Page 46 of A Twist of Luck (Shifter City Fated Mates #2)

CHAPTER 46

SLADE

T he meeting with the executives from our Australian offices wrapped up quicker than expected, and as Hunter shut down the projector, I leaned back in my chair and waited for the room to clear.

It was late, well past our usual quitting time, but no one had complained about waiting for our Australian conglomerate. We weren’t assholes to work for, or at least Hunter wasn’t, and for the most part, if they did their jobs properly we didn’t micromanage. At least Hunter didn’t.

I enjoyed existing in the shadows, while keeping tabs on our staff via the internet to ensure that none of them ever took advantage of Hunter’s trust. No one would dare steal, slack off, or lie and manipulate at Reeves Industries.

They knew the consequences if they stepped over the line. I was the consequences.

Lately, my focus had been on internal pack life, but with my surveillance programs doing most of the work in the background, nothing was slacking here either.

While Hunter finalized our last shipments with help from Casey, I whipped out my phone and hit the app to connect with our home security. Scrolling between the various rooms, I found Emme immediately. I’d installed a tracker on her phone, and for once she had it on her.

After ensuring she was safe, I took a second to check for any external threats, not that I didn’t trust our security system to alert me, but it never hurt to doublecheck.

Then I could get back to my favorite new hobby: keeping an eye Emmeline Anders.

The omega was nothing like I’d expected.

I’d thought she’d be weak and meek, ready to cave at any alpha command. Instead, she was strong and feisty, with a vulnerable core that confused as much as it intrigued me. It should drive me—and my beast—out of our minds to have this messy, complicated creature upsetting the status quo. But she had the opposite effect. I was starting to crave the chaos she scattered about my day.

Amusement danced through me just thinking about this little prank war she’d instigated. I’d known the second she’d entered my room the other night, and instead of rage I’d found myself curious about what she was up to. The device she’d used to scramble the security feeds, which ironically was Reeves Industries tech, wasn’t strong enough to circumvent my setup. I’d watched as she raced through the halls, and then darted around my sacred space, placing small, clear objects into unobvious spots.

Objects I hadn’t recognized until that night. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt as amused as when I switched off the lights and dozens of tiny green dragons glowed at me from their perches around the room. I’d even left them there to see again tonight.

Emme was, as Hunter said, an anomaly we hadn’t expected. She completely disturbed the natural order, and whether it ended up being for better or worse, I was all in to find out now.

On my screen, Emme entered her room, and my dragon stirred in my chest. This was the first time she’d been back since I’d dragged her out this morning for training, and I’d had a little time when she was with Kellan for my side of the next prank.

The simple challenge of a prank war felt odd, but it also stirred a deeper obsession I couldn’t explain. All I knew was I could not tear my gaze from the screen as I waited for her reaction.

Besties who prank each other.

My poor little Snow. She had no idea what being my “bestie” entailed, and it was too late for her to take it back now. She had my attention, for better or worse.

“Emme okay?” Hunter asked, leaning against the boardroom table. “As per usual, she’s not answering my messages. I swear, she forgets she has a phone at least half the time.”

My response was clipped, most of my focus on her hand as she reached for the light switch. “Like you’re not watching her as well. You know she’s perfectly fine.”

Hunter shrugged and didn’t deny it: “You watch closer.”

Very true.

When she switched off the light, the monitoring system reverted to the greenish glow of night vision, and Emme took a second to look around. As her newly glowed-up room registered, she scrambled up her bed, which got Hunter’s attention.

“What’s wrong?” he snapped. “Is there someone in the room with her?” Only self-preservation and years of learning the hard way stopped him from snatching the phone from me. His own device was out in the next second, and I would guess he was dialing Kellan.

“She’s safe,” I told him, a dance of genuine amusement in my tone. Emme was openly shocked, her eyes wide and her mouth ajar as she took in her room.

Hunter slowly hung up his phone. “What did you do?”

This little war was between Emme and me, but if I didn’t explain, Hunter would be quite vicious in tearing the world apart for the truth. When it came to Emme, especially now they’d bonded, he had no composure.

“You know how the security system went down for a couple of minutes last night,” I said, finally lifting my head to take him in. “That was Emme. She snuck into my room and planted glow in the dark dragons everywhere. I’ve just returned the favor.”

The tension eased from Hunter as he let out a low chuckle, running his hand through his hair, tearing free his waves. “Glad to see you’ve found a non-violent way to respond to her cute streak of rebellion.” His eyes darkened as he stared out the window, taking in the lights of the city below. “I’m constantly waiting to see what she does next. The challenge is… nice.”

He pressed his hand to the bite on his shoulder, and I was intrigued, wondering how it felt to bond in the way they had. My bond to my brothers was forged in pack magic, but it wasn’t as physical as how they’d connected to Emme.

I felt an odd interest and protectiveness for the omega, but Hunter and Kellan were next-level. They’d been fundamentally changed through this bond, and while I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to make the same choice, there was curiosity.

Hunter reached out and gripped my shoulder, and I fought back the urge to knock his touch away. My dragon and I were used to him, so there were no stronger urges than that. Thankfully.

My brother had been pushing his little touches for years, hoping it would eventually desensitize me. If anything, the sensations grew worse with age. The clawing under my skin, and icy coldness spreading through my chest as my reason slowly bled away. One day I’d lose myself to the beast completely, and then everyone would be fucked.

“Let’s go home to our pack,” Hunter said, rubbing his hand over his face. “It’s late. I’m fucking exhausted.”

Easy for him to say; he got to crawl into bed with Emme. “I might hang around here for a few more hours.”

Hunter’s expression turned sharper. “Not a chance, brother. You’re coming home with me. I made a promise long ago to never let you fade into the beast, and to keep that promise I will drag your ass into the pack—into family days, into real life, whether you like it or not.”

His promise had been sealed in blood by two tweens who’d decided they were done with the abuse of their “father.” My dragon had protected me the best he could, and in doing so a part of what had made us equals was broken. The disconnect between me and my beast meant I could never fully trust him.

“Yep, okay.”

Hunter was the one constant in my life, the only fucking one who got through to me when I was floundering. Without his influence, I’d teeter right over the edge of my sanity and rain fire and brimstone all over the shifter community. It was a fuck of a burden for any entitled alpha to carry, but my brother rarely strained under the weight on his shoulders.

There was none like him in the world, and knowing he had Emme in his corner made the scattered pieces of my soul feel a little less destroyed.

We packed up quickly, and while Hunter drove us home I watched Emme on my phone. It was intriguing that even as Kellan took in the room with her, they didn’t leave. Emme just stared around from her perch in the bed, the smallest of smiles on her lips.

The anticipation of what she might do in response lit a spark inside my chest, and for once it had nothing to do with dragon fire.

After our arrival back home, I spent half the night watching her sleep between two alphas, all the while wondering what it felt like to be able to so freely touch another.

Eventually, my body forced me to sleep for a few hours, before I got up early and headed in for training with my squad, wishing I could drag Emme with me again.

I’d give her one day to recover, but tomorrow her ass was mine again. Her not so scrawny ass , as she’d pointed out. By the time I finished teaching her to protect and defend herself, she’d have more muscle and stamina, and I’d be a touch less paranoid.

Maybe .

It was my role to be the immoveable mountain that stood between my pack and danger. The last sight our enemies would face. The one who kept them all safe, no matter what it took.

The morning passed in the office. We had a ton of work to catch up on after being absent during Kellan’s recovery. The afternoon consisted of flight training, and when I released my dragon, my squad didn’t even flinch. We’d come a long way from the first day I’d stepped up as their squad leader, and even though my pack were the only shifters I trusted implicitly, I’d built a decent bond with my squad. All were strong and capable alphas, and we had each others’ backs.

“You’re one scary bastard,” Horton called as he dodged my massive right claw. The eagle shifter was the bravest on the squad, holding his ground even when I huffed out my irritation.

We took to the sky, practicing our deadly attack combinations, and I released my more civilized side and became the beast. My dragon never attacked our squad, as they knew better than to touch us. Emme hadn’t known, and I still couldn’t believe she’d just placed her hand on my snout. Without thought or reason.

My dragon snorted and released a blast of molten fire. My beast thought I was a fucking moron, assuring me he’d never hurt her, and for once… I almost believed him.

By the time our training was over, other squads had arrived, and I was forced to converse with Warrick. “How’s everything at home?” he asked, bouncing on the spot as he stretched his arms out. “Kellan and Emme okay?”

“They’re safe and healthy,” I assured him, unwilling to give this alpha any further information. He had an unnatural interest in my omega, and while it appeared to be purely due to their friendship, it still irritated me. Alpha Warrick Annandale needed to learn to stay in his own fucking lane and leave our omega to the Reeves pack.

“Cora said she invited her to book club later this week,” he added. “I wanted to assure you that I’ll have the squads patrolling around the venue, though I’m sure you’ll all be there as well. We can’t be too safe.”

I’d seen the message from Cora, along with Emme’s expression, which was somber as she slowly read it. I hadn’t had a chance yet to do more than offer basic help with her reading, but it was next on my list. Tomorrow morning, I’d drag her from bed again, all naked and perfectly adorable as she glared at me. Almost from the first moment she’d met me, she’d lacked a true fear in my presence, and fuck if that didn’t add another facet to my interest in unraveling who she was.

“Emme wants to go,” I told him shortly. “We’ll make sure it’s safe.”

Warrick nodded, slapping a huge smile on his face, and I narrowed my eyes on the smiley asshole. Outside of Kellan, I trusted no one who was this happy.

Shifters should be fierce, not fucking jolly. Christmas season or not.

“I’ll see you later, Alpha Warrick,” I told him, effectively cutting off further conversation.

He didn’t show any offense as he nodded. “Nice chat, Alpha Slade.”

When he left, I checked on my pack via our security cameras. Hunter was in the office, Kellan in his Bugatti, heading out to Stockyard Motors to grab Emme’s new custom bike, and Finley was at home with the omega. The bear had been on his best behavior lately, but it wasn’t ideal when he was the only one around.

Another scan through more security footage had me satisfied that she was safe.

Nothing was amiss.

In her room, Emme grabbed a familiar black device from her desk drawer and then hurried into the bathroom. Switching views, I smiled as she ducked into the corner with no camera view.

Clever omega . It made me proud that in the relatively short time she’d had to study my security wall, she’d managed to note where cameras were and weren’t. I anticipated the scrambling of footage, and sure enough, a second later my screen went fuzzy.

It was the same interference she’d tried before, and when my system overrode it, a bark of laughter escaped me. Every shifter in the training facility jerked to a halt, staring at me like I had two fucking heads.

“Back to training,” I snarled, and all of them swung away just as fast, finding anything else to occupy themselves with.

Switching my phone screen off, I decided not to watch her prank this time. I wanted to experience it firsthand. My little omega kept life interesting, and for the first time, I had hope.

Hope that I’d found a reason to keep fighting for my soul—a five-foot-eleven, strawberry-blond-with-freckles, kind of reason.

Bring it on, Snow . Show me your best.