Chapter 13 GRANT
GRANT
The elevator door opens, letting Leena and me out onto the floor.
As we walk toward the cubicles, everyone falls silent, staring at me with trepidation. Most only know me as the CEO of this law firm, but my pack recognizes me as their alpha and knows that my appearance is not common.
Leena makes sure she sticks close behind me. She's dressed like my official assistant, so she doesn't look out of the ordinary in the workplace. However, I don't have a lot of work for her.
The reason I'm about to meet with Graham and Nate is still confidential.
I knock on one of the first doors in the office area before opening it. Rose jumps to her feet once she sees me. “Grant… I didn't know you were coming.”
Good. At least I know Nate hasn't filled her in yet.
“I have some business to take care of. This is my assistant, Leena. Leena, this is Rose.”
“It's nice to meet you,” Leena says.
“You too, Leena,” Rose replies.
“Leena, I need you to stay here while I talk to Graham and Nate. I'm not sure how long our meeting will run for, but you may be here a while.”
“That's fine,” Leena says. “I don't mind waiting.”
“I'm here for whatever you need,” Rose tells Leena, before looking back at me. “Don't worry, she's in great hands.”
“I'm sure she is. I'll see you guys soon.”
I walk out of the office, a little surprised to hear both of them striking up a conversation so quickly. My next stop is Graham's office. I knock and open the door, revealing the two men already in heavy discussion, standing by the desk.
“I hope I haven't missed anything,” I say.
Graham shakes his head. “I'm surprised you got here so quickly.”
“It's an emergency,” I reply.
“Yes it is,” Nate says. “You might want to sit down. We might be here a while.”
“Should we go to your office?”
The suggestion isn't a bad idea, but I feel like I'd prefer to stay somewhere close to Leena. My preference would be the ability to check on her any time I want, instead of having to travel down an elevator just to see her face.
I go to the chair Graham normally sits in and settle into it. “We can talk here.”
Both men sit across from me, with neither of them looking like they're at peace.
“Now, tell me everything.”
Graham is the first to speak. “The hunters are starting to pop up in random places. It's beginning to cause a lot of fear, especially being so close to town.”
“Do we think they're starting to work together?”
Both men shake their heads. “It's not likely,” Nate says, “or we wouldn't just be hearing about it. Maybe they're multiplying in number or only now revealing their presence, but there's no rhyme or reason to the madness.”
“We were working on a map—on the desk, there,” Graham says.
I look to my left and see a large folded paper beside the computer. I pick it up and unfold it to reveal a map with a bunch of red circles on it.
“Those are the areas we suspect hunters to be,” Nate explains. “What do you think is happening?”
“This doesn't look like they're working with each other. It looks like there's some sort of game going on.”
“Game?” Graham looks confused.
“My current theory is that the hunters are becoming increasingly aware of each other, but instead of working together, they have to let pride into the mix. That means that there are probably hunters or small groups of them that are in competition with each other.”
Realization hits Graham and Nate before I even finish. Both men share a look before turning to me. “Are you sure you don't want to just work here with us full time?” Graham asks. “We've been on this case all day and got nothing.”
“All I've said is just a theory.”
“Yes, but it makes more sense than anything else we've considered.”
“It's way past lunch time,” I muse. “Have you two gotten something to eat yet?”
“No,” Nate says while Graham shakes his head.
“We should arrange for that then. Our meeting isn't over yet.”
I stand up and walk out of the office. Graham is the one who follows me out. When I look his way, the large man shrugs. “I want to check on my mate.”
I roll my eyes. “Lucky for you, I'm going to her office.”
Graham and I reach Rose's office and enter. Rose rushes to embrace Graham, while Leena and I just sort of awkwardly watch them. They look like they haven't seen each other in years.
I had been pulled to this office by an urge as well. Even now, I want to reach for Leena and hold her body against mine, but I use every bit of self-control I have to stay put.
“Rose, I need your help with something. Could you get Leena something to eat? We've already had a long day, and it looks like it's about to get longer.”
“That's a great idea,” Graham says, holding onto his mate. “Both of you can go and get some fresh air.”
I want Leena close to me, but it'll be too suspicious if I send Rose out on her own while Leena just waits alone in the office.
“That's a great idea,” I add. “Please order some takeout for us. We have to get back to work.”
“We'll get right on it.”
Graham and I walk back to his office, where Nate is hunched over the desk, still looking at the map.
“Did you notice anything?” I ask, going back to the chair.
“I did a little digging last month into a lead I got. I wasn't sure it would be viable, so I haven't brought it up.”
“What did you find?” Graham asks, just as curious as I am.
“See this area here?” Nate says, pointing at the map. “Well, there's a shooting range around here. Now that place is chock full of the smell of gunpowder, so it'll be useless to look for hunters in a place where everyone smells the same.”
It was well known that hunters smelled like gunpowder.
“True. How does this help us?”
“Well, a buddy that works there said he saw some guys with odd silver chains on. The guys didn't come together, but the chains were too similar not to take note of.”
“Hmm.” I place my hands under my chin, bringing my elbows to the table. “If the hunters are having some sort of weird competition with each other, we may have the advantage because they won't share intel. They're still too dangerous to be left unchecked.”
“I've already told my guy to take note of whoever shows up again so we can start making a profile,” Nate says.
“Good, good.”
“How much longer do you think we have before they start popping up in this city again?” Graham asks. “Both encounters we've had haven't gone well, with the last one leading to casualties. We need to find a way to prevent more damage this time.”
“Yes, we do,” I agree. “Maybe it's time to go on the offensive for once.”
“I couldn't agree more,” Nate responds. “Once we find a better way to identify these hunters, we'll be able to take matters into our own hands.”
“Exactly.” I look past the men and focus on the door. I begin to catch a whiff of Leena's scent, making me realize just how much I've been used to having her close to me.
I wonder if she has the same feelings right now.
“Are you alright?” Graham asks, his usual concern clear.
“Hmm? Yes, why?”
“You're back to not sleeping again,” Nate answers.
“Is it that obvious?”
“You look tired,” he adds.
“But I feel fine,” I insist. “I could pull another all-nighter if I wanted to.”
“Your body has adapted to these late-night sessions you have,” Graham states, “which isn't a good thing. I'm worried that you may be overdoing it again.”
I didn't know it was so clear on my face.
The door to Graham's office opens, stopping me from having to explain. Leena and Rose come in with takeout. Rose hands food over to Graham and Nate while Leena comes to give me mine.
“How was your trip?” I ask.
“It wasn't much of a trip,” she responds, moving some of her hair behind her ear. “We just went across the street. I had fun, though.”
The girls excuse us, but not before Rose gives her mate a long kiss. Nate doesn't even seem phased by this. It must be a normal part of working so close to fated mates. He probably does the exact same thing.
Once the door closes behind them, Nate turns so fast, I'm surprised he doesn't have whiplash. “What's the story here?” he asks in a low voice.
“Sorry?”
“With Leena,” he clarifies.
“I'm responsible for her,” I answer with a shrug. “I'm just checking on her to make sure she's fine. We haven't been in the city for long.”
Nate and Graham exchange a knowing look before turning their attention to me again. “We can tell that you guys have slept together,” Graham says.
I almost chuckle in spite of myself. I'm not sure how I expected two of my most trusted shifters not to notice.
“Is it that obvious?” I grin.
“Your scents are basically mixed with each other,” Nate explains. “Makes me think you two aren't a one-time thing.”
“We're shifters with healthy sex drives. It isn't that strange to be honest.”
“For sure,” Graham agrees, “but are you sure this isn't something more…”
“I mean, I wasn't going to say it, but yeah. I think there's something—”
“No,” I say, before Nate can even finish his thought. “Whatever you two are insinuating isn't possible.”
“Hear us out,” Nate pleads. “I know this isn't really your style. Heck, it wasn't mine until just a while ago. It's not something you can run from, though.”
Even without the direct words, I can tell they're talking about the possibility of me developing a mate bond with Leena.
Even though I don't have any experience with what a mate bond is supposed to look or feel like, most people talk about their feelings snapping into place. I haven't experienced that.
“Everything you're doing just seems a little familiar,” Graham says. “Before I found out Rose was my fated mate, I still had this connection to her, almost like we were drawn to each other.”
That may actually—no. No.
I remove the thought from my mind as soon as it forms. “I get what you two are trying to do, but I'm telling you now, Leena is not my mate. I care about her because she's under my protection. Whatever happens between us has nothing to do with a bond.”
Neither of them try to add anything else. It’s an unspoken rule. I'm the alpha. So this sort of topic isn't up for debate, especially when I say it isn't.
“We have much more important issues on our hands,” I shift the topic again.
“We need to be ready for whatever possibility arises from hunters banding together.
I'm going to need everyone to watch their neighbors' backs.
No suspicious behavior should be left unchecked. We're all we've got right now.”
“You're right,” Graham agrees.
As they try to brainstorm other ideas, I can't help but be drawn back to our earlier conversation.
It's almost a shameful thing to admit that I don't know much about fated mates.
What I do know is that part of me still wants to walk away from this meeting just to check on Leena, even though I know she's probably fine.