"Lightwell," I repeated. Fuck.
I managed to keep myself from stammering out loud. Externally, I was still the bad bitch. Internally, I felt myself panic.
It was one thing to have Carter at the office. Sweet, gossipy Carter who I trusted to keep things on the DL was a different thing entirely to having who I assumed was the brother of George Lightwell, Alpha of the North Texas Pack and just about one of the most misogynistic wolves (or men, for that matter) that I'd met in my entire life.
And that was saying something, given the typically male-dominant world of weres.
"You must be Fiona," Gavin said, and I heard Carter's footsteps behind me as I glanced to see him standing in the doorway, papers in hand. He was probably going to use an excuse like needing one of our signatures when he was finally noticed, but I knew why he was there. Ever my little bird, he was watching. "My brother George has told me all about you." Gavin gave a crooked smile, flashing bright white teeth, that told me he'd probably heard from George that I was a raging bitch who needed to get fucked and taken down a peg. That seemed to be the general consensus amongst most of the southern Alphas. George just felt that way in particular because we'd fucked, and I'd deemed him unworthy of a second time due to an incredible lack of initiative on his part.
"George?" Oscar asked. I looked at Carter, who stood silently, unsure of how to take in this new development, while Gavin answered.
"Oh," he started, and then leaned back casually on the conference table, gripping the edge with both hands. "My brother is the Chapter President of the Lunar League North Texas." Oscar looked impressed as he surveyed the space between myself and Gavin, which was clearly packed with tension, but it was unlikely that he could put his finger on what it was about. "Nice to finally meet you." He gave me a little head tilt - a bow.
"I've been trying to get into the Lunar League for decades," Oscar lamented, taking a seat at the head of the conference room table in his plush, oversized office chair. He gestured for the rest of us to sit down.
As our outward facing organization, the Lunar League, to the public, was an exclusive charitable organization that focused on causes in the Austin area. Internally, it was our way of making sure our Circle, our community, was protected. While we allowed humans to apply, they never got in - unless they were partnered with one of our own.
Oscar had, indeed, been trying to gain membership for over a decade, especially since I took it over and really made a public name for the organization. I had always suspected that part of the reason he hired - and then promoted - me was to gain access.
"Carter," he said towards the door, and I turned to see Carter halfway out of the frame clearly heading back to his desk. "I'd like you in here to take notes." He gave me a knowing look as he moved to sit towards the other end of the table. I took the seat next to him, and Robyn flanked him on the other side.
Carter was one of the best admins I'd ever worked with, but he didn't always get along with some of our senior attorneys. And by get along with, I mean, when they gave him shit about his manicured nails and polished, runway worthy looks, he dished it back just as hard, and they didn't like it.
I, however, loved it, and it was one of the many reasons I valued him.
Gavin, with a look around, finally settled on the chair directly across from me, and when he sat down, he tried his best make eye contact with me, but I just turned to Oscar and, as usual, pretended that every word out of his mouth was pure gold as I tried to survive the next few hours before I could figure out how best to handle this situation.
Next to me, I saw Carter already scribbling on his notepad, and he slid it towards me and tapped my attention to the top left corner.
Hot. Damn.
I couldn't argue.
I hadn't been so relieved for a weekend in a long time. A three day weekend, at that. So when I finally looked at the clock on my computer, and it read 4:55, I wrapped up the items I was working on and closed everything down, ready to head to dinner at Beth's.
"You out, Fi?" Carter popped his head into my office with a smile, and I nodded sleepily, folding up my laptop and sticking it into my purse.
Over lunch, we had collapsed into a booth at our favorite Thai restaurant, dove into bowls of curry and I tried to talk through how I was going to address the elephant in the room.
I was working with another Circle member. A new Circle member. One who didn't know how we operate. One whose brother was the furthest thing from what we'd consider a great Alpha. One that had been handed several cases I was expecting to take over once my current load cleared.
Okay. That last one was more personal than Circle related. But it still added to my list of frustrations.
My plan was to stop by his new office on my way out to just have a quick "chat," but before I could stand up from my chair, Gavin came into the frame of the door, his head towering over Carter.
Carter jumped when he noticed the presence behind him, and Gavin seemed apologetic.
"Hey, so sorry, man. I didn't mean to scare you." He clapped Carter on the back, a little too hard, by the looks of it, and then looked at me, smiling. "Do you have a minute?"
"Sure," I said, gesturing to the chair in front of my desk. Gavin nodded, smiling, and sat down, unbuttoning his dark blazer. Well. At least he knew how to not ruin a good suit.
"Do you need anything before I go, Fi?" Carter gave me a look that clearly said "do I need to rescue you?" I gave him a grin and shook my head, leaning back in my office chair and kicking off my heels. Oscar had left half an hour before, and I certainly didn't need to wear stilettos to show dominance in front of Circle members.
"I'm good, don't forget we have Equinox planning tomorrow," I reminded him, and he nodded excitedly.
"I'll be there at 10 with kolaches, toodaloo!" He exited the door frame with a quick wave, half-closing the door behind him, and I turned to Gavin. He looked mildly surprised - probably realizing that Carter was more than just our coworker.
This was the first time I'd been able to get a good look at him all day. After our morning case-review, he had shuffled in and out of meetings with most of the partners, doing what I could only assume were things the good-old-boys club did.
He was large. Not domineering, bulging large like Charlie - he was tall and stocky, with arms that filled out the sleeves of his gray designer suit. His tie, pocket square and tie all coordinated in shades of blue.
Blue-green eyes stared back beneath thick eyebrows, which went right along with a well groomed mustache and thick beard.
There was something about his eyes.
The way his face crinkled when he smiled.
While it had been years since I'd really seen George up close, when we had been, well, intimate, there wasn't the warmth that I could see in his brother's. His were domineering. Angry. Cocky.
Don't get me wrong. Based on the way he'd introduced himself earlier, there was some of George's personality in Gavin. But I was trying my hardest not to throw him in the same boat I'd long since sunk.
"You're already planning for Equinox summit?" he asked, and I nodded.
"We're planning a few programs for Camp Luna, among other things, and want to get ahead of the game before we have to make proposals at the conference," I explained, knitting my hands together in front of me. "Carter helps with Circle items, in addition to being a great admin here."
"He does seem like he's on top of things," Gavin responded, and then paused. "Circle is the word you use for pack down here, right?" So George
had
filled him in.
"Yes," I said, now leaning forward onto my desk, careful to make sure he didn't get a straight look down my shirt. "You'll find, Mr. Lightwell, that we run things very differently here in Austin."
"Gavin, please," he corrected, waving his hand casually.
"
Gavin
," I repeated, and then continued. "I haven't had a chance to look over all of the documents LLNA sent over, so you'll forgive me for being a little unprepared. However, based on what I have seen, your relocation was quite sudden." I paused, and looked at him, debating whether to press on and ask him what I really wanted to know - why. But the look on his face, one that tensed immediately, told me that probably wasn't the best way to win loyalty. "Whatever the circumstances, we on the inner Circle wish to formally welcome you to the Circle of Artemis."
Ok. I hadn't had a chance to chat with the rest of my inner Circle the exception of a quick text to Margot this morning that read
Relocation from NT Pack started today. Will fill you in later.
Her response had been a quick
On duty until mtg tomorrow. Talk then. X
"Thank you, Alpha Parker," he responded, his tone formal. He extended his hand across my desk, and I grasped it, giving it a firm shake. It was warm and calloused, and he stared at my hand in his for a moment before letting it go. Internally, I was confused. I knew I didn't have a feminine handshake - I couldn't, with my role - but his stare made my stomach clench a little bit. I glanced down at the watch on my wrist, and used it as an excuse to stand. I was done with the weirdness for today, and I was going to Beth's for dinner.
Jolting from his seat, Gavin stood too, and then gave me a low nod, a sign of respect to Alphas. I nodded back, reaching down to get the heels off my floor and slipping into the flats next to them. In flat shoes, I noticed, somewhat surprised, how tall he was. Close to a foot taller than me, and I wasn't exactly petit. He was taller than his brother, that's for sure - George had barely stood an inch taller than me in flats when I'd met him the first time. And every time since, when I'd been in heels, I'd snickered to myself, as he was just below eye level.
"We can walk out together," I said, pulling my bag over my shoulder and gesturing for him to follow. He picked up a leather messenger bag I hadn't noticed before next to my desk. On my way out, I clicked off the light in my office and called out "Bye, Sandra!" knowing she was likely still at the desk outside of Oscar's door. Her sing-song voice called back, confirming my suspicions. "There's some paperwork you'll need to complete, obviously," I threw over my shoulder once we were out the front door, walking into the parking lot and towards my car. "You can come by the house tomorrow and-
I stopped in my tracks as I realized he was no longer following me. Spinning on my heel, I looked at him to see him staring at a black car straight ahead, and noticed that all four tires were completely flat.
That was not an accident. Someone was
