Page 3 of Billionaire Wolf Needs a Fixer (My Grumpy Werewolf Boss #5)

KRISTA

The glow of my laptop screen was the only light in the room, painting it in eerie blue. Zane and I had set up our makeshift office in one of the guest suites in Levi's mansion. Since Levi was our biggest and only client at the moment, this was going to be HQ for OPERATION FUR AND FURY, which was how Zane and I affectionately referred to our task of salvaging Levi's career. It was easier than having his driver chauffer us back and forth from my office to the mansion. And this way, we would be ready to pounce on any crisis that popped up. Or at least, that's what I told myself.

A knot twisted in my stomach. Zane had crashed hours ago, sprawled across the couch with a half-empty bag of flaming hot chips on his stomach, his snores punctuated the silence of the night. In the distance, the crash of waves against the cliffs below the mansion was the only reminder that the world outside still existed.

The files Dean had hacked from Selene's cloud account glared back at me. I scanned the list of medical records, flagged emails, and a string of texts to a contact labeled only as D. My fingers hovered over the keyboard, the weight of what I was reading weighing on me.

This wasn't an overdose. This was staged.

I zoomed in on Selene's prescription history which listed anti-anxiety meds, nothing lethal. But then, tucked away in a subfolder like a dirty secret, there was a scanned document with Dante's production company logo. A "consultation" receipt from a private clinic.

Bingo.

The door creaked open without warning. Garrett loomed in the doorway, his massive frame swallowing the light from the hallway. His arms were crossed and his serious expression might as well have been carved from granite. "You're supposed to be asleep."

I didn't dignify that with eye contact. "And you're supposed to knock." My voice was sugar-laced acid. Try harder, tough guy.

He stepped inside. "Levi doesn't like people digging into his business."

A laugh escaped me, sharp and humorless. "Good thing I'm not people." I spun the laptop toward him. "Selene was clean. Dante had her doped up and scared. This wasn't an overdose. It was a hit."

Garrett's jaw flexed, his gaze flicking over the screen. For a man built like a human tank, he moved with unnatural precision. Like a predator who'd learned to be silent. "You don't know what you're messing with."

I leaned back in my chair, arching a brow. "Enlighten me."

He lowered his voice. "Dante doesn't just own studios. He owns cops, judges." A muscle twitched in his temple. "People disappear."

I snorted. "And yet here you are, helping me."

Garrett's glare could've melted steel. Then, abruptly, he exhaled through his nose, making a sound somewhere between frustration and reluctant respect, and pulled out his phone. "You want a war? Fine. But we do it smart." He tapped the screen and thrust it at me.

A photo filled the display of Levi crouched in the grass and scratching the ears of a scruffy terrier with three legs.

I blinked. What the hell?

"Levi's got a shelter downtown," Garrett said grudgingly. "Strays, mostly. No press. No tax breaks. Just him and a couple of volunteers."

My throat tightened unexpectedly. The image didn't compute. I barked out a laugh. "Bullshit."

Garrett's harsh expression softened just a fraction as he glanced toward the darkened hallway where Levi's study lay. "Every full moon."

A full moon? When his wolf is closest to the surface? The realization hit me like a gut punch. Levi, the untouchable alpha was seeking solace in helpless creatures just as broken as he was.

I swallowed against the sudden lump in my throat. "You're telling me Levi Storm cries over abandoned huskies?"

Garrett didn't blink. "First time I ever saw him break."

I couldn't believe it. Levi Storm, Hollywood's resident temperamental bad boy, crying over rescue dogs? Of course, the bastard had a bleeding heart. It explained why his words were so sharp. He didn't have a temper because he was an asshole. He was protecting himself.

Silence stretched between us, heavy with the weight of something I wasn't ready to name. I exhaled. "Fine. I'll use it. Humanize him." I met Garrett's gaze. "While you what?"

His hand drifted to the holster under his jacket. "Pay a visit to Selene's old dealer."

He turned to leave, but I couldn't let him go without asking. "Why?" The word came out softer than I meant it to. "You don't even like me."

Garrett paused at the door. "Levi trusts you."

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving me alone with the hum of the laptop and the weight of what we'd just agreed to. I rubbed my temples, exhaustion gnawing at the edges of my focus, but sleep wouldn't come, not with Selene's ghost still whispering in my ear.

The night bled into dawn without mercy, my thoughts chasing each other in circles. When I opened my eyes, the clock displayed 5:47 AM, the bright numbers swimming in my vision. I blinked at the first glimpses of daylight stabbing through the curtains like a taunt. My muscles were stiff from hunching over my computer all night, and it took all of my energy to drag myself upright in search of my morning dose of caffeine. I pulled on a wrinkled pair of jeans and an old sweatshirt. After my sleepless night, I was too tired to care that I looked like I was dragged out of a gutter. The rich, bitter, and tempting scent of freshly brewed coffee lured me downstairs.

I stopped short in the kitchen doorway. Levi stood at the counter, shirtless, muscles flexing as he poured a cup. Sunlight glinted off the hard planes of his chest, the black ink swirling in intricate patterns along his ribs. Above his hipbone, there was a jagged white scar that stood out against the rest of his skin.

My pulse kicked. Focus, Fortune.

He didn't look at me. "Black. No sugar."

I froze. He remembered how I liked my coffee. Since I never told him, he must have observed me enough during our meetings to learn how I made it every time. The realization sent a rush of heat pooling in my stomach.

I snatched the mug, our fingers brushing. A spark shot up my arm, and I jerked back. Coffee sloshed onto my wrist. Levi's gaze snapped to the spill, his nostrils flaring like he wanted to lick it off.

His breath hitched just a fraction, but I caught it. My pulse hammered against my ribs like it wanted to jump out of my chest. He clenched his jaw, making the muscle there jump under his stubble.

Jesus. I needed sleep.

I wiped my hand on my jeans, willing my voice steady. "Distracted."

His mouth twitched. "By what?"

By you. By the way your stupid eyes seem to glow. By the fact that beneath all that growling bravado, you had a soft spot for injured animals that couldn't speak for themselves.

I shrugged, aiming for casual and missing by a mile. "Sleep deprivation."

Levi leaned in, just enough that his scent, leather, spearmint toothpaste, and fresh coffee, wrapped around me. "Liar." The word was a growl and a whisper. I swallowed. He knew. Of course he knew. His nostrils flared, catching the change in my scent, and satisfaction flickered in his eyes. Bastard.

Zane's voice shattered the moment.

He barreled in, saving me from making a fool of myself. Levi didn't just step back, he recoiled like he'd been burned, his shoulders rigid. His fingers flexed at his sides. A flicker of something raw crossed his face before he locked it down. Annoyance? Hunger? I couldn't tell, and that unnerved me more than the way my skin still tingled where he'd almost touched me.

"Krista, you genius! We're viral, baby!" Zane shoved his phone in my face. The screen played a video of Levi crouching in grass as a terrier licked his scruffy jaw.

Levi's grip whitened around his mug. "What the hell is that?"

I sipped my coffee, smirking. "Your redemption."

Levi's silence was as loud as a roaring storm, his chest rising and falling too fast. I could see the pulse hammering in his throat. When he finally spoke, his voice was gravel. "You used that?"

"It worked," I shot back, but my traitorous body swayed toward him, drawn like a magnet. His gaze dropped to my lips. For one reckless second, I thought he might close the distance between us. Then his phone buzzed, against the counter. Dean's name flashed on the screen.

Levi swiped at the phone and opened the message from his friend. The audio file played with a hiss of static before Selene's quivering, raw voice cut through.

"Levi, they're making me—"

Selene's voice died mid-plea. The silence afterward was worse. My eyes snapped up to Levi. His chest rose once, twice, too measured for a man seconds from snapping.

I hit play again.

Selene's voice echoed between us. Levi's pupils dilated, the mug in his grip exploded, porcelain shards raining to the floor. Coffee splattered like blood across the floor tiles. Porcelain shards skittered across the floor, one grazing my ankle. I didn't move. Neither did he.

My fingers itched to reach for him. To soothe. But that was a line neither of us could cross. "Dante's going to pay for this," I said, my voice steady.

Levi's exhale was a snarl. "Not if I kill him first."