Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Kain
The office door shuts behind me more loudly than I intend, the sound echoing in the empty space.
It’s still fairly early this morning, but I may as well have been working for hours given how heavy my eyes feel.
The chair creaks when I drop into it, my fingers pinching the bridge of my nose as I exhale slowly through clenched teeth.
Rest was impossible over the weekend, thoughts of her lingering in my mind like smoke I couldn’t clear no matter how hard I tried.
The fierceness in her eyes when she looked at me in the parking lot had me worried that she might have figured out it was me who’d messed with her car.
I don’t even know why I did it; I guess I had to do something, anything to get close to her.
Every cell in my body demanded it with a desperation that bordered on madness.
And then, she was in my car, sitting so close I could count her breaths. She wouldn’t look at me, completely oblivious to how much her mere presence was driving my wolf wild.
My hand clenches my thigh with the same force it did the steering wheel when her scent was fraying the edges of my control, when every instinct screamed at me to pull over and claim her mouth the way I’ve been dreaming about for weeks.
Two knocks sound on my door, snapping me out of my thoughts.
I clear my throat and force my hand to relax. “Come in.”
The door swings open, and Anderson—the assistant assigned to me when I took this position—steps through, looking far too awake and chipper for this hour.
“Good morning, boss. I got your message over the weekend. You said you wanted to see me first thing on Monday?”
I nod, straightening up in my chair as I pull my professional mask back into place. “Yes. I need an up-to-date schedule for the Alpha and the Luna. We need to be brought up to speed on all their planned movements, the security detail attached to them, everything.”
Anderson’s eyebrows lift slightly, and he chuckles, the sound nervous and uncertain. “Usually, their personal security is handled by the Alpha’s Guard, sir. The security department here at HQ lets them handle it. That’s how it’s always been done.”
I fix him with a look. “That’s about to change.”
His smile fades. “Sir?”
“I intend to have our department more involved in protecting our Alpha and Luna. I think we can improve their overall security through better coordination.” The lie flows smoothly, wrapped in enough logic that it sounds reasonable.
“We should be working with the Alpha’s Guard, not leaving everything to them. ”
“I understand.” Anderson nods quickly, already pulling out his phone to make notes. “I’ll get in contact with the head of the Alpha’s Guard and request the information you need.”
“Good. The sooner the better.”
He leaves, the door clicking shut behind him, and I lean back in my chair, drumming my fingers on the desk.
I need to move faster and find a way to isolate the hybrid soon.
Since my arrival, Violet has appeared at headquarters only a handful of times, and from the intel I’ve been able to gather, she’s been spending most of her time in diplomatic meetings.
I need to start narrowing down her whereabouts, find patterns, and exploit any gaps.
The morning crawls past. I force myself to read through reports and emails that all blur together into meaningless noise. My mind keeps drifting, keeps circling back to Anne in my car, the set of her jaw, the way she refused to even make eye contact with me.
Another knock. I glance at the clock, surprised to see three hours have passed. “Come in.”
Anderson enters again with a tablet in hand, looking pleased with himself.
“I contacted the head of the Alpha’s Guard like you asked.
He said they’d be happy to collaborate with us to provide the best security possible for Alpha Darius and Luna Violet.
” He swipes across his screen, reading. “They sent over a schedule containing transport details and planned movements. It also includes their security rotations and other information we may need. Though they did note that it is all subject to change since both the Alpha’s and the Luna’s plans may be altered at any moment. ”
“Have you sent it to me?”
“Emailed to you a couple minutes ago, boss. Should be there now.”
“Good job, Anderson.”
He leaves, and I immediately pull up my inbox and download the file. The document opens across my screen, dense with information, including color-coded schedules and maps as well as security protocols.
Violet’s agenda is packed with back-to-back meetings with other pack leaders, diplomatic events, public appearances, and council sessions.
Every movement is accounted for, every location mapped with entry locations and security checkpoints marked in red.
Her security detail is a specialized unit, and they rotate in shifts that overlap to ensure constant coverage.
And if that’s not enough, Darius’s schedule is closely aligned with hers. They’re together almost constantly, and their respective guards coordinate with each other to create layers of protection that would take an army to breach.
I lean back, shaking my head as frustration settles into my bones like lead. Getting the hybrid alone is starting to look more difficult than I anticipated. Every scenario I run through my mind hits the same walls of logistics and timing and too many witnesses.
I need to clear my head.
I get up and leave my office, following a route I could manage blindfolded by now. As I push the break room door open, I stop in my tracks.
Anne is sitting at the far end of the room, but this isn’t like last week when she was completely isolated, hunched over untouched food with that blank expression that made my chest ache.
Now, she’s sitting surrounded by two male colleagues and a woman, all of them deep in a conversation that’s making her laugh.
The sight of Anne smiling like this causes a warmth deep in my chest that spreads before I realize it. But immediately, there’s another feeling, a darker one.
I should be the one to make her smile this way.
I inhale sharply and start moving toward the coffee maker before it becomes awkward that I’m just standing by the entrance, staring. Anne doesn’t even look at me, doesn’t acknowledge my presence at all, her attention completely absorbed by whatever story one of the men is telling.
I pour myself a cup and lean against the counter in a pose that’s meant to convey nonchalance, but every sip I take is just me trying to mask the attention I can’t help but pay to her table.
Words float over from their conversation, fragments I catch between their laughter.
Derek, the one I saw approach her cubicle last week, says, “I had no idea you could dance like that, Anne.”
Anne’s smile is playful, light in a way I haven’t seen in forever. “Well, there’s a lot you don’t know about me.”
“Ooh,” Derek replies with mock intrigue, and all four of them laugh again.
My fingers grip the mug tighter, the ceramic warm against my palm. She’s…dancing?
The other woman at the table leans forward, grinning. “But honestly, you looked like you had such a good time at the club Saturday night. I don’t know why you never agreed to come with us before.”
Anne chuckles. “I’m trying new things. Actually, I found a place I’ve never been to before that I’m going to check out after work today.”
My heart thunders in my chest, blood rushing hot through my veins. I set the coffee mug down loudly and walk out of the break room because suddenly the walls feel too close and the air feels too thin and I can’t be in the same space as her right now.
She wouldn’t even look at me in the car. She wouldn’t say two words to me. But she’s going to clubs? Making friends? Smiling like that?
When I’m back in my office, I try to focus on Violet’s schedule to find gaps that might present an opportunity to isolate her.
But the words all coalesce into meaningless data that won’t organize itself into anything useful because all I can think about is how light Anne looked with those colleagues, how she smiled so easily with them, how she said she had a spot she wanted to check out later.
The rest of the day drags, and as soon as five o’clock hits, I’m out of my office and heading for the parking lot. I get in my car but just sit there, waiting. The windows are tinted dark enough that no one can tell anyone’s inside, so I sit in the shadows and watch the building’s entrance.
Staff trickle out in ones and twos, heading for their cars, their voices sounding chipper. I ignore all of them, eyes locked on the door. Finally, Anne walks out, keys already in hand. She walks over to her car and gets in.
I wait until she pulls out of the lot, then follow at a distance, keeping two cars between us so she won’t notice.
I should go home. Should focus on the mission, on Violet’s schedule, on creating a gap in her security coverage. But my hands turn the wheel toward Anne’s neighborhood instead.
This is insane. Reckless. Exactly the kind of distraction I was warned about. But I don’t stop following her.
She drives to her place. I park down the street, positioned where I have a clear view of the front door of the apartment building. I wait with the engine off, and some pathetic part of me hopes she’ll stay inside for the evening, that the other plan she had will fall through.
But after fifteen minutes, the door opens—and my breath catches.
She steps outside in a red dress that hugs every curve like it was designed specifically to destroy my sanity.
The fabric clings to her body in a way that makes my wolf snarl with possessive hunger, and I have to grip the steering wheel to keep from getting out of the car and dragging her back inside where no one but me can see her.
She gets in her car and starts driving again. I follow discreetly.