Page 16 of Heroes & Hitmen (Windy City Wolfpack #1)

Miley

People have many reasons to fear Alpha Gage Morgan, but for me, the threat of violence has never been one of them.

Until now.

He’s never hit me before, but I’ve also never seen him this angry– jaw set like stone, nostrils flared, eyes alight with terrifying, barely-restrained rage.

He’s storming across the concrete like a phantom, muscles bunching beneath his pressed shirt, fists clenched at his sides like he’s fighting the instinct to shift or rip someone to shreds with his bare hands.

I flinch despite myself, body trembling and braced for impact.

Ares steps in front of me without hesitation.

It’s not a dramatic gesture. There’s no accompanying growl or verbal threat; just a simple, solid movement.

One step.

A line drawn.

Still, Alpha doesn’t slow. Doesn’t blink. It’s as if he doesn’t even register Ares’ presence, his murderous glare fixed solely on me , the daughter who dared to defy him. The asset gone rogue. His voice cuts through the silence like a blade as he demands, “Where were you?”

I knew this would happen when I didn’t show up for the pairing ceremony.

I didn’t even leave the parking garage.

I’ve been sitting behind the wheel of my car for the past hour like a goddamn coward, paralyzed with indecision. I couldn’t bring myself to turn the key and drive to the preserve, but I didn’t know where to run to, either. I just… froze .

That won’t be an acceptable explanation to him.

Alpha doesn’t stand for disobedience, and I’ve embarrassed him in front of the pack to boot.

I need to come up with some plausible excuse, some way to smooth things over…

but before I can even consider how to respond, Ares crashes in like a kamikaze pilot.

“She was with me,” he says coolly, rolling his shoulders back.

My breath catches, pulse skipping.

What the hell is he doing?

My father stops short, his head swiveling toward Ares. A predator registering a new threat.

“You knew the rules, Raines,” he growls, low and menacing.

“I do,” Ares replies smoothly. “But surely there’s an exception for fated mates.”

My brain stutters.

Fated what now?

Alpha’s eyes narrow, suspicion slicing through him like a current. His arms fold slowly and deliberately across his broad chest, thick with muscle and authority. “Explain.”

Ares doesn’t so much as flinch, holding my father’s gaze with unwavering confidence. As if he’s not pulling a lie from thin air and staking his life on it.

“Miley here was having car trouble, so I offered to give her a ride,” he says, throwing a casual thumb toward me.

“She must’ve zoned out, because she didn’t tell me I was in the wrong place until I turned on some shitty little service road into Forest Glen Woods.

I offered to turn around, bring her wherever she needed, but she was dead set on making it on time for the run.

Said she’d just shift and run from there. ”

Alpha watches him carefully, but Ares doesn’t miss a beat, continuing right along with his story. I’ve gotta admit, his delivery is so convincing that I almost believe it myself.

“I wasn’t about to have something happen to your daughter on my watch by sending her into the woods alone, so I shifted too, and then BAM .

” He claps his hands together, the loud sound echoing off the concrete and making me jump.

“The bond snapped in. I felt it, she felt it…” he trails off, glancing back at me with the kind of smirk I can’t tell if I want to punch or kiss from his lips. “It was fate. ”

My father’s attention swings back to me, razor sharp. “Is that true, Miles?”

The question scrapes down my spine like claws, and I’m not sure which terrifies me more– admitting the truth or playing along with the lie.

It’s a good thing I’ve had years of practice at shoving back my emotions and keeping my composure.

My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth as I force my features to remain impassive, revealing no trace of my inner panic.

My entire body is thrumming with adrenaline, every instinct screaming to run, but I stay still, exhaling a slow breath.

Because the only way out of this– if there’s a way out–is to let the lie live.

Lie, and maybe survive this night.

Tell the truth, and we both burn.

I glance over at Ares to find him grinning at me like an idiot, despite the fact he just signed his own death warrant. It’s fitting that he’s named after the Greek god of war since this lie could start one.

I turn back to Alpha and dip my chin in a nod, sealing my damnation.

His expression hardens, the muscle in his tightly clenched jaw ticking. “Then why didn’t you answer your phone?” he probes.

My stomach flip-flops.

“She left it in her car by mistake,” Ares answers before I can fumble it, his tone so casual it borders on audacious.

“We were actually just grabbing it when you pulled up. I don’t have your direct number, and Miley insisted we discuss this with you first, given the circumstances.

” He flickers me a sideways glance, then returns his gaze to my father, doubling down.

“I understand that some sort of deal was made for her to be mated to someone else, but no Alpha can deny fate, right?”

Damn, he’s good.

A little too good.

Alpha stares between us for a long moment, considering.

I hold my breath.

Then he nods once, clipped and cold. “This is a surprise, but it’s a happy one,” Alpha says with the kind of fake sincerity that makes my skin crawl.

“It’s been a long time since fate showed favor on our pack, it’ll boost morale for them to hear that one of my daughters was blessed with a fated mate. ”

Of course he’d spin this in his favor.

I almost want to laugh, because it’s all so damn absurd. The lie, the fact that my father’s actually buying it, the fact that I’m playing along as if this all isn’t going to come crashing down in spectacular fashion.

“I’m sure you’ll want to share an apartment, but it wouldn’t be appropriate for Miles to reside on your floor with the pack enforcers or you on her floor with my other daughters,” Alpha tells Ares with a tight, performative smile.

“Meet me in my office in ten minutes and I’ll get you the keys to one on the fiftieth that’s move-in ready. ”

“That’s very accommodating,” Ares drawls, grinning back at him.

My head whips in his direction. This wasn’t part of the script. Not that there was a script.

Alpha steps back, nodding like a king bestowing a blessing. “I’ll announce it to the pack tomorrow, and we’ll have the official ceremony next full moon.”

Shit.

The ceremony.

“Looking forward to it,” Ares replies.

My breathing stalls, heart sprinting, mind racing.

Alpha turns on a heel, boots clomping against the cement as he heads for the elevator bank, dismissing his driver with a wave along the way.

The SUV shifts into gear, slowly rolling away.

I watch after my father with a mix of dread and trepidation, wondering how the hell I’m going to un-ring this bell.

Ares might’ve thought he was saving me with this lie, but instead, he’s damned us both. Because when we’re discovered– and we will be– the consequences will be cataclysmic.

The elevator doors slide open with its arrival and my father steps inside, the doors closing behind him a moment later. An eerie silence falls over everything, the garage echoing with the sudden absence of tension.

I step in front of Ares.

“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” I hiss, the low pitch of my voice barely muffling my rising panic. My eyes are thrown wide, chest heaving, adrenaline still sparking like live wires under my skin.

Meanwhile, he has the audacity to look pleased with himself .

“Possibly,” Ares admits, dragging a hand through his copper-red hair, that stupidly sexy smirk tilting his lips.

Too bad he’s a fucking moron.

I step in closer, closing the space between us. “Do you have any idea what you just did?” I demand, voice still low but now vibrating with fury.

His grin doesn’t falter. “Saved your ass. And mine,” he says with maddening ease, like we haven’t just set fire to our lives. “You’re welcome.”

My eyes narrow into slits. “You lied .”

“And you backed it like a pro.” He cocks his head, giving me an appreciative once-over. “Honestly? I’m impressed. You should consider a career in espionage.”

I shove his shoulder hard enough to make him stumble. “This isn’t a game, Ares. You don’t just improvise mating bonds and think you can joke your way out of it.”

His smile slips, just a little. Just enough to see the glint of seriousness buried beneath the bullshit, like steel under velvet.

“I know,” he says quietly.

The moment stretches between us, tense and breathless. The air around us still buzzes with leftover heat from the confrontation. I stare at him– at the remnants of the smirk that no longer reaches his eyes, at the reckless bravery of what he just did and the unbelievable fact it worked .

For now, at least.

“Why?” I finally ask, swallowing thickly. “Why would you put yourself at risk?”

His dark eyes hold mine. “Because he looked like he was two seconds from ripping you in half, and I wasn’t about to let that happen,” he growls. “It was lie or kill him, and I know your stance on hitmen.”

My throat tightens as I consider the war we’re starting together.

“Hey, it’ll buy you time, at least,” he adds, the corner of his mouth lifting. “And if we’re gonna pull this off, we need to act like it’s real. Starting now.”

I huff out a breath, glaring at him like I can set him on fire through sheer force of will.

“You’re such an asshole,” I mutter.

“Guilty,” he chuckles, the smirk returning just enough to be insufferable. “But I’m your asshole now, sweetheart. ”

I roll my eyes hard. My pulse is still thudding in my ears, hands still shaking a little, but I keep my expression locked down tight. I don’t let him see.

“Fine,” I snap, whipping around and starting for the elevator bank. “Let’s go get the keys to our shiny new prison, then.”

He follows behind me with a low chuckle, his footsteps slow and unbothered. “You mean our shiny new home .”

I don’t answer. Don’t look back.

But as we step into the elevator, side by side in the too-close silence, the gravity of what we’ve done starts to settle in my bones.

We’ve told the lie.

Now we have to live it.