Everything OK? x
Nothing I can’t handle! Xx
Take care of yourself. X
Always. Xx
Greg hadn’t said what time he’d arranged a meeting with the ogres, so I had cautiously set my alarm to 6am. Surely no one would have a business meeting earlier than that?
I groaned as it beeped; today I didn’t want to be an adult; I wanted to bury myself in the duvet and maybe watch a chick flick or two. But Esme was raring to go, jumping up and down in my mind, full of energy and ready to play – or kill. She was happy with either option.
I pulled myself out of bed, opened my wardrobe doors and looked with dismay at my clothing choices. Most of my clothes were business chic from my accountancy days, not quite the right apparel to meet a horde of evil henchmen. Okay, maybe defining them as evil was unfair: a horde ofhardyhenchmen. Say that five times fast.
Still, I needed my appearance to say ‘tough and kick ass’. Finally I gave it up as a bad job and threw on some ripped jeans, a tank top and a leather jacket that was entirely too feminine and fussy but all that I had. I plaited my hair and, because I was feeling a bit insecure, painted on some liquid eyeliner and lipstick. Feeling ready to face the day, I sneaked down to the communal kitchens.
It was still early and I was pleased to find myself alone. As always, the inestimable Mrs Dawes had already set the coffee to percolate before she bustled off somewhere else. It felt like a latte morning, so I warmed some milk and poured in a good amount of coffee before adding in a couple of sugars; I was certainly not feeling sweet enough already.
I ate three rounds of toast. By the time I was done, the caffeine had kicked in, giving me some toe-tapping energy to start the day. Maybe Greg wouldn’t be awkward with me. Maybe I was making too much of a big deal about the whole thing. Maybe it would be totally fine. Yeah, and maybe the Queen was my biological mother.
I tried not to admit how much I hoped that my birth mother was someone cool, and that whatever circumstances had led her to give me up were valid, because I didn’t want to carry all this resentment around anymore. I hoped Jess could dig something up – and soon. Sure, I’d had questions about my birth parents my whole life, but lately they were louder and incessant. Who was I? Who had I been born to? And why could I remembernothingof my first three years? Mum had always said she was confident I’d come from a loving home and there had been no signs of abuse, but the worry was still there.
Family is important,Esme interjected softly, feeling my pain.But your family is Sandy, Dennis and Ben. And the Pack,she added.It doesn’t matter who whelped you but who reared you.
Intellectually I know that you’re right, but there’s a part of me that’s always been damaged. I need to know who I am.
You are Lucy Barrett,she said simply, making me smile.
Yeah, I am. Thanks, Esme.
She sent me a wave of love and affection that rolled over and steadied me. I sent one back, and we spent a few moments basking in mutual affection. We were stronger together. She was right: I had Esme, I had my mum and dad. I had all that I needed. A nice birth family would be the icing on the cake, but I could survive without icing.
I headed up to my office. My eyes narrowed as I saw Thea quietly shutting my office door behind her. ‘Can I help you?’ I asked loudly.
She jumped like I had shouted ‘boo!’. ‘Alpha! I didn’t see you there.’
Evidently not. I smiled coolly. ‘You came to see me? What can I help you with?’
Thea reddened. ‘Oh, to be honest I’d decided not to bother you with it.’
‘Nonsense. My door is always open.’ Metaphorically, of course; literally, it was closed at the moment. ‘Shall we go in?’
‘I wanted to ask about Archie,’ she blurted out. ‘Is he single or—’ She trailed off.
‘Very much single,’ I assured her. ‘But he did have a thing with Elena, so you might want to tread carefully.’
‘Thanks for the heads up. I’m going to go grab some breakfast now. Can I get you anything, alpha?’
‘No thank you Thea. I’ve just had mine.’
‘I’ll see you later.’
‘No doubt,’ I agreed.
I watched her with narrowed eyes until she was out of sight. Why would she seek me out at 7am to talk about Archie? No; she’d expected the office to be empty. The question was, what had she been looking for? And had she found it?
I entered the room and looked around. I couldn’t see anything immediately out of place, though it was hard to see in the gloom. I opened the heavy brocade curtains and glanced round again. Nothing.
I’d half-expected to see Greg already sitting at his security console but he must have decided to take a lie-in after our non-kiss. That didn’t bother me at all; nope, I was definitely not driving myself mental by wondering if he was talking with Mindy instead of with me.