Page 48 of An Uncertain Claim

Chapter Twenty-Three

Peyton

At KBO, Nathan set me up in the office next to his—I was pretty sure it belonged to someone, but when I mentioned it, he gave me a look that suggested I not pick at that thread because he wasn’t going to budge. Okay, some of that I picked up through the emotions he wasn’t bothering to mask. Either way, I shut up.

It was decorated in muted colors and looked sterile compared to Nathan’s which was warm and inviting with the beautifully carved wood and dark, rich tones. I didn’t mind though, this would do just fine for my purposes. There was also a brand-new, state-of-the-art computer that had me drooling over it a little. My laptop was equipped with everything I needed, but that didn’t mean I didn’t appreciate the fun bells and whistles on the KBO machine.

Shortly after I was settled at my desk, Tanner arrived with a box of files.

“These are the files we couldn’t acquire digitally.”

I stood to take the box from him, but he snorted and held it out of my reach. “I’d rather not put myself in the crosshairs of my Alpha by letting his pregnant mate carry a heavy box.”

With a smirk and a shake of my head, I gestured to a spot on the end of my L-shaped desk. “That’s fair.”

Tanner set it down, then smiled and stuck his hands in his pockets. “Did Nate get you a login and passwords for everything?”

“Yup,” I said as I leaned back in my very comfortable chair—one I would bet was specially made for pregnant women. I had no idea how Nathan had procured it so fast. A smirk curved my lips when I added, “I’ll bypass it if I need access to something and he forgot.”

The Beta—myBeta—chuckled and headed for the door. “Let me or Nate know if you need anything.”

“Thanks,” I said absently, distracted by the strange thought of Tanner’s position in my life. He wasn’t simply the Beta for the father of my child, or my friend, he was my Beta. My panther found it odd too, but she shrugged it off as just another food chain that she sat at the top of. Technically, he answered to Nathan…and me. I shook off the thoughts, not in the mood for the messy complication that my life had become. Turning on my computer, I decided to dive into a puzzle that I knew I could eventually solve.

I spent most of the day going through all the information they’d collected, familiarizing myself with it all so I could formulate a plan and a place to start. Frequently, as I combed through everything, I would be reminded how much Nathan had been withholding and I had to tamp down my temper. He was sharing everything about my case now, and it wasn’t like I didn’t have my own secrets, so I didn’t really have a leg to stand on. Then I would move on until the next time and run through the cycle again. At least by the end of the day I’d mostly worked through my irritation and it stopped tripping me up.

Nathan had dropped off lunch and stood there while I ate it, then did the same with a couple of snacks. I would have been annoyed except I did tend to forget to eat when I was engrossed in something.

“Don’t you have meetings to be in?” I asked when he’d finished his dinner and continued to sit there, watching me, making sure I finished mine.

“They’ll wait.”

“The Councils?” I gaped. “You aren’t seriously making them wait so you can watch me eat?”

Nathan shrugged as if it was no big deal. He was the head of both Councils, but still…that seemed a little extreme just to make sure I ate every bite of my dinner.

“Do you want me to have Tanner take you home?” he asked, smoothly changing the subject.

Shaking my head, I chewed the last bite of my pasta, then pushed the container away. “I have plenty to do.” Although my panther was antsy. We hadn’t been on a run in several days and we were both feeling cooped up.

He frowned and ran a hand through his hair. I’d noticed that he usually wore it down at night, even at the office. “I don’t know how late I’ll be, baby. You already look tired.”

I arched an eyebrow and looked down my nose at him. “Thank you for the compliment.”

Nathan bit back a smile and scratched his beard. “You’re glowing,” he teased.

“You do know that’s the pregnant way of saying ‘you look like shit?’”

Nathan belly-laughed this time, a sound I’d only heard a time or two. Damn. It lit up his whole face and chased away some of the darkness in him, making him look like an entirely different person. No more gorgeous than normal, just different. And the rich, warm tone was incredibly sexy. My panther purred in complete agreement.

His mirth died down and his eyes turned to molten silver as he took a deep breath. Then he grunted and twisted his hair up with jerky movements, muttering, “Damn meetings,” before scowling at me. “Do you have to be so fucking sexy all the time? I can’t get anything done with your scent all over the place. Especially when it’s oozing with lust. So get those dirty thoughts out of your head right now, Peyton. I have shit to do before I can take you to bed and fulfill every damn one of them.” Then he shot to his feet and stalked out the door. “I’m sending someone to take you home!” he shouted before the door to his office slammed shut.

I sat in stunned silence for a moment, then it was my turn to burst into laughter. My body shook with the force of it, and I struggled to breathe as tears streamed down my face. I almost fell out of my chair when I reached for a box of tissues to mop up the moisture. If anyone had been around to see me, they probably would have thought I was insane for finding the interaction so funny. But that outburst was so uncharacteristic and he’d practically stomped his foot like a petulant child. Which I found absolutely hilarious.

After I calmed down, I mentally rolled my eyes at myself because I knew there was a goofy smile on my face. “Nowthatwas a compliment.”

Mason, one of the pack enforcers, popped into my office a few minutes later. “Ready to go?”

“If I say no to leaving, what would you do?” I asked curiously.

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