We have a mole

Thane’s POV

Gas station near the border with Poland

A car finally stopped and gave me a ride to the nearest gas station. I took the phone from the clerk and made the call. “Get your ass here and pick me up. Now.”

As I waited for them to show up, I kept thinking about Victoria. I shouldn’t have left her. Her scent continued to linger on me. I wanted her. I’d fallen for her, but I couldn’t say it out loud. Her lips, her caress, what was wrong with me?

I didn’t care. I’d never met anyone like her. She was pure fire, but she couldn’t let go of the past. An SUV pulled up in front of me.

“Alpha Thane, we’ve been searching everywhere for you.”

“Oh, really?” I said, climbing in. “Cadmus, my brother, I was being hunted by a pack of killers. Where the hell were you looking?”

“Thane, I thought you were hurt,” Cadmus said.

“I was. Nearly died. But my angel saved me,” I replied.

“An angel? Okay…”

“You got a change of clothes for me?” I asked.

“Yeah. Called the doc?”

“Already did,” he said as we pulled up to the five-star hotel.

Cadmus kept staring at me in the elevator.

“What?” I snapped.

“You look… different. What happened with this angel of yours?”

“I fell in love with her,” I admitted, finally saying it out loud.

He gave a shaky laugh. “Playboy Alpha Thane? Fell for a girl?”

“Yeah, I did. What can I say?”

“Because she saved you?” Cadmus asked.

“Funny, she asked the same thing. No, brother, I fell for her because she’s different from anyone I’ve ever met. Anyone.”

“This is insane. Never thought I’d see the day…”

I dropped my clothes on the way to the bathroom. Under the hot shower, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I ran my finger over the stitches she’d made, then hit the tile wall with my fist. Damn it. I needed her, her scent, her feel.

When I walked back into the living area dressed, the doctor was already talking with Cadmus.

"Allow me to examine you, Alpha Thane," the doctor said. I dropped the pants without hesitation, smiling to myself as I remembered how Victoria had asked the same thing each time she changed my bandages.

The doctor nodded affirmatively. "Excellent work. The scar will be minimal. Who treated you?"

"My angel," I said. "She saved my life."

"This was a serious wound. You must have lost a lot of blood."

"I did. As I said, she's an angel." I turned to Cadmus. "I gave her your number. Check your messages and then get a new phone."

Two photos appeared when I opened the messages. The first showed Victoria by a fence, confronted by a man. The caption read: "She got busted saving your ass."

In the second, Victoria gazed at someone, unaware she was being photographed. I outlined her face on the screen.

Cadmus peered over my shoulder and whistled. "She's fire, brother."

"All done," the doctor announced. "Keep the area clean. Did you take antibiotics?"

"Yeah, she kept me full of them," I laughed. "Thanks, Doc."

Back in the bedroom, I called a number. After several rings, she answered.

"Kara, what punishment did Victoria get?"

"Confinement for a day and kitchen duty," she spoke quietly.

"Take care of her," I ordered. "And don't touch her again, Kara. She's mine."

I hung up and saw that room service had arrived. My stomach growled. After days of eating only protein bars and the bread Victoria found for me, real food looked like heaven.

Cadmus watched me devour my meal with an odd expression.

"What?" I snapped between bites. "Instead of staring, tell me why our plan went to hell, and I ended up being hunted by psychopaths."

"We have a mole," Cadmus said quietly.

"No shit. Find them now. I nearly died out there." I banged my fork down. "Attempted murder of an Alpha? Where are the stolen goods?"

"We're tracking them as we speak."

"Good." I rolled my shoulders. "I could use some adrenaline rush after all this. But first, I need sleep. Wake me tomorrow unless it's life or death." I snatched my phone from his hands. "This stays with me. Get yourself a new one, seriously, what were you thinking?"

"Whatever you say, brother," he mumbled.

I stripped down to my boxers and collapsed onto the bed. As consciousness slipped away, one face filled my mind: Victoria.

My phone rang relentlessly, yanking me out of sleep. I groped for it, my voice laden with exhaustion. " What?"

"Drystan is here," Kara's urgent whisper came through. I bolted upright, suddenly wide awake.

"Where's Victoria?" I demanded.

"Standing there watching him. He's selecting rogues for his bedroom."

"That motherfucker," I growled. "Kara, don't you dare hang up…"

"He didn't even glance at her," Kara continued. "Choose one of her rivals and three others. Victoria's face is stone, but this will destroy her. I can barely watch."

I hit my fist into the mattress. Why would Drystan do this? Then it hit me: he was protecting her the only way he knew how, by pushing her away. Making sure she wouldn't return to the pack was a tactical move in his ongoing war.

"I have to go," Kara hissed. "She's heading my way, and Thane? She's furious. Beyond furious."

After she hung up, I exhaled slowly. What a mess. What would I have done in Drystan's position? Sacrifice our connection to keep her safe? Never. I'd rather keep her beside me, protected, always.

I couldn't stop looking at her picture, tracing my finger across her face on the screen like some lovesick teenager. The sharp knock at the door broke my trance.

Cadmus stood there with a wolfish grin. "We found the goods, brother. Time to have some fun."

"Now we're talking," I said, adrenaline already running through me. "My bike ready?"

He threw me the helmet. "Waiting downstairs."

I glanced down at my boxers and laughed. "Might need to put some clothes on first."

As I got dressed, I thought about the score, merchandise worth millions, all owned by the man who tried to have me killed. Taking it would hit him where it hurt. The idea of revenge felt good, but then Victoria’s face came to mind, and I had to stop and take a deep breath.

Kara followed her into the forest. When she left the cave, Kara went in. I convinced her to keep in touch with me in exchange for a place in the pack. I memorized her number, and she retained mine. Nothing will stop me. She’ll be in my arms again.