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)
“Meetings?” Mom perked up with the enthusiasm of a bloodhound catching a scent. “What kind of meetings?”
Flip.
“Just, um, regulatory stuff,” I said, which was technically true if you counted being interrogated by a stallion shifter prince with the power to shut down my entire life as “regulatory stuff.” “Supernatural oversight. Really boring.”
“Supernatural oversight?” Milano’s eyebrows rose. “That sounds serious for such a new business.”
“It’s really not that big a deal,” I lied, taking a gulp of wine so large it was practically a swim. “Just standard compliance things. You know how it is.” I rolled my eyes like this was just another bureaucratic headache rather than the potential end of my career.
“Compliance with what?” Mom pressed. “And why didn’t you mention this before? You’ve been working on this agency for months.”
Because I didn’t know stallion shifter royalty kept tabs on mating algorithms until yesterday, and now they want to monitor my every move because I accidentally proved that your stepson and I are scientifically perfect for each other.
Also, he maybe threatened me.
But like, in a polite, royal way.
“It’s just...complicated,” I said weakly, my heart doing that thing where it tries to escape through my throat.
“Complicated how?” This from Nicolo, and his voice was perfectly pleasant, perfectly supportive. Like a caring big brother asking about his little sister’s day.
Except when I looked at him, his green eyes held all the warmth of a nuclear winter.
“I can’t really discuss the details?” I wanted to sound brisk and business-like, but every word came out uncertain and squeaky, ugh. “There’s, um, confidentiality involved.”
“That does sound complicated,” Nicolo agreed, his tone still pleasant. “You must have been so nervous—”
He was cutting into his steak while speaking, and I suddenly couldn’t help but imagine I was that morsel of meat he’d like to cut into pieces. Each precise slice seemed choreographed for maximum psychological torment.
“—dealing with all that supernatural red tape.”
The knife sliced through the meat like it was butter, and I couldn’t help but flinch. My stomach did a nauseating flip as he speared a piece and lifted it to his mouth, all while maintaining unnervingly direct eye contact.
“Confidentiality?” Mom repeated, completely oblivious to the undercurrent of menace radiating from across the table like a heat wave. “With supernatural authorities?”
“Sort of.”
“Maryah,” Milano said in the voice that had probably made lesser alphas spontaneously shift back to human form, “what exactly did you do today?”
“I had a meeting,” I said, my voice getting smaller with each word like it was trying to disappear completely. “With someone important. About the agency. And I signed papers saying I wouldn’t talk about it. Blood Oval business.”
“How stressful that must have been for you,” Nicolo said sympathetically. He took a sip of wine, his movements casual and relaxed like a predator conserving energy before a kill. “I hope whoever you met with was understanding about your...situation.”
The way he said ‘situation’ had me gulping like the entire room was suddenly low on oxygen.
“Oh my goodness,” Mom breathed, completely missing the threat. “You had a meeting with someone important who made you sign confidentiality agreements. Someone from the Blood Oval.”
“Mom—”
“Someone high-ranking enough to require blood-binding NDAs.” Her voice was getting progressively more excited, vibrating like a hummingbird on espresso. “Someone you can’t talk about.”
“It’s not what you’re thinking—”
“You’re dating someone!” she practically shrieked, making me choke on air. “Someone important! Someone powerful! Oh, Maryah, this is wonderful!”
“What?” I choked on my wine, feeling it burn through the wrong parts of my respiratory system. “No! Mom, no, it’s not—”
“It makes perfect sense,” she barreled on, completely ignoring my protests like they were suggestions on how to improve her already-perfect lasagna recipe. “The secrecy, the supernatural connections, the confidentiality agreements. You’re seeing someone in a position of power and you can’t talk about it publicly!”
“That’s not—”
“Who is he?” Mom demanded, leaning forward with the intensity of a woman who’d been waiting twenty-five years for her daughter to bring home someone whose family tree wasn’t embarrassingly normal. “Is he handsome? What does he do? How did you meet?”
“That’s so exciting for you, Maryah,” Nicolo said warmly. “A secret romance with someone powerful. How...thrilling.”
The word ‘thrilling’ sounded like a death sentence delivered by a serial killer who really loved his job.
“I am not dating anyone!”
“Then why all the secrecy?”
“Because—” I stopped, realizing I was about to explain that I’d accidentally submitted classified compatibility data to the Blood Oval and was now under investigation by freaking Atlantis royalty. “Because it’s business stuff that I legally can’t discuss without risking sanctions from L’Alliance.”
“Business stuff doesn’t require that level of confidentiality unless there’s something personal involved,” Milano observed, and I caught the hint of amusement in his voice. “Unless you’re working with someone very high up in the supernatural hierarchy.”
My heart didn’t just stop; it packed its bags and moved to another country.