***[POV: Kyrie Voss]***
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"I've been walking for days on end. What's another hour at this point?"
Her words hit like a slap across my face. My mate, trudging through wilderness alone. Tired. Vulnerable.
The images such a defiant explanation conjured in my head brought my wolf close to the surface. A growl built in my chest that I barely managed to contain.
< Pin her down. Show her why she needs protection. Prove your strength. >
The instincts sat underneath my clenched jaw. Primal madness beneath layers of hard-earned control.
This wasn't a pack dispute where my Alpha status commanded immediate submission. Even if she did seem rather affected by the difference in our strength.
It wasn't even a boardroom where the upper hand solved problems before they could start. If it was, then I'm just the business partner who has already pitched a bad deal once.
Which means trust is what I need to build.
And I'm losing it.
"That's not necessary."
My voice is stiffer than I hoped. I clear my throat and try again.
"Twenty-five blocks is a considerable walk, even for one of us."
Her light grey eyes remained just as narrowed as they had been since that sound rumbled in my chest.
"Your concern is noted."
That lift of her chin she keeps doing makes her seem taller than she is. More important than I already found her.
Everything about her screamed willful independence and prideful insubordination. I actually admire her for it.
For standing up to me and the way I was acting. Exactly like the wolves I'd put in their place myself. For getting out of line with their attempts on me.
"...But unnecessary."
Unnecessary. Those lips speak with that tone. As if my instinct to protect what was mine could be dismissed… like an unwanted lunch meeting.
I truly find her bravado intriguing. In every context except this.
Her safety and wellness.
Those lips look dry, less hydrated than they should… if she was given better care. If she would just let me take care of her directly for a few days.
My fingers twitched with this urge to reach for her. Almost overwhelming my sanity.
To what end, I wasn't sure.
To only comfort? To temporarily restrain? To forcefully claim?
With my sense of self teetering over an edge, her eyes turned away from mine.
"That Claire person… I suppose you could thank her for me."
A sneer grew on Citra's face. While she was gazing off tiredly at a distant point in space.
Like she was imagining something unpleasant.
"I'm sure they'll probably pant and wag their tail to hear the phrase from your mouth. Assuming you don't already make them do that for you with your commands. Or with that mouth."
The provocative insinuation stung more than it should. I replied quickly.
"Claire is only my executive assistant."
It was too quickly - like I was desperate to hide something. Something that didn't exist.
"She's quite professional and efficient. Nothing else, I assure you."
I'd always prided myself on being as fair of an Alpha and as respected of a boss as I could be. I demand the best from my people within the confines of their duties.
My goal has long been to not be called a tyrant who demanded subservience.
That she would assume otherwise…
"Oh?"
Left a storm building inside me with nowhere to go.
Because I've been studying her this whole time. The wary posture.
Run down from whatever happened that drove her here.
Her tone and words picked to make me choose to stay away…
Yet clutching my bank card like it might vanish if she relaxed her grip.
So vulnerable. So determined to appear in control.
My hand wipes down my face as the upset feeling passes.
It's been a long time since I'd been angry over the assumptions of someone else in the first place. That only proves I actually care what she thinks of me.
"Without knowing anything about me, I suppose I should be grateful you're accepting even this much assistance."
"Yes, well-"
"I'll be concerned until I know you've arrived safely. Can you have them call to let me know?"
Her mouth opened and closed before she turned away. I knew she was preparing to leave before I pushed for a promise.
That she didn't want to agree to anything.
"Your preferences have been noted. Now, if there's nothing else?"
Her dismissive tone was expectedly cautious… while watching me closely from the corner of her eye.
"Of course."
I wanted to hold her tight. To insist on accompanying her. To demonstrate why my protection wasn't something to be casually rejected.
That it had value.
Sharp claws scraped at all my insides, it felt like, as my other side demanded I do something. To shift and do something other than stepping back to show I was letting her go.
"I've taken enough of your time."
Some surprise flickered across her tired eyes. Despite the testing she keeps doing, this woman clearly hadn't expected me to be able to let go so easily.
That made two of us.
With each passing minute, I'm more and more amazed at what I am willing to do for this woman. My future mate.
"Good day, then, Ms. Voss."
She turned and rushed away through the front entrance. I memorized the rhythm of her hasty steps. And the subtle wild fragrance she left behind.
I found my hands were shaking when I finally exhaled. Something that hadn't happened since my first board meeting years ago.
Before Lunarizon Industries was anything more than a shell company.
"Citra Lomdi. Princess."
I murmured… more than once. Testing the false name she'd given. A royal title that should have seemed absurd for a rogue to take.
Yet, she had acted it with such conviction that I'd stopped doubting it quickly.
I smoothed my hands over my suit. A habitual gesture of composure.
For the first time in years, perhaps ever, I felt energized and frightened all at once.
Of course, the irony wasn't lost on me. The results I just had.
The universe… the Goddess had given me a woman. Exactly what I'd never known I longed this much for. Only to have her reject the very bond I'd feared would control me.
As it was clearly controlling and affecting her… at least the legs that shook the entire time. And still she was able to flail against it.
"Her sharp tongue really was like a knife I kept charging right toward."
I chuckled at myself before I heard my earpiece ring… and phone vibrating in my pocket. Luca checking on me, no doubt. After Claire informed him I called.
Both likely wondered why I'd missed the investor lunch and was not already on the scheduled R&D call. For the first time in my career, I didn't immediately rush to check it.
I was too happy with myself. That she'd taken that card. My intentions were hardly selfless.
The thought of her wandering these streets without means was... unacceptable.
"M-Ms. Voss?"
A throat cleared behind me after the man squeaked my name. I turned to find the pawnshop owner hovering at a cautious distance.
Held out like an offering was a silver looking smartphone.
"Your... friend left this. She was trying to sell it."
I took the device and recognized it pretty quickly.
This was a specialized model phone. Reinforced aluminum casing, extended battery life, satellite capability.
A piece of technology that my company had a hand in developing the parts for.
The kind used by hunters.
"Did she say where she got it?"
I kept my voice even, used to getting bad or worrying news and figuring out what to do about it as more information came in.
"Said she found it in the woods…"
The man shifted nervously. Like people tend to do when meeting with me for the first time.
A perk - or annoyance - of being the richest entrepreneur in the city, depending on the situation.
"I was just checking if it was reported stolen when... well, when you arrived."
"I see. I'll ensure it gets to the right place."
After I slipped it into my pocket, the man clearly wanted to ask questions. My firm look made him think better of it.
He nodded and retreated to his office. I'll deal with him in a minute. First…
My future mate, a recently rogue wolf of the Duskpaw, carrying a hunter's device. I should be suspicious of her because of three of those four details.
All I felt was a fierce protectiveness that overrode rational thought.
I pulled out my own phone, ignoring the notification of Luca's three missed calls. After dialing him directly, an immediate answer where he sounded like my exasperated, longtime Beta.
"Where have you been? The investors were really pissed."
"Have the helicopter ready in fifteen minutes."
Four beats of silence meets my lack of answer.
Claire would have jumped to it by now. I should have called her.
"The helicopter. Right now?"
"Yes. And get me the GPS coordinates for the Duskpaw territory boundaries."
But as much as I trust my secretary, she's still a human. This is a werewolf matter.
"Kyrie, what's going on? Did something happen with that rogue they warned us about?"
I weighed my words carefully. Afraid to give too much away. To risk too much of Citra.
"This is a personal matter that I might not explain, Luca. Keep it between us."
Another short pause to my unusual sentence.
"Understood. The rotors will be spinning."
I ended the call while trying to think steps ahead. Or rather, to catch up on how behind I am.
If this Princess had truly found this phone in the woods along her path here, there was more to discover where she did.
And if there was any evidence that might place her in danger? I needed to find it first.
Whatever she was running from, whatever she'd done, it didn't matter. She was mine to protect… whether she accepted it yet or not.
I headed for the office of the pawn shop owner. He had security tapes that I have to secure… or delete. One way or another.