NICCOHope and I stayed up the rest of the flight, trying to figure out what the signature meant. She was the one who finally did. She had gone to the bathroom and had come back, her eyes tired. Before she sat down she stopped with a start and softly chuckled, staring at the paper.“We’ve been making this harder than we needed to,” she said.I looked at her in confusion. “Yeah? If you have figured it out, I’d like to know. It’s driving me crazy.” I was irritable. She grinned and took the pen from my hand, writing over the top of the random letters and numbers that we had been working on, transforming them into one word. BITE.“I’d guess the hacker is a wolf,” Hope said mildly. I looked at the word, my vision clouded. I knew who went by that name and I couldn’t believe it. Hope picked up on my fury.“Do you know who this is?” she asked.“No,” I lied. I didn’t need her to know until it was over. I was going to confront this wolf and find out everything. I would get my ans
NICCOMila’s attitude shifted and her face got dark. “You’re never around anymore,” she complained.“What did you do?” I asked, suddenly tired. I always felt guilty about Mila. The attack that killed her parents had taken place right after I became Alpha. I had been warned that it was coming, and I was too arrogant to listen to anyone. We had found Mila in the rubble, her limbs mangled and her little body limp. It had taken the talents of multiple healers and doctors to get her to where she was. “I just wanted to get your attention,” she said, the tears starting. I forced my emotions to harden. She was manipulating me, and I knew it but my guilt made it easy for her to do so.“Who?” I asked. Mila shrugged. “I don’t know. It came in an encrypted message.”“And you thought it would be a good idea?” I asked, dumbfounded. Mila was never one to consider the consequences.“They only borrowed the money. It was always put back,” Mila said, pushing out her lower lip. “I should k
Chapter 70HOPENicco irritated me beyond belief sometimes. After all his lectures to me about lying, he goes and does it to me. Our mate bond must be getting stronger because I could tell he was lying. I was so angry, I was growling under my breath. When I caught myself, I giggled a little bit. I was picking up on Nicco’s habits.I had a good morning showing Mario and Gia around and getting them settled into their own apartments. Nicco had been kind enough to get them apartments at one of the many buildings that he owned. They were small, but they each had their own, which was usually unheard of. “This is amazing,” Mario gushed, coming back in from the little balcony. His apartment consisted of a tiny kitchen, a small living area and a bedroom with the balcony. “I have never had this much space before.”Gina’s apartment was almost the same, though I had picked out one that had a larger bathroom and more closet. Girls have to stick together and there are just some things t
HOPEI jerked myself awake with a gasp. I was having a nightmare, the same one I had at least three nights a week. In my dream I was reliving the first time my stepdad had sold me to one of his friends in exchange for drug money. The man hadn’t been gentle, and he liked it that I fought and screamed as he thrust himself into me over and over, tearing me and making me bleed. It was traumatic and I usually woke myself up screaming the way I screamed when it had first happened to me four years ago.I lay still, breathing in and out, repeating my mantra to myself. “I am strong. I am safe.” I opened my eyes and focused on the ceiling of the 1999 Toy0ta van that I currently called home. It wasn’t much but she was fully paid for, cheaper than an apartment and had the advantage of being able to easily move if my past got too close to me.This was the week that the mechanic shop I worked for was offering half off oil changes, and we were booked solid. I couldn’t afford to show up exha
Chapter 2NICCO“You ready to go, Alpha?” Vinnie asked me. I stared at the spot where the girl disappeared. I wanted to go after her. No one ignored me, especially not women. Most women threw themselves at me.I frowned, remembering her awkward lies about the big dog and her boyfriend. I must have scared her, somehow. I know I’m a scary guy, but women usually didn’t run away from me. And there was the little matter of her being my mate. My wolf, Lupo, was going crazy. As soon as I got out of the car I could smell her. She smelled like violets and sunshine and oranges, all at once. Lupo began screaming that she was our mate as soon as we caught her scent.Problem was, I couldn’t sense her wolf and that meant one thing. She was human. And there was no way that my mate could possibly be a human. This was a huge mistake. I realized Vinnie was talking to me and I nodded, sliding back into the car. Vinnie turned over the engine and it sounded a lot better. He carefully ste
NICCOI waited in the car for about a half hour. This was how it usually went when we were dealing with humans. The boys went in, cleared the home and then roughed up the guy for a little bit. I would join them later. Today I was waiting for the missus.I saw her pull into the driveway and I got out, pocketing my cellphone in my hip pocket. She watched me cross the street, warily. I gave her a wide smile, trying not to look threatening. From the way she widened her eyes, I probably wasn’t successful.“Amy?” I asked, pleasantly. She nodded and then looked nervously at the house. I could hear a muffled scream coming from inside. “What’s going on?” she asked, clutching her purse and backing up. I continued up to her and took her elbow, using my other hand to gesture in front of me. “Let’s go inside, shall we?” I tugged gently on her arm, but she wasn’t having it. She stayed put. “Tell me what’s going on.” Her voice was flat. I sighed. “We’re having a little conversation
NICCO “What now, Alpha?” Vinnie asked. He was watching me closely and I was pretty sure that he knew something was up. I wasn’t acting normally. My wolf was driving me crazy, and I was having a hard time thinking. “Can you get me more information on her?” I asked Vinnie. He wasn’t that great with computers but some of the guys that worked for me were. Vinnie nodded. “Sure. Give me a minute.” He selected someone from his contacts and spoke for a few minutes. He got a text and checked it, confirming something and then disconnected. “Joey is working on getting more information, but he was able to access DMV records and found a license for a twenty-year-old woman named Hope Smith. Photograph matches our girl. He did a run on the address listed and pulled up a vacant lot in Provo, Utah. No phone number listed. Joey didn’t find a lot of background information on her initially so he’s going to do a deep dive. He did say that she has a minivan registered in her name.” We b
NICCOI checked my watch impatiently. Hope struck me as the type of girl that was early to everything and I hoped she was. I valued promptness. I didn’t even know why I was doing this. My wolf was thrilled but the businessman and Alpha in me knew that this was a really bad idea. I was mated to a human and the sooner I rejected the mate bond the better it would be for my business and for my Pack. I had heard stories of other Alphas being mated with humans and their Pack embracing the change. Most of the time it worked out, the human Luna a meek head of the Pack. Usually in those cases, the Beta’s wife was the one with the real power. That wasn’t going to work for me. My Pack was also part of my business, and I needed a partner that would be ruthless and know the games of the profession. I sighed. This was a really bad idea. I should have just walked away.Her black van pulled up, five minutes early and she slid out of the driver’s seat. I could see that her hair was wet a