Stealing the Alpha’s Heart

LYSSA

I looked out of the window while Mahlan drove, my mind full of everything that I had just witnessed.

Somehow, someway, I’d definitely just felt and saw magic happen. Which was impossible, magic wasn’t real. And yet I could tell that the strange, redheaded woman was doing something as she lit candles and cut Mahlan’s hand. I could feel it the same way I could feel rain or gravity.

“So, would you explain this apartment situation a bit more?”

“Huh?”

I turned to Mahlan, who I could tell was trying to act nonchalant and not really pulling it off.

Nerves bubbled in my stomach, and I didn’t answer right away. I’d been plenty aware that one day I’d probably have to face some consequences for illegally squatting, but I never thought I’d have to explain the whole mess to the literal owner of the building. In my head, it had always been some detached middle manager or superintendent.

Some part of me was very pleased that he cared. He shouldn’t, but it was clear to me that he did. Logically, he should have been angry, or maybe even shocked, but none of that was there.

However, even with all that caring, it wasn’t exactly easy to open up. I’d never told a single soul about it. Well, except for one person I’d bonded with at a shelter almost a lifetime ago. Me being homeless and bouncing around living areas had been such an essential secret for so long that my body was flooded with unease at the thought of someone finding out.

And yet I answered anyway. There wasn’t a single logical reason for why I was so inclined to be agreeable to Mahlan. I should hate him. And yet there was a fizzing sort of satisfaction to pleasing him, to making him happy.

Gross.

“Well, I’ve been hiding in the apartments for the last three and a half years.”

For a moment, I thought we were about to swerve into traffic as Mahlan reacted. “Three and a half years!”

“Yeah, most of high school, basically,” I tried to sound chill about it, but I didn’t think it was helping. For being a practical stranger, Mahlan sure seemed interested in my well-being.

“Aren’t there frequent tours through most of the floors? How did you manage that?”

“I would always check the notices and change which apartment I was staying in based on that. There were always at least three show apartments on the floor I preferred to stay on, and if there was something crazy like renovations or inspections, I’d just move up to the higher floors.”

I expected a scolding, or maybe even a lecture on theft, but Mahlan just shook his head. “You’re a genius, you know that?”

A genius? That was a new one.

“Nah, hardly. I just overheard one of my friend’s moms talking about the tours and what a waste it was to have such expensive places stand empty for so long.” Now that the words were out, it was like I’d broken a seal, and they just wouldn’t stop. “They were a safe place to stay, and I even figured out how to make it an address for school and other stuff.”

Okay, I was pretty proud of that. Having a legal place of occupancy had been a huge boon to my life.

“As admirable as all of that is… why?”

“Why?” I repeated dubiously. “Look, I get that you’re loaded, but I’m pretty sure even you understand that rent is insanely expensive and people need money to live.”

He shot me a rueful look before he answered. “I mean, why have you been on your own?”

Boy, that was a story and a half, wasn’t it? I decided to go with the Cliff Notes version.

“Before I turned sixteen, I suddenly came home to find my parents packing in a real frenzy. They were totally freaked out and screamed at me to go.”

Although I tried to keep my tone steady, hurt still rose within me. They were my parents, the people I was supposed to be able to rely on no matter what. But I could still see them as clear as day, running around the house like chickens with their heads cut off.

It was hard not to laugh bitterly, but somehow I kept it inside. It had been so close to my birthday that when I’d come home, I thought perhaps they were trying to prepare a surprise party, and I walked in at the wrong time.

But no, it wasn’t some celebration of my birth. It was the rejection of me as their child — a complete abandonment by the people I loved.

What a messed-up situation. Sometimes I still couldn’t believe that it had happened at all. It had, though, and it still haunted me all the time.

It was burned into my memory how I stood on the porch for nearly twenty minutes, trying to figure out where to go or what to do. I could have called the cops, but something told me not to. So instead, I just walked numbly to the closest shelter I could find. I bounced from place to place for a while, trying to dodge anyone who tried to get me into the system. I had a few friends who had foster families, and only one of them didn’t have a horrific time. So, I figured I’d be better on my own.

And I’d been alone ever since.

“So, you just left?” Mahlan murmured, drawing me back to the present.

“Uh, yeah. More or less.”

“More or less, huh?” He obviously knew there was more to the story, but I was grateful that he didn’t grill me on it. Then again, maybe that was just because we pulled up to his place, where I saw a huge pile of groceries waiting outside the door.

“I thought you said you were just ordering food for breakfast?”

“I did,” he answered as if he hadn’t just purchased the equivalent of three months’ worth of my grocery list on a whim. “And a few peripherals. I wanted to make sure that we had plenty of anything we needed so we wouldn’t have to go out unless we wanted to.”

“Okay, that makes sense.” No, it didn’t make sense at all, but rich people never did. If everything he was saying about the mate stuff was right, I was certainly in for an interesting future.

Heading in, I followed the handsome man into the kitchen, where he began to unpack everything on the island. I couldn’t help the shock that coursed through me at the sight of all the food! And not just cheapy-cheap stuff like I would get. No, there were eggs, milk, fresh fruit and vegetables. Chocolate chips, three different types of syrup, flour, sugar, pretty much everything I could possibly think of. He must have spent a small fortune!

I knew I was staring, but I couldn’t stop. I was already drooling as I imagined everything he could make. Had I secretly died and gone to heaven? If I had, it was a bit weird, but I would happily put up with pack whatevers if it meant a free breakfast buffet!

“Hey, you don’t have to stand if you don’t want to. Come have a seat.”

He grinned broadly at me, and whoa, did my body react. The grin made his chiseled features stand out even more, and his deep, earthen eyes shone in an entirely inviting way. That look could make my knees weak and my libido poke its head up ever so slightly.

“Okay,” I murmured, sitting at one of the tall stools at the kitchen island. The food smelled even better up close, and he hadn’t even started making anything. Sure, I’d always had a pretty keen sense of smell, but I’d grown used to trying to ignore it while I ate expired food or cafeteria slop.

“Do you have any dishes you particularly like?”

I served him up with another shrug. “I haven’t had anything for breakfast besides the school’s watery eggs, stale cereal, or stuff thrown out by bakeries.”

Mahlan paused in his movements, his face a smooth mask, and I was worried I had said the wrong thing. Anxiety bloomed within me, which was silly considering I was hanging with the man who technically kidnapped me.

I was still pissed at him, of course. I’d missed my graduation! The event that I’d been busting my butt to get to for three and a half years. But that was gone along with everything else about my life I’d been looking forward to.

By all rights, I should have picked up the juiciest, ripest tomato on the table and slammed it into his face, then rubbed the darkest berries into his stupidly overpriced carpet. But I was overwhelmed, my emotions were all over the place, and I was really, really hungry.

So, I didn’t do any of that and instead sat there with my feet dangling, watching Mahlan while he cooked.

“Is your situation why you started pickpocketing?”

I nodded, secrets continuing to flow from my mouth like water. “School can’t feed me in the summer, so I had to learn to survive.”

He nodded along, and I was relieved at the lack of judgment. I expected a rich guy like him to lecture me on the morality of theft, but he seemed to at least somewhat get it.

“Normally, I would never steal around where I’m living. It’s too easy to establish a trail and get caught that way.”

“As proven by our little encounter.”

“Yeah,” I agreed with a huff. Man, so many years of going uncaught all gone in a poof of smoke. Or a poof of wolf, I guessed, which was perhaps the weirdest expression my brain had ever cooked up.

“I know I shouldn’t have gone after that Cyprus dude, but I saw how stacked his wallet was. He had enough to get me through all summer and probably into the next year. Which I needed, ya know, considering that I graduated, so I’m not gonna get two meals a day from my high school.”

I rested my chin in my hand, my tone turning dreamy. “I probably could have afforded a few classes or even rented a little apartment on my own. It was just too much to pass up, ya know? I don’t want to be some homeless kid forever.”

It was a rhetorical question, so Mahlan didn’t answer right away, instead continuing to butter the pan he’d put on the stove. And if I noticed the sudden increase in tension in his shoulders or the way his hand gripped the spatula much tighter than it needed to, well, I didn’t point that out.

“You’re no longer homeless.”

…I supposed that was true. But I wasn’t sure if I should appreciate that or feel forced into being with him. Sure, I’d always daydreamed about never having to worry about money again, but I wasn’t exactly fond of how it had happened.

I’d been bitten, literally bitten, and absconded without my consent! I’d been svcked into a world of monsters and magic without anything but some vague apologies for the inconvenience.

Boy, my emotions were still in an uproar. I needed a full meal, a good nap, and maybe a trip to the loony bin.

“Do you have anything you need to get at the apartment?”

“Um, just a little bit of stuff. But not too much.” I paused, my brain catching up with the practicalities of the whole situation. “I didn’t think we’d agreed on me moving in with you, though.”

It was a weak shot at independence, but I felt like I was teetering on my brain turning to mush from everything inundating it.

“It would be best if you stayed here or in the place next to mine.” He said it with so much steel that my temper flared. I didn’t like being told what to do like that. But then his tone softened, cutting off my rising furor. “I know you didn’t ask to be mated to an alpha, but here we are, and I’m going to take care of you.”

“I’ve applied for plenty of jobs, and I’ve gotten good at providing for myself,” I objected. “I don’t need to be taken care of.”

“But you don’t have a job yet?”

I wanted to lie, but it just wasn’t in my nature. It was already so much keeping my situation a secret from my friends; I didn’t have room for any more subterfuge in my life.

“No…”

“Then let me help until you do.”

I wanted to decline, and by decline, I meant to tell him exactly where to shove it. But before I could get anything out one way or another, he kept going.

“If you need a job, let me pay you for your expertise. We need your pickpocketing skill to get our moonstone back and information on who killed our previous alpha. If that’s not a high-paying freelance contract, I don’t know what is.”

“You would pay me for that?”

“Of course. Despite how it may seem, I don’t want to force you into anything, and I believe in paying people for their worth. And you…” he leveled me with a look so intense that goosebumps rose along my arms. “Are worth more than you could ever know.”

Geez, he really knew how to talk to a woman, didn’t he? I did my best to swallow my reaction, but once again, my whole body was crying out to close the distance between us and press my l!ps to his.

We’d only k!ssed once, but wow, I felt more with that single smooch than all the times I’d made out with my ex combined.

“You mentioned that at your little meeting. You said you needed me to lift a key card?”

“Yes. We’ve tried to hack in digitally, but we haven’t been able to get past their security measures, even with a large-scale DDoS attack on their servers. So, we need direct access. You would be a huge boon to our chances.”

I thought about it for a moment. I’d ever expected to get a job offer from my pickpocketing skills, but did it count when the job offer was from my literal kidnapper? Everything was so darn complicated.

“I can get the keycard if you can get me near the right people.”

“Huh, you’re being far more agreeable than I expected.”

That makes you and me both, handsome alpha man, I thought snarkily before continuing. “Not for nothing, but what else am I supposed to do? I have nowhere to go; you own the building I’ve been hiding in. You know that I’m basically a criminal and could turn me in. Figure I would go with the flow.”

“I would never do that,” Mahlan said with conviction. “Turn you in. I don’t want to hurt you, Lyssa.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve said as much. But if you’re willing to pay me for the job, I’m willing to do it.” I let my tone sharpen and hit him with a patented look. “But don’t take this as me accepting the whole mating without my consent thing. I’m pissed, and we aren’t done talking about that.”

Wasn’t that the understatement of the year?

“But while I process this whole shifter thing and everything else, we’re gonna table that whole conversation.”

“You’re a wolf too, you know.”

I held up my hand, having more than enough of that nonsense. “Nope. That’s an ixnay with a capital ‘I,’ my friend — literally impossible.”

“Your magic is suppressed, but I’m telling you the truth.” Well, he certainly seemed earnest. “That’s why you’re influenced by my alpha commands and mating bond suggestions.”

His what now? “Is that why I’ve been compulsively doing what you want?” Mahlan’s expression grew slightly guilty, and I had my own eureka moment. “Don’t do that again. I don’t like it.”

He didn’t answer for a long moment, and I was totally willing to throw down over it, but then he cleared his throat, his voice gentle. “I will try my best only to use it if I think it’s the only way to keep you safe. I won’t use it for everyday things.”

Well, that was a compromise, I supposed.

“Good,” I said with all the finality I could muster.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the conversation faded after that, leaving me to sit and simmer in the delicious smells drifting from the stove. By the time Mahlan put a nearly overloaded plate in front of me, I was practically drooling.

“Let me know if you want more.”

“More?” I parroted like he’d just started speaking ancient Latin.

“Yeah, I made plenty in case you wanted seconds.”

My heart sang I looked at my plate’s borderline mountain of food. He’d just given me more calories than I usually ate in three to four days. I couldn’t imagine having more.

But I sure as hell was willing to try.

I dug in, and it was impossible not to g***n my appreciation. It was the best thing I’d had in years — the eggs were rich, buttery, and perfectly seasoned. The bacon was salty, crispy, and the fat melted across my tongue like a dream. Pancakes? Light and fluffy. Fruit and granola parfait? A revelation.

I devoured it like a starving woman, which I guessed I was. Occasionally I looked to Mahlan, expecting an expression of disgust or judgment, but instead, he just appeared pleased as punch at my voracious inhalation of his fare.

“Where did you learn to cook?” I asked between mouthfuls, taking in the sight of him in his black apron. Goodness, he wasn’t fair. His broad, strong form filled out the dark colors of his button-up and dress slacks, and his hair was lazily swept to the side in a way that made me want to run my hands through it.

Did I have Stockholm syndrome?

No, that wasn’t even a real thing. I remembered reading about the case it stemmed from, a 1973 bank robbery. Psychiatrist Nils Berjerot had coined the phrase without even talking to any of the victims, and it did a fair bit to undermine human’s natural reactions to violence and trauma.

Right. Because that factoid really matters right now.

“You sure you don’t want seconds?” Mahlan asked, looking almost hopeful. Weird guy. Devastatingly handsome but weird.

“Nah, I’m full to bursting.”

“I’ll leave these on the stove if you get hungry later.”

I made an affirmative hum while I rubbed my very stuffed belly. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten so much food, and whenever it was, it certainly hadn’t been half as good as everything I’d just scarfed down.

“Would you like to get your things today?”

I perked up at that. Sure, I wasn’t sold on his insistence that we live close to each other, but the idea of having what few meager possessions I did own was comforting. “Yes, I would.” The last thing I wanted was for some maintenance guy to find it in the air vents. Even if I never went to that place again, I didn’t want to ruin the free space for any other homeless kid who might stumble across it.

“I’d also like to shower and change. Do you have any clothes I can use?”

“While your dress does look quite lovely on you, yes, that can be arranged.” His eyes slid over me as he said that, but somehow it wasn’t in a creepy way. No, I felt appreciated, like a beautiful painting or even a bit of a movie star. How could he make me feel that without even blinking? It was uncanny!

“You saw where the bathroom was in my room. Why don’t you go shower now while I clean up in here, and my assistant will bring an outfit for our trip to the Langhouse building.”

“Okay, sounds good to me,” I said, hopping off the stool only to instantly regret the way my very full belly bounced.

“Please, take as long as you want. There are some errands I’ll have to run while we’re out, so it’ll be best for you to be nice and refreshed.”

“Should I take a bath then?” I loved baths, but I couldn’t take them too often at the apartments because the sound of the water draining was about ten times more noticeable than a shower.

“Whatever you want. Check the closet in there for hygienic supplies. I have plenty.”

“Really? You don’t look like the metrosexual type.” Not that he looked grubby either. But there was a rugged sort of look to Mahlan, a natural kind of roughness that couldn’t be tamed and piqued my interest in all sorts of ways that it probably shouldn’t be piqued in.

“I’m an alpha. It’s not entirely uncommon to have pack members stay here after celebrations or tragic events. I like to make sure I have something for everyone if they’re in my home.”

I bit off my prepared snark, surprised by his sincerity. Despite the whole hijacking of my life, Mahlan seemed like a really nice guy.

“Can’t argue with that policy.” I said before hurrying off.

I made my way to the bathroom, thoughts flying through my mind in a never-ending tizzy. Ever since I’d woken up, they’d been ricocheting between liking Mahlan and intensely distrusting him. Wasn’t that a thing with psychopaths? Weren’t they supposed to be insanely charismatic? What if I was just being duped like everyone who liked Jeffrey Dahmer was?

Ugh, I did not like that thought.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that by the time I got to the comically oversized bathroom, I just stared at my reflection for a bit. I wished that someone had prepared me for what to do in such a situation, but last time I checked, the school library hadn’t had anything on how to prepare for sudden, forcible bite-mating by magical creatures in business suits.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

A knock on the door nearly startled me out of my skin, and I opened it to see Mahlan standing there with a shirt and pair of boxers in his hand. He wasn’t trying to shower with me, was he? That was a big no for me. The most naked any male had seen me was in a worn one-piece that one of my friends had given me after she got hit with a Mack truck level of puberty and couldn’t fit in it any longer.

“Yeah?” I asked dubiously.

Something about my stormy expression must have given the man caution because he held the clothes out to me without getting any closer. “Here, in case you finish before my assistant returns.”

“Oh, thanks,” I said with relief, accepting them.

“No problem,” Mahlan responded as I grinned up at him. Why did he have to be so likable?

My smile must have sent the wrong message, though, because he did step forward to place a small k!ss on the top of my head and rest his hand on my waist.

My body reacted like it was hooked up to the world’s most pleasurable electric cable. I could feel the static of it crackling along my skin, and yet again, I was nearly consumed with the desire to press our bodies together and learn about everything I’d been missing out on.

But there was something else besides the attraction and desire. It was that same acrid anger that had burned in my throat ever since he bit me. Sure, my belly was full of the amazing food I could never hope to afford on my own. And yeah, I was getting brand-new clothes handed to me by his fancy assistant like it was nothing. But none of that changed the fact that he had forced my hand. Literally forced me.

I moved on instinct, grabbing his hand and squeezing it as I pulled it off of me. I got the feeling that he could have easily resisted, and there would be nothing I could do, but he didn’t fight me. Instead, he just stepped back respectfully.

“Our hot water heater is pretty robust, so you shouldn’t worry about the water going cold.”

“Thanks,” I said awkwardly, trying not to cringe inwardly at the moment. Thankfully he headed off before we had to soak in it any longer, and I was finally free to check out the closet he mentioned.

Mahlan wasn’t kidding about hygienic supplies. He basically had an entire bath and body shop in there, from body washes to soaps, oils, and even some bath bombs. But that would have to wait for another day if I ended up stuck in the place. I wasn’t nearly comfortable enough to soak naked for an hour in a strange man’s tub, but I could see myself someday getting there. Eventually.

I shook my head at the errant thought. The last thing I needed to worry about was making some Lyssa soup.

Instead, I focused on picking out what I wanted to use. With so many choices, it was easy to get overwhelmed by everything. But then I caught a scent that was unmistakably Mahlan.

Reaching in, I pulled out what had to be the body wash and shampoo that he used. I’d always been pretty sensitive to strong scents, but his was perfect. Woodsy, with a sort of masculine musk that probably shouldn’t have smelled good but still very much did. I happily hurried to the shower, and man, if those things tickled my fancy in the bottle, they were about ten times more potent once I added hot water and steam.

And goodness was the water hot. I had a penchant for liking my showers as hot as the lava rivers of Mordor, and I actually had to turn the temperature down. That was an entirely new experience for me, and I loved it.

How long I spent in there was between me, the Lord, and Mahlan’s water bill, but when I came out, I was pleasantly pink and nicely wrinkled. I was almost a whole new woman, and entirely happy about it.

True to what Mahlan expected, the assistant wasn’t back, so I changed into his shirt and boxers. It probably should have been awkward, but it wasn’t at all. Instead, a fizzing sort of contentment bloomed in my middle, spreading through all my limbs and making me smile. I liked how his clothes felt on me, and I liked how they smelled.

For so long, I’d felt like an alien walking around with humans, trying to fit in. But I didn’t feel that way in Mahlan’s clothes, which made zero sense.

But my mind was tired of questioning everything, so I sauntered out to the kitchen, looking forward to talking to Mahlan again so we could maybe see a bit more eye to eye on my living arrangement.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting once I got out there, but it wasn’t for there to be a petite blonde girl leaning against the island and grinning at Mahlan like he was the sun himself. I ground to a halt in the doorway, looking between the two.

It was the woman who saw me first, pausing mid-sentence, and a strange flare of possessiveness rushed through me. What the hell was that about?

“Of course you got a hot mate,” the girl grumbled, wrinkling her nose. “Did I mention I hate you?”

Mahlan laughed like she was just the funniest thing, and I couldn’t quite read their dynamic. Was she an ex or something?

“You might have once or twice.”

I drew closer, looking them over. “Is this an old girlfriend?” I asked, trying to sound bored. I liked to think I nailed it, but I couldn’t deny that there was plenty of jealousy in my thoughts.

Which, again, made less sense than life vests on kitty cats who lived in the mountains. Mahlan had stolen away my life with a single bite. I should hate him and be more than happy that an ex was around to take him off my hands and let me return to what I was supposed to do.

But I didn’t hate him and was very much not happy to see an old romantic partner.

“Hardly,” Mahlan said, still chuckling. “This is my assistant, Taylor.”

“And I’ve never dated this jerkhole,” she said, sticking her tongue out at him. “We’re just old friends because I have terrible taste.”

“I’m gonna remember you said that the next time you ask me to reach the top shelf,” Mahlan joked.

“It’s not my fault that your cabinets are ridiculously high! We’re wolf shifters, not giants or Joten!”

Mahlan just rolled his eyes and leaned back against his counter. “I believe you have something for my hot mate?”

“Oh, right!” The girl lifted some bags, beaming brightly at me. “I had to guess, considering Mahlan’s horribly unhelpful descriptions, so I got a lot. Men, amirite?”

“Uh… yeah,” I agreed uncertainly, quickly catching the high-end names on the bags. Had Mahlan gotten me designer clothes? That seemed awfully exorbitant, rich or not.

“I’ll take these to his room so you can choose whatever you want. If you realize you’re looking for something in particular, just let me know, and I’ll get it for you!”

“Thank you,” I said, partially in shock but also meaning it. Although I couldn’t deny the envy still bubbling in my gut, I did appreciate her niceness. “I’m sure everything is lovely.”

“Aw, you’re a sweetie. Way too good for this ol’ alpha.”

“I’m only three years older than you,” Mahlan chimed in.

“I knooooow, you’re practically ancient,” Taylor shot back as she trotted off. Once she disappeared down the hall, Mahlan sent me a soft smile that made the bitter feelings melt and fade to the background of my mind.

“Why don’t you go get changed, then we’ll leave?”

“Okay.”

I didn’t know what else to say, so I headed down the hall where I found Taylor in Mahlan’s room, setting out several outfit pieces.

“I didn’t know exactly what your style was, so I went with something classic and simple for today,” she said breezily, pointing to the white button-up shirt and denim cut-offs she had laid out on the bed.

“You wanna try them on?”

“Sure,” I said as she handed me a bra, underwear, and the items. Heading to the bathroom, I mournfully slipped out of Mahlan’s clothes and then redressed in the new stuff. It had been so long since I’d had new clothing that it felt so unnatural on me. Everything seemed too big, and the bra was at least a cup size too large.

“Blech,” I commented, feeling frumpy and self-conscious as I stepped back into Mahlan’s room.

“Oh, honey, lemme help,” Taylor said, rushing over. With a practiced expertise, she rolled my sleeves up, tucked in the front of the shirt, and pulled the shorts up a touch higher to sit at my natural waist. When that was done, she dropped a pair of trendy flats at my feet and took a step back.

When I looked in the mirror, I saw that I did indeed look a lot better. It was amazing how a subtle change in style could shake things up.

“Hey, just so you know, I have zero interest in Mahlan.”

“Huh?” I asked like that very thought hadn’t been swirling around my head.

“I don’t exactly bat for his team if you catch my drift. I just figured you might like to know.”

My cheeks colored with embarrassment, and I couldn’t help but be a little sheepish. “Was I that obvious?”

“Not at all! But I know unfinished mating bonds can make people a little crazy. I figured a little extra assurance wouldn’t be remiss in this situation.”

For being a bunch of people who had essentially kidnapped me, everyone was so nice. Was this what it felt like to be a family? It had been so long that I’d almost forgotten.

“Thanks for telling me that,” I murmured, looking over Taylor’s neck and shoulders. It wasn’t like I could do a full investigation, but as far as I could tell, she didn’t have any mark herself.

Huh. I wanted to ask, but I felt it would be rude. Before I could decide either way, Taylor exited, leaving me to admire my reflection for another few moments before rejoining Mahlan in the kitchen.

“Ready?” he asked, grinning at me like I was the center of the world itself. Oof, that was a powerful look, and I felt my body viscerally respond to him.

Down girl, geez!

Technically, I was still a teenager at nineteen, so I was going to blame everything on my teenage hormones and leave it at that.

“Ready,” I agreed, following him out to what was basically the batmobile but flashier. Geez, he really was loaded.

We didn’t talk much on the ride to the apartment, but it was a bizarrely comfortable sort of quiet as we zoomed along. I didn’t feel the need to fill the silence, just letting my brain catch up with everything happening.

I supposed I was adapting as well as anyone could be expected, considering I’d seen a bunch of men explode into wolves and a woman perform some sort of intricate b***d ritual. Someone should give me a gold star and a cookie.

Actually, I better not tell Mahlan because he’d probably buy me an actual star and a cookie cake from a five-star bakery.

The thought almost made me chuckle, but the looming shadow of the Langhouse Apartments removed most of the levity from the moment.

“Here we are,” Mahlan said unnecessarily.

“Yup,” I said contritely. Even though Mahlan knew pretty much everything about my situation, I was incredibly nervous about showing him my stolen abode. No one in my life had ever seen any apartments I squatted in, mainly because none of them could know what I was going through. Sure, it was pretty damn isolating, but it was necessary.

“Are you all right?” Mahlan asked. “We don’t have to do this now if you don’t want to.”

“No, I want to,” I said, searching for a way to express my feelings. But I was so emotionally and mentally exhausted that the best I could come up with was a little bit of a white lie. “Just nervous walking into the building with the guy who owns it. Seems like a pretty big deal.”

“Don’t worry about that. No one will recognize me beyond the doorman.” I gave him a skeptical glare, but he just grinned at me blithely. “Lyssa, did you know what the owner of your building looked like in the entire three years you were here?”

“No,” I answered begrudgingly.

“And did you expect him to look anything like me?”

“…no,” I admitted even more begrudgingly-er. I didn’t know if that was a real word, but I was making it one.

“Exactly. It’ll be fine. Now come, let’s go get your stuff. If we need to order a U-Haul or anything, I can call John.”

A U-Haul? Oh, geez, Mahlan had no idea what my life was really like. Well, he would be figuring it out pretty soon, considering how determined he was to integrate our lives.

Ducking my head, I followed him inside. Sure enough, the doorman noticed Mahlan, but I was able to slip by behind him and hurry to the elevators before he realized we were together. Perhaps it was silly to get social anxiety about the doorman, but he had always been nice to me and made me feel like an actual resident, not a street rat who found a loop in the system to exploit.

We reached the elevator without much incident, and I hastily pressed the button for my floor. If Mahlan noticed my urgency, he didn’t comment on it, and I was grateful for that.

The halls were quiet as we headed to the apartment where I’d left my stuff, and this time it was me who led him in. He looked around at the blank space with plenty of surprise, which struck me as odd, considering he had to know what the inside of his building looked like. …Right? Or was that terribly naive of me?

“Where’s all your stuff?”

Oh, that was what he was concerned by. He really didn’t get it.

“I have to hide it every time I leave in case someone comes in while I’m gone. I try not to spend any time here during daylight hours if I can help it.”

“Hmmm,” his sound was noncommittal, so I ignored it. Although he hadn’t outright judged me yet, I could tell that something about my homelessness bothered him. He’d mentioned a couple of times that he wanted to provide for me, but I couldn’t my brain wrap around that. Nobody wanted to provide for strangers out of the goodness of their heart. That wasn’t how the world worked.

“I’ll go get my stuff.”

Hurrying to the vent, I thought I would feel mournful at losing the places I’d called home for so long. But I found that wasn’t on my emotional radar at all. Sure, I was chewing at the bit about Mahlan’s insistence that I move, but much to my surprise I didn’t hold much sentiment for my squatting place,

However, I didn’t let it distract me and pulled out the duffle and small reusable bag that constituted my whole life. Trotting back to Mahlan, I shot him what I hoped was a peaceable grin.

“Got it!”

Mahlan didn’t react how I anticipated. I thought he’d be pleased with how quickly I’d gotten in and out, but instead, he looked at me, the bags I was holding, then behind me. “Where?”

I lifted my arms slightly, making the plasticky material of my bags rustle. “Here!”

It was like something out of an overacted romcom as his eyes shuttled from me to my belongings. “That’s it?”

“Hey, it took a lot of work to get these!” The inflatable air mattress was an especially huge boon. Before that, I’d been sleeping on two yoga mats I’d pulled from a gym’s dumpster. But when Sarah’s mother had decided to replace their outdated camping bed with a newer one with a quieter blow-up motor built in, I’d happily taken the old one off their hands.

Mahlan looked like he couldn’t tell if I was joking, and it was starting to get insulting.

“Hey, not all of us have assistants and finance teams and fancy-pantsy homes with bathrooms an entire family could live in.”

“Sorry,” he said quickly, seeming to snap himself out of it. “I didn’t mean anything by it, really. I just…” He shook his head and collected himself. “We need to go shopping. I am very impressed by your resourcefulness, but frankly, you need more things.”

“I’ve gotten by just fine with all of this.” I didn’t know why I was protesting. Hadn’t I always dreamed of having more money to afford more things? If Mahlan was willing to throw down, why on earth would I object?

“Lyssa, I realize you are an incredibly strong woman, but you need more things. Firstly, you need clothes you can wear in a professional setting, especially if you accept a freelance contract to help my pack. And multiples of those outfits, considering I want to take you to upscale places and test your skills.”

I dropped my bags and crossed my arms, my stubbornness welling up. “You don’t have to test me. And if you wanna play it that way, I could always teach you or someone else how to do it so we can skip all the clothes business entirely.”

“There’s not enough time, and I’m far too recognizable as a new alpha.” He paused for a moment, and I could feel him sizing me up, which I also hated. “How about we make a wager?”

“A wager?” I repeated. I was doing that a lot lately, but I felt like I was always about five steps behind whatever Mahlan was talking about.

“I bet I can purchase more than you can steal at every store.”

“That’s not fair! You could buy several carloads from the store, and I can only do what’s on my person.”

“That’s a good point.” He seemed to consider my words, and that helped me settle down. For being so adamant about some things, Mahlan did appear to respect my opinion on others. “How about I can only buy things you physically touch?”

“What if I go in a store and touch nothing?”

“You do need to act like a normal shopper.”

I probably shouldn’t have asked, but it was in my nature to want things to be fair. “All right then, you have a deal.” I offered my hand for a shake. I was about to show Mahlan just what I could do.

His larger, warm hand gripped mine, sending those little zings of energy into me. “Game on then.”

Filled with determination, I lifted my bags to take them to the car. But Mahlan took them from me, giving me a look that challenged me to say something about it.

I didn’t, though. I knew when to pick my battles, and this wasn’t one of them.

Instead, I just followed along and got into the car, already planning different techniques I would trot out. Hitting a store was a lot different than pickpocketing individuals, although it was the less guilt-inducing one.

I was completely unfamiliar with where Mahlan was driving me, but I could recognize that the boutiques we were passing were growing more and more high-end by the second. I trekked to such areas maybe once every couple of months. While my haul was always insanely high, the risk was that much higher. Cops in rich people’s spaces were much more vigilant and violent, a combination I didn’t need.

And poorer areas of the city were no good either. One, I didn’t want to steal from other people who were struggling. Secondly, cops were also liable to be much more vigilant and violent there too.

No, the best place for me to target was middle-class places. Granted, those were disappearing at an alarming rate. It used to be I had about six or seven great spots I could go to and get enough money to get me through the month, but recently it had dwindled to three. But three wasn’t enough to space out my lifts enough, which was one of the biggest reasons I’d sprung for that Alpha Cyprus dude.

If I’d known what that would lead to, I would have covered my face and ran away as fast as my legs would take me. But considering I didn’t have a time machine, I was stuck with the consequences of my actions.

At least for the moment. Who knew what the future held?