“It’s outrageous!” I exclaimed, pacing back and forth in Josh’s office. “How can he do that to you?”
Josh just shook his head. “He’s taken her on patrol almost every night this week. That was ~our~ thing.”
Okay, I had to admit that Josh’s man crush on his best friend and subsequent whining about being sidelined wasn’t an attractive look on him. But I had my own beef with Sienna.
And now she was interfering in my mate’s work too?
No way that was going to continue.
“Josh, you have to talk to Aiden today. You’re his beta, not Sienna, and you’ve been trying so hard to prove yourself to him. You deserve better.”
“All right, I’ll do it today.” He crossed his arms. “~If~ you agree to talk to Sienna and stop being so passive-aggressive.”
“I’m not passive-aggressive,” I scoffed.
Truth? I wanted things to get better between me and Sienna, but I wanted her to come to me first. Other than our night out, I’d barely even seen or heard from her in the past few weeks.
Maybe I was being petty, but it really hurt to see my lifelong best friend growing farther and farther apart from me.
A loud banging in Aiden’s office next door startled me out of my thoughts, and Josh jumped out of his chair.
“Are we under attack?” he blurted out, ripping his shirt off, ready to shift.
The unmistakable sounds of moaning and grunting started bleeding through the wall like it was made of paper.
My mouth fell open. “Wait a fucking second…are they—”
~“Aiden.”~
~“Oh, Aiden.”~
~“Yes. Yes. Yes.”~
~“AIDEN.”~
“Josh! We have to outfuck them!”
Okay, maybe I ~was~ a little passive-aggressive sometimes.
I shoved Josh closer to the adjoining wall and pulled down his pants—good thing he was literally always ready to go—then grabbed his face and stared deeply into his eyes. “I want you to make me fucking howl.”
“You got it,” he said, ripping my shirt open so my breasts spilled out.
I backed up and started moaning as loud as I could, turning my head so my was face right up against the wall between Josh’s and Aiden’s offices.
“Michelle, I’m not even inside you yet,” Josh said, confused.
“Well then, hurry the hell up,” I hissed impatiently.
Did he really not get what we were doing? Thank God he was pretty.
I dug my fingernails into Josh’s washboard abs as he finally started pounding into me, turning me into a moaning mess.
It was mind-blowing.
Who knew haze-induced competitive fucking would be so damned good?
***
I left Josh’s office, panting heavily, at the exact time Sienna came out of Aiden’s.
“Perfect,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Oh—uh, Michelle…hey,” Sienna stammered.
We looked each other up and down, turning red. We both looked like hot messes—hair askew, clothing ripped, both out of breath.
I realized my underwear was hanging out of my jacket pocket, and I tried to discreetly stuff them out of sight.
Sienna adjusted her bra strap, exposed because of several missing buttons on her shirt, then burst into laughter. I immediately did the same.
“This is so fucking awkward,” I groaned, tears forming in my eyes.
Sienna shook her head, grinning. “No, ~this~ is why you’re my best friend.”
I felt those words in my gut.
Maybe Josh was right, and I should just talk to her.
“Hey, do you maybe want to grab a—”
Sienna’s phone buzzed and she pulled it out, letting loose a heavy sigh.
“Si, what is it?” I asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder, but she pulled away.
“Sorry, it’s nothing. Just a thing with a client. I’m being dramatic.” She fumbled to pull her keys out of her purse. “I have to get to the gallery.”
Something was clearly wrong.
Without even saying goodbye, Sienna got in the elevator, eyes glued to her phone.
I glanced at the nearby staircase.
I was tired of secrets.
And I was going to get to the bottom of this, whether Sienna wanted to confide in me or not.
Sienna, have you given any thought to what I said?
You were so close to making a breakthrough.
I don’t want you to throw all of your progress away.
I don’t think I can continue our sessions
It’s not healthy for me
There has to be another way
Facing your fears is the only way.
You can’t keep running.
I promise you that if you come back, I’ll do everything in my power to help you find the answers that you need.
I don’t know if I’m strong enough…
You are.
Trust me.
Okay…
I’ll try again. One more time.
That’s all you’ll need.
I knocked on Aiden’s door and entered his office. Everything that had been on top of his desk was now strewn across the floor, and the musk of sex lingered in the air.
He hadn’t even put his shirt back on yet, and his tie hung loosely around his neck.
At least he’d be in a good mood. He did just get laid.
“Hey, can we talk?”
These moments were always weird. I didn’t know whether to high-five Aiden or bow and call him “my alpha.”
We’d been friends since long before he became the alpha of ECP, but at work, the line between our friendship and our professional relationship was a blurry one.
Aiden grinned. “We both had productive afternoons, I see.”
“Yeah, you could say that,” I said, scratching the back of my head. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about—my productivity.”
“What, are you gonna tell me you’re overworked?” He laughed. “Because it sounded like Michelle was keeping you pretty fucking busy.”
His laughter sent me over the edge. “You’ve made Sienna your new beta!” I shouted, unable to hold it back anymore.
Aiden looked stunned.
He clearly hadn’t been expecting that blowup.
“Is this about patrol?” he asked.
“Patrol, yes, but it’s everything. I feel fucking ineffective when I come to work and see all the tasks that I used to be in charge of delegated to Sienna.”
Aiden sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “Josh, to tell you the truth, I’ve been trying to involve Sienna in my work life because she’s been distant lately, struggling with some things. But she’s also a huge asset to the pack house.”
“I’ve just been working so hard to show you I’m still devoted to this pack and to you.”
“I know, Josh. And I appreciate it. But after all that bad press, I need to prove the bigots wrong, show the whole pack how much Sienna can shine when she has the opportunity.”
He sat back down in his desk chair. “With Sienna, I’m beginning to see a new vision for the future of our pack, one that I never would’ve seen on my own.”
“Sure, but where do ~I~ fit into that vision?”
A tense silence fell between us.
Apparently it didn’t matter if Aiden had forgiven me or not, things were just different now.
And that was hard to accept.
All those runs with Aiden must’ve really given Sienna some calf muscles, because mine were on fire trying to keep up with that girl.
My best friend was ~definitely~ keeping secrets. Not only did she not go to the gallery, but right now, I was watching her waltz into the most expensive hotel in town.
Thank God this chase was finally over because I was not built for this shit.
I crouched behind a chair in the lobby as I watched her get into the elevator. I could at least see what floor the sneaky bitch was going to—
“Oh shit,” I muttered to myself as the light stopped at the penthouse.
Why the hell was she meeting someone at a hotel, unless…
I could barely contain my anxiety as I rode the elevator to the top floor, where I’d finally get the answers that I’d been searching for.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
I was finally going to find out where I came from.
~Who~ I came from.
And I could ask them to their faces why they’d given me away.
Even though it was painful, I needed to know…
Why I wasn’t good enough for them.