CHAPTER 12
941 Words
ZACH POV.
“Duplicate it.”
I tossed the necklace onto the desk before opening my laptop and scrolling through my emails. Victor caught it effortlessly.
“Hmm…” He held the pendant beneath the desk lamp, turning it over in his fingers. “I didn’t expect you to retrieve the key this soon.”
His brows knitted together.
“Is this really it? According to the plan, we still had three weeks before we’d get close enough to take it.”
“He lost it in a poker game.”
Victor looked up.
“…He what?”
“He bet it. He lost.”
A grin slowly spread across his face.
“And he just handed it over?”
“It was easier than I expected.” I leaned back in my chair. “None of them know it’s a key. To him, it was just a necklace.”
I closed my laptop halfway.
“I was considering stealing it eventually, but her i***t ex decided to hand it to me himself.”
Victor chuckled.
“I almost feel bad for the guy.”
“I don’t.”
He slipped the necklace into a small evidence pouch before tucking it into his pocket.
“Well, that’s one less problem.”
His expression suddenly turned serious.
“While you were away, we had a little incident.”
I looked up. “Rogues?”
He nodded.
“How many?”
“Six.”
“Were they captured?”
Victor shook his head. “They poisoned themselves before we could question them.”
I rested my chin against my hand. “Casualties?”
“None.”
“Damage?”
“Minor. We intercepted them before they reached the pack.”
I nodded once.
“Increase patrols.”
“They’re already doubled.”
“If anything unusual happens, I want to know immediately.”
“Understood.”
Victor turned to leave before stopping halfway to the door. He hesitated.
“You’ve got something else to say.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “It’s… about your mate.”
I leaned back in my chair. “What about her?”
“Aren’t you worried?”
“Should I be?”
He sighed. “The original plan was simple, but now that she’s your fated mate…” He chose his next words carefully. “The mating bond complicates things. Feelings get involved whether you want them to or not.”
I stared at him. “Are you questioning my judgment?”
His eyes widened immediately. “No.”
He raised both hands in surrender.
“I’m questioning the bond.”
He lowered them again before adding quietly, “Maybe you should reject her now before it gets worse.”
“No.”
The word came out flat.
Rejecting her now would cripple my wolf for weeks—weeks we couldn’t afford to lose. It would jeopardize everything we’d spent years planning.
Besides, Mabel had become far more useful alive and within my reach than she ever would’ve been otherwise.
“Mabel is the weakest link,” I said coldly. “The mating bond only makes getting close to her easier.”
Victor frowned. “Until it starts affecting you.”
“It won’t.”
“Zach—”
“I know exactly what’s at stake.”
I held his gaze.
“No one has more to lose than I do.”
Silence stretched between us before I continued.
“If I say I can finish this without getting attached…”
I leaned forward slightly.
“…then that’s exactly what’s going to happen.”
Victor remained silent for several seconds before finally nodding.
“I believe you.”
He hesitated before adding, “But I’ve seen what these bonds do to people.”
He looked me straight in the eye.
“The longer you ignore it, the harder it’ll be to walk away.”
I reached for my laptop again.
“When this is over…”
I opened another email.
“…I’ll reject her.”
Victor looked unconvined, but he gave a short nod anyway.
“I hope you’re right.”
“I usually am.”
He finally left, quietly shutting the office door behind him.
The moment the door clicked shut, silence settled over the office once more.
I reopened my laptop. Unread emails filled the screen.
I read the first sentence.
Then the second.
By the third, I’d realized I hadn’t taken in a single word.
My fingers stilled over the keyboard as Mabel’s voice echoed in my head.
Because you’re a loner with no one left to love you.
My jaw tightened.
Annoying.
I pushed the thought aside and forced my attention back to the screen, but her voice refused to leave.
That girl had managed to provoke me in ways few people ever could. Worse, she’d done it without trying.
I didn’t like losing control—not over my emotions and certainly not over my wolf.
Yet she’d managed both within a matter of days.
I clicked my tongue in irritation before snapping the laptop shut.
Perhaps Victor was right. The mating bond was becoming more troublesome than I’d anticipated.
No matter. I would deal with it when the time came.
For now, I needed a distraction.
I grabbed my jacket and headed downstairs.
The nightclub beneath the headquarters was already alive.
Bass pounded through the speakers as bodies moved beneath flashing lights. Women laughed over expensive liquor while wolves indulged in whatever pleasures the night had to offer.
The bartender looked up the moment I took my seat.
“The usual, Alpha?”
I nodded once.
“Bourbon.”
- Writer
