Chapter 10: Strictly professional
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In the never-ending moment of silence that stretched across the room, Mia started praying Tomas would play along.
Each second that passed crushed her under the weight of what she’d just done. Sure, she’d done it to buy the rebels more time—but at what cost?
Her hands began to tremble slightly, nausea settling in her stomach. Regret crept in fast, and she clung to the thought that this had felt like the only way to give the rebels a chance to prepare for the broken alliance with the Akello. She knew that. Still, it didn’t feel like enough.
And the full impact of what she’d done hit her even harder when Tomas casually draped his arm around her shoulders—far too naturally for the moment—shattering the tension that had frozen everyone else in place.
“Well...” He drew out the word like a soft, ironic oops, his tone dry.
Mia fought the tension tightening every muscle in her body—his arm across her back, the smell of him surrounding her, the closeness making it painfully clear: she was in way over her head.
“I was going to tell you over that lunch we supposedly planned.” He tilted his head toward his mother, locking eyes with her. “That’s why I brought Mia along. But you guys have a real talent for ruining big moments.”
Across the room, Morgana looked like she might choke.
“You... did you say Mia?” Her face had gone pale, like she’d seen a ghost.
As terrifying as the situation was—with Mia’s heart pounding and her palms slick with sweat—for a brief second, she almost smiled. Morgana wasn’t pale from seeing a ghost. She was pale because she was staring at a half-blood standing beside her precious son. Next to the great Akello alpha.
Well, surprise, surprise, Mia thought, though the flicker of satisfaction faded quickly when Tomas’s past words echoed back—his pathetic rejection of her just for being who she was.
He must be really desperate to shut his family up if he’d agreed to go along with her lie, pretending to be mated to a half-blood. Or maybe he was doing it for the rebels. He always did everything for the rebels. A few months ago, he’d almost died for them. Why wouldn’t he fake a bond with a half-blood if it meant protecting them?
Her stomach twisted again. She had to stop thinking like that if this charade was going to last long enough to give the rebels time to regroup.
“He’s bluffing!” Mr. Annoying Smile—who wasn’t smiling anymore—stepped forward, jabbing a finger at Tomas.
Mia rolled her eyes, straightened her shoulders, and ignored the nervousness washing over her.
“You know why Tomas waited so long to tell you the truth?” Her voice cut through the tension like a blade as she locked eyes with Tomas’s cousin, letting her contempt show—contempt for all of them. “Because I knew exactly how disgusting you’d all act.”
Tomas’s father cleared his throat and stepped forward.
“On behalf of the family, I apologize. We were just... caught off guard.” His smile didn’t feel forced, but the strain in his voice betrayed how rattled he still was. “And happy. Surprised, but happy.”
He approached Tomas and placed a hand on his shoulder, visibly relieved that they were apparently avoiding a massive family scandal. “You should’ve introduced her the moment you got here, son.”
“As if you ever gave me that choice.” Tomas muttered under his breath, voice low and laced with quiet reproach.
His father opened his mouth, clearly about to say something to smooth things over, when Morgana finally snapped out of her stunned silence and blurted out,
“But she’s just a—”
“You might want to think carefully before you say anything about my mate, Mom.” Tomas’s voice cut clean and sharp through the room.
He said mate with such weight, such authority, that a shiver crawled down Mia’s spine.
God, this was starting to feel like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from—at least not if she still wanted to help her people.
“You can’t actually believe him…” Tomas’s cousin started again, tone thick with disbelief, but Mia barely registered it.
She already knew they’d won—at least for now.
It didn’t matter if Tomas’s parents truly believed it, or if they hated who she was. They’d rather cling to this lie than let the family name be dragged through the mud.
And the council... well, they looked bored out of their minds, which made her wonder how many times Tomas’s cousin had already tried to strip him of his right to lead.
Either way, she figured there’d be time to dig into his backstory—just like she’d have time to uncover a lot of other things while keeping up this ridiculous act of being Tomas’s mate.
God, she needed to call Daniel. And fast. They had to come up with a new plan to keep the rebels safe.
***
Mia stayed silent the entire drive back to Tomas’s company.
She hadn’t really heard the end of the council’s argument—too busy convincing herself that her impulsive, reckless move would somehow help the rebels.
That she could keep this up for their sake.
That she’d figure out a way out of it soon, and finally walk away from Tomas, from the beast inside him, and from every last Akello.
Funny, she’d started the day telling herself she was done with this pack.
Right. Maybe it was time to stop making plans—since they always seemed to blow up in her face.
“You need to stop pacing.”
The sharpness in Tomas’s tone snapped her out of her thoughts, halting her mid-step.
They were in his office now, back at his company.
For the last ten minutes, silence had stretched between them—Mia chewing on her thoughts while Tomas… well, he just kept watching her like she was about to unravel completely.
Maybe she should go ahead and tell him she already had.
Not that she planned on sharing anything with him.
Just because they were caught up in this farce together didn’t mean she could trust him. Tomas was still the same man she needed to stay away from. She wouldn’t forget that.
Still, they needed to talk about what came next. Just… not here.
Mia looked around the office—neutral walls, massive bookshelves, that commanding desk of his…
“I think I need some water. Can you take me to the break room?”
She locked eyes with Tomas, silently pleading for him to just follow her out without arguing.
When he looked like he was about to respond, Mia turned on her heel and walked ahead, her steps echoing sharply against the marble floor of Tomas’s executive level.
“Mia, wait.” His voice caught up to her before his footsteps did.
“We need to talk. I need to thank you—”
“We will talk,” she cut in, not slowing her pace as she crossed the lobby toward the fully stocked break room.
“Just not in your office. I mean, your cousin already broke in and stole evidence—don’t you think it’s possible he planted a few bugs while he was at it?”
His footsteps faltered behind her, but she didn’t bother to look back.
If he needed a minute to process the painfully obvious fact that his family was capable of just about anything—including violating his privacy—then he could do that on his own.
By the time she reached the break room, she filled a large cup with coffee.
Caffeine. That always helped, she told herself, downing it as fast as the heat would allow.
When Tomas finally walked in, she was already halfway through her second cup.
“I know this has to be... a lot for you,” he began, tone cautious, “but I wanted to thank you for standing up for me back there. It really—”
“I didn’t do it for you.”
Her eyes locked with his, shutting down the gratitude before it could gather steam.
She hated when Tomas acted like they were still the best friends they used to be.
Hated how fake he could be about what he truly thought of her.
There were moments—like this one—when she wanted to scream at him, to tell him to drop the damn act.
But most of the time, she reminded herself she’d never give him that power.
Tomas didn’t shake her. What he did didn’t get to her.
And she would never lose control over someone like him.
“I did it for the rebels.” Her tone stayed calm and even—nothing like the chaos erupting in her head. “If your cousin had exposed you and you lost your position as Alpha, the Akello would’ve broken their alliance with my people. I did it for them. And this ends the moment they have a way to protect themselves without your pack. Got it?”
Tomas’s jaw tensed. His gaze dropped from hers as he gave a stiff nod.
“Right.”
When he looked back up, that arrogant CEO mask had already settled back in place.
“I think we need to lay out the terms of how this is going to work.”
She kept her tone steady, relieved when Tomas answered with a curt, businesslike nod.
Perfect.
If they were really going through with this insane charade, they needed to keep it strictly professional—starting now.
- Escritor
