Page 13

Chapter 13

NATE

The sound of my ringing phone pierces my ears. I pick up the device, frowning deeply over my interrupted sleep. “This better be good,” I groan, battling the bright light from the screen.

The only thing I see is an unfamiliar string of numbers. I answer the phone only out of curiosity. “Hello?”

“Nate, it's me.”

My ears ring when I hear the e alpha's voice. “Grant? What's going on?” I glance at the phone again before pressing it back against my ear. “It's the middle of the night.”

“Yeah, but that's when information usually reaches me,” Grant remarks in a casual tone. “I just got some news and I figured it would be important to you too.”

“What's up?”

“It's about the pack you asked about. The guys you left.”

Sleep vanishes from me in an instant. “What about them? Is it about Madeline? What happened?” The only thing keeping me calm is the lack of urgency in Grant's voice. Even though it's not morning yet, his tone sounds like he's calling for a friendly chat.

“You know a hunter's attack caused them to scatter, right?”

“Yeah, I got that part.”

“It's more than that, Nate. Those attacks weren't simply against a random pack. The hunters coordinated their efforts and had been surveilling them for some time. There's a good chance that some of the hunters recognize the surviving members individually.”

“Fuck.”

Why wouldn't Madeline tell me this? Does she even know?

“The extra intel is that they smell like gasoline along with gunpowder. That's all I've got for you though,” Grant says. “Make sure you keep an eye out for anything suspicious. We may not know the entire scope of what's going on. I've got to go.”

The call ends, but my worries persist. Various possibilities swirl in my mind. Madeline has always behaved oddly, and even now I can't discern what she’s withholding from me and which parts of what she has said are true.

There's every chance she's oblivious to just how deep the hunter attacks went, but there could still be more I need to know. Madeline … what're you hiding?

I manage to find sleep again, which allows me to breeze through my constantly ringing alarm. By the time I wake up, my phone battery is dead, and the sun is shining fully in the sky.

I roll over on the bed, still tired and more annoyed than usual. It takes a lot for me to drag myself off the mattress, but eventually I run through my morning rituals and head to work.

When I get to the office building, I sense eyes on me and turn immediately. At the far end of the street, I see a car that's becoming way too familiar now.

This again?

I stand out there as people enter the building, waiting to see if the car will appear again. It lingers back, leaving me to get to work.

Cora is the sort of person that would have an issue with me arriving more than an hour late to work. The fact that I know I'm not going to get shit for that makes me a little sad. I should try to go to see her soon.

I move through the lobby, getting a surprising whiff of Madeline’s scent. She's usually not down here.

I spot her immediately at the end of the lobby, just in front of the elevators. She's holding a brown paper bag like she just got some food.

I rush toward the elevator as she enters. Madeline sees me coming and sticks out her hand to hold it open for me.

“Good morning,” she says, looking at the door and avoiding my eyes.

“Good morning,” I reply. “How's your aunt?”

“She could be better,” Madeline sighs, “but it's nothing drastic. Thank you for asking.”

“Of course.”

I stare down at her from my height, seeing the top of her head enough, but I’m quickly distracted by her cleavage. My urges start to flare up, making me want to slam her against the elevator wall and get that sweet taste her mouth always has.

I take a deep breath to calm these feelings, but that doesn't do much.

Madeline, on the other hand, looks perfectly composed. It's almost like she doesn't feel the same urges I feel. She tilts her head up and offers me a smile before the elevator doors open.

My mate walks out first, going right to Olivia's cubicle where they instantly start chatting away. I watch the sight for half a second before walking over to my office.

Madeline seems to end her discussion earlier because she's right beside me when I open the door.

I see a stack of papers arranged neatly on my desk. “What the …”

“They're for the Hamilton report,” she explains, taking a seat. “I figured I'd get to it since you were running late.”

“I thought you came in with me,” I say.

“No, I was here early. I just went out again to get you this.” Madeline brings out a cup of coffee from a paper bag. I take it from her, trying not to look too suspicious. Sadly, this doesn't work and she rolls her eyes. “What, do you think I'm trying to poison you?”

“Would that be so crazy?” I counter, bringing the coffee up to my nose before taking a sip. The delicious brew travels down my throat, refreshing me almost immediately. “This is exactly how I like it.”

Madeline smiles. “I know. I'm not sure what sort of night you had, but you're usually never late, so a cup of coffee is probably what you need. I'll get you lunch too in a few hours.”

I take the cup and move to my own seat. I look through the papers, being careful to keep the coffee away from them.

“This is gorgeous work,” I compliment her. “How did you get all this done just this morning?”

“It's easier to get work done without having you to distract me.”

I look up at Madeline, but she only smiles in return.

“You've made my day a lot easier,” I remark.

“I hope you don't mind, but I moved your meeting to next week. I wasn't sure you'd come in today and I didn't want the client to think you abandoned them.”

"That's actually genius." I take another sip and lean into the chair. "I'm not sure I want to deal with work so close to a full moon."

"I also sorted the client files by priority," she adds, gesturing to another stack of papers. "The most time-sensitive ones are on top. I noticed a pattern in how you normally approach them."

Her attention to detail surprises me. Not only has she completed the work, she's also analyzed my methods.

As I turn on my computer, Madeline heads to the far wall where her knitting supplies are. She leans over and I can immediately tell this move is deliberate. It doesn't matter though, any view of her ass is a good view.

I watch her hips move as she digs around in the bag before bringing out her incomplete project followed by her knitting needles and yarn.

She sits and gets to work while I look through my email. For a while, we stay in a comfortable silence, with the only sounds coming from the knitting needles tapping each other.

“Am I bothering you?” Madeline asks suddenly.

“What?”

She gestures with the needles. “I know you've said I can do this here, but I don't want to distract you more than I already do.”

Her sly words get my blood flowing. I remember the last few times we've had sex and how she just walks out every single time we're done. That's the only thing stopping me from flying across the table to meet her.

“No, it's fine,” I confess. “It's actually like ASMR, if I'm being honest. You know, Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response. It helps keep me focused.”

“That's good. I'll stop feeling guilty then.”

“Exactly.”

Madeline lets out a breath, moving her needles to the side. “If you've been focused for this long, maybe you could use a break.”

I glance at her just in time to see her legs parting. My body moves instinctively as I push my chair back and step around the table to approach her. Madeline greets me with a smile on her face.

She rises to kiss me, meeting my lips with the same ferocity. She moans into my mouth as soon as my hands touch her body. I dive into her blouse, going right for her bra and giving the curve of her breast a good squeeze.

“Mmm,” she smiles. “I like that.”

I squeeze even harder, deepening the kiss. Madeline clutches the collar of my shirt and begins undoing the buttons. Our moment is abruptly interrupted by a knock at the door.

We let go of each other, trying our best to act like we weren't ready to rip our clothes off a second ago. I wait until Madeline is fully adjusted before telling whoever's outside to come in.

Graham walks in, pauses at the door. He immediately smells the sexual tension in the air and knows he's interrupted something.

“Shit. I can come back.”

“You're already here,” I say. “What's up?”

He points over his shoulder with his thumb, like we're supposed to look into the hallway. “I got my car fixed yesterday so we're good to go for tomorrow's trip.”

I nod passively. It's great not to have to drive all the way to the IronFangs’ land. I'd prefer someone else take the wheel, and going with Graham is my best option. Besides, I'll have my own mate to distract me when Graham and Rose start misbehaving in the car.

“Alright then. I'm all set.”

“Cool, cool.” He turns to Madeline, “You must be excited to shift with us, huh?”

She gives him a tight-lipped smile. “Yeah …”

Graham returns the smile awkwardly, closing the door as he leaves. Madeline watches him leave, then turns to me with a thoughtful expression. "I should apologize to Graham. He was just being friendly, and I didn't mean to be dismissive."

Her self-awareness catches me off guard. The Madeline I once knew wouldn't have noticed—or cared—how her reactions affected others.

She picks up her work and starts knitting again like we didn't just have a huge moment. I wait for any sort of reaction, but she peacefully continues her craft.

There's something deliberate in the way she resumes her work—not flustered or awkward but making a conscious choice to maintain the professional boundaries we just crossed.

It's a subtle reminder that she's no longer pursuing me blindly, but making thoughtful decisions about our interactions. Should I ask about the pack?

I toy with the thought for a while, but eventually decided against it.