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THIRTY-SIX

Lily listened to Faye with increasing horror. "You're telling me the Hea Sanctuary project is so plagued by delays, it might never be built at all?" She turned her hard gaze on Leo. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Leo coughed. "Well, I didn't know you were involved in the project at all until a few hours ago, and we've been a bit busy since then. I would have briefed you the moment you asked, and while the project doesn't yet have council approval, that doesn't mean it will never be built. Council haven't even looked at the proposal. Once they do, I'm sure they'll have no problems approving it. The delays are nothing to do with us or our project at all. It's Craig Tremotino who's behind the delays, using a combination of blackmail, bribery and extortion. That's why I agreed to attend his blasted ball – I'd hoped to persuade him to cooperate. Instead, I found he was colluding with my uncle, Jeremy, the man who's trying to take over Pride Holdings."

Lily bristled. "I'd like to meet this uncle of yours, so I can kick his slimy arse."

Leo turned thoughtful. "Actually, I think I might be able to arrange that. He's been insisting that Verre Electrical Engineering is bankrupt, which is impossible, so if I were to bring the new owner of VEE to the board meeting on Monday, you'd be able to tell them how things really stand with your company. Of course, they'd have questions, but as long as you feel up to answering them..."

"You bet I am. Dad had me working on the Hea Sanctuary project since he first signed the contract. Even if I've missed some important email updates, you could probably catch me up over the weekend, if it's not too much trouble." Lily turned to Faye. "I guess my first official day in the office will have to be Tuesday instead. Could I trouble you to call a locksmith to get the locks changed as soon as possible? I don't trust Cadence or her dodgy real estate agent not to come back."

Leo snapped his fingers. "Badger has an emergency locksmith on staff. While we wait for him to arrive, I'll have his men do a security audit on the building, and see that any upgrades are made."

"Which VEE will pay for," Lily added smoothly.

"But you're my mate. Nothing is too much to pay to keep you safe, and what's mine is yours anyway," Leo insisted.

Faye's eyes widened. "Truly, you're fated mates? Oh, if only your mother were here to hear it! She'd always hoped for that for you, which is why she was insistent that you attend Mirror Academy, to give you the best chance of finding a fated mate, and shifting, though she never could."

"My mother was a shifter?" Lily gasped.

Faye nodded, smiling sadly. "You come from a long line of stoat shifters. Your grandmother was taken by an owl when your mother was only a little girl, which may have contributed to her inability to shift. Seeing as your mother isn't with us any longer, it falls to me, then, to warn you: watch out for owls when you shift. They're ruthless."

Leo nodded gravely. "We will."

Faye coughed. "It was your father's wish to give you a graduation gift, too, but I'm sad to say it isn't ready yet. A large part of VEE's fee for the Hea Sanctuary project was to be a house in the village. A house just for you."

Lily blinked. "I knew about the house, because Dad asked me to handle all the interior design decisions, but I always thought we'd live there together. Well, until Cadence came along...which is why I never minded her keeping the old house. Dad was planning on selling the place when we moved to the Sanctuary."

"Wait, you have a house in Hea Sanctuary? Why did you agree to marry me for money, then?"

Lily winced. "It was never about the money. I agreed to be your mother's housekeeper because I needed a job and a place to stay until my qualifications came through and I could reopen the business, and you said you needed a wife to save the Hea Sanctuary project. I'd have agreed to marry Tremotino himself, if it meant saving my parents' dream project."

Leo pulled her into his arms. "Never. Not my mate."

He followed his embrace with heated kisses, driving Lily wild, so that she quite forgot that they weren't alone.

Faye cleared her throat. "In the absence of your Sanctuary house, I do have a guest room prepared for you, if you'd like. It's quite small, but if you and your mate need some privacy..."

Leo bowed his head in apology. "I have a house of my own, with more rooms than I know what to do with. I should probably take Lily home, while Badger's team get to work on making sure this building is secure. You're welcome to stay, too, so Badger's men won't disturb you."

Faye shook her head. "No, this is my home. I'd prefer to supervise any security upgrades, if only to make sure your men don't run afoul of any of my own defence measures. I should probably disable some of them entirely, at least while they're here..." Her head bobbed from side to side, almost like a bird's, as if she couldn't decide what to do first.

"Then now we know you're safe, I'll take Lily home, and we'll leave you to it," Leo said smoothly, taking Lily's arm.

"Thank you for everything. We'll catch up again properly on Tuesday," Lily promised, as she bade Faye farewell.