Page 31 of The Beast's Betrayed Mate
“Hey, Angus,” she greeted breezily.
He hummed, distractedly.
Olive straightened up, glancing at Angus over her shoulder. Then offered Peter a secretive smile, his heart lurching forward with want but he smacked it over the head. It needed to get a hold of itself. Immediately. There would be no lurching of any kind, they were on amission.
They approached the metal gates into the facility. Small glass doors were clearly meant to open once an ID badge had been swiped. Olive tapped hers on the glass square of the metal frame and the glass doors swung open. They hurried through together without catching even a smidgeon of attention from the guard.
“That was too easy,” Peter whispered.
“Oh, that’s Angus,” she said. “He never says hello. Always reading his comics. If it had been Darren, though. Oof.”
That made Peter smile again, his hand at the small of her back in a show of intimacy that he was aware shouldn’t be encouraged between them. Yet he couldn’t help it.
He just needed to touch her, feel that she was there.
She helped ground him. She’d done the same for him in the alley, it had just taken him until now to realize it. His guilt had shifted him back into human form. His regret, not wanting to cause her any more damage. It had given him back his self-control. Because his wolf was his need to let that self-control go, but she was a reminder that what he needed most was to find a balance within.
Between wolf and human.
There were warm lamps placed at even intervals which helped soften the impression, but it felt institutional. Like an asylum. He couldn’t believe she had to come here for work.
“You come here every night?” he asked.
“Pretty much,” she said.
“After a day’s work?” he inquired.
“Well, technically I only do half a day,” she said. “I take a long lunch without anyone noticing. Because I’ve had some help covering it up from you.”
“I can’t believe that,” he remarked. “I would have noticed.”
“You’ve been so focused on your own work you haven’t noticed much of anything,” she replied. “I’ve taken three-hour long lunches every day.”
He raised his eyebrows high at this revelation. “How?” he demanded, but she didn’t explain herself as they’d just reached a closed door.
As it was unlocked, she turned the knob and shouldered it open without having to use her keycard. They entered a neatly kept office. Though it was small the size was still pleasant, even though the lack of windows anywhere would make Peter feel as though he was stuck in a box all day. His office might be eighteen stories underground, but at least he had a landscape of desks and colleagues to stave off any claustrophobia.
“Security is really lax around here,” he commented.
“I think it’s smart,” she shrugged. “Less evidence that can get leaked,” she added. “Of course, I thought it was smart when I figured I was working for something government controlled. Now the lack of evidence feels pretty damn creepy.”
He had to agree with that.
He noticed a collection of photographs sitting on a low dresser opposite the door, frowning at them as none of them featured her.
“Is this your office?” he asked.
“No, it’s my colleague Jay’s office,” she said. “He has access to parts of the trials that I don’t. It’s all divided up between us and code named into oblivion, but Jay has the most access because he collects all the data the rest of us compile. I don’t know exactly what he’s expected to do with it, but he definitely keeps more of a bird’s eye view than anyone else on the team.”
She pulled the office chair out and had a seat, grabbing the mouse and moving it over the mouse pad. The computer fired up as soon as she touched it. Technology was rarely switched off in the place.
The computer password window came up and she tapped Jay’s in without hesitation.
“Oh, he trusts me,” she said. “I’ve covered for him a few times when he’s been off in one of the booths having some fun with his boyfriend.”
“You’re very kind,” Peter remarked.
“Already established,” she smiled.
