30. Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Celeste
“You need to make an appearance. It will be good for your reputation, and look good for the board.” My uncle said as I chewed my nail absentmindedly. It had been a week since I’d slept with Liam. Strangely, I didn’t feel too bad about it. It was not quite as awkward as I’d imagined, and he’d softened up toward me considerably. Although we still looked at each other as the competition.
Things felt different around the house now that the pack had come to terms with the fact that we were scent matches. But honestly, it almost felt worse when they weren’t actively being hostile. Now that they knew, they didn’t seem to know how to deal with me.
“Celeste?” My uncle’s voice interrupted my train of thought. “Are you going? This is important!” He said, almost chastising me.
“Yes, of course I’ll be there.” I said, attempting to soothe his agitation.
“Good. I expect you'll make all your meetings this afternoon?” He asked, and I stifled a scream. Why did he act like I was a teenager needing to be reminded to do my job? I’d been running things for years now.
“Of course.” I replied, a smile on my face to mask my inner emotions.
“Very good. I don’t want the stress of your situation to affect your job duties. You know the board is watching you like a hawk.” He said with concern. He didn’t need to remind me. Ever since the fiasco interview had been published, the board had taken out their anger on me. As if I wasn’t the very same one who had been fighting for the company to get with the times!
“I have to go.” Was all I could manage to say in response.
Once the call ended, I let out a near scream of frustration. I still had a marketing deck to approve, a call with Research and Development, and the quarterly updates from my team. Oh, and now I had an art auction to attend. My uncle always wanted me to go to those, where the wealthy and connected liked to congregate.
I checked my calendar. This week, I was supposed to go on a planned outing with one of the pack anyway, so I figured I could kill two birds with one stone. Vigo seemed like the safest choice - my last interaction with Liam had completely derailed, and after getting a taste of that golden god, I wasn’t sure I could keep my hands to myself if I spent any more time with him. And Dante? He still couldn’t stand me. So, Vigo it was.
I knew he often liked to work out around this time, so I made my way through the house until I was at their custom gym. It was beautiful, I had to admit. And just as I suspected, Vigo was inside doing pull ups, his chest and back glistening with sweat and muscle in all its glory as he practiced pulling himself up, over and over.
I stood by the door, mesmerized by the way his body rippled with each movement, his grunts filling the air. The potent leather and amber scent of his sweat only made his presence more intense, and for a moment, I almost lost my nerve to speak to him. But he must have felt me watching, because at that moment he looked back and saw me ogling him.
With a final grunt, he dropped to the ground and walked over, his blue eyes curious as he panted from his workout. He grabbed a towel and threw it over his shoulders. “What's up, princess?” He asked as he cocked a dark eyebrow. I put my hands on my hips and squared up to him, even though he was absolutely massive compared to me. I saw some dark smudges on his hands.
“What’s that?” I asked, wrinkling my nose.
He looked down, spreading his large hands out. “Just did some work on my car earlier. You should come take a look at it sometime, I could take you for a spin.” He said with a cocky grin.
I rolled my eyes, trying not to think too hard about the last time I went in a car with one of them.
“I came here to ask you something," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
He tilted his head, smirk growing wider. "Oh, really? Thought you’d be here to admire the view." He gestured to himself, not even bothering to hide the wink he threw my way. I guess since I’d already had sex with one pack member, all bets were off.
I sighed, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of my lips. "Maybe later," I shot back, catching him slightly off guard. "There’s a charity art auction happening on Saturday, and… well. We do need to schedule this week’s outing." The words came out more confident than I felt. "I need someone who can handle dressing up and won’t embarrass me in front of important people. Know anyone who might be up to the task?"
He leaned in, his lash lined eyes looking mischievous as he studied my face. “So… is this the ice cold princess method of asking me?”
Heat prickled at my cheeks, but I squared my shoulders. “Only if you think you can handle me for an entire night” I said nonchalantly, trying not to look at his chest and how much more detail I could see with the sheen of sweat across it. Why did he have to be half nude in here?
He laughed, low and warm, and I felt it all the way down to my toes. Did having a scent match mean I’d always be hyper attracted to anything and everything about these alphas?
“I’m absolutely up for the challenge.” His eyes sparkled with intrigue, and he tilted his head as he looked down at me. “But only if you promise not to fall for me by the end of the night. Or on me.” He added with a knowing smirk.
“Oh, please,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes, but my stomach flipped at the idea of being on him. “You wish you were that lucky.”
He shrugged, tossing the towel over his shoulder as he backed away. “Hey, I’m just giving you fair warning, princess. I’m even more charming than Liam, if you can believe it.” My face heated at his knowing remarks about what had happened when I was on my last date with Liam. I couldn’t think of a response as I fought against the intrusive fantasies about what it would be like to be doing those same things with Vigo. I swear he knew what I was thinking, because he looked over his shoulder at me one more time.
“Sure you don’t need a quick workout?” He asked with a sly smile, and I again rolled my eyes so hard they almost disappeared into another dimension. I turned to walk out, leaving him in there as I fought my hormones. I had a long day of work ahead of me, and I did not have time to get distracted.
Once I was back in my room and away from the pull of Vigo’s rich and heady scent, I fanned myself and sat down to think. I’d already slept with one pack member, and though it helped relieve so much of the sexual tension I’d been facing, I knew I had to finish up here and get what I needed before these omega hormones had me forgetting what was most important.
I needed proof they had kidnapped me, and I needed to know who leaked them that forged paperwork.
Since I was running into dead ends all the time, I figured it was time to admit that I needed some outside help. I made sure that no one was around my wing before locking myself into my room and calling the one person who might have an answer.
“Celeste? Are you okay?” Bella asked, concern in her voice as she immediately picked up my call.
“I’m alright, but it’s been difficult, to say the least.” I said with a sigh, not wanting to go into detail about just how complicated things were between myself and the pack. “I was wondering about that help you offered earlier - is that offer still on the table?” I asked, making sure not to mention anything specific over the phone.
“Oh, of course! Hold on real quick.” She said, and I heard her speak to someone. I heard a few deep voices in the background, and Bella answered me. “Call me back, but from a burner phone. Be somewhere that no one can hear you, preferably away from any homes, cars or other man made structures.” I nodded to myself, writing down the time she directed me to call her back. I knew Bella had some connections, but I wasn’t sure how much they could help. It sounded like they knew exactly how precarious my position was.
“Thanks, Bella. I’ll talk to you soon.” I said before gathering my things to head out and get an untraceable phone. I’d have to drive somewhere nearby, a park perhaps, where the area wouldn’t be bugged. I didn’t trust my room, or any place within the reach of Pack Lockwood to not have spying devices.
A few hours later, I was pacing under a tree while I told Bella my situation.
“I see. Here’s the plan: my guy can look up some dirt on you, but it will take a while. He already tried to access Pack Lockwood’s home wifi, but it’s extremely secure.” She said in a casual, happy voice. I was certain that this bubbly girl was the omega to a black ops pack, but I knew not to ask any details.
“That doesn’t surprise me. They will likely know if they are being hacked. I mean, Harringday competes with them, andwe both make some of the newest software on the market. I know they are phenomenal at information security.” I replied, but Bella wasn’t concerned.
“My guy is the best. It will just take some time. I’ll keep you posted once we find anything.” She said in an encouraging tone. I felt relief at the knowledge that someone was looking into the leak. I wasn’t planning on telling a soul what I was doing - my uncle was too blinded by his own confidence in his employees to consider the people I suspected. If I could find out what information Pack Lockwood had, we could hopefully trace their communication back to the individual who sent them the blackmail material.
I smiled, finally seeing a way forward. Pack Lockwood might be my scent matches, but they were still my enemies, deep down. Even if I was slowly beginning to wish they were anything but that.