Sienna, I’m worried about you.
It’s been three days.
If you don’t return to our sessions, all our progress will be lost.
I understand you felt vulnerable.
But the truth always makes us feel that way.
Don’t give up just yet.
I glanced at the stream of messages and ignored them, just like I had for the past several days.
I knew that he had a point, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go back.
Maybe I wasn’t as strong and dominant as I thought…
My sessions with Konstantin had sapped me of my energy, my sex drive, my appetite…and replaced it all with melancholia.
I’d ended up staying in bed most of the weekend, recovering. Aiden had even made Jocelyn do a house call, but she couldn’t find anything wrong with me.
How could I explain that I just had a really bad mind-hangover?
I heard a soft knock on the door, and Aiden came in and sat on the end of the bed.
“Feeling better?”
“I’m feeling great, actually. Much better.” I smiled.
“Good,” he said, shooting me a wolfish grin. “Get dressed, because I have a surprise for you.”
“Where are you taking me?” Sienna asked as I led her through the woods. “Don’t you have to work tonight?”
Work—I’d been in it fucking deep lately. We all had. This time of year was tough. And clearly it was taking a toll on Sienna. I’d never seen her this emotionally distant before.
I knew it had to be my fault somehow, and hopefully, this would give us a chance to reconnect.
It made me feel fucking weak that she’d had to turn to therapy.
“Technically, I ~am~ working,” I said. “And you are too. This is patrol.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, skeptical. “Isn’t patrol something you do with your beta?”
“Usually, but I want to start doing it with you. I want to involve you more in my work life.”
To my surprise, Sienna started stripping her clothes off.
She turned and smirked at me. “Well, we’d better get going then. Take off your pants.”
No one had to tell ~me~ twice to get naked. I loved the feeling of freeing myself of clothes right before I shifted.
As I watched Sienna remove her underwear, revealing those adorable freckles on her ass, I started to get turned on.
She wasn’t shy about her body like she’d been a year ago. Now she was all confidence and it was sexy as hell.
She turned around and let me take in her full figure under the moonlight.
Her supple milky skin.
Her perfect breasts and pink nipples.
“I thought you said this was a patrol,” she laughed, seeing that I’d become aroused. “Or are you just pointing us in which direction to go?”
I smirked and began to shift, and she immediately followed.
~“Just try to keep up, Freckles,”~ I goaded through our link.
But Sienna dashed into the woods before I could even blink.~ “You were saying?”~
~All right, if that’s how she wants to play it.~
I ran after her, catching up and nipping at her heels, but she managed to keep a step ahead.
She’d gotten faster in the past year—a lot faster.
I was reminded of our first run as we zigzagged through the forest. I’d never forget that exhilarating chase—the way Sienna had made me hunt her for hours.
Now, we were running side by side—alpha mates—and it was perfect.
Without warning, Sienna tackled me with all her weight, causing me to lose my footing. I tumbled down a hill and landed in the river with a splash.
When my head broke the surface, I saw Sienna above me, looking down.
~“What the hell was that?”~ I said through our link as I paddled to shore.
She shifted back to human form and began laughing hysterically. “Payback, for our first run.”
I shook my dripping fur in her direction before also shifting back.
“Hey, you got me all wet!”
“Not yet, I haven’t,” I growled, lifting her up and pinning her against a tree. “But I fucking will.”
Despite all my efforts, Nina’s progress was still unusually slow.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same about the progression of my feelings.
We’d been spending so much time together, growing closer every day…but I couldn’t help but think Nina wasn’t being completely honest with me.
On the outside, her bruises and cuts still looked horribly painful, but my instincts were telling me something was off.
There ~was~ a way, though…
“What are you thinking?” Nina asked, slowly limping over to me.
“Just trying to figure out how we can speed up your recovery.” I smiled, but Nina didn’t return it.
“Oh, you’re getting tired of me, huh?”
“No, I’m not getting tired of you,” I reassured her, and it was the truth. “I just want you to get better. I feel like I haven’t been doing everything that I can.”
I helped Nina sit down across from me and took her hands. “I’d like to try something new—if you’ll let me.”
She smirked, a spark of interest in her eyes. “I’m always game to try new things.”
~Shit, this might be the worst idea I’ve ever had, but I need to know.~
There was an old healer technique that allowed us to absorb another wolf’s pain into our own bodies.
It was dangerous, but if Nina really was injured, then maybe this could turn the tide. And if she wasn’t…
I placed both of my hands on her broken leg and concentrated all my energy into her injury.
Next, I reversed the flow of the energy.
The veins in my arms started glowing, and I braced myself for the excruciating pain that was about to seep inside me, but…
Nothing.
No pain.
I looked up at Nina, allowing the hurt from her betrayal to show in my eyes.
“You lied to me. You aren’t even injured. You aren’t even in fucking pain.”
“What do you mean? Of course I’m…”
“Don’t. No more lies, Nina. You’ll only make this worse. I can feel what’s inside you.”
“Shit, Jocelyn,” she said, her eyes growing wide. “I—I wanted to tell you. Please—I’m begging you—don’t hate me.”
What else was she lying about? Why was she even here?
“You need to leave.” I stood, tears beginning to roll down my face. “Go now, before I tell Aiden.”
“Jocelyn, please listen to me!” she shouted, but I was already grabbing my phone.
She lunged at me and I flinched, closing my eyes, but I froze when I felt her lips meet mine.
Wh—what was happening?
And why was I ~letting~ it happen?
As her soft lips moved over mine, I felt a wave of emotion. And instead of pulling away, I leaned into it. She kissed me even harder, and every ounce of anger that I’d felt a moment ago melted away.
When I opened my eyes, Nina had tears in hers as well.
“This is why I didn’t tell you I’d already healed,” she said, placing her hand on my face.
“I didn’t want you to send me away. Not before I had a chance to tell you how I really feel about you. There’s a connection between us—a strong one. Do you feel it too?”
“Yes,” I answered, wiping away her tears. “I feel it too.”
Aiden swiveled in his desk chair and wrapped his arms around me from behind, pulling me onto his lap.
“What should we do today?” he asked. “Go on a date?”
Now that I was no longer doing therapy sessions with Konstantin, my real haze was flaring up like crazy, and Aiden and I were closer than we’d been in weeks.
The question of my birth parents still nagged at me, but my mind had been so muddled that I needed to clear my head if I was going to make any rational decisions.
If they were out there, I’d find a way to track them down—a way that didn’t involve mental gymnastics.
“Aiden, this is the first time I’ve worked from the office all week. And I was out lots of last week too. I can’t just come and go as I please. People are going to think I’m getting preferential treatment.”
“You’re the alpha’s mate. Of course you’re getting preferential treatment. In fact, I think I’ll give it to you right now.” He slid his hand up my leg and under my skirt.
“Come on, Aiden, not right now. I have so much paperwork to fill out.” But I made no effort to stop him from pulling my underwear down to my ankles and over my heels.
“I see something that needs filling right here,” he growled, plunging his fingers deep into my sex.
Fuck, it felt so good, and my haze kicked in, making it even better.
I started unbuttoning my top, revealing my lace bra, and in one rapid movement, he swiped everything off his desk and I was on my back.
Aiden crawled over me and started pulling down his pants, ready to fulfill his office fantasy.
But I happened to have my own.
“Wait! I want to try something.” I flipped him over and climbed on top, straddling him, feeling my dominance surging through my body.
Leaning in as close as possible, I whispered in his ear.
“~I’m~ the boss.”