Page 139 of Never Submit

This confrontation can’t wait.

The ride to the third floor is short and the elevator opens up on a short, smart hallway leading into a sort of lobby. Several doors span off from the space, and I take the one on the right, closed to the general public.

Inside, Catarina is alone, drawing on her coat behind a long mahogany desk. She is the picture of elegance, poise, her dress purple and fitting perfectly to her skin. Rather than her usual unbothered expression, she glares at me, furious, before schooling her features.

“Torin,” she bites out the words, “what are you doing here?” Her smile is stiff, habitually.

“Catarina, we need to talk.”

Now isn’t the time for civility, I remind myself. My wolf rises again in her presence, an indomitable presence, prepared to take responsibility for our actions.

She huffs out a laugh. “Please. You break into my office to confront me at the end of my work day after a particularly grueling client, and I’m supposed to, what? Be amenable? You’ve barely taken any of my calls.”

“I didn’t mean to interrupt your meeting, but I’m glad to find you alone.”Even if you are pissed. “I apologize for not answering when you called.”

She rounds the desk, the usual misery that blossoms whenever we’re together present once again.

“Yes,” she replies tightly. “Mymultiplecalls to check in on your health and well-being days before our nuptials. Now we have hours before the ceremony and here you are?” She chuckles incredulously.

The reminder burrows beneath my skin. “I’m sorry.”

My wolf bristles at having to apologize.

Catarina slides several neat folders into her leather briefcase. Her hair, pale and colorless, is done in a neat braid along the line of her too-thin back. “Your apologies mean nothing. I’m finished for the day, and I’d much prefer to head home to a bottle of chilled wine and a hot bath.”

“I need to talk to you.” I block the door before she has a chance to slip past me.

Which only serves to infuriate her further.

“Now you need to talk?” She taps the toe of her Louis Vuitton soundlessly on the thick carpet. “I’m having difficulty following your rationale here, Torin.”

She flicks her fingers in the air in a shooing motion to get me out of her way. I’m a fly, an irritation, not something to consider seriously.

I have to do this. It’s necessary to keep Catarina and the Briar pack content. If I can’t do that, then I might as well give up all ties to the Steel Claws and let someone else, someone more capable, lead them.

“There are only so many times I can apologize to you until it begins to sound disingenuous,” I reply. “But I thought it was…importantfor me to tell you this in person.”

She arches an imperious eyebrow. “Tell me what?”

“I had an affair.” The words slide out more smoothly than I’d thought they would. “This afternoon.”

She pauses for a beat but the anger I expected from her never materializes. “Let me guess. This Ren person you’ve mentioned before?”

Shame lends an acid taste to my mouth, and I swallow before clearing my throat. My head hangs down toward my chest. “Yes, it was with Ms. Wexler. Let me assure you of this, Catarina. It was a one-time lapse of judgment and it won’t happen again. Certainly not after we’re married. I would never?—”

“Stop,” she snaps. “I don’t care what or who you do. Just don’t get her pregnant. Do you understand?”

I pull up short. “What did you say?”

Her patience pressed thin, Catarina smiles icily at me before she sets her briefcase down on the nearest chair. As though she is going out of her way to be gracious and explain this to me. She sweeps her gaze from my head to my soiled shoes and catches everything in between.

“If you get her pregnant, then the bitch’s pups will be my problem. I’m not looking to invite any more stress into my life. This marriage—” She chuckles at the term. “It’s only for the sake of appearances. You don’t really think I care about you, do you? Please.”

I scowl down at her in distaste. “Of course, I understand.”

The engagement, in my head, was nothing more than a joke, a long and drawn out process to make sure our negotiations were firmly in place. I’d accepted Catarina as my bride and mate for the rest of my life.

Did I want it? No.

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