by Alisa Woods
The SparkTech offices on the 32nd floor were still fairly empty. Mia immediately checked, but Lucas, Lev, and their father still hadn’t come in. But Lena, the receptionist, was there, and it was after twelve o’clock noon, so while Colin went off to his office to work, Mia ventured to ask Lena straight out if her three favorite wolves had made it through the night.
“Honey, they’re fine,” Lena said. She was impeccably dressed, as always, and had a kind, knowing smile for Mia. “Mr. Sparks called in this morning to let me know the boys were recovering very quickly.”
The boys. She meant Lucas and Lev.
“Are they staying home today, then?” Mia asked.
“If I know them, they will be in here as soon as they can manage it.” She smiled again, but Mia had the sense that she really didn’t know any more than she was saying.
Mia nodded her thanks and wandered back to her office. The sun outside was brilliant on the bay, sparkling in a magical way that turned the sea into a jeweled blue-green blanket. It reminded her of that time in the hotel with Lucas, when he was desperately trying to analyze the LoopSource deal so he could find a way to keep her safe. It had been only a few days ago, but it felt like a lifetime had happened in between. Even then, he had been devoted to protecting her… all while refusing to consider her as a potential mate.
And now? Now she was safe, especially if the LoopSource deal went through. Then there would be no need for him to protect her anymore. They could still work together—his office was only a few doors down from hers—but there were no pack wars or dark wolves or crazy witches forcing her into danger. And in need of his protection.
Somehow that didn’t stop her from feeling like she needed him.
A small tap at her door drew her attention away from the window and the longing inside her.
“Hey.” Colin stuck his head in, hand on the doorknob. “I have good news.”
“Really? I could use some good news.” She smiled, her heart lifting a bit. Maybe he was bringing more news about the injured wolves.
He stepped inside, leaving the door slightly open in his wake, and came around her giant wooden desk to stand by the window with her. He hesitated, like he wanted to touch her, but was holding himself back.
“Yes?” She gave him a questioning smile, not knowing whether she should encourage him or not.
He peered down into her eyes for a moment, holding her gaze with those blazing green eyes of his. “LoopSource has accepted our offer.”
A small breath escaped Mia. “Really?”
He smiled. “Yes, really.”
“Oh, that’s… that’s great news.” A shadow crossed over her heart. This was it… things would go back to normal now. She could return to the dorm and live her life without worrying about dark wolves. Lucas wouldn’t need to protect her any longer.
Her wolf whined a little at the pain creeping into her chest.
Colin placed a hand against the window and leaned closer. “Mia, I know it’s been hard. I can’t even imagine how frightening all of this must have been for you.” He shook his head. “From the moment I saw you, I could tell you were strong, but I had no idea… my packmates told me what happened at Mace’s house.”
Mia’s face ran hot. The intensity of his green eyes, the sun beating through the window, the memory of Mace forcing her to walk up those stairs… the temperature all around her was rising to flaming hot. “I’d rather just forget all that, if you don’t mind.”
Colin’s face softened. “Of course. None of that should have happened in the first place. If it was up to me…” He paused, looking out the window and seeming to hold something back. When his gaze returned, it was on fire for her again. The way it had been when they first met in her office, before she was kidnapped, when he strode in and told her in no uncertain terms that he wanted to claim her.
“Mia, I will never let something like that happen to you again.” He edged closer and gently touched her cheek with his fingertips, trailing them down until he barely grazed her bottom lip.
She was frozen, captivated by his touch and the intensity in his eyes.
“I want you,” he whispered. “Every minute I’m near you, my wolf is singing your name. You’re beautiful and strong and everything I could ever want in a mate. You’re a Queen among wolves, Mia, and I want to make you mine.”
She let out the breath that was trapped inside her. “I’m barely a wolf. I’m only just now figuring these things out.”
His eyes lit up. “Let me show you.” He closed the distance between them, until his face was only inches from hers—close enough to kiss as they huddled against the window and the shining view of Seattle. “You have no idea how much I want to bring out the full alpha female that you are. When I make you mine, I’ll show you a world you’ve never seen.”
Her wolf whimpered under the hot sexual promise in his tone. She recognized the alpha in his voice, in his stance, in his commanding touch even as his fingers barely skimmed her hair. Mia’s inner wolf wouldn’t fight her on this: Colin saved her from the worst fate she could imagine. Her instincts were begging her to submit to this alpha who so clearly wanted to claim her. But what about her human side?
His nearness made it difficult for her human parts to breathe. “This is all so new to me.”
“I know.” He touched her again, and this time, it was more intimate and slow. He was enjoying the softness of her skin as he glided his fingertips over it. “And, to be honest, that’s part of what excites me. You have no idea what you can become. What we can become together. I want to show it all to you, Mia.”
He leaned closer. If she didn’t move, he would kiss her. But she couldn’t decide: was this what she wanted? Colin’s touch and hot promises were undeniably building heat inside her, making her wolf whimper with need, and making her human body flush with arousal. He was gorgeous, commanding, and wanted her badly… but was that enough?
“I just… this all seems so sudden.” Her words were breathless. His hot touch was stealing the oxygen straight out of her lungs.
“I know it has to seem strange to you.” His slow fingertip touches were sliding down to her neck. “I know it’s incredibly fast.” He bent forward and was whispering close to her face now. “But if you become mine, Mia, I will love you and protect you all the days of my life.”
He finally closed the last whisper of space between them, and his lips touched hers. It wasn’t a forceful, passionate kiss… more like the ghost of a future kiss. A light sweep that promised more to come. Only… it felt wrong. Like a shoe that was one size too large, loose and ill-fitting. He said he would love and protect her… but not that he was in love with her. Maybe that would come later. Maybe that was what he meant, but it just came out wrong. But as those thoughts tumbled through her head, she realized none of that mattered: she wasn’t in love with him.
And she should be.
Colin’s hand moved to the back of her head, and he leaned in to kiss her again. Only this time, Mia could tell it would be no light feather-brush of lips.
She leaned away and slipped her hand up to his face, holding him back with her fingertips.
He frowned, like he wasn’t quite sure why she was stopping him.
Mia gazed up into those sexy, green eyes, hooded with desire. Jeeter was right: he was incredibly hot. And she was going to tell him no anyway. She hoped she wasn’t going to regret this for the rest of her life.
“Colin, I’m sorry.” It came out in a rush. “I’m in love with Lucas.”
He didn’t move away, just he briefly closed his eyes, then lowered his gaze to the thousand-foot drop out the window next to them. The pain on his face stabbed guilt through her chest.
“Are you sure?” he asked without looking at her.
She could say that she wasn’t sure. That maybe she could grow to love Colin instead. Or that it didn’t really matter if she loved Lucas, because he would never want her for a mate anyway.
But none of that mattered, either.
> Mia slipped her arms around Colin’s neck, reaching up to hug him tight. He was surprised: she could tell by the way he hesitated before putting his arms around her.
“I’m sure,” she whispered in his ear, then gave him a small kiss on the cheek before pulling completely back. “But thank you. For saving my life. For wanting me for a mate. And for letting me decide.”
His lips pressed into a tight line, and the way his eyes pinched at the edges made her heart hurt. She didn’t want to reject him or ruin all his plans. But he was a good man, and he deserved to know the truth.
And the truth was she loved the broken alpha who might never love her back. Strangely, that didn’t matter either. She could wait until he was ready. Or just be his friend.
Somehow, even a dead end with Lucas was better than not having him at all.
Colin just nodded, then leaned forward and dropped a sweet kiss on her forehead. That made her blush more than anything that had gone before.
Then he smiled. “If you change your mind, Mia Fiore, you know where to find me.”
Then the only decent shifter who had ever wanted her for a mate turned and walked away.
The elevator ride up to the 32nd floor was more comfortable than the car ride to SparkTech, but Lucas still found himself moving his weight from one foot to the other and arching his back to stretch a little. His brother, Lev, was doing the same subtle stretch-and-twist motion, while their father seemed to have healed completely.
Not bad for an old man.
It wasn’t that Lucas was still in pain so much as the deep hole in his gut was still knitting itself back together, and the stitches the healer had left inside hadn’t dissolved yet. So they pulled and twinged and generally made an annoying habit of reminding him he wasn’t quite healed yet.
His father lifted his chin in Lucas’s direction. “You didn’t have to come in, son.”
“Of course he did.” Lev stretched an arm overhead, more obviously working out the kinks. “But I call dibs on talking to Mia first.” He threw a smirk to Lucas.
“She was there when you were shot, Lev.” Lucas shook his head, but had to work to suppress his grin. “She already knows all about your heroics.”
“I think she needs a complete recounting to get the full effect.” Lev glanced at the numbers counting up to the 32nd floor.
“A complete recounting?” Lucas asked. “Jesus, I am going home.”
“What?” his father said with a full smile. “And miss your own opportunity to brag?”
“Oh, is that how it’s going to be?” Lucas shook his head in mock disgust, but the truth was he had missed this light-hearted banter. The mission, and its aftermath, had wiped away everything that had gone before and restored this sense of belonging to the family again. He wouldn’t trade it for anything, even with all the harassment that came with it.
Especially with the harassment.
Lucas hooked a thumb at his father’s healed leg. “I noticed you only managed to get shot in the leg, old man. Next time, maybe you could commit a little more to the mission.”
His father chuckled. “I’m thinking the wolves not catching bullets were probably the smart ones.”
“Hey, I never claimed to be smart!” Lev said cheerily. “Llyr’s the badass genius of the family. I got the good looks and charm. Poor Lucas had to settle for surliness and general bad hygiene.”
“Ok, that is just…” Right as the elevator doors opened, Lucas grabbed his little brother by his black silk shirt and folded him over into a headlock. “… uncalled for.”
Lev made a few sad attempts at punching his way out of Lucas’s hold while he dragged Lev from the elevator.
“Oh, come on, man, I just ironed this!” Lev’s muffled voice from under Lucas’s armpit made him chuckle so hard he was sure he pulled one of his stitches. Lucas let him go and gave him a good-natured shove toward the frosted-glass doors.
“Ironing? Ironing, Lev? You’ve got soft, man. It’s a sad thing to see.”
Lev was walking backward toward the door, flinging his finger out at Lucas. “Hey, just because you have no style, doesn’t mean all the Sparks brothers like to live primal.”
“That was low, bro,” Lucas said with a shake of his head and a barely concealed smirk. “Really low.”
“You wrinkled my shirt,” Lev said, as if that justified any level of retribution he might choose.
Lena was beaming at them as they cruised by and pushed through the doors. As much as he was bursting with this joy of brotherhood he hadn’t felt in so long, Lucas couldn’t help immediately sweeping his gaze across the offices and the common area, looking for Mia. There were a couple members of his father’s pack sharing coffee and lingering in the common area, but most of the offices were still closed up… except Mia’s door, which was slightly open. He gave Lev a sideways look, and they both raced toward her door, each grabbing the other and trying to hold him back. They checked their head-long rush as they reached the door and saw inside…
Mia and Colin. Kissing.
Lucas came to a dead stop, staring, then he wrenched his gaze away and stared at the floor.
“No fucking way,” Lev said under his breath.
Lucas shook his head, searching the carpet. He was too late. He should have known Colin would make his move while he was out of the picture. A roaring, growling thunder was growing inside Lucas. His wolf wanted to charge in and beat the crap out of Colin for presuming to even try. The only thing that stopped him: Mia was kissing him.
He had already lost.
“I’m gonna kill him,” Lev growled.
Lucas shot a hand out to grab him by the shoulder. Lev’s face was livid, a reflection of all the anger and jealousy boiling under Lucas’s skin. But he didn’t understand: it wasn’t Colin who had done anything wrong. It was Lucas. He failed her so many times in so many ways… pushed her away… and now, he was simply too late.
“I’ll take care of this, Lev.” Those words sent a pain ripping through his gut that had nothing to do with gunshot wounds or stitches. Lucas looked back inside Mia’s office: she had her arms around him, hugging Colin like he was a life preserver. His hands were on her back. Lucas gritted his teeth and forced himself to watch… until she kissed him on the cheek, and then he had to look away. He pulled a shock-faced Lev to the side, away from the door and out of Mia’s line-of-sight.
“This is so wrong, bro.” Lev was shaking his head. “So wrong.”
Their father had held back, face pinched. Waiting to see Lucas’s reaction, he imagined.
“I’ll take care of it,” Lucas said to his father. “Lev, just… give me some space, okay?”
Lev gave him an exasperated look, like he couldn’t believe everything had unraveled so fast. And Lucas couldn’t bear to see that expression on his face. Not again. Not after everything. That alone would have broken his heart if it wasn’t already in shreds.
Colin emerged from Mia’s office, barely sparing a glance for them as he strode toward his office. Lucas had to hold Lev back again.
“Just let me have a little talk with him,” Lev said through gritted teeth. “Beta to beta.”
“Hey.” Lucas grabbed Lev’s face in his two hands and pulled him back to look at him. “You are my beta. You will always be my beta, no matter what. Do you understand me, Lev?”
Lev’s wild look calmed slightly. “Always have been. Always will be, Lucas.”
“I know.” Emotion swelled Lucas’s throat but he pushed past it. “As your alpha, I’m telling you: leave it alone. I will handle it.”
Lev’s heaving breath calmed a little more. He pulled out of Lucas’s grasp, but then he nodded his agreement.
“I’m going…” The words were getting more difficult. “I’m going to talk to Mia first. Then the asshole.”
Lev smirked.
“Then I might need a really strong drink. And possibly more stitches. Think you could fix me up?”
Lev’s smirk died, and he was back to looking murderous
.
“Wait for me, Lev.” Lucas said it as a command, even though he knew he didn’t need to. His brother would be waiting to pick up the pieces, just like he had always been.
Lucas left him standing in the hall and stepped toward Mia’s office. The door was still slightly open. He pushed it wide as he stepped inside, then quietly closed it behind him. She hadn’t noticed him as she stared at the Seattle skyline, the sparkling bay, and the Olympic National Park beyond. Her dark hair fell in a lovely cascade down her back. He didn’t have to see her eyes to know her blue silk shirt was a dead match for them. Her slim black skirt hugged her curves and made his heart ache.
“Mia.” His voice was soft, partly because he didn’t want to startle her, partly because his throat was closing up.
She still jumped, but not too badly. “Lucas!” But she wasn’t chastising him for scaring her, like that time in her office when he first kissed her. Or in his apartment after they’d had sex for the first time, and before the second. No, this time, she seemed full of heart-breaking joy at seeing him and ran toward him from her spot by the window. She was moving so fast, he had to catch her around the waist to keep her from crashing into him. Her arms went around his neck… and just like that, she was in his arms again. He automatically held her close and bent his head to bury his face in her soft cloud of hair. A giant hole formed inside him: this was what he had blown. This was what he wouldn’t ever have again.
“Oh my god, Lucas, are you all right? Tell me you’re all right!” She was clinging to him, and her grip on him, her worried words… it was like the sweetest home he had ever known. He didn’t want her to let go. Ever. But he was sure the hug was just Mia being… Mia. Her worry was about an injury that was nearly healed… not the hole that was carving deeper into him by the second. He didn’t think this new wound would ever go away.
Lucas didn’t want to let go, but she was pulling away. And she wasn’t his to keep.
She didn’t go far. When she put her soft hands on his cheeks and searched his face with those beautiful blue eyes, it nearly undid him. He almost had to turn and go. But he came into her office because he had something to tell her. And he wasn’t leaving until he did.
