Tori’s POV
Ellie screamed when I gave her the news.
“That’s wonderful, Tor,” she said. “I know the circumstances are just awful, but you’ve a foot in the door now.”
She hugged me and I wiped away a tear. I was doing that a lot recently, crying.
“Thanks for making dinner, Els. I love your special pasta. The meatballs are just divine.”
My friend and flatmate hailed from Waning Moon. We’d attended the same college and she’d vouched for me when I applied to join them. One day I was from Black Gold, then I was in mourning, and within a week Alpha Joseph had accepted me into the pack which specialised in ceramics. They were short of females.
Ellie was training to become a doctor, so we attended a mating ball once in the proverbial blue moon.
That suited me just fine.
“Tell me about the Alpha.”
“You mean Calvin?”
Her eyes widened.
“Do you get to call him that? Already?” She put her hands on her hips. “What did you do?”
Her frivolity was just what I needed.
“Nothing, Els.”
“Did you leave off your bra, or something?”
“Ellie!” We both burst out laughing. "I see what you did now, bribing me with a hot meal so I’d give you the deets.”
“Hope they’re juicy,” she sang.
I rolled some creamy tagliatelle around my fork.
“You are incorrigible,” I said.
“So? Tell me. Is your chief suspect as dark and dangerous as you expected?”
“Dangerous, maybe. But he’s fair-haired and blue eyed.”
“Did Bethany get to meet his wolf?”
I sighed.
“Will you let me eat in peace?”
“Nope.” She popped the ‘p’. “Not until you fess up.”
“I’m not looking to seduce him into dropping his guard, Els, you know me better than that. Alex ... "
I shuddered.
She grasped my arm and laid her head on my shoulder. Her coppery hair was truly amazing. People stared when we were out together because of the contrast with my own blue-black locks. We shared the same dark brown eyes, though hers were a lighter shade than mine.
“Sorry, hun,” she said. “He was despicable.”
She’d been the one to pick up the pieces. Not Fran. My sister hadn’t spoken to me since the funeral and I didn’t know where she was. Had she turned rogue, like our stepbrother?
I rallied a little. Ellie didn’t need this after another long day shadowing a senior colleague at the hospital.
“Anyway, you’ll find out soon enough what Alpha Calvin’s like,” I told her. “He said to bring you sometime and is offering us discounted drinks all night.”
“When?”
Her eyes were sparkling now. If I knew my flatmate she would soon be doing a happy dance.
“He didn’t specify. Whatever weekend you’re free.”
“I’ll let you settle in first,” she said. “How about Saturday the fifteenth? You’ll know everything there is to know by then. Fancy a glass of wine?”
We ended up watching a horror movie, laughing at the alleged werewolf’s transformation, and bingeing on ice cream. Neither of us ever over-indulged in alcohol which was perhaps just as well. Both of us needed a clear head for our daily routines, her more than me.
Not all shifters are capable of properly healing themselves and I should know.
Burns are especially traumatic and that was how the Alpha and Luna met their end at the hands of an unknown arsonist. I’d been out of town at the time, with Alex. He’d bought me a bracelet which I subsequently dumped. Goddess knows where Fran was.
The whole packhouse went up in flames and Black Gold was unable to function on its own so some of us elected to ‘merge’ ourselves with Waning Moon. They didn’t profit from our downfall but someone did. Mining continued and someone was cashing in; Alpha Joseph assured me it wasn’t him.
As far as I was concerned this new job was only temporary. One day I would return to Waning Moon and give something back, even if it meant biting the bullet and having pups. Ellie’s contribution went without saying. She would make a good mom, too, when the time was right for her.
Swimming was on the agenda for Saturday morning. It was a regular thing with us two.
“Hey,” I said, heaving myself out of the communal pool and joining her on one of the benches at the back. “Wanna go shopping?”
Her eyes lit up. She was a year younger but at twenty-four I felt like I’d already lived a lifetime.
“Girl, you need lingerie,” she said, pinching my hip.
“More like a diet,” I groaned.
Owing to Bethany’s condition I rarely went for a run. Ellie sometimes jogged before medical school. Very occasionally she would shift on her day off and I would be waiting for her in the woods next to her discarded clothes.
This was a place also inhabited by humans and we had to be careful not to be discovered.
She nudged me.
“I’m envious of your curves, Tor.”
“Look at that flat stomach,” I teased.
We fell about laughing. If it wasn’t for her, I’d have given up long ago. Instead I made something of my studies and now I was determined to find out who had virtually annihilated us and why, and make them pay. That included anyone who had profited from the demise of Black Gold.
Alpha Calvin was in the area that day, attending a livestock auction, according to the local paper. What if that wasn’t his sole purpose?
He was by no means my only suspect but, with a reputation for being cutthroat in business and more likely to take over a company than merge with it, he had all the credentials of a ruthless tycoon.
And I was going to be doing his books, well the ones relating to ‘Remus’ anyway.
He was bound to be crooked. Was he intending to use me as a front, maybe a patsy to take a fall?
I wouldn’t put it past an Alpha as rich as Calvin Phillips.
Yet, as I laid in bed that night, restless as ever, I realised something which astounded me: I didn’t want it to be him.
Tori’s POV I spent Sunday on my own as Ellie got a call from her mom to say her sister was visiting from Oregon. She drove herself, straight after breakfast, and I spent the morning chilling in my bathrobe. A long soak beckoned after which I tried on the lingerie I’d bought. Some of it was lacy and delicate – the teddies, all in pastel colours – and the corsets had saucy little bows. I expected to be sharing an office with the Alpha, though didn’t think he’d let me use it when he was elsewhere. Nobody trusts a new employee at first. If I had to sit in the office off reception with Naomi I would manage. A laptop isn’t called that for nothing. She may even let me use the desk. Ellie wasn’t back by the time I was due to set off for work. Calvin had said to turn up around ten. I called an Uber and fussed over my appearance during the twenty minutes it took to arrive. No jacket today, just a tasteful skirt and retro blouse, striped with a white collar, the minimum of foundation and a
Tori’s POV I couldn’t get to sleep that night, even though I’d already picked out the outfit I was going to take: a black corset with burnt orange bows. Was this a test of my sensibilities, or something more sinister? I really hoped not to have to participate. Wondering if Naomi would be attending, as well, I dozed, only to be woken by Ellie, who was stumbling about in the dark. I knew we had agreed to save on electricity, but this was ridiculous. Then I began to wonder if it was even her. If only I had a baseball bat to hand. The mini crisis set my adrenaline flowing but it was a false alarm as I found out when the thumps and bangs ceased and she came into my bedroom by mistake, instead of returning to hers after a bathroom visit. I switched the light on. “We must stop meeting like this,” I said. Because it had happened before. “Sorry, Tor,” she mumbled. “I was hoping not to disturb you.” “Was it as bad as you were expecting?” She nodded. I saw the smear of what looked like
Tori’s POV It was eerie being in a closed club environment, yet I sensed Alpha Calvin was doing his best to put me at ease. The cut-out mini dress he’d selected covered me in all the right places with just a smidgen of tease. I felt confident and sexy, something which hadn’t happened in a long time. I was watching Travis show a small audience of about twenty dominants, or Doms, how to deliver a spanking safely. To my surprise, Maria, the submissive taking part was able to give her perspective as well, once the scene was over. “Your sub must be aware she can communicate with you at all times, even if gagged,” the Delta said. One of the watchers raised a hand. “What if she’s bound as well?” he asked. “Establish pre-arranged signals like waggling fingers or blinking a set number of times. It is your responsibility to keep checking in with her.” “And if there’s a blindfold?” “Someone wants his money’s worth,” Travis joked. “Prepare for all eventualities. Each one of our submissives
Tori’s POV“Have you seen this, Tor?”Ellie thrust a copy of the Werewolf Times in front of my nose. The banner headline read, “‘Romulus’ and ‘Remus’ to slug it out”.No shit.I abandoned my muesli to read the article. Apparently, the owner of a rival club was threatening to file a lawsuit for damages when his proposed change of name to ‘Romulus’ was blocked by Alpha Calvin.“He’s got some nerve,” I muttered.“I don’t get it.”“What do you know about Rome?”“Uh, it wasn’t built in a day?”“Nice try,” I said. “It was founded by Romulus after he killed his twin brother, Remus.”“So?”“Apart from the association with Alpha Calvin’s establishment, which may give customers a false impression they’re connected somehow, it also implies ‘Remus’ is kinda the poor relation.”“You mean this guy’s trading on the Alpha’s success?”“Yep,” I said.No wonder he’d been off with me yesterday.“Maybe you should poke the bear,” she mused.“Already thought of that. How do you fancy a trip to ‘Cheetah’s’?”
Tori’s POV I’d been wondering about his second-in-command and why I had never seen him at the club. “Who’s catering? Because I know a deluxe service in town which doesn’t charge over the odds.” “Typical of my financial adviser.” He grinned. “His mate, Laura, is organising that side of things.” “I’m not a waitress,” I pointed out. “Knowing you, Tori, you’d excel at that as well. However, on this occasion I want you to be my official plus one.” My mind went blank. What could I say? “Like an escort, you mean?” “Hardly, Tori,” he said. I was enthused now, even if it would have been preferable to mingle with his pack members in a neutral uniform and carrying a tray of drinks. This would be a great opportunity to find out more about the North Shore pack. Yet, in effect, he was paying me to act as his girlfriend. Tough job, though I’d never have a better chance to suss out whether he was guilty or not. Partygoers tended to gossip and become loud when they’d had a lot to drink, and m
Tori’s POVThe Dom in question was Oscar. I’d seen him around though he never said much. He was using Susan to demonstrate signals and positions to an audience of females, as I had expected.“What am I looking for this time?” I whispered.“Women who won’t make the cut.”Calvin was wearing leather pants and a black shirt.“How will I know?”“Put yourself in their position, Tori.”I hoped he didn’t mean that literally. Empathy was something I could do. If it saved the club money that was a bonus.The Alpha was gradually giving me more responsibility and more of an insight into this kind of scene. I have to admit, even though I’d lied at that first meeting when I told him it intrigued me, there was a small part of me which was curious.Why did women sign up for this kind of thing? Did they have a past trauma or just a strange fetish?I was dragged into it when one of the observers balked at trying it out. Had he somehow anticipated this?“What about her, the bruised one?” she asked, poin
Calvin’s POVSurely she must be aware of my interest by now. I wanted her in my bed, even if it was just the once: my rules. Yet that vulnerability made me want to kill whoever had put it there.I could sense her reluctance to be seen in my company. Was it partly because of the boss/employee relationship as she had implied? No, there was something more, something I hoped I was wrong about.When I mentioned having dinner together her face changed completely.I had to put my foot down or it would never have happened. It rankled, too, that she looked on it as her doing me a favour. Maybe she was … but not in the way she imagined.“Won’t people talk?”Was that what had been bugging her?“Let them,” I said. “It’s not a date.”I drove us to my favourite Italian bistro, the one with the checked tablecloths and aroma of garlic. Tori seemed to know her way around pasta, ordering farfalle with chicken, while I had my usual calzone.She opted for sparkling water rather than wine, correcting me w
Tori’s POVEllie got sick the evening before the party.“It’s just a flu bug,” she said. “You go and enjoy yourself, Tor.”That was hardly the word I would have used to describe an evening spent with the Alpha. I wondered again about what ‘work’ I would be doing as his plus one.My flatmate started going on about my being a ‘paid escort’, making me extra nervous when she told me the North Shore pack were notorious for holding wild parties.“You’re just making it up,” I scoffed.“No, honestly Tor, I’ve heard that anything goes.”“Looks like you’re fated not to make the Alpha’s acquaintance when you’re sober.”It was a cheap shot when she was feeling low, but I knew my friend was nothing if not resilient. The comments she’d endured over the years from patients and her peers alike, not to mention some other pack members!“Don’t,” she said, wincing, which was when I realised she was probably more ill than she was letting on.The Alpha was picking me up for work soon. It was already after