Chapter 11

She was staring at me intently. I felt itchy with her gaze.

I reached up and brushed my hair behind my ear, subtly adjusting the collar of my blouse to cover my neck as I brought my hand back to my side.

Her eyes followed my hand. They snapped back up to my neck. She grimaced.

“I know it’s none of my business,” she said in a small voice. “But it’s making me crazy not knowing.”

“You know how people like to gossip,” I replied flatly.

She nodded slowly. I had a feeling she knew I was being evasive, but was still too intimidated to ask a follow-up question.

Maybe I could distract her with work. And flattery.

“Anyway, this is good work.” I lifted the hand still holding the papers she’d given me. “Real improvement. Next, could you—”

Her eyes skittered away toward the door, which I heard open with a click. She looked back to me. Then back, mouth opening very slightly, toward the door.

“Hey, Kares.” The voice was a warm, wry tenor.

I smiled, distracted from my awkward interaction with Maya, and whipped my head around.

Hunter’s Beta, Leo, was leaning against the door frame, a serving tray balanced in one hand, the other brushing his long golden hair out of his eyes.

A chorus of giggling and hair twirling started from the other Deltas. While Leo was Hunter’s trusted second-in-command, he was pretty much the opposite of his boss. Compared to Hunter’s brooding, standoffish manner, Leo was charming, warm, and flirty: every inch the playboy.

We’d been friends for years, even before he became Beta and I became Chief Delta. We’d been new members at the same time.

He’d tried a lewd and idiotic pick up line on me during some mat work as part of our combat training. I’d immediately employed the takedown we’d just learned and slammed him to the ground. He’d smiled up at me, let me help him to his feet, and we’d immediately become close friends.

Our dynamic was made up largely of witty banter. We flirted constantly, but there were no romantic feelings there, on either side. Nothing had ever happened.

But Leo confided in me about his shitty upbringing, and the fact that he didn’t know if he’d ever have the emotional bandwidth for anything but a one night stand.

I’d confided in him about being in love with Hunter. About my complicated feelings when he asked me to be his chosen mate, but still didn’t feel the same way I did about him.

He was one of the only pack members who actually knew that Hunter and I were married. We’d needed a witness at the wedding. Whatever his faults, Leo was a great secret keeper.

He sauntered into the room, smiling his trademark crooked grin.

“Tea break, ladies.”

He walked between the desks, giving everyone a cup. He paused to compliment each Delta as he asked if she wanted honey, milk, sugar, or lemon.

He approached my desk, where Maya was still loitering, arms crossed across her chest.

He handed me a cup.

It was a bit of an inside joke. Hunter couldn’t care less what kind of tea I drank, but Leo knew my preferences. He always brought my favorite, but never wasted the opportunity to poke fun at me.

“This is from Hunter, you know, his special gesture,” he winked as he handed me the cup.

I smiled, ready to make a snarky comment.

Then Maya’s face drained completely of blood.

Shit. I’d better backpedal.

“I’m allergic to mangoes, Leo. You must be confused. That must be the one he sent for Maya.”

He cocked his head, clearly baffled.

Maya’s eyes filled with tears. She recoiled, like she’d just been slapped.

Hunter walked out of his office briskly, looking down at the papers he held between his hands.

“Kara,” he started, “I need you to—”

He looked up and stopped.

“Leo, I didn’t know you were back!” He started to smile, but he quickly noticed the expression on Maya’s face.

“Kara, explain what just happened here,” he snapped.

Leo opened his mouth, but I held up my hand to stop him.

“Leo was just joking around, Hunter—I was just about to explain to Maya that—”

She let out a choked noise that was both pitiful and indignant at the same time. She ran from the room, starting to sob in earnest.

Hunter snatched the cup of tea from my hands with dark looks for both Hunter and me, and followed her with no hesitation.

“Kinda seems like you have something to catch me up on,” Leo said quietly. He’d been away for a few weeks, visiting other packs to confirm our alliances and plan for the coming year.

I knew what he meant, but pretended I didn’t.

“Yeah, the ceremony preparations are underway—here are the details we have ready so far.”

As Beta and Chief Delta, he and I usually handled the new member initiation ceremony together.

“I don’t mean about work, Kares.” His brow furrowed, all flirty banter gone for now. He could always tell when I was actually upset. “Catch me up while we go for a walk?”

He held out his arm, and I looped mine through it as we walked down the steps of the building and toward the walking path through the estate’s gardens.

As soon as we were far enough from the office building we wouldn’t be overheard, he turned to me.

“Spill,” he said, eyes narrowed with concern.

I started talking more than I had in days. It had been so long since I had someone I felt like I could talk to candidly.

I explained the details of Maya’s injury, and Hunter’s instruction to promote her directly to Chief Delta. I explained the attack, and how he’d behaved during it, protecting her at the expense of gaining the tactical advantage and completely ignoring me.

“And he’s expecting me to go about our normal routine. Do exactly as I normally do. Because he says he’s not going to be with her formally until she’s a little older, and then to make it all more complicated—”

I trailed off. I’d been talking for long minutes while we walked. It felt so good to be getting all this off my chest that I’d forgotten myself.

I’d almost told him about the pup.

But even though we were close, I couldn’t do that.

No one could know about the pregnancy.

Leo paused in case I was going to continue, then sighed.

“Kara, you’ve always been so accommodating, but I never expected Hunter to fall for someone like Maya. She clearly couldn’t handle being Luna.”

I launched into an explanation of her work: how the Chief Delta role was way over her head, but Hunter had insisted, and it wasn’t kind of him to put her so out of her depth.

I was gesturing with my hands, focused on what I was saying, when I tripped over a rock in my high heels. I staggered forward.

Strong hands grasped me just before I fell, Leo having lunged forward to catch me. He put me back on my feet and held my hand to steady me.

I heard an exaggerated, high-pitched gasp and looked up.

Hunter and Maya were sitting on a nearby bench. He had his hand on her arm and she was turned toward him, teacup in hand. It appeared he had succeeded in comforting her after her outburst.

Then they’d spotted us.

Maya had her mouth open in shock, but I could only focus on Hunter’s face.

He was staring down at my hand, clasped tightly in Leo’s, his expression dark.

Thunderclouds swirled behind his eyes.