Y A N A“And now you remember me.”I wince when I hear the sarcasm in Mikhail’s voice. I feel pretty bad for calling him on a Saturday night, but Evan dropped by and told me that we should be meeting his parents tonight. I don’t remember if he told me or if I just forgot, but either way, I feel like shit.I have to admit: Olivia’s warning made me doubt everything. And it didn’t help that she brought a fresh batch of clients to my store either. At first, I thought that I would be able to be alright with everything, but guilt started to get to me the moment I didn’t answer the first call.I was already actually considering calling him, but Evan pushed me to do it, and I’m glad that he did.But now, I’m starting to regret calling him immediately. I get that it’s only ten in the evening, but he sounds like I bothered him.“I’m sorry,” I mumble, closing my eyes as I feel my cheeks heating up in shame. “I’ve been really busy for the past two days and I--”“Don’t lie, Yana.” Mikhail is breat

M I K H A I L“That can’t be,” I whisper, but my voice sounds so quiet and so muted that I can hardly hear myself too. “This can’t . . . there has to be a way.”My Lycan, Kingsley, growls in my head, and I can hear it ringing in my ears even though we share a body. In return, I howl in my Lycan form, the sound bouncing so intensely off the walls that even Evan has to clamp his hands over his ears.Now that I’m fully conscious while Kingsley is up and running around, my panic is making its way through the surface more. I can tell that he’s not comfortable with the changes and this causes our Lycan form to slam itself against the walls, which explains the scratches.However, the pain from the collision doesn’t feel normal. Usually slamming into the padded walls would not cause any kind of pain, but this time it feels like someone is hammering at my bones in the hopes of breaking them.And this goes on for hours until I shift back to my human form again, this time weaker than ever.I col

Y A N A Oh, my god. Does Sofia know about me? Has our cover been blown? What gave it away? Is it the fact that she can spot poverty from a mile away? Panic is rising in my throat like bile, but I swallow it all back when I feel Mikhail’s hand on my shoulder. It’s his way of telling me to calm down, or at least not to blow it. Either way is fine, because it did a good job of reminding me that my future rests on this, the biggest interview of my life. “First of all, we had to keep it a secret because I asked him to.” I glance at Mikhail and twist my hands. “I just felt like it was too good to be true. I didn’t really want people saying I’m unworthy or anything, and I realize now that that’s wrong of me.” To my utter relief, Sofia’s expression softens. She actually reaches over to pat my hand. “I understand, my darling. I just wish we knew about you more. We were so happy when he told us.” Thank god. I thought she was going to scalp me. “Well, that can be arranged,” I say lightly,

Y A N AI wait for something bad to happen. Maybe this time it won’t be Mikhail throwing up. Maybe this time it would be some sort of unexpected interruption that would inevitably destroy the moment equally.But to my surprise, nothing happens.Mikhail just kisses me.At first, he’s slow, curious. He’s brushing his lips over mine, lingering and light, his breath warm and his scent almost overwhelming. Heat rushes all over my body, and as he threads his fingers in my hair, I just lose it.I know I should be smarter about this. I know I should take a moment to think and stop and say that hey, Mikhail is technically my boss. He’s funding all of my stuff, single-handedly moving me up a tax bracket by saving my dying business. And most importantly, I’m his employee.I’m just a hired actor paid to play a role.I shouldn’t want him this bad. I shouldn’t want him at all.And yet I do.Perhaps it’s just because I haven’t been in a relationship in a long while. Perhaps it’s just because I haven

M I K H A I LI stare at the paper, and this time I don’t crumple it and decide to have it get burned into ashes. Instead, I fold it neatly and slip it into my pocket, standing up and handing the box to Evan, who’s staring at me dumbfounded.“What did it say?” he asks, following me as I walk toward the metal pole and break it into pieces as though it was a piece of bread. “Did it give a clue as to who sent it?”“No,” I say shortly, ignoring his first question. I don’t think I’m ready to tell anyone about what the nightmare was. It’s such an outlandish thing to dream about, and I don’t think Evan would be pleased to learn about it. “We have to go. Run some scans for fingerprints for those things, then dispose of them. I will go back home to check on Yana.”Evan pauses for a while like he wants to question my words, but he decides against it in the end and just climbs down the roof through the stairs. I do the same, lagging behind him and looking around in case I missed anything.I’ve m