he knew where she was, now that he had actually seen her, it was time to set his plan in motion.

He started thinking about how to convince his brothers to visit New York. They owned a company there, but getting them to agree to go wouldn’t be easy.

Kael stood up from his chair and headed for the study. He wanted to ask his brothers about the company’s records, hoping to use that as an excuse. Before leaving, he locked the doors behind him.

At the study, he knocked a few times until he heard Damien’s voice from inside.

“It’s Kael,” he said, and the door opened almost immediately.

“Good morning, brothers,” he greeted with a warm smile.

“Good morning to you too,” they both replied in unison.

“How come your scent is faint, like it’s masked or something?” Damien asked, clearly curious.

“Early this morning, after I went for a run, I heard an attack at the borders,” Kael said smoothly. “I had to mask my scent to get close and kill them without getting hurt.” It was a lie, well, half a lie, but it sounded convincing.

Damien had expected him to hesitate, but the explanation made sense. After all, a pack member had already reported finding rogue bodies at the borders.

“That’s amazing. Thanks for protecting the pack,” Damien said.

“Thanks for the compliment,” Kael replied with a small nod. “But as an Alpha, it’s also my job to protect the pack and its members.”

“Come, have a seat,” Lucian offered, pointing to the empty chair across from him.

“Thanks,” Kael said as he sat down. Damien returned to his seat beside Lucian.

“How are you doing?” Kael asked, glancing at Lucian.

“I’m fine. What about you?” Lucian said.

“I’m good,” Kael replied before turning to Damien. “And you?”

“I’m fine too,” Damien said.

“About our company in New York, how’s business going?” Kael asked, his tone dropping slightly.

“It’s going well,” Damien replied. “It’s actually the top company in New York City right now.”

“Wow, that’s a great achievement,” Kael said.

“Is it still the same manager, or did we get a new one?” he asked, pretending casual curiosity.

“Yes, it’s still Mr. Bills running things,” Damien replied. Kael was quietly relieved. That meant he could reach out to Mr. Bills directly instead of going through his brothers.

“How about we go to New York for a while to oversee the company ourselves?” Kael suggested. The idea immediately lit up Lucian’s face; he loved New York.

“Yes, that would be great!” Lucian blurted out before remembering Damien’s earlier warning about speaking too quickly.

“Okay,” Damien said after a pause, “but that could be in about five or seven months.”

Kael and Lucian both looked pleased at that.

“Bye. I’ll see you both later. I need to report the rogues to Father and do some more research,” Kael said, standing up. He left before they could respond.

Once he was out of the study, Kael headed to his father’s quarters. He knocked and waited until he heard Magnus’s deep voice from inside.

“Who’s there?”

“It’s Kael,” he replied, and the door opened.

“Good morning, Father,” Kael greeted, standing at the doorway.

“Good morning, son,” Magnus said warmly, stepping aside to let him in.

Kael walked in and shut the door behind him. Magnus returned to his seat on the couch, and Kael joined him.

“Father, I found two rogues attacking the borders, so I had to mask my scent and kill them,” Kael reported.

“That’s serious,” his father said, his brows furrowing.

“I wanted to tell you personally,” Kael continued, “since I’m not sure your Beta knows about it yet.”

“I’d like you to look into this,” Magnus said, his tone hardening. “Find out everything you can. It seems like someone’s trying to start a war.”

“Yes, Father,” Kael nodded. “But I may not be able to handle the pack warriors today since I’ll be focusing on the research. Could Damien and Lucian take over for me?” he asked carefully.

“Alright,” Magnus agreed, and Kael felt a wave of relief.

“Thank you, Father,” Kael said, grateful.

“You’re welcome,” Magnus replied with a small nod.

“Then I’ll take my leave,” Kael said, rising to his feet.

“Since you’ll be doing the research, your brothers can fill in for you for a week,” Magnus added, and that made Kael’s heart lift.

“Thank you, Father,” Kael said again, smiling.

“You’re welcome.”

“Bye, Father.”

“Bye,” Magnus replied, and Kael left for his room.

Once inside, Kael reached out to Damien through the mind link to inform him about the new arrangement.

“Hello,” Kael said through the link.

“What happened?” Damien’s voice came back, curious, since Kael rarely initiated mind links.

“Father said that you and Lucian will be in charge of the pack warriors’ training for a week,” Kael said.

“Alright,” Damien replied, ending the connection.

As soon as the link faded, Kael grabbed his phone from the nightstand. He needed to call Mr. Bills and instruct him to give Rebecca a job as a secretary at the company he and his brothers owned.