Willow POV
When Osiris mentions the burning warehouse, I keep my face neutral and scroll through the apps on my tablet. It is not the first time I have sat in this office and pretended like I don't know what is going on. Osiris and the King stare at one another. Neither one of them is willing to speak first. The tension between the two men is palpable. So much so that when my phone rings in my pocket, I fall off the desk with a yelp.
Osiris catches me by the shoulders before I hit the ground in front of him. Even through my shirt, I can feel the electricity between us. Our eyes lock onto one another for a moment, and it is as if the rest of the world dissolves away. My arms go weak for a moment, and the tablet slips from my hands and lands on my foot.
The corner of the tablet hits the bridge of my foot, and hiss out in pain. I begin to hop up and down on my foot, holding my other as I try to breathe through the pain.
"She is a graceful one," Osiris says jokingly as he lets go of my shoulders.
"I think you would be surprised," Uncle Faris doesn't crack a smile. Instead, he glares at me angrily. "Don't you have something else you could be doing, Lo?"
"Lo?" Osiris says with a smirk on his face.
"It's a nickname," I say shortly. I can tell by the look on Uncle Faris's face I need to get out of this office right now, or I will be punished at training later. "I will go get this fixed," I say, pointing to the cracked tablet and scurrying out of the office.
I can feel Osiris's eyes on me as I fumble with the doorknob of Faris's office. Why can't I get this fucking door to open? Tucking the tablet under my arm, I tug on the doorknob, but the door still doesn't open. The tablet slips out from underneath my arm and slams on the floor, cracking the screen even more.
Picking up the tablet from the floor, I glance at Uncle Faris, and he is glowering at me. "The door is locked, Lo," he says with an edge to his voice.
"Right," I say as I flip the bolt above the door and quickly slip out of the office.
Once I am outside, I lean my back against the door and try to catch my breath. "What the hell was that?" I mumble under my breath. I have never been so flustered by someone’s presence. I need to pull myself together.
"What's your problem?" Chad asks with a strange look on his face.
"Nothing," I say as I run my hands down my skirt. "I just broke the tablet. Twice."
"That is coming out of your pay," Chad yells loudly at me.
"Whatever," I glare at Chad. "You have no say in what happens with my pay."
I push past him and head toward my desk. "Don't walk away from me," Chad says as he follows me.
"You aren't my boss," I yell at Chad.
"Yes, I am," Chad laughs. "For some unknown reason, King Faris likes to keep you around even though you are nothing but a dirty human."
"I am getting ready to go outside," I whisper as I turn to Chad. "If you want to continue this conversation out there, I would be more than happy to."
This seems to shut Chad up. Even though he is a Beta, he knows that I would put up one hell of a fight against him. Chad turns to walk away, and I snicker under my breath.
"See you later, Fatso," I laugh, and Chad does something that I don't expect. He spins around on his heels and punches me right in the face.
“It is time that someone puts you in your place,” he growls as he advances on me.
I stumble back and land on my desk. Dark spots consume my vision as I try to fight for consciousness. My nose and my cheek sting with pain, and my ears are ringing. Clutching my nose with my gloved hand, I try to stem the bleeding. "You dumb son of a bitch," I hiss at him. "I am going to fucking kill you."
Chad storms toward me, and I wipe the blood from my face and prepare for him to strike me again. But instead, he grabs me by the back of my head, tangling his fingers in my hair. Leaning in close, he whispers next to my ear. "Careful, Princess. You would hate to give yourself away in the middle of a workday. Faris would have no choice but to kill you. Now apologize for calling me Fatso."
As much as I hate to admit it, Chad is right. As far as anyone here is concerned, I am nothing more than Faris's weird, human niece that he decided to give a job. If I fight back, it will blow my cover. Glancing around, I can see that a crowd has gathered, and everyone is waiting for me to apologize to Chad. Only that is not what they will be getting from me.
"This isn't over," I say through gritted teeth, and I rip my head out of Chad's grip. I feel a chuck of my hair pull from my scalp as I break free.
"Now, now," Chad says as he looks at me with a hint of humor in his eyes. He dangles the lock of hair that he pulled out in front of my face. "Is this any way to speak to your superior?"
"Fuck you," I say as I spit the blood that is flooding my mouth into my trashcan.
Chad rears back his fist to hit me again when he is stopped by a large hand. "Is this what packies are doing these days? Hitting women."
I look to my left and see Osiris holding Chad back. "Stay out of this rogue," Chad spits at Osiris. "She needs to learn her place in this pack is at the bottom."
"Last I checked, I am not part of this pack," I say angrily in Chad's direction.
"What the hell is going on out here?" Faris calls from the other side of the office, and I can't help but smirk in Chad's direction.
Faris comes forward and looks between Osiris, Chad, and me. He looks at my bloody face and Chad's bloody knuckles, putting two and two together.
"If you will excuse us, Osiris," Faris says. "I need to take care of these two."
"I don't think so," Osiris says sternly. "She needs a doctor."
Embarrassment flashes across my face. I don't need anyone to fight my battles for me. "I will be fine," I grumble, not daring to look in Osiris's direction.
“You are a human, and you were punched in the face by a lycan. I can assure you that your nose is broken,” Osiris says. There is a softness in his voice that I was not expecting.
Faris pushes Chad and Osiris out of his way and lifts my face toward the light so he can get a better look. "Your nose is broken," he says simply. "Go to the human hospital on the outskirts of the city. I will let them know you are on the way."
"Yes, Your Highness," I say, keeping my teeth ground together.
"I will accompany her," Osiris says quickly, offering me his hand.
I look at Faris, and he nods. Refusing to take Osiris's hand, I hop off my desk and storm toward the elevator, with Osiris following quickly on my heels. My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I find a message from Faris, 'Find out all you can,' is all it says. I can't help but wonder if I got punched in the face so Faris can get more information about Osiris.
"That son of a bitch," I mumble under my breath as the elevator doors close, trapping me with Osiris for at least the next two to three minutes.
Willow POV Standing in front of the elevator, I tap my foot impatiently. The mutterings and whispers of everyone in the office are beginning to get on my nerves. After what happened this morning and my fight with Chad, they have lots to talk about now that my back is turned. Lauren's nasally laugh catches my attention, and I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. She is sitting on a desk chatting with one of the other she-wolves in the office. They are pointing in my direction and laughing loudly. That bitch will get what is coming to her, I think to myself. Just as soon as I finish this last job, I am going to kill her for fun. Looking back toward the elevator, I let out a frustrated sigh. The elevator never takes this long. In the reflection of the elevator, I can see Osiris standing quietly behind me. His eyes are glued firmly to the back of my head, and there is a scowl on his face. I don’t understand why he cares so much about my well-being. Finally, the doors o
Willow POVThe light that is shining above me is too bright. It feels like the light of the sun is shining in my room, only there isn't any warmth to go along with it. Pressing my hand to my forehead, my eyes fly open when I feel the warmth of the palm of my hand. I don't have my gloves on. Sitting up in the hospital bed, I look at my surroundings. The room is crisp and white. The sheets on the bed are paper thin and scratchy. Somehow I made it to the hospital, and I let out a sigh of relief. The doctors and nurses at the edge of Lycan City know not to touch my hands. Wrinkling my nose at the smell of antiseptic. A sharp pain stings through the bridge of my nose, and I gingerly reach up my hand to touch it. By the feel of it, my nose has been reset and bandaged. Leaning back in bed, I sit on my hands to ensure I don't accidentally touch someone and try to recount what happened before I passed out. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish between what is real and what I sa
Osiris POVI watch with amusement as my small mate jumps up from the hospital bed and rushes around the hotel room, clad in only a hospital gown and a pair of latex gloves. Unsuccessfully she tries to hold the back of the gown shut while she searches through the drawers and cabinets, and I catch a glimpse of her tight ass. I can only assume that she is looking for her personal items so she can get out of here. Little does she know I never plan to let her leave here. I also see a strange tattoo that runs the length of her spine. It contains characters and symbols that I have only seen a few times before. They were on the cards in the witch's cottage on the edge of the rogue territory.'Is it possible that she is a witch?' I ask King in my mind.Sniffing the air discreetly, King shakes his head no. 'She doesn't smell like a witch. She smells human.' Sitting down next to my mother, I nudge her with my elbow. "Isn't she beautiful?" I ask my mother, and she shakes her head at me. "Y
Willow POVNo matter what move I used, Osiris was able to get the best of me. That is not something that I am used to. Digging my elbows into his back, I try to free myself, but Osiris only tightens his hold. He walks through the hospital with me hoisted over his shoulder like it is the most normal thing in the world. No matter how much I scream for help, no one steps in to help me, but I see everyone watching from the corners of their eyes. Many of them are muttering and whispering to one another as they watch the scene unfold in front of them."Put me down, you dirty mutt," I scream as we finally exit the hospital. Lifting my arm, I jam it down into the center of his back. I know it hurts because Osiris arches his back awkwardly. "That feels good," Osiris laughs. "Can you hit just a little bit lower next time? There is a knot there that I have been trying to work out for weeks." "This isn't funny," I say through gritted teeth. "Put me down." We stop next to a car, and O
Willow POVA rigid lump forms in my throat as I stand on my parent's front steps. Usually, I walk in, but today, I feel like a stranger. I am going to lie to my parents for the thousandth time. The only difference is that I may not make it home this time.I know that Osiris is stronger and faster than me. He has proven it several times. There is no way that I can beat him. Not without full use of my powers. But these damn runes on my back keep the extent of my abilities at bay, and I fear that it is too late to ask my mother how to remove them.Taking a deep breath, I knock on their door lightly. I almost hope they cannot hear me and I can just run away without having some tearful goodbye."I'm coming," my mother yells as she walks closer to the door.I look back at my car and wonder if I should just run, but it is too late. The door swings open, and my mother stands on the other side with a brilliant smile."Willow," she exclaims happily. "I wasn't expecting you today."Shuffling my
Osiris POV Matthew and I are sitting at my desk running the expense reports for the next month. A deep frown etches across my face as I look at the numbers. The cost of burning down a warehouse was more than I expected it to be. Without the extra product to distribute, it will be a rough month for the rogue community. "I told you not to burn the warehouse down," Matthew says with an annoyed look on his face. "Now, what are we going to do?" "You are freaking out over nothing," I groan as I pinch the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Send the Chow that we have to the distributors. It should be enough to get us through the month. In the meantime, we can grow more." "This shit takes time to grow and to process," Matthew groans. "Or have you forgotten?" "I haven't forgotten," I growl back at him. "Perhaps we should plan a raid on one of the King's warehouses. We can get what we need to bridge the gap." "You are out of your damn mind," Matthew laughs. "The Lycan King will have his ass
Willow POV I pull up to the Wolf's Den at exactly 8:55 PM. My eyes glance around the parking lot, hoping to see Osiris outside, but I have no such luck. It looks like I am going to have to go inside. Stepping out of my cute little sports car, I look disgustingly at the building in front of me. This looks like the type of place rogues meet up to do drug deals. The siding on the building is mismatched, as are the shingles on the roof. It looks like the whole building was once painted black, but now it is weathered and peeling. There is a crudely painted wolf howling at the moon on the sign. I wrinkle my nose as soon as I walk into the bar. Even without a wolf, the smell of drugs, alcohol, and sweat is overpowering. The bar is busier than I expected it to be on a Wednesday night. Pushing my way through the crowd, I make my way to the bar. An older woman with bright red hair is handling the bar alone. Most people here must be regulars because she knows their order without
Osiris POVI leave the Wolf's Den, knowing Willow will chase after me. She needs me in order to complete her demands for the Lycan King. If she chooses to let me leave, it will almost certainly mean death for her. The large double doors slam shut behind me, and I pull a cigarette out of my pocket. Rounding the corner of the building, I light my cigarette and wait.The sound of the doors creaking open catches my attention. She came faster than I thought that she would. Perhaps she feels the pull of the mate bond as well. Peeking around the corner, I look for her. She is standing just outside of the door. The wind blows through her hair and carries the smell of wintergreen to where I stand. King is going wild in my mind. 'Go to her,' he demands of me. 'Mark her.'Rolling my eyes at the abrasiveness of my wolf, I push him to the back of my mind. Coming back to the front of the building, I stalk closer to my mate. She doesn't even hear me coming, and I chuckle to myself. The