Shadow Wolf

she would have never missed her alarm. As head of the Guardian Initiative, she didn’t have the luxury to dillydally, not when their missions were so critical.
Not today. Today of all days, she took her time. Sending Nick Vrost a message that she would be running late, she took her time getting ready, as the dark fog that seemed to surround her today made her move sluggishly, not caring about the time.
Eventually, she got herself out of her apartment in The Enclave, drove herself to the Brooklyn Bridge HQ, and finally made it into the office only an hour late. She told Nick to start without her, so she wasn’t surprised that they were already in the middle of the meeting when she walked into Lizzie’s office. Not wanting to disturb them, she quietly crept inside, but unfortunately, the first words she heard cracked the already precarious hold she had on her emotions.
“I’m more of a lover than a fighter.”
“You’ll follow orders, Delacroix,”
“I’ll follow your orders, but I don’t have any skin in this game, so don’t expect me to give more than I have to or give a rat’s ass about this war of yours.”
Anger reverberated in her chest. Who the fuck did this man think he was? Before she knew it, the caustic words flew out of mouth. “Actually, everyone’s got skin in this game. The goddamn mages are out to destroy every last Lycan on earth.”
And then something happened that caught her off guard.
Dark eyes slammed into her, making her … feel things she never thought she’d feel again. Never wanted to feel again, at least not with anyone new. Heat uncurled from her stomach, and first, she thought it was anger, but no. It was that uncomfortable feeling of need.
Get a grip, Westbrooke. He’s just another cocky male you’ll have to deal with.
This was normal, she told herself. Because the asshole in question making her feel this way was unusually good looking. Pitch-black hair that matched his eyes. Tight white T-shirt stretched over the broadest shoulders she’d ever seen. Tattoos covered what was exposed of his enormous arms. And, despite the dark beard that covered half his face, the grin making his sensuous mouth spread only made him more devilishly handsome. The man stood up and offered his hand.
Seemingly unperturbed by her reprimand, his smile grew wider. “Marc Delacroix, nice to make your acquaintance. And you are …?”
Ah, so this was Delacroix, Nick’s recruit. “Your boss,” she shot back, arms stiffly at her sides. “And your worst nightmare if I ever catch you slacking off.”
Now that wiped the infuriating smile off his face. “I think we got off on the wrong foot, cher. You don’t know anythin’ about me.”
Her eyes narrowed at him. “I know enough about you, Delacroix.” Nick had briefed her, of course. She knew the entire story of how the Cajun had come to New York and how desperate he had been to leave his former clan. Quite simply, they had him by his balls. “I don’t care what you do on your off time, but when you’re here, you’re going to keep your head straight. A single mistake could cost the life of one my guys, and if that happens, I’m sending you back to whatever swamp you crawled out of.”
She could feel everyone in the room practically flinch at her words, and much later, she would see how harsh she was. But not now. She couldn’t take this maelstrom of emotions, not today of all days.
Delacroix’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. “Understood, ma’am.”
Her she-wolf scratched at her furiously. What the hell is wrong with you? “Welcome back, Jacob.” She pushed her wolf away, ignoring its protests. “I’m happy you decided to join us.”
He grinned. “Can’t let you guys have all the fun, now, can I?”
Mika was glad the youngest of the Martin siblings decided to join the Guardian Initiative, as they needed every advantage they could get. He’d been on her shortlist of candidates because of his powers but was disappointed to learn he’d been assigned to guard the newly crowned Queen Desiree. “Great. Now that I have everyone here, maybe we can get you up to speed and continue with our morning briefing.”
Meetings at the Guardian Initiative were informal affairs, as they didn’t really have the time or space to conduct elaborate gatherings. They usually met in her office upstairs, but she wanted to get this over with. “Let’s start with the bad news …”
Compartmentalization had never been a problem for her, something she’d been thankful for, especially in the last two years. That and the fact that she needed to do something—in this case, fight the mages—to keep her mind and hands busy or she would have sunk into a deep depression.
Today, however, she found herself distracted and annoyed. When Nick began to update them with news from the Alpha’s office, she couldn’t concentrate, as she felt like she was being watched. Turning her head, her gaze clashed with dark eyes. Heat crept up her neck, but she ignored him. But it didn’t do any good as she felt him staring at her, even if she didn’t look his way.
“.…for now, we’ll keep an eye on the situation.” Nick turned to her. “Anything else, Mika?”
“There’s the Russian situation.” Ugh, that particular subject was going to ruin her day further. “But that’s something you, the Alpha, and I need to talk about.”
“I’ll talk to him, and we can convene on the matter.”
“Great. Wyatt,” she began. “Get our new guys settled in. Jacob, I know you can stay with your parents, but we have living quarters here for anyone who wants to stay. It’s not a five-star hotel, but it’s clean and comfortable, similar to the ones at Fenrir.”
“I’ll take ’em,” he said eagerly.
“You just don’t want to live with Mom and Dad,” Lizzie snickered which earned her a dirty look.
“You’ll be staying there too,” Nick said to Delacroix.
“Lucky me,” the Cajun muttered. “And you, cher? Do