Page 9 of Half Wolf Mate

I wasn’t sure if her sigh was good or bad, but I decided it was none of my business. “She said if I needed help, this was the best place to come. But I doubt I’ll get the help I need here.” I pursed my lips, not sure why I told Violet that.

“Why not? We’re pretty versatile in the security arena here. Cole even offers cyber security.”

Cole. She was on a first-name basis with her boss. That rage-filled thing that kept trying to surface stirred. Jealousy, hot and ugly, almost stifled me. Sucking in a breath, I squirmed in my chair. What the hell? Something was seriously wrong with me because why on earth would I be jealous about a stranger possibly hooking up with his hot receptionist?

Violet’s gaze narrowed on me, and that curious glint appeared in her eyes again. “Are you alright, Sydney?”

“Fine,” I choked out. “May I use your restroom?”

“Of course.” Violet pointed to a narrow hallway. “Second door on the right.”

Practically sprinting away, I berated myself for the unnatural and illogical feeling of wanting to rip apart a woman who had been nothing but nice to me. Bursting into the fancy bathroom, I made a beeline for the mirror. Resting my palms on the counter, I peered at myself.

My reflection made me wince. My hair was a tangled mess, my skin was paler than usual, and my eyes were dull from exhaustion. Leaning closer, I squinted, trying to see if I could see any sign that I was anything more than human. I even bared my teeth to see if I happened to have elongated canines because I seriously felt animalistic a moment ago when Violet uttered Cole Grayson’s name with such familiarity.

After a beat, I laughed. Hanging my head, I rode out my amusement. It was official. I was going crazy, just as crazy as Uncle Sam, Aunt Lydia, and that man who claimed to hunt creatures. I snorted.

My amusement dampened quickly, thinking about my aunt. Despair, like an arrow, pierced my heart. Was it my imagination, or were my emotions more intense than before? It was like everything was heightened. My emotions, my instincts about danger, even my senses. A few times on my run to Louisiana, I swore I smelled the man who’d threatened to kill me, but when I looked around, he was nowhere to be seen. But that was impossible. My sense of smell had never been so acute.

Fear pumped through my veins, but that was because I was starting to suspect that I was something supernatural. Either that or stress had me on one hell of a trip. “Oh, my gosh, I’m losing my mind.” With a long breath, I combed my fingers through my hair and pinched my cheeks, hoping to get back some color in my skin.

“On the bright side,” I told my reflection, “maybe this is one long nightmare, and you’ll wake up any minute.” I’d go back to my normal life with my eccentric aunt, asshole uncle, and humdrum days, where the only exciting thing that ever happened was a cute guy smiling at me at the café where I worked.

I chuckled at that, but the sound got stuck in my throat as something hit me square in the chest. Unadulterated need. It was followed by an urgency to get somewhere or to someone instead. I laid a hand over my chest, where my heart galloped with excitement. That strange…thinginside me came to life. This time, it wasn’t because of rage or jealousy. It was pure happiness, and it urged me to go back to the waiting area as if it knew what I was looking for was out there. Frowning, I turned to stare at the door, wondering what called to me from beyond it.

Chapter 6 Cole

Marching into the waiting area of my office, I glowered at Violet. She only lifted one eyebrow. God forbid she showed any fear of me, the Alpha. Anyone else would cower under my famous cold, death-promising stare, but not Violet Knox, my Beta’s sister. She was like a little sister to me too. Hence, my bark was deadlier than my bite when it came to her, and she knew it.

“Hey, Cole,” she chirped.

I kept my scowl in place, but already my heart softened with affection. She was so adorably annoying. “Violet, this had better be good. I told you I was busy.”

“Yeah, I know.” She glanced at the hallway leading to the bathrooms and lowered her voice. “You were in a meeting with my brother and the others, discussing pack business or whatever.”

“Or whatever? That’s very important business. Business that keeps all of our hides safe. It isn’tor whatever.”

She rolled her eyes. “I know, but this is important, too.” She enthusiastically waved me over.

Stifling a groan, I obliged and approached the desk. Violet wasn’t really our full-time receptionist. That job belonged to Margaret, one of the older ladies of our pack, but she was visiting her daughter in Texas for a couple of weeks. Her daughter attended college in Houston, something I didn’t like.

Younger members, especially females, so far away from the safety of the pack made me antsy. However, I was trying to modernize our ways—direct our rules and laws away from the more old-fashioned, sometimes oppressive values of pack life. So, if the youth chose a university away from home, I let them go and gave financial aid if necessary.

With Margaret away, Violet jumped at the chance to fill in for her. She practically begged me for the temporary job. I suspected it was to get away from her over-protective brother as much as possible.

“There’s someone here,” Violet announced.

“No shit. This is a firm with quite a few employees.”

She sucked her teeth. “Don’t be a smart ass, Cole.”

“Then stop irritating me. I don’t have time for this.” There were more important things to deal with, like the news that there might be a new pack in town threatening to make trouble for us. That was what I’d been discussing with my Beta and some of the pack members upstairs in my private office.

“There’s a potential new client.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Goddamn it, Violet. If it’s a new client, why didn’t you call Justin?” Justin Turner, my assistant, who was human and an honorary member of my pack, was here to keep the business end of things going smoothly whenever I got too caught up in pack matters.

“I didn’t want to call Justin because this girl is—”

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