by Lia Bevans
“You’re right.” She blew out a breath.
“It’s not all bad,” Mae said. “Might I remind you, this is the second night you’ve slept soundly until morning. That’s all because of Blaez.”
“Your snores are a beautiful sound,” Ralph admitted grouchily. “It does my heart good to hear you resting more consistently now.”
“It’ll be okay,” Evie said. Her words drew Chantal back to last night when Blaez held her and stroked her hair. Soon after, she fell asleep. Had Blaez soothed her wolf or her? The moment when she regained control skipped her memory.
“Was Blaez very upset last night after...?” She bit her bottom lip.
“Why don’t you talk to him?” Mae Ling said. “Be honest and open about what you’re going through. The worst he can do is reject you and walk away.”
Chantal determined to take Mae Ling’s advice but when she plodded through the center’s doors later that morning and saw Blaez, she chickened out and turned right back around.
“Whoa! Hey!” Terry jumped from her desk and chased her. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I can’t do this, Terry.” She panicked even as her wolf urged her to go inside, take Blaez into her office, and close the door. “I’m going crazy. I’m insane.”
“Slow down, honey.” Her brown eyes pooled with amusement. “Cecil called. She told me everything.”
“Why would she do that?”
“She wanted to complain about you stealing her man. Plus, she’s the loosest mouth in that house. I get all my news about you from her. I just didn’t expect her to report anything this exciting.”
“Very funny.”
“Stop being a coward.” Terry turned her around and shoved her back inside. “Go.”
BLAEZ HEARD THE DOOR slam and noticed Chantal stepping into the center. His heart thrummed when he saw her. She looked rested. Which was more than he could say. He’d taken so many cold showers last night his fingers had tightened like prunes.
He’d tossed and turned until early morning when he raced out of bed to search for Caldon. He needed his brother now, even if the teenager did have a bad attitude and mood shifts. Caldon’s issues would be a perfect distraction. Unfortunately, Caldon was still flying in the wind.
Chantal smiled shyly and lifted her hand to wiggle her fingers at him. “Hi.”
He nodded. “Hi.”
She cleared her throat. “Should we talk?” Blaez followed her to her office and went for the handle to close the door. “Could you not?” Chantal placed her fingers on top of his knuckles and then withdrew her hand as if she’d been shocked.
“You don’t want me to close the door?” He frowned in confusion.
“Terry knows already.”
Ah, that could explain the secret smile she’d given him the moment he walked in this morning.
“Still...”
“Blaez,” she leaned over, a hand to her stomach, “if you lock the door, I’m going to swipe all my files from the table and try to use it for... other things.” Her eyes flashed on his. “And I have a lot of important files on that desk.”
His wolf grew excited at the thought of taking her on the table, but he clamped down on the impulse and nodded. “Fine. We leave it open.”
“Thank you.” She let out a breath of relief and walked behind her desk. Gesturing to the chair in front of it, she said, “Have a seat.”
The principal voice was back. Chantal was setting up their boundaries and his wolf didn’t really like it. Blaez forced himself to accept the distance. If he wanted her body, all he had to do was walk over to the door and close it.
But he didn’t. For many good reasons. Including Caldon. He had to think of his brother.
“I apologize for what happened last night.” She folded her hands together. “I understand if you want to ask for an official transfer to another facility. Yesterday wasn’t... I was being unprofessional and if that made you uncomfortable—”
“I’m fine,” he said a little too quickly. Leaving Chantal’s side was the last thing he wanted to do. Blaez didn’t want to explore why.
“Okay.” She nodded. “I also want to assure you that, as long as we keep to some rules, what happened between us yesterday won’t happen again.”
“Rules? What rules?”
“They’re simple really. Things like not closing the door when we’re alone. Trying not to touch each other even minutely. To sum it up, you should treat me like your boss and not, ehem, anything else. I’ll do the same.”
“Got it.” He leaned forward, elbows on his thighs. “How did you sleep last night? Did you have a bad dream?”
“That’s a personal question, but just this once I’ll answer.” Her eyes landed on his. “I slept like a baby.”
“Chantal!” Terry called from the reception area. “Connor is here.”
“I’m coming!” Chantal yelled and then arched an eyebrow at him. “So, we’re good?”
“We’re good.” Blaez followed her into the lobby and spotted Connor’s bright blue eyes. He recalled his promise to the kid and glanced at Terry. “Who dropped him here?”
“His mom.” Terry leaned over her desk to peer out the front door. “She just left.”
“I’ll be right back,” he said. Not waiting around to get Chantal’s permission, he tore out of the building and jogged until he stood in front of a slim woman with dark, scraggly hair and dull blue eyes. “Mrs. Moore?”
“Yes?” She did a double take when she saw his face, but lowered her gaze soon after. “Can I help you?”
“I’m Blaez Dramoth. I work at the Wildlife center.”
“Yes, I’ve heard of you. Connor’s been talking non-stop about being in your pack.”
He smiled. “Yeah, you have a great kid.”
“I know.” She checked her watch. “Do you need something, Blaez? I have to get to work.”
“I was just a little concerned about Connor. He’s got some weird ideas in his head that his parents don’t want him and that he’s burdening you guys.” He approached his next sentence carefully. “He says he hears the fighting...”
“Things are hard,” Mrs. Moore admitted, her eyes filling with tears. “We were going to get a divorce, but then Connor got sick and we focused on him. It was a mess.”
“If you’re feeling overwhelmed, I researched a few family counseling centers you could go to.”
“I’ll think about it.” She stiffened her shoulders and brushed her tears away. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I’ll handle things from here.”
“Great.” Blaez watched her stroll away, wondering if he’d pushed too hard. People got real touchy when their parenting skills were questioned and he hadn’t meant to offend. Connor’s happiness was his first priority, but for the kid to be content, his parents had to be too.
“What was that about?” Terry asked when he returned inside. She glanced over the coloring book she was using with Connor. Looked like she’d gotten over her guilt. Blaez was glad.
He shrugged. “Nothing. Could I have a page?”
“You color?”
“Probably not as good as Connor.” He touched the bright green beanie the kid wore. “When are you going to send me one of these hats?”
“I forgot!” Connor clapped the side of his head. “I’ll bring it tomorrow. I promise.”
Connor returned to his coloring. Sadness stole into Blaez’s eyes as he watched. He didn’t need to know what Hazel and Chantal had spoken about to know that Connor would be getting the short end of the stick. His existence was just too problematic. Even if Hazel did nothing, someone else would.
“What are you doing?” Connor asked, noticing him staring into space. “Aren’t you going to color with me?”
Blaez moved his markers over the page and determined in his heart to keep Connor safe. The boy was a part of his pack and Blaez didn’t take that lightly.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHANTAL LIVED EACH day waiting for the other shoe t
o drop. She was careful. Vigilant. Near obsessed with having Connor in sight at all times. She didn’t hear a peep from Hazel, but that didn’t mean her sister’s heart had changed. Connor was in danger every second.
Now that his week at Wildlife For Humanity was drawing to an end, she’d lose her ability to protect him. He’d be left to Hazel’s mercy and the thought frightened her more than she cared to admit. The only silver lining in this crisis was her distractedness. Her wolf cowered while she worried for Connor.
Not that it didn’t try to make a pass at Blaez. There were times when the light hit Blaez’s face a certain way or he looked at her softly or she was just plain thirsty for him. In the end, Chantal managed to keep her hands to herself and her wolf under strict orders.
But she couldn’t live on eggshells forever—especially with someone she cared about as much as Connor. The waiting was driving her crazy and Chantal decided to pay her older sister a visit. Maybe Hazel would have a change of heart. Or maybe not. Probably not. She went anyway.
On Saturday morning, Chantal knocked on the door of her sister’s condo and stepped back, waiting for Hazel to appear. Her sister padded to the door and swung it wide. Blue eyes glittered with surprise. Her hair was in a messy bun atop her head and she wore a thin cotton tank top and sleeping shorts. It was strange to see Hazel in anything but sharp work clothes and hair brushed to perfection. Sometimes she forgot her sister was human too.
“What a surprise,” Hazel said, welcoming her in. “I thought you’d never set foot in this neighborhood.”
“I don’t like the thought of running into the judges who spared Lucien’s life, but you live here. It was bound to happen anyway.”
“Come in. Come in.” Hazel grinned excitedly and showed her into a spacious living room decorated in sea blue and white tones. Instead of a television screen, a block of bookshelves stuffed with books filled the wall.
Chantal nodded at the shelves. “It suits you.”
“Thanks.” Hazel sat on the sofa and tucked her legs beneath her. “I know why you’re here, but I don’t care. It’s just so great to see you.”
Chantal swallowed. “I wish I could be that excited. I’ve been going crazy waiting for you to snatch Connor in the middle of the night or worse, right in front of me. I can’t take it anymore. I came to find out what your plan is.”
“So you can stop me?” Hazel arched a thin eyebrow and straightened. She was switching out of sister-mode and into alpha. “You know where I stand.”
“But Hazel—”
She held up a manicured hand. “I’m not rushing to deal with that problem. Like you said, we have until he’s fifteen. As long as no one finds out about his werewolf origins, I can drag my foot on this case.”
“Really? Thank you!” She rushed to embrace her sister.
“Relax.” Hazel pried her off. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t correct this. Only that I have bigger fish to fry right now.”
“Why?” She fixed the hem of her shirt. “What’s going on?”
“There have been reports of some... bizarre incidents.”
Chantal’s mind immediately flitted to the glowing eyes she’d spotted a few weeks ago. “What kind of incidents?”
“You know the pack keeps a close eye on all the shifters in our city, especially the wolves. We know everyone. Almost. The only werewolves that aren’t accounted for are the derelicts, the ones in gangs who would rather we not know what they’re doing.”
“Okay... so?”
“Lately, young werewolves have been going missing.”
Her heart thudded and her mind immediately flew to Connor. “Young? How young? What number are we talking here?”
“Don’t worry. It’s nowhere near Connor’s age. The latest victims have been as young as fifteen and as old as twenty.”
“How do you know they’re missing? You said they were thugs, right? Maybe they just skipped town and their friends are making up stories to throw off the Council. It’s plausible. Kids are getting crazier and crazier these days.”
“The complaints are coming in too consistently. We’ve gotten three missing persons reports in the last week. These aren’t boys and girls that would regularly show themselves to the Council or try to involve themselves in the rules of our pack. The fact that they’re coming to us for help is saying something.”
Chantal sobered. “Where do you think the missing wolves might be?”
“I’m not sure. We’re keeping our ears to the ground to see if this is a werewolf problem or a shifter problem.” Hazel’s sober expression melted. “It’s nothing you should worry about.”
“Don’t do anything dangerous, okay?” She leveled a stern look. “I mean it. Just because you can sniff out a lie doesn’t make you a superhero. Delegate. Let the Council send trained professionals to deal with these gangs. Your pack needs you.” She gazed at the floor. “I need you.”
Hazel touched her arm. “I’m going to be fine.”
“Good.” Chantal nodded once and changed the subject. “Have you heard from your foster family lately?”
“You mean the Terror and his wife?” Hazel’s entire body stiffened. While Chantal had been adopted into a safe and loving family, Hazel had... not.
“Gosh no. I meant Tristan. You mentioned a while ago that he’d stopped writing. Did you figure out why?”
“No.” Hazel’s eyes flickered with worry. “If I didn’t have so many responsibilities to the pack, I’d turn the country upside down looking for him. Tristan suffered in that house far more than I did. He took beatings for me even after he found out what I was and that I could take it.”
“Don’t worry,” she decided. “I’ll find him for you.”
“What?”
Hazel had nothing but good things to say about her foster brother and Chantal desperately wanted to meet him and thank him for taking care of her sister. Besides, Hazel was doing her a favor letting Connor off the hook.
“It’s the least I can do.”
Hazel scrunched her nose. “How do you plan on finding him when I’ve had no luck for years?”
“I know someone who can help.” She patted her chest. “Leave it to me.”
BLAEZ BOUNDED PAST the playground filled with laughing children and took the bench next to the stunning woman in the blue T-shirt and shorts. Chantal didn’t even look at him, but he could sense her heartbeat thudding. He waited for her to wrestle with her wolf’s desire and then slid closer.
“What’s the emergency?” His voice was hard, but he tried not to let the full brunt of his annoyance show. He’d been out looking for Caldon when she rang him up and, in no uncertain terms, summoned him to the park.
Blaez had wrestled a lot with the decision before he’d made the choice to show up. It was his day off and he was not in the mood to be schooled by Chantal. No matter how attractive he found her. It was going on three weeks since he’d heard from his brother and he was about to lose his mind.
“I need your help,” she said.
His eyebrows arched. Those were four words he’d never expected to hear from her. He turned fully to Chantal. Scoped the furrow of her thin brows and the slightly downturned arch of her lips. “What’s going on?”
“Mae Ling said you helped her reconnect with some of her friends from China. She mentioned that you were good with computers and programming.”
“Yeah...” His mind trotted back to the week before when he’d helped Mae fiddle around on social media. It wasn’t anything special. At least not to him.
“I need you to do the same for me.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Why should I?”
She startled, looking him square in the eyes for the first time since he arrived. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not my boss today.” His frustration escaped in his words. “I was actually doing something important before you dragged me out here.”
“You were?” Her face mottled with embarrassment and she stammered. “W-was it a woman...?”
“I was looking for my brother.” Chantal’s assumption that he’d been with someone else made him smile. Letting her off the hook, he confessed, “Since Caldon got involved with a group of sketchy kids, he keeps disappearing on me.”
Her face paled. “You have a brother?”
“Didn’t you read it in my file?”
“Of course I read it, but... you never mentioned him. I thought he was with your parents.”
“My mother died when I was young and my...” Blaez paused. He was used to rattling off his life story at the top of his head. They were just facts. Tiny bits of information about his history that made no difference to him. Except this listener wasn’t a random person he was trying to get off his back.
Blaez’s entire body seized as he realized. He wanted Chantal to like him. Not lust for him. Not go crazy with need at the sight of him and what he could do to her. He wanted her to spend time with him because she enjoyed it. And listen to him because she cared.
What the hell...?
“You were saying something about your dad?” Chantal prodded softly, her eyes shining in the sunlight.
Blaez cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure. “He took off when I was young. Came back over a decade later with the son he had from his second mate. Caldon. He’s fifteen now and more pig-headed than anyone I’ve met.” He glanced away. “Except you.”
“Fifteen?” She turned her knees toward him and leaned in. For a moment, Blaez thought her wolf had taken control and she was going in for a kiss. His heart quickened and he glanced up only to see her eyes filled with concern instead of desire.
Got excited for nothing...
He wet his lips and forced his thoughts back to the topic at hand. “Yes. Caldon’s wolf emerged a few months ago and he ran off with a new pack. I tracked him down here. We met once, but when I returned to his hideout the next day, he was gone.”
“Blaez, I have to tell you something.”
The urgency in her gaze unnerved him. “Go on.”
