Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 98496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 492(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
His office looked like him. Cold, organized, and every inch of it designed to intimidate with his subtle flex of wealth and power. Even his desk was meant to induce fear, a massive slab of black granite that he could, at any given moment, turn into an altar where living sacrifices were made.
“Sit down, Maryah.”
Ugh.
Everyone had always called me Ry, my own mother included. But to Nicolo, I was always Maryah, and the way he always said it?
Slow, quiet, and deliberate, with every syllable filled with this weight I could never shake off. He always said my name like he was one step away of announcing my death sentence, to be honest.
And it always, always had me bristling.
Just like now.
Which was why I crossed my arms and lifted my chin as I answered...
“I’d rather stand.”
“Then stand.”
He didn’t even glance up, his bland tone effectively putting me in my place with just two words. Why was this man so good at making me feel childish?
For a full ten seconds, I debated launching myself over that intimidating desk and setting the proposal on fire. The silence stretched between us, thick with tension and the faint scent of his cologne.
“You’re really going to pretend you didn’t read this just to watch me squirm?”
His green eyes lifted. Calm. Amused. Deadly.
“I’m not pretending,” he said. “I read it three times.”
I groaned. “You weren’t even supposed to be on the list!”
“You used company servers. Which fall under my legal jurisdiction. So technically, it was smart of Ada to include me.”
“She didn’t include you—she accidentally cc’d you!”
“Same outcome.”
“I swear,” I muttered, “I’m going to lock her out of the entire system and make her work by typewriter.”
His mouth twitched. Just barely. Like he was fighting a smile and winning.
“If you’re finished,” Nicolo said as he set the pages down, “I have a response.”
“Oh, please. Enlighten me.”
He leaned back in his chair, fingers steepled. The position should have looked casual. Instead, it looked like a predator deciding whether you were worth the hunt.
“Your business model is sound. The matchmaking concept is unique. The branding is clever. And the mating bond science is...ambitious.”
I waited for the other shoe to drop. With Nicolo, there was always another shoe.
My jaw clenched. “So you’re saying no.”
“I’m saying I’ll approve it. Under one condition.”
Every nerve in my body tensed. I’d known him long enough to recognize this tone. This was the voice he used right before he destroyed someone’s entire world and called it a favor.
“No.”
“You haven’t heard the condition yet.”
“I don’t need to.”
He smiled. Slowly. Like a wolf who’d just noticed the hen house door was open.
“You’re going to enter your own trial pool.”
I blinked. “What?”
“You’ve created a system to find compatible partners for human-shifter bonding. You’ve made claims about accuracy, efficiency, and romantic fulfillment.” His tone didn’t shift, but something in his eyes darkened. “I want to see how it works. From the inside.”
“You’re joking.”
“I’m not.”
“I’m the founder. I’m not a test subject.”
“You’re both. Starting today.”
The air in the room shifted. Got heavier. More dangerous. I could feel the alpha energy rolling off him in waves, and every instinct I had—human though they were—screamed at me to back down.
I didn’t.
“You can’t make me.”
“I’m the alpha.”
I hated how much that word still hit. Like it lived under my skin. Like it belonged to him even in conversations that had nothing to do with pack law. Like my body remembered things my brain tried to forget.
“And,” he added, pulling out a tablet, “your agency technically operates as a subsidized venture under Celestini Holdings, which gives me full executive override.”
“Oh, come on—”
“I’ll even make it easier for you.” He swiped the screen and turned it toward me.
My name was at the top of a pairing schedule.
So was his.
“First match is you and me.”
I snatched the tablet out of his hand, my heart hammering so hard I was sure he could hear it. “You’re abusing your power.”
“Probably.”
“This is harassment.”
“Unlikely. I can forward you the legal release you signed.”
“I signed that before I knew you were going to be—”
My throat closed, and something feral glinted in his eyes.
“Say it.”
I didn’t. I couldn’t.
“Then I’ll say it for you,” he murmured, standing slowly. “Your first match is me. Unless you’d rather shut the agency down before it even launches.”
My hands curled into fists as he walked around the desk. Each step was deliberate, controlled, like he had all the time in the world to corner me. And that’s exactly what he was doing—backing me into a corner where I had no choice but to agree.
He stopped just short of touching me, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating off his skin.
My pulse betrayed me.
So did the way I leaned back against his desk and didn’t move away.
“I told you before,” Nicolo said, voice quiet and deadly. “You don’t get to start a fire on my land and act surprised when the smoke finds me.”