by Alisa Woods
Jupiter scowled at the stolen lunch. “Well, you get first prize for being most well-loved in the pack. Those guys still brag about laying down their lives to save you. And any fool can see Lucas is crazy in love.”
Mia sighed. “I just wish things outside the pack were as simple as they are inside.”
Jupiter sopped her gourmet French fry in ketchup. “What are you talking about?”
“Lucas is meeting my mom tonight.” Mia grimaced.
Jupiter’s red-drenched fry froze midway to her face. “Get out.” Her ex-roommate was Mia’s only non-shifter friend who knew she was a shifter.
“I know, right? It’s going to be a disaster.”
“But your mom doesn’t know, like, anything, right?”
Mia nodded.
Jupiter whistled low. “Are you going to tell her?”
Mia reached over to steal the last of Jupiter’s fries. “I don’t know, Jeeter. Either she thinks Lucas is a rich creep who’s keeping me at his apartment until he tires of me, or she finds out he’s a shifter, and she thinks even worse.”
“Well, tell her you’re a shifter. She loves you… that’s got to soften the blow.”
Mia just shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Jeeter frowned. “I’m total fail as a friend here. I don’t have any good advice about coming out of the closet as a shifter. I mean… most people aren’t as awesomely open-minded as your ex-roommate.” She sighed. “But I’m sure it will work out. Just… call me after?”
Mia nodded, but she wasn’t sure at all that things would work out. And it wasn’t just her mom finding out that she and Lucas were shifters that weighed on her. It was the party last night… and the party tomorrow… and every time going forward when she would have to keep the fact that she and Lucas were bound for life a secret.
Mia sighed and scooped up the last of Jeeter’s fries. “I have to get back to work.”
“Find out what the dress code is for tomorrow’s party!” Jupiter called after her.
That was the least of Mia’s problems, but it would give her something to distract her until tonight.
The office was decked out with holiday trimmings, although the festive scents were kept to a minimum—there were a lot of shifter noses to offend in SparkTech’s office on the 32nd floor. It was Friday afternoon, the week before Christmas—most of their current projects were either completed or mostly suspended for the holidays. Which meant lounging instead of working was at an all-time high, and gossip was at a premium.
With the party last night, there had to be a lot to talk about.
Mia’s finals at the University of Washington had been over for a week, so she’d picked up more hours at SparkTech, but with projects on a slow-down, she didn’t have any more to do than the rest of them. But she still had a mission.
Mia pushed open the frosted glass doors at the entrance to the office, cruised past the dark burnished wood of the receptionist’s desk, and sailed through the second set of frosted doors that led into the main office. She scanned the glass tables and trim, off-white couches of the wide-open floor plan, but she didn’t see Rebecca, the new intern and in-demand female shifter. Air purifiers whirred enough to cover up any conversations leaking from the offices around the perimeter, and most of the office doors were closed anyway. Given that the doors and walls of the offices were made of frosted glass lit from within by a rare winter-sunshine day in Seattle, Mia could see by the shadows that most were unoccupied. A few had clusters of people gathered within them.
She only hoped that her trip to the closet last night with Lucas wasn’t making the office gossip rounds.
The guest office where Rebecca worked appeared to be empty. Mia bit her lip—if she couldn’t catch Rebecca alone before the end of the day, her mission was going to be a failure before it even got launched. Mia poked her head into the coffee room first, disturbing an energetic card game in progress, then ducked back out. She was afraid to try Lev’s office, in case he managed to get her alone without Mia’s help, but it was empty in any event. Colin’s office was bustling, but there was no way she was going in there. Lucas’s office looked empty from the outside, but she knew he was one of the few people working—as a managing partner, he had a lot of responsibilities on his shoulders. Finally, she noticed Steven’s office had a small party going on—and he was one of the cluster-of-five who had been vying for Rebecca’s attention last night.
Sure enough, the intern was cornered inside.
Mia’s entrance into the office only garnered the attention of two of the five wolves. The others were fixated on Rebecca’s cascading brown curls and curvaceous figure, making no attempt to hide their lust. The room was so thick with male shifter pheromones, Mia nearly choked. Rebecca was smiling, but it looked strained.
How long had they had her trapped with their attempts at wooing?
“There you are!” Mia said brightly to Rebecca, finally wrenching the other three wolves’ attention away. Momentarily. “I could use your help, Becca. I’ve been going over that Blue Wave report and some of the numbers aren’t adding up.”
“Really?” The relief on Rebecca’s delicately beautiful face was plain to see, not that the wolves panting after her seemed to notice. “Sure. I can help you with that.”
She practically needed a wrecking ball to work her way through the blockade of male shifter bodies between her and the door.
Oh, for the love of everything magic.
Mia met her half way, reaching out her hand to pull Rebecca through the rest. “Don’t you guys have some work to do?” Mia growled.
“We were working on getting a date, but you interrupted us,” quipped Steven.
Mia gave him a ha, ha look. Definitely nowhere near as funny as Lev. Rebecca hooked her arm around Mia’s, like they were best friends since kindergarten, and practically hauled Mia out of the room in her haste to leave. Mia quickly matched pace and steered her toward Mia’s office.
Once they were inside, Rebecca closed the door and leaned against it. “I owe you big time.”
Mia smiled wide. This was even better than she hoped for. “You looked like you were drowning in there.”
“No, no.” Rebecca’s hands were up, like she was afraid she had offended Mia. “They’re all really super nice, and sweet, and cute, too—”
“Cute?” Mia asked. She had settled back against her desk and folded her arms to study the distraught Rebecca. “That sounds… platonic.”
Rebecca’s shoulders slumped. “I know, I’m supposed to be finding a mate.”
Mia unfolded her arms, a wave of sympathy washing over her. It wasn’t so long ago that she had been the one struggling to decide who she wanted for a mate. And Rebecca was only a couple of years older than Mia—in the real world, most girls would be looking for careers, not husbands, at their age. But in the shifter world, everything happened faster.
“You’re pack-raised, aren’t you?” Mia asked, gesturing Rebecca over to a chair by her desk.
“Yeah, I spent my whole life in one small pack in Redmond.” She flopped into the chair, leaning back like she had collapsed into it. “I mean, I dated guys—human guys, you know—but it was never serious. I knew I would find a shifter and mate some day, so that was all just for fun, right?”
Mia dragged over a chair to sit next to Rebecca. “And now everyone wants you to have their pups.”
A laugh erupted from her, almost like a hiccup with wings. “Yeah, it’s kind of… unsettling.” Then she peered at Mia with her soft brown eyes. “How did you know Lucas was the one for you?”
Mia had to hold in the grin. She was so going to be Mission Accomplished in getting Lev and Rebecca together. “It’s a long story, but I knew from the beginning there was something different about him. Something special.”
Rebecca nodded then looked a little sheepish. “Is it silly to want something romantic like that? I mean, it’s not like I’m looking for an alpha—I don’t need someone to come in and sweep me off my feet—I
just want someone who will make me laugh.”
Mia seriously had to hold herself back from jumping up from the chair and doing a victory dance. Instead, she asked, “So you’re not interested in Colin?”
Rebecca made a face. “Colin? Uh… no. He’s… not my type. At all.”
At this point, even Mia’s wolf was prancing around with glee. “Colin is really intense.”
Rebecca nodded emphatically.
“And those other guys…” Mia gestured to the door and the salivating wolves they left behind. “No chemistry there, either?”
Rebecca sighed. “I guess I need to give it some time. I’m just not used to all the attention, you know? Back home, everyone knew I would find a mate somewhere else. It’s kind of my alpha’s rule about the pack.” She puffed out her chest in a hilarious impression of her commanding alpha, whoever that was. “No mating within the pack. We’re family.”
Mia chuckled at the deep tone of voice, but her head was quickly putting the pieces together: small town shifter, cloistered at home, protected by an overbearing alpha. Sweet, inside and out. And pretty and fun. This girl was perfect for Lev.
“So this is your first time outside your own pack?” Mia asked.
Rebecca took a deep breath and let it out slow. “I’m screwing this up, aren’t I?”
“What? No.” Mia put up her hands for emphasis. “What about Lev? Have you had a chance to meet him?”
“Oh. Yeah.” Rebecca bit her lip and dropped her gaze to the floor.
Mia frowned. What was this? Was Lev holding out on her? “What happened?”
“Oh, nothing happened, it’s just…” She grimaced and looked out the windows toward the glittering towers of downtown Seattle.
Mia leaned forward and patted her knee. “You can tell me, Becca. I’m not going to rat you out to the ravenous wolves of the Sparks packs.”
That brought back a little bit of her smile. Then she shrugged. “I just got the impression Lev didn’t really like me. I don’t know why, I mean, he doesn’t even know me.”
“No, he doesn’t.” This was totally something she could fix. “Why don’t you go with him to the Tree Lighting party tomorrow? You have to bring a date, right?”
She frowned, looking vaguely horrified. “Oh, um, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“He’s, like, the son of a pack leader. And it’s the pack’s party. And I’m just a visitor…”
Mia frowned. “You mean, he’s the only one who hasn’t asked you yet.”
“That too.” Her shoulders fell.
“Becca, come on.” He’d be perfect for you. But Mia held those words back. It was too early to say them, even if she was completely convinced herself. “What could it hurt to ask? Or… maybe I could, you know, let him know that you might be interested…”
Rebecca grinned. “Okay, why does this feel like high school all over again?”
“Because everything’s different inside the pack?” Something Mia was learning was all too true.
Rebecca’s smile faded, and she was back to biting her lip. “No, don’t say anything. I mean, if you go tell him I think he’s hot, then it’ll just be awkward when he says he’s not interested.”
Mia pointed a finger at her. “You think he’s hot.”
Her brow wrinkled up, like Mia must be blind not to see this. “He’s one of the Sparks brothers.”
“You have a point there,” Mia said. “So ask him.”
“Okay, okay.” Rebecca held up her hands. “Maybe. I’ll think about it.” She rose up from her chair. “I’m assuming you don’t actually have any work for me to do.”
“Guilty,” Mia said with a smile.
“Thanks for rescuing me.” Before Mia could respond, Rebecca was giving her a hug. It was entirely sweet and sisterly and made Mia wish all the more that Rebecca would find a mate, and a home, here in the Sparks packs with her. Rebecca peeked out her door, checking for ravenous wolves, before making a bee-line back to her own office.
Mia could just see it: Rebecca would gin up her courage and ask Lev to the party. He would be surprised, but being Lev, there’s no way he would say no… if for no other reason than to show her off on his arm to the other pack members. Then he would discover how delightful she was away from the leering and drooling of the other wolves, they would kiss, and after that, the magic would take over. Rebecca and Lev would live happily ever after.
If only it could be so simple for her and Lucas.
“You never told me your mom lives in a slum.” Lucas’s voice was strung tight, and Mia could swear she heard his wolf growling under the words.
Her own wolf’s fur was prickled out—she was snarling at Lucas’s tone, as well as the drug dealer skulking down the street and the trash that tumbled along the curb. The ripe smells of urine and street grime made her wrinkle her nose.
“It’s not exactly something I’m proud of, Lucas.” She didn’t mean to growl at him, but it definitely came out that way. Lucas’s expensive sports car wouldn’t last two seconds in her neighborhood, which was why she had insisted they take a cab to get here.
Lucas stopped her on the stoop before buzzing into the tenement building. “That’s not what I meant, Mia.”
“Yeah, well, I know it’s a slum.” She was angry and nervous and about to crawl out of her skin with the tension of bringing her mom and Lucas together. And she still hadn’t decided what she could possibly say that would make this all work out right. “It’s not like I haven’t got a plan for getting her out of here. Why do you think I’m majoring in business? I’ve been planning all along to get out of school, get a job, and move her out of here.”
The drug dealer at the corner threw her a pinched look. She scowled right back, briefly, then ducked her head. She knew better than to bring on trouble by staring it in the face. She grew up here, after all. Hated it. Got out as soon as she could. But being back always brought out her street-tough side.
“Mia, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Lucas was shaking his head at the dilapidated front of the tenement. It hadn’t been painted in a good ten years. You couldn’t even tell what the original color was—it had all faded to pale concrete.
Mia dropped her voice. “I’ve been saving all my paychecks from SparkTech. And now that I’ve moved out of the dorm, it’s adding up. Eventually, I’ll be able to move her.”
“Mia.” Lucas’s hands were on her now, holding her shoulders.
The chastisement in his voice was almost more than she could stand. She was doing everything she could—why couldn’t he see that?
“All you had to do was ask,” he said softly. “She’s your mother. I’m not going to let her stay in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Seattle.”
And like that, the tension drained out of her. “I know, Lucas.” And he would. She knew that about him if nothing else—he would protect her and take care of her, as well as everyone she loved. He was her alpha, and she was as sure of this as she was about the magic pumping through her blood. But there was too much baggage, too much still unsettled. Too much her mother didn’t know. And her mom already disapproved of Mia depending on Lucas, which he would never understand. Without a ring on her finger, her mom would never believe Lucas planned to stick around. Mia’s father had come and gone in a flash; someone rich and handsome like Lucas would, too. At least according to her mom.
Mia put her hand on Lucas’s chest and peered up into the wrinkled concern of his face. “Look, just let me do the talking here, okay? Don’t say anything about the neighborhood.”
“Mia, I’m not going to insult your mother’s—”
She put a hand up to stop him. “She’s my mother, Lucas. Let me handle this.”
He frowned, but nodded. “All right. I’ll follow your lead on this.”
Mia gave him a small, grateful smile.
Mr. Baily, her mom’s neighbor, came stumbling out the tenement door. He was a complete crank, and probably paranoid, but he let
her mom use his phone when she needed to, so Mia had a soft spot in her heart for him. And of course he recognized Mia. He held the door for her, so they wouldn’t have to buzz in, then tottered off, hunched over in a hurry to somewhere else. The elevator was out again, so they took the stairs up the four flights. When they knocked on her mom’s door, she answered right away.
Mia fought to not be embarrassed by the shabby interior of her mom’s place—it was nothing like the sparkling luxury of Lucas’s upscale apartment—and focused instead on giving her mom a hug. She was dressed in her best: black slacks and a blouse that showed off her eyes, which were startling blue just like Mia’s. She had inherited her mom’s thick black hair as well, although her mother’s long locks now sported a dozen growing streaks of gray. The only thing Mia seemed to inherit from her absent father was his invisible talent for shifting into the shape of a wolf.
Mia pulled back from her hug. “Mom, this is Lucas Sparks. Lucas, my mom.” She avoided the whole what do I call Lucas question by simply using his name.
Lucas extended his hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Mrs. Fiore.”
“Mr. Sparks.” Her mom gave an awkward dip of her head then seemed to yank her hand back quickly.
Mia cringed. Already this was off to a bad start.
Her mom ushered them into the living room, which was just inside the door. It wasn’t like they had a big place. The kitchen, dining room, and living room were all just one big area with slightly different flooring. Lucas was back to scowling, this time at the faded wallpaper and the cover-throws that hid the holes in the couch cushions. At least the smell wasn’t too bad today. Trash pickups were earlier in the week, and the air inside held a whiff of disinfectant. Her mom didn’t have a shifter’s sense of smell, but Mia had complained enough that her mom kept the place squeaky clean to combat the smell of squalor leaking in from the outside.
There was only one chair and one couch, but even those made the small apartment feel a bit cramped. Mia and Lucas took spots on the couch while Mia’s mom sat stiffly in her chair.
