Fishnets and Wolf Ears
Morgan swallowed her spit, unable to find her words. Inside her, she heard a whimper.
“Bow your head, he’s angry.”
Morgan bowed her head and, in a voice to match, mumbled out, “Sorry, Alpha.”
Inhaling harshly through his nose, Jordan flexed his jaw muscles and pulled away from her. “It’s your lunch break,” he said, leaving her in the conference room alone. Straightening her clothes, she gathered her resolve before exiting.
“You know, company policy says we must be a team player, though I doubt that means sleeping your way to the top,” Bethany said while positioning her lean frame in front of Morgan. Her bright blue eyes danced in amusement as Morgan looked her up and down. Pursing her lips, Morgan ignored the irritation growing inside her. She needed this job more than anything, and after the display in the conference room, she couldn’t afford to piss her boss off anymore today. “Look Caroline, trailer trash is speechless. That’s a first.” An obnoxious snort came from Caroline’s nose, and Bethany looked at her in humor.
Clenching her fists, Morgan’s wolf begged her to let it free. “Excuse me,” she said, trying to get around the two women blocking her way to her desk.
Bethany rolled her eyes. “Make us.”
“Get the fuck out of my way.”
“Oh, really classy,” Caroline said, puckering her lips.
“Don’t you two have something better to do?” Elijah’s cool voice shot from behind them. Morgan’s eyes reached his, and for a moment they seemed to smile before their seriousness returned.
“Elijah I—” He raised his eyebrow, and Bethany quickly retracted her statement. “Mr. Montgomery, we were just informing Morgan of the dress code policy enforced here.” Morgan bit the side of her mouth, and she stared up at the ceiling.
“Perhaps you should mind your own etiquette, or lack thereof, and leave Ms. Pierce to her own devices. Now, if you would excuse us, we have a lunch date,” he replied. Extending his hand toward Morgan, he pulled her past the two women. He placed his hand on the small of her back. “You and I need to talk.”
“How long has that been going on?” Elijah asked Morgan as she bit into her sandwich before waving her hand dismissively. “Morgan, how long?”
“Since the Halloween party. I don’t have many friends here in the city, and I thought maybe I’d found one.” Biting the inside of her cheek, she looked away. “Bethany acted nice and sweet at first, which I should have known was a con considering she always gave me a stank look whenever I got a raise. But then a few weeks before the party, she started talking to me and giving me pointers. She also told me what a client said about me and Mr. Wolf.”
Elijah’s ears perked up, his full attention on her. “What did she say?”
“That Mr. Cooper made a comment that if Mr. Wolf couldn’t control the way his EA presented herself, then maybe he wasn’t fit to be in control of the merger in Chicago.”
Though he didn’t react to the statement, Elijah felt his skin prickle knowing Bethany had flat out lied. Between his bifocals and hearing aid, Mr. Cooper could hardly keep tabs on what was going on in the room, much less who looked like what.
Morgan took a swig of her beverage. “She said I was too standoffish and that it would help me make a good impression by playing along with everyone at the Halloween party. I didn’t have a costume, so she loaned me one. Little did I know it would ruffle Mr. Wolf’s feathers.” She rolled her eyes. “You should have seen the way Caroline and her laughed when I came out of the bathroom stall at the party and they saw I’d actually worn it. Serves me right though. I should have known it was too racy for an office party, but in my defense, I didn’t expect it to offend an actual werewolf. I was just trying to fit in and not blow Mr. Wolf’s deal.”
“Jordan, the costume was Bethany’s idea. She tricked Morgan by saying it would blow the merger with Cooper if she didn’t wear it.” Elijah heard multiple expletives through their link, then silence. Turning his attention towards her, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, what’s done is done, and don’t worry, Bethany won’t be bothering you anymore.” Smiling softly at her, he paused briefly, then continued. “Also, fyi, you have a family here now. A pack. Pending, of course, you and Jordan don’t kill one another first.”
“What can I do for you, Mr. Wolf?” Bethany asked, while lightly tapping against Jordan’s door. Without looking up from the papers in front of him, he motioned for her to enter and sit. She walked in and closed the door, exaggerating her movements to draw attention to her long legs and the skirt that sat on her hips. Seeing Jordan wasn’t looking, she plopped into the chair across from him.
He clasped his hands together. “Did you give Ms. Pierce that atrocious werewolf costume she wore to the party?” Bethany fumbled with the side of her short skirt, her reaction telling him all he needed to know. Standing from his chair, he walked around his desk and sat on the edge. “I’m going to ask you one time, and one time only. Why?”
“I was only having a little fun,” she responded, and his inner wolf huffed.
“We punished her for nothing. Luna, in her own way, was looking out for us.”
He hated his wolf was right. It hadn’t been Morgan’s idea, but one of his own pack members, and yet she bore his disdain because of it. “You were just having fun at the expense of our people?” he asked, trying not to raise his voice.
Standing, Bethany ran her hands up his back. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I promise I was only having a little fun with the human. What can I do to make it up to you?”
Jordan grabbed her hands. “Bethany, have I ever responded to any of your advances?”
“You should. I would make a great Luna.”
“We already have a Luna, and she’s incredible,” his wolf said, pissing him off more.
Pushing Bethany’s hair forward, Jordan exposed the almost healed mark behind her ear. “Let’s not pretend like you haven’t been marked before.”
She pushed away from him. “Why must you constantly bring that up?!” She poked out her cherry red lips. “Haven’t I done everything to prove my loyalty?”
“Yes, and that’s why you’re still living,” he retorted, not liking how close she was to him.
She ran her manicured nails down over the buttons of his vest, taking one in her fingers and undoing it. “You would really hurt me, Alpha?” she asked. She batted her bright blue eyes at him before sliding her fingers through the small gap in his white-collared shirt.
“Excuse me, Mr. Wolf, your two-thirty is here…” Morgan’s words trailed off at the sight of Bethany’s hands on Jordan, noticing the momentary redness of his cheeks. She wrinkled her nose and unintentionally linked into the air, “Now look who’s sleeping their way to the top.” Hearing it, Jordan struggled to keep his lips from curling into a smile.
Whipping around, Bethany glared at her. “Who the hell are you talking about—wait.” The color washed from her face, and she turned to look at Jordan with parted lips.
“Bethany, meet your new pack member, Ms. Pierce,” he said. Her mouth dropped open in protest, but the yellowing of Jordan’s eyes quickly caused her to stop. Looking past her, he addressed Morgan. “Please tell him to meet me in the conference room, and then you can leave for the day.”
“Did I do something?” she asked, hoping he wasn’t still upset about earlier.
“No. I need you to go home and pack a few of your belongings and be ready by six.” Bethany’s mouth was so wide, he was sure a bug would soon fly in. That, with the look of confusion on Morgan’s face, brought him more pleasure than he was ready to admit.
“I don’t understand,” Morgan said.
“I know what we initially agreed on, but I’ve changed my mind. You’ll be living with me until your training is done. Also, please make sure you’re dressed appropriately tonight. You’ll be meeting your new pack.”