The next morning, the glass-walled lobby of Blair Holdings was silent, save for the rhythmic tapping of high heels on the marble floor. Lina sat in one of the plush, deep-seated lounge chairs, a duffel bag stuffed with her essential clothes resting at her feet. She looked small against the towering architecture of the office, but the set of her jaw was unyielding. She had spent the entire night thinking, and she had come to a conclusion: if Nicole was a monster, she was the only monster Lina wanted to be near.
Upstairs, the heavy mahogany doors of the executive suite opened. Nicole emerged, her face a mask of exhausted professionalism. She carried a leather briefcase, her movements sharp and hurried. Belinda followed close behind, iPad in hand, checking the schedule for the evening.
"The security team has been doubled at the forest estate, Nicole," Belinda murmured, her voice low. "After the incident at the dorms, we aren't taking any chances."
"Good for your team then, you know I don't need protecting, you should be protecting those coming after me," Nicole replied, her voice gravelly. "I just need to get through the gates. I can't breathe in this city anymore."
As they reached the elevator bank that overlooked the lobby lounge, Belinda's gaze snagged on a familiar figure. She slowed her pace, a knowing, slightly mischievous smile spreading across her face. She nudged Nicole with her elbow and pointed toward the seating area.
"Look at that," Belinda whispered. "It seems your human lover didn't take your 'stay away' text very seriously. She's waiting for you."
Nicole's heart gave a traitorous thump against her ribs, but she kept her gaze forward, her voice tightening. "She is not my lover, Belinda. She is a business associate's daughter who is likely here to return a gift. Ignore her."
"She has a suitcase, Nicole," Belinda noted, her grin widening. "That's a lot of baggage for a return."
As they stepped off the elevator, Lina stood up. She didn't wait for Nicole to approach; she met her halfway, clutching the strap of her duffel bag. The defiance in her blue eyes was breathtaking, a human spark that seemed to challenge every ancient, dark instinct Nicole possessed.
Belinda stepped back, raising her hands in a playful gesture of surrender. "Well, that is my cue to leave you two to it. Goodnight, Nicole. Good luck, Lina."
"Belinda, stay here! We have the quarterly reports to..." Nicole started, but Belinda was already halfway to the exit, waving over her shoulder as she disappeared into the evening crowd.
Nicole turned to Lina, her expression hardening into a defensive wall. "Lina, what are you doing here? I told you it isn't safe. You should be in your room with the door locked."
"I tried that," Lina said, her voice steady. "But I realized that if things are going to jump out of the shadows at me, I'd rather be where the person who saves me lives. I'm coming with you, Nicole. I've packed a bag, and I'm not leaving until I know exactly what is going on."
Nicole opened her mouth to argue, to command her to leave, to use the Alpha voice that made men tremble. But as she looked at the scrape on Lina's hand, the injury she had caused by making her fall, the words died in her throat. Her wolf, Luna, gave a low, rumbling purr of approval.
"You are incredibly stubborn," Nicole sighed, the wall finally cracking.
"I'm a Lyon," Lina countered. "It's in the blood."
Nicole didn't say another word. She turned and led the way toward the waiting black SUV at the curb. For the first time, she didn't wait for Freddi to do it; she reached out and opened the passenger door herself, holding it steady for Lina. It was a silent admission of defeat.
Inside the car, the air was thick with a new, domestic tension. Freddi glanced in the rearview mirror as he pulled away from the curb, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He saw the way Nicole sat stiffly in her seat, and the way Lina had settled her bag between them, claiming her space in Nicole's world.
He didn't say anything, but a wide, pleased smile spread across his face as he steered the car toward the forest. The pack might be in chaos and the crown might be at risk, but for the first time in ten years, the Blair estate was going to feel like a home.