Page 57 of Hunted Bride
She uncrossed her arms and grimaced. “Where?”
He led her in a courtly manner around the edge of the club and up some concealed stairs. He walked her to the office and turned on the light inside.
He walked inside and let her be near the door. “I would just like to see it. No touching, no contact.”
She nodded and turned her back to him. She untied the belt and set it aside. When the robes loosened, she slid them down her back to mid-way. “I am leaving the bra. It just obscures a bit.”
She didn’t hear anything, and then there was heat at her back. “No touching, no contact?”
He growled, and she pulled the robes up before she saw Bill’s other form. Massive shoulders, thick arms, barrel chest, and a grey face with jutting lower tusks. His ears stuck out and were pointed.
“Oh. Hello. I am guessing the good officer is skeptical.”
He snorted through his long nose. He shuffled closer to her. “Beta?” His voice was that of a rumbling rockslide.
“Yes.”
“My beta?”
She was feeling the push like a hand on her back. “Maybe.”
He held out a hand and beckoned her. “Come.”
She dressed and put the belt on the robe. “No. I don’t know you. I am not going to jump into your arms.”
He sniffed at her, nostrils flaring. “Heat soon.”
“I have work to do next weekend, and it is due after that. Thank you for pointing it out.”
He looked at her with big, sad eyes. “Come to me for heat?”
Aggie wrinkled her nose. “Do those eyes work with other women?”
“No other. Just you. My beta.” He rumbled.
“Uh, I have to rejoin the party. I organized it, after all. No idea that you owned this place.”
He grunted. “Fox knew.”
Aggie nodded and slipped out of the office with a quick, “Bye!”
She headed down the steps and went straight to the ladies’ room to fix her clothing. He had rejected her in human form. She hoped it didn’t give her issues during her heat. Well, it was a problem to solve later.
She had an enormous wedding to pull off. No time to play with trolls.
* * * *
She hadn’t screamed. Bill went to his desk and got a new shirt when he was back to himself. Also, the troll knew what she was without hesitation. It was a surprise. He had been unsure of the rumours of special betas, but that was in the past. He was now a believer. They were real. The bridge had glowed the moment he got close.
He put the shirt on and checked the security cameras. Aggie had emerged from the ladies’ room looking pristine, and then she had gone to make sure that the ladies all had some of the mocktails she had requested. She cocked her head and smiled politely. He thudded to his chair. He remembered those gestures. She had looked different then, but it was definitely her.
“Holy shit.”
He remembered the other bridal party screeching the house down, the young woman had been attending to the bride, and the bride slipping something into her drink a moment before they left. She had been left leaning against the front window while the rest of the bridal party cackled as they drove off.
A group of alphas had converged on her, and he had given his assistance and called in medical help. One of the alphas mentioned that they had paid for her, and he had ended up in a separate ambulance.
The woman had been so cold and shocky. He held her and talked to her until the ambulance arrived. She was unconscious, and her vitals were dropping quickly. She had opened her eyes once, and the dark brown had faded to pewter while he watched.