Page 6 of Season's Greetings
He was stronger than this. He would not let Claudia’s antics get to him.
“Matthew, if you can wait for me in my office, I just need a moment to go over a few things with Carson. Then I’ll be right with you, and you can tell me what you need. Okay?”
What he needed? Or what he wanted?
What he wanted was for Daniel to kick the other omega out and give him his sole attention.
What he needed was to get over himself and let Daniel do his job.
Giving himself a mental kick in the pants, Matthew eased away from Daniel’s firm body and picked up Barney’s lead where it had fallen to the floor.
“Yes, okay… I’ll wait there. Thank you, Daniel. And sorry for the interruption.”
He felt the slight burn of shame replace the chill on his cheeks as he turned away from the room and headed toward Daniel’s office.
Oh boy, this was going to be awkward.
Chapter 4
Daniel
Claudia had been here just days ago, shooting her mouth off—and now Matthew showed up scared, acting like the devil was after him.
Coincidence? Daniel didn’t think so.
His gut told him that bitch was out for blood. Well, not actual blood. There was no way she’d get her hands dirty—and God forbid she broke a nail. Just because she was an alpha didn’t mean she was the kind to throw down and come in swinging punches. She had razor-sharp claws and pointy, pointy teeth.
Then again, so did he. And unlike Claudia’s fox form, his bear had both a size and strength advantage. If it was a fight the vixen was looking for, he’d be more than happy to give her one.
He felt a little bad blowing Carson off. Carson, unlike Matthew, had a fated mate—a great guy, an eagle shifter named Griffin. Whereas Matthew… well, that all depended.
Daniel wasn’t quite ready to face him just yet.
Instead of turning right and heading across the lobby to his office, he turned left toward the break room. He pouredtwo coffees, adding cream and sugar to one—just the way Matthew liked it. After all this time, he still remembered exactly how he had taken it.
Not only that, he remembered far too many things he wished he didn’t.
Now Matthew was here, waiting in his office. Daniel had touched him, held him—and for those few seconds, he’d been in heaven and hell. His fingers twitched around the mug handles.
Did he truly want to dredge up the past?
If the man in the ill-fitting suit, who seemed eager to be rid of the papers he held, was anything to go by, then Daniel had no choice. The moment the stranger saw him, he zeroed in, pushing the papers toward him.
“I must inform you, sir, that you have been served by the Shifter Council.”
What the fuck? Well, that didn’t take long.
With both hands full, there was no way Daniel could actually take the papers—not that he wanted to. Just the thought of touching them made his gut twist. He didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what they said. He could guess.
“Fine. I’ve been served. You can put those papers on the counter over there.”
Daniel picked up his pace, power-walking to his office without sparing the court officer a second glance.
Kicking the door shut did little to shake off his irritation.
Just one look was all it took for his pulse to spike. Ten years bled away, and he was staring at the omega of his tormenting dreams.
Before he could say a word, Matthew was speaking.
