Page 12 of Fractured Mates
As much as I want to follow her, I don’t want to alert anyone to my presence until I know if this is a trap. I can’t fuck this up, regardless of how stubborn this she-wolf seems. My job is all I have. Even if I’d just been thinking that I want more, I don’t want to lose the only thing I have in my life to get me out of bed.
My eyes stay trained on Sophie, taking in her straight, dark-brown hair that falls down to her mid-back and the muscled curves that line her body, reminding me of how it felt to be flush with her as I pressed her against that tree.
I give my head a solid shake. No. She’s a job. Nothing more. I’ve never mixed business with pleasure, and I’m not going to start now.
Not even for a green-eyed beauty who just might be capable of taking care of herself, despite what her pack seems to think. I feel confident about that, considering she cracked my jawbone, which is still trying to heal but with shifting back and forth, even my wolf healing isn’t working as quickly as I hope.
Sophie stands and slides the window open. I listen for any movement, but there’s nothing other than wind.
Sophie climbs through and disappears into the dark house. When I don’t hear any fighting, I decide to shift back and call Maciah.
I don’t remove my gaze from the house as I call my boss. It seems my wolf’s attention is content to be locked on the situation as well.
“Did you find her?” Maciah says when he answers.
“I did, but she fought me,” I reply. “I’m outside of a house that she’s just entered.”
He cuts in before I can tell him anything else. “Alone?”
“From what I can tell, yes,” I say, keeping my voice low. “Everything is quiet, even now.”
“Get in there with her, find out what she wants inside that house, and get the both of you out of there,” Maciah says. “You need to convince her to stay away from that pack without telling her anything.”
“Why?” I ask, then I immediately regret the question. Maciah might not be my alpha, but I respect him like one.
“Because we need to make sure we have everything we need before we…act,” he says, and I get the feeling he knows more and isn’t going to tell me. Not even if I outright ask.
“I’m happy to do so, but shouldn’t I know the risk I’m taking?” I ask, unable to help myself.
He’s silent, and I don’t think he’s going to answer me, but I won’t break first.
Finally, he says, “With the alpha missing and beta dead, they’ve put York Graves in charge since he has the alpha gene, but Astor Crowe seems to be calling the shots. I’ve had eyes on him for a while now, but I can’t seem to catch him with his hands dirty. We need to see how this plays out before we shut it down.”
He hasn’t said what “it” is, and I have a feeling he isn’t going to. Though, I don’t miss the point he seems to be trying to make.
“You want the whole snake and not just the tail,” I say.
“Yes, and Sophie has history with the Crowes,” he adds. “She can’t know any of this. Tell her whatever lies you need to, but don’t let her think she can get involved in taking them down.”
That feels challenging if I’m supposed to get her to come with me willingly, and I say as much to Maciah.
“Find another way to gain her trust, Kyler,” he demands. “This is important. Astor has been linked to killing off other packs and selling wolves to humans. Something I expect you to keep to yourself.”
Well, shit. I didn’t actually expect him to tell me anything. And the fact that he did doesn’t make me feel any better. That just tells me this is more important than I realized before. Plus, he’s right. Sophie doesn’t need to know everything. Not if she’s potentially emotionally involved in the situation. Regardless of how strong she is, I’ll find another way to earn her trust, even if I have to let her stab me first.
I hear glass break, and my wolf tries to surge forward.
“I gotta go,” I say to Maciah. “I’ll check in soon.”
I’m not even sure if I get the full sentence out before I’m hanging up and shifting. No longer am I concerned with being conspicuous. My wolf charges forward, a dark shadow amongst the green of the forest.
We cross the backyard and are leaping through the window in seconds. My wolf stops, and we hear more fighting coming from the front of the house. Without needing to tell him, my wolf runs that way, but before we can do anything, we’re stopped in our tracks.
Sophie is standing over another man, her hand dripping in blood and his heart within her palm.
Holy shit.
I suddenly have a feeling that Maciah and Dawsyn have no clue just who this woman is.