Chapter Seven
CHEV
VANESSA IS BEAUTIFUL. All shifter males say this about their mates, but I am being especially true.
I stand deep in the woods, hiding partially behind the thick trunk of a tree. I’m sure Aziel has dozens of guards watching me, the nosy fuckers probably under strict orders to ensure I’m not pushing any of the boundaries Aziel and I agreed to.
I’m giving them nothing to report back on.
My mate hums under her breath as she steps out of her house with a ring of keys swinging around her thin finger. She’s wearing loose clothing, but they do little to hide her frame. She has generous curves, and everything she wears displays them. I know it’s not her intention, though, so I don’t look. Her long blonde hair is tied up behind her head, which I like because it better lets me see her face.
Nymphs have delicate features, and my mate is no different. I love her.
I can’t help but anxiously fist the bottom of my shirt as she approaches and climbs into her golf cart. I hate that fucking vehicle, and I hate even more that Aziel gave it to her with no regulations. She always drives it at full speed, and my heart physically stops every time she turns too quickly and the wheels leave the ground.
I’m beginning to worry she’s never driven before, and the delighted squeals she releases whenever she almost crashes the cart are the only thing keeping me from going to Aziel and demanding that he take it away. He can say it needs maintenance—and then conveniently never return it.
Vanessa full lips pull into a wide smile as she climbs in the cart and turns it on. I tug at the uncomfortable Wrath clothing I’m forced to wear before stripping bare. This is the only time I’m allowed to expose myself, but it’s for a purpose. I don’t want to rip my clothing, and I set them on the ground before shifting into my animal form.
It’s freeing, and I allow myself a few moments to stretch my limbs and lower back. It feels good, and a low grumble pours from my throat as I pick up the clothes with my teeth and begin following Vanessa.
I keep far enough away that I won’t be seen, and I happily trot along the fence as she makes her way to work. She continues humming to herself, my female finding a love for the music I hear blaring out of her home every night.
Aziel forces me to stop watching her when it grows dark, so I don’t hear too much of it, but I love the few minutes of her scream-singing I get most nights. She didn’t close her curtains last night, and I got to watch her dance around her kitchen while cooking.
She cooks frequently, and I’ve already made plans to expand my kitchen. I want her to be pleased with my home, and after seeing her move around the kitchen here, I know mine is lacking. I don’t have enough counterspace or cabinets, but those are things I can fix easily.
I’m also relieved she eats meat. The book I studied said many nymphs are vegetarian, but after watching my mate prepare and devour a large chunk of thigh yesterday, I’m confident she will love ucka. I’ll catch the biggest one I can find, and she will be quite pleased.
Maybe if I’m lucky, she’ll even let me feed the meat to her.
The thought excites me, so I force myself to stop thinking it. I’ve been trying my hardest not to let my arousal get the best of me. I don’t think Vanessa would appreciate the physical reactions I have to the thought of her. Shifters place significant value on physical intimacy, but I’ve already accepted we won’t have that type of relationship. I’m okay with it.
Aziel’s guards pointedly avoid looking in my direction as I follow my mate through the woods, but I can tell they know I’m here. They stiffen when I grow too close, and a few even go as far as to shoot me warning looks behind my mate’s back. I’m not intimidated.
Aziel might be stronger than I am, but the guards are nothing more than chew toys.
Wrath is unbearably hot, and I pant into the air as Vanessa slows to a stop outside the back doors of the facility. She haphazardly parks her ungodly vehicle off to the side before hurrying inside, her pace fast. She’s always in a rush, but I don’t feel bad for her. She spends a lot of time on her phone in the mornings, constantly distracted by the small device as she gets ready for the day.
My mate makes herself late.
Naughty girl.
She spent almost an hour on her phone this morning. I’d kill to know what she was looking at, her nose scrunched and lips pursed as she glared at the screen. It was unbearably cute, even if she was clearly upset. I like to think she was playing a game, and that little pout is the face she makes when losing.
Vanessa greets the guards by the back entrance, her friendly smile growing as they open the doors for her. I watch as she disappears into them, already dreading the long wait until she leaves for the day. The doors are shut behind her, and I wait several more minutes to ensure she’s not returning before dropping my clothes and shifting back into my skin form.
I hate the Wrath clothing, and I huff as I tug the insufferable items on. I know I agreed to this, but I still hate it. I hate feeling constricted, and I hate how my entire day revolves around secretly watching my mate travel to and from work. I want more. I want to talk to her, to hear her friendly greetings and see her smile directed toward me.
The guards openly stare at me now that Vanessa is gone, and I shoot the ones at the back door a dirty look before turning and beginning my walk to Aziel’s home.
Charlie wasn’t happy when she heard Aziel had agreed to let me stay with them, but I think she’s warming up to me again. I don’t like it when she’s angry with me, even though I know I deserve it. Still, she’s been kind enough to let me work out of her office while I’m here. It’s especially great because I don’t have to travel to the headquarters and see Echo.
My sister is too meddlesome.
Children scream as I push open the front door to Aziel’s home. The house is large, but their voices bounce off the walls and echo down the hallways. I barely step foot inside the foyer when I’m attacked by Cassia. The tiny wrath wraps her stubby limbs around my leg, and she sinks her teeth into the outside of my thigh as I head to Charlie’s office.
The woman in question is making breakfast in the kitchen, and I tiptoe through the room. Cassia continues chewing my leg, and I shake her off before setting her on the table along the way.
“A deposit for you,” I joke to Charlie.
She’s still angry with me, but the corners of her lips twitch upward as she fights back a smile. I stare at her stomach, evaluating her growing bump, before grabbing an apple off the counter and continuing to her office. I’m behind on work, and I do my best to push thoughts of Vanessa aside so I can focus. It’s nearly impossible, but I manage to get a good amount of work done before lunch.
A shadow brings me a plate of ucka, and I mindlessly eat while I continue working.
This is the most focused I’ve been in weeks, and I know it’s because I’m finally getting to see Vanessa. My bear has been a wreck for weeks, and he’s finally quiet. Mates put our animals at ease.
Even if our relationship is unstable, my bear is pleased knowing she’s alive and only a few miles away.
I find myself tapping my fingers to the beat of the song she was humming earlier as I respond to my messages. Some are over a week old, which is unforgivable. Mammon might be correct in saying I should step down. It’s hard dividing my time between my pack and the females, and now that Vanessa is part of the mix, my productivity is at an all-time low.
I’m not adequately fulfilling either of my responsibilities.
My computer begins to ring, and a request for a video chat pops up with my sister’s name. I purse my lips, my chest deflating as I accept the call. Echo’s ugly face covers my screen a second later, and she’s already scowling as she launches immediately into one of her lectures. I feel bad for the mate she ends up with.
“Chev…” She pauses and pinches the bridge of her nose. “Where are you?”
I shrug, not wanting to tell her the truth. She’s been exceptionally protective over Vanessa, and she’ll kill me if she learns I’m in Wrath.
“I will ask this one more time, Chev. Where the fuck are you?” Echo repeats, seething.
My spine straightens, my bear not appreciating the challenge. Echo may be my dearest sister, but I’m still in charge. She will show me respect.
“I am in Wrath,” I say, “and unless you have something important to discuss, I have work to return to.”
I can practically taste Echo’s anger. She scoffs, and her eyes dart toward something— or someone—behind the computer. My lips curl, furious she’s tricking me.
“Who’s there?”
Echo seems taken aback by the sharpness in my voice, and she rolls her eyes before spinning the computer around. I relax once I see it’s just Aziel and Gray. They’re sitting in the chairs on the other side of her desk. Gray winks and gives me a tiny wave, and Aziel offers a slight nod.
“Why have you called me?” I ask as Echo reappears on my screen.
Instead of answering, she shares her screen to show me a message I sent out only minutes prior. I’m increasing the clothing budget for the remainder of the year, a decision I’ve carefully considered. The females still living in the facilities are issued essential, everyday wear, but I think they should be allowed to purchase a few additional items they pick out themselves. They will be given an annual budget that will cover four or five moderately priced items.
I frown. “Yes? What’s wrong with this?”
“Where do you expect this money to come from?” Echo asks. “It’s not sustainable.”
It doesn’t need to be. Wrath and Lust have been footing the bill for almost the entire cost of the rehabilitation programs. The trade programs do generate some revenue, but the organization as a whole is operating at a loss. No part of it is sustainable, but we aren’t anticipating it will run indefinitely.
The goal is to reach a point where the facilities are no longer needed. The day we shut down will be a happy day because that means females are safe and comfortable to exist in the world again. My mate is an excellent example of how far they can come.
“Lust will pay,” I say. I haven’t spoken to Gray about it, but he’s never turned down my budgeting decisions before. His kingdom is beyond wealthy, and he believes in offering the females pleasures just as much as I do.
We spend the next forty-three minutes arguing, the four of us divided. Aziel takes Echo’s side in the issue, but Gray is on mine. I can always count on the horny incubus to take my side, and I end the call feeling victorious.
Gray’s willing to pay, and my plan allows us to employ more females. People will have to design and make the additional clothing, and we have an entire fashion-related trade program ending in a few weeks. Those females will be ecstatic to have a job so soon after finishing.
I return to work with a giddy smile, and I make it through a sizable portion of my inbox before Aziel wanders into my office. He looks tired, and he reeks of my mate.
“You look like shit,” I say.
Aziel wordlessly tugs off his shirt and tosses it in my direction. I don’t enjoy how he saturates the fabric, but it will settle my bear to sleep with something that smells of Vanessa.
“Your mate is quite outspoken,” he says, sitting opposite my desk.
I grin.
“She practically bullied my assistant into putting a meeting on my calendar,” he continues, running a hand through his hair. “Then she spent the entirety of it lecturing me on how busy I am.”
I bark out a laugh, pleased to hear it.
“You are busy,” I point out.
Aziel shrugs, looking away. “She made good points.”
Of course she did. My mate is the most intelligent person we’ve ever hired, and she’s a great asset to the Wrath facility. Aziel sucks in a slow breath and kicks out his foot. He’s not happy, but he never is. I’m used to it.
“Charlie’s been asking to return to work for weeks,” he says. “She says we’re suffocating her, and it seems I can’t manage her workload as well as I thought I could.” He stares at the ceiling, where Charlie’s footfalls can be heard. “It might not be a bad idea to let her return to work.”
Charlie will be happy to hear that.
The office doors open, and Cassia comes shuffling in. Her chubby arms and legs are drowning in pajamas too small for her rapidly growing limbs. She’s bigger every time I see her, and she storms into the room like a woman on a mission.
Her eyes dart between Aziel and me, and I shrink away when they linger on me for a second too long.
I love children, but I prefer avoiding this one. The tiny wrath has two very sharp teeth just starting to grow in, and I don’t enjoy how she’s always trying to use my legs for teething.
She heads toward me as if she can read my mind, and I refuse to show her my fear as I lift her onto my lap. I’m pleased when she doesn’t bite me. She wants to play with the items on the desk, and I move my computer out of her reach and push Aziel’s shirt out of the way so she doesn’t get her scent on it.
“Send a photo of Cassia and me to Vanessa,” I tell Aziel. “I want her to see that I’m good with children.”
Aziel laughs. “Absolutely not.”
I frown, bouncing Cassia with my knee until she loses interest and leaves. She seems only to like me for three-minute increments. It’s my bear that attracts her. She senses that I’m a predator and she wants, even at her young age, to challenge me. Once she realizes I’m not going to try to fight her, though, she has no desire to be around me.
She’s going to be a terror when she’s older.
The other two children are upstairs with Gray, and they scream whenever the incubus does something to excite them. Charlie’s with them, too, her giggles loud.
“I think Vanessa will like working with Charlie,” I say, returning my attention to Aziel. “Echo told me Vanessa gushed over your female during her interview.”
Aziel already knows my opinions on his decision to pull Charlie from work, so I won’t voice them again. Charlie loves her job, finding purpose in helping the females, and I don’t think it’s right for Aziel to pressure her into leaving solely because she’s pregnant. I understand his fears, but Charlie is a capable female.
And I enjoy working with her. She’s fun to be around, and she’s best at keeping her males in line. They’re overbearing when she isn’t around. They turn every meeting into an argument between themselves, wasting time and energy when everybody knows they’re going to go home and ask Charlie what she wants them to do.
It’s easiest to cut them out of meetings and go straight to the decision-maker.
“Charlie’s excited to meet Vanessa,” Aziel admits, glancing at the clock. “Shouldn’t you have left already?”
I follow Aziel’s line of sight, panicking when I realize I’m running late. I never lose track of time, not when it comes to my mate, and I grab Aziel’s shirt and rush out of the office in a heartbeat. Aziel’s laughter travels down the hallway behind me, but it goes in one ear and out the other as I rip off my clothes.
I’ll get to the facility quickest in my bear form.
I have a mate to escort home.