by Sophie Stern
I guess I got too excited at the prospect of a fun gig.
Fuck.
I close my laptop, grab my stuff, and get back in the car. I have two missed calls from Emily from this morning. I definitely didn’t tell her I wasn’t going to deliver the gem. Instead, I just didn’t show up. It was kind of shady of me. I’ll be the first to admit that. Still, I was pretty pissed at having the wool pulled over my eyes.
Never again.
I always tell myself that the next gig is going to be the last one, but there’s always one more bad guy, one more old woman with a sob story, one more problem that needs to be fixed.
The reality is that I don’t always have to be the one who saves everything.
I don’t have to save the world.
But I want to.
I want to be that person.
I want to be the one that everyone can count on.
I want to be the one that people turn to when they’re in trouble.
I want that to be me.
I want it.
My drive across town takes only a few minutes. I park at the back of the parking lot and stare up at the building. So this is where my client works? I’ll be the first to admit that she looks like a feeble old lady. At least, she had when we met.
Now?
Now I don’t know what I’m about to find.
Maybe it was all an act.
Either way, I steel myself before heading inside. There’s no telling what I’m about to walk into. It takes me a little while to finally get to the building because I parked so far away. Most of the parking lot is full. I’m guessing there’s a huge employee base here, which is actually pretty fantastic. Claw Enterprises is a huge employer in our town. In a day and age when your job means everything, it’s nice to know that some people still offer a chance for adults to make a living wage.
When I walk inside, there’s a huge open lobby. People are bustling about, walking to the elevators, going up the escalator, and talking with associates. There are so many people, in fact, that I’m not really sure where to look or where to go. There’s a receptionist sitting at a large desk, but this isn’t my first rodeo.
It’s my second rodeo.
And I know that if I waltz right up to her and demand a meeting with Emily Claw, she’s going to laugh me right out of the building.
Instead, I follow my personal mantra that’s gotten me through some hard times.
“Fake it ‘til you make it.”
That’s exactly what I plan to do.
I push my shoulders back and my hips forward and despite the fact that I’m not even sort-of wearing business-casual clothing, I strut past the receptionist. She opens her mouth, as though she’s going to ask if she can help me, but I quickly grab my phone and hold it up to my ear.
“I just arrived,” I say to my phone. “Yes, I’ll be there in a minute. Let me grab an elevator. The numbers are all right here. They look absolutely perfect, yes.”
My fake phone call seems to be just enough to get the receptionist off my back because she shrugs and looks back at her computer. She starts typing away and I hurry to the elevator. I slip in just as three other people enter. They all smell abso-fucking-lutely fantastic.
It’s a pity, really.
Sometimes I wish that I actually took time to date. After losing Henry, I just can’t. He was everything to me: my soul mate. He was my rock. My foundation. Nobody understands me the way he did and there’s part of me that doesn’t think I’ll ever get that again.
But it’s fine.
I’m totally fine.
I’m fine.
“Which floor?” The guy beside me asks. I glance quickly at the numbers on the wall. 20 floors. Damn. There’s no doubt that the owner of the company took a top-floor office for herself, but I’m not about to tell anyone in here that’s where I’m going.
“18,” I say, trying to play it casual. Apparently, that was a good guess because he pushes the number without a second thought. The elevator moves up and as it does, it empties. A few people get out at each floor. Eventually, it’s just me and the guy beside me. He gets out at the 17th floor and then I’m alone.
It’s just me.
The elevator opens at the 18th floor and I quickly jab the button for floor 20, but there’s a little message that asks me to input a code on the keypad beside the buttons.
Fuck.
What would the code be for Emily’s floor?
I think back to the art gallery. There was nothing there that seemed especially significant as far as dates go. I punch in the street address number. Nothing. Okay, so it’s not the location of the art gallery. I try her birthday. Nothing. I start to sweat as I realize I won’t have a lot more time to get this all figured out. Someone is going to push the elevator for another floor at any moment and then I’ll be on my way back down to the lobby.
What else could it be?
She has three sons, but it wouldn’t be the number “3” because I have to enter four digits.
Crap.
I close my eyes and wish upon an invisible star, and then it comes to me. In my reading this morning, I saw that her husband passed away. Could it be his birthday? I don’t think the article listed that, but it did list the day of his death.
Part of me hopes that it’s not the right number because I know just how hard losing your partner is. It might be normal to try to forget and to move on, but I don’t think you ever really do. Did Emily program his date of death as a way to remember him every single morning when she comes to work?
With a sigh, I punch in the numbers.
The elevator starts to move.
Chapter Five
Trevor
“I was going to tell you,” our mother says.
“When?” Lee asks. His voice comes out cracked and broken. “When were you going to tell us you were sick? When you had to go to the hospital? When it was over? When you were gone?”
My brother’s voice sounds pained, but it reflects what we’re all feeling inside. My mother has a serious illness and she didn’t bother to tell any of us.
And I think we all want to know why.
I think we deserve to know why.
We’ve already lost one parent. Losing another one so soon seems like a cruel joke. It has to be a joke.
My mother sighs and leans back in her chair. Ever the businesswoman, we rarely see her relaxed or having fun. Since my father passed away, she’s thrown herself into work. I don’t blame her at all. When I lost Anna, I did the same thing. Work was the only thing that sort of took the pain away.
There’s a deep sense of loss that comes when your partner doesn’t just leave, but dies. There are no bad feelings there, because the relationship didn’t end by choice. It didn’t end because you wanted it to be over. The relationship ended because somebody actually died. It’s the ultimate death. Not only do you lose the companionship, but you lose them.
There’s no chance of ever getting back together in the future.
There are no drunken texts sent.
You can’t accidentally bump into them at the supermarket.
No, when your partner dies, they’re just gone, and it’s worse than losing your companion. If you aren’t careful, you lose a part of yourself, too. At least, I did.
I think my mother has, too.
She and my father were more than just husband and wife. They were wolf mates. They were from different packs and different worlds, but somehow, they found each other and fell in love. My mother still wears the necklace that bears their Tokens. Hers is a bright ruby and my father’s Token is a sapphire, like mine. Together, the necklace gives her comfort and power.
She knows that no matter what happens, my father really isn’t so far away.
She knows she’s always connected to him.
No matter what happens to her, she’ll always have him close to her heart.
“It’s not like that,” my mother finally says. She touches the necklace, fiddling with it.
�
�Then what’s it like?” Cody asks. “Tell us so we can understand.”
“I found out last month,” my mother finally says. “It’s cancer.”
Even being a shifter can’t protect her from cancer. Even her ultra-healing abilities won’t protect her from this.
“Treatment options?” Lee asks, but my mother shakes her head.
“It’s too far,” she says. “It was too late when I found out. There are no options.”
“There has to be something,” Cody says, his voice cracking, but my mother, once again, shakes her head.
“I’ve tried everything,” she says. “I’ve called in favors and I’ve talked to old friends. I’ve called clinic after clinic and hospital after hospital. There is no cure for this, my loves. I’m sorry.”
My mother tears up and I realize what she’s really saying.
She’s going to die.
She’s going to die and it’s going to be soon, from the looks of things. I noticed when we walked in that she seems old. My mother has always been old, but she looks more than elderly. She looks frail. Weak. She’s never seemed weak before.
“I’ve contacted Gerald,” my mom says. “And he’s going to take over the pack duties for me starting next week.”
“You talked to Gerald before you talked to us?” I ask, not quite believing it. What a slap in the face. I mean, Gerald is great, but he’s her beta. He’s not her child.
“I had some other business I had to deal with,” my mother says. “And I wanted to make sure the pack was safe and in order before I talked with you.”
My brothers and I move to our mother. We stand in front of her desk the way we did when we were little pups. We look up at her and I can’t help but wonder what we’re going to do without her.
“How long do you have?” I whisper.
I swear that if she says days or weeks, I’m going to completely break down.
“Nobody knows for certain,” my mother says. “But the doctor thinks I have about three months.”
Three months.
So she’ll be gone before Christmas.
The thought threatens my stomach, making me feel nauseous and faint. I’m not going to pass out, but damn if I don’t suddenly feel completely ill.
“You should have told us,” Lee says. He clenches and unclenches his fists. “We could have been there for you.”
“And what?” Mother raises an eyebrow. “You could have diagnosed me? Are you a doctor now, Lee?”
He glares at her.
Yeah, our mom can be a bit fierce at times.
She sighs. “I’m not trying to be cruel, but there’s nothing you could have done. There was no point in worrying any of you until I found out what my diagnosis was and whether there was any sort of treatment I could do.”
“And there’s not,” Cody says. His voice is flat and I feel his anxiety in my own heart. This just isn’t fair.
“Boys, I’m not going to sit around moping,” our mother smiles softly. She touches her necklace again. “I’ve had a wonderful life and I have wonderful children. You’re all fantastic men who bring me more joy than you could possibly imagine.”
I can sense a but coming.
“But I miss your father,” she says finally. “And I’m okay with this, boys. I really am.” She smiles softly and reaches for us. We all move, crowding around her chair. She touches our cheeks one by one: Lee, Cody, me.
“I’m ready to be with him,” she says. “I need this, boys. It’s time to let me go.”
To my mother, it’s time to go be with my dad. I know exactly what she’s saying. I’m probably the only one who does. Lee and Cody are wonderful sons, but neither one of them has ever lost someone the way I have. Neither one of them has had their hearts ripped out and shredded.
Only me.
Only Mom.
“I understand,” I tell her. “But Mom, we’re going to miss you.”
“I know,” she says, tearing up. “And I’m going to miss you, too.”
We hold her for a long time. There are going to be arrangements we’ll need to make. My brothers and I will have to organize the company. We’ll need to decide who is going to run which portion. Honestly, most of the company is an autopilot at this point. That’s how big it is. But someone will need to step up as the CEO.
That will most likely be Lee because he’s the oldest.
“Mom, we actually came here to tell you something,” Cody finally says, and I remember our real reason for coming to the office today.
“What is it?” She asks, raising her eyebrows.
“The cops came by my office today,” Lee says. “There was a break-in at the gallery.”
My mother looks unsurprised by this news. My eyes narrow. Why does she look unsurprised? My mother may be ill, but she’s also a wolf. She’s sneaky. Not a lot gets by her and something tells me that she knows exactly what happened at the gallery. If she didn’t know, she would have had a very different response than to just look at us, blinking.
“Oh,” she says, suddenly, as if remembering that she’s supposed to react to news like this. “That’s terrible. Your father loved the gallery. Was anything taken?” She looks away and reaches for a glass of water, which she sips. I glance at my brothers. Yep. Both Cody and Lee have picked up on her weird behavior.
My mother is a lot of things, but a good liar?
She’s not.
“What did you do?” I ask her carefully.
“Hmm? What’s that, dear?”
Suddenly, she seems to find her water very, very interesting.
I stare at her, silently waiting. Eventually, she’s going to crack and she’ll have to talk. Eventually. It shouldn’t take too long now. Wolf shifters are unlike humans in that we’re ridiculously patient. Most of us have no problem waiting long periods of time for someone to speak or move. It’s what makes us such good hunters.
My mother is already nervous, though. She’s definitely going to tell us what we want to know.
We might just have to wait an hour or two before she speaks. Mom is a bad liar, but she’s also stubborn, which is why Cody and Lee move to sit down in two of the office chairs. I don’t, though. I stay right where I am and cross my arms over my chest.
“Nothing was taken,” I tell her.
Her eyes dilate and she looks away quickly.
“Wow, well, that’s, um, that’s wonderful,” she says.
But she doesn’t seem to think that it’s very wonderful at all.
I’m just about to poke her, to prod about why she knows about the break-in when my brothers and I all turn at the same time and look at my mom’s elevator door.
I smell it.
Her.
The thief.
I don’t know what she’s doing here and I don’t know how she found her way here, but she’s definitely approaching the room. We all turn just as the elevator doors slide open and the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen bursts into my mother’s office. Ignoring us entirely, she looks at Mom and blurts out, “We need to talk.”
Chapter Six
Lee
It’s her.
The woman from the gallery.
She’s here.
The thief.
“We need to talk?” My mother raises an eyebrow. The two women completely ignore me and my brothers. “Yes,” she says. “Why, I think we do. Boys?” My mother looks at each of us. “Will you excuse me and Natasha, please?”
Natasha.
So that’s her name.
Natasha.
It rolls off my tongue like a treat.
Natasha.
My inner-wolf wants to howl, wants to run free.
It’s the woman of our dreams, it whispers to me. It’s our mate.
I’ve never been one to believe in mates. Not really. I know that my parents were mates and that Trevor and Anna were completely inseparable, but until this moment, I never really knew what they meant when they used the word mates.
I figured that a mate was similar to
a boyfriend or a girlfriend.
The words were similar in nature.
Surely they meant the same thing.
Only, in my case, they aren’t.
They aren’t even close to the same thing.
“Natasha,” I say, stepping forward. As if noticing me for the first time, her eyes pull away from my mother’s and the girl looks at me. She’s tall and lean with long, dark hair. Her leather jacket hugs her body tightly. Actually, she’s only wearing black. It looks good on her. Sexy. She looks like she’s fit and strong and happy.
And sneaky, apparently.
“My name is Lee Claw,” I say to her. She looks me up and down very briefly. Her eyes dilate just the slightest bit. If I wasn’t watching her carefully, I might have missed it. Yeah, she likes me. She’s attracted to me, at least. How very interesting. I’d be lying if I said this doesn’t please me.
She’s very lovely. Not only does she smell wonderful, but she looks sweet. Sassy. She’s a mystery, and I love feeling curious. I instantly want to know more about her.
Everything.
I want to know everything about her.
“You,” her eyes narrow. She doesn’t look happy to see me. “You’re her son.” She jerks her head toward my mother. I’m not sure why Natasha seems to be so angry or what her beef is with my family. She and my mother obviously know one another and, more importantly, they both seem to know that Natasha was in the gallery last night.
How strange.
Why do they both know where Natasha was?
And why do I get the feeling that I’m missing something important?
“Yes,” I say slowly. Natasha turns and looks at each of my brothers in turn.
“And you,” she says. “You’re the middle son,” she looks pointedly at Cody.
“Yes,” he agrees. He, too, is looking at Natasha like she’s something special, someone special. How interesting. It’s not uncommon for brothers to share a wolf mate. I wonder if my brother is feeling the same connection to Natasha that I am.
Is his wolf calling out to her?
Is he thinking that she could be the mate to bear his pups?
“And the littlest brother,” Natasha finally looks at Trevor. Trevor, the youngest brother, who has been hurt so deeply. Trevor looks at Natasha. He stands perfectly still, but somehow, she still seems to see right through him.
