CHAPTER FIFTEEN

When Leah woke the next day, she lay in bed for a bit, wondering just how it was possible that everything had happened over one weekend. She’d left work Friday evening single and had woken up Sunday morning with not one, not two, but three boyfriends.

Though the term didn’t seem to suit the men that had taken over every available inch of space in her mind.

Her lovers?

Her men?

Her wolves?

Her heart stuttered and tripped over itself, and she grinned to herself.

She supposed they were all three of those things now.

Her smile was brutally wiped from her features by the muted ringing of a cell phone.

Leah sat up abruptly and stared over at the drawer on her vanity where she kept that phone.

Was it a divine reminder that she shouldn’t become too lost in this role she’d taken on?

No matter how silly and wishful she became, none of this was real.

She swiftly moved over and pulled the phone from its hiding place before she could convince herself to let it go to voicemail.

“Hello?”

“How was the meeting?” the caller on the other end of the phone got straight to the point.

Hope was naturally a straightforward person. Though she wasn’t unkind, she was generally impersonal in her interactions with Leah and never wasted time on pleasantries and small talk.

“It was…” wonderful “...progressive. They want a more...intimate relationship.”

“They?”

Leah cleared her throat in embarrassment, “all three of them.”

There was the beat of silence. “The Alpha too?” the other woman questioned doubtfully.

Leah supposed her disbelief was warranted. Noah was known for being singularly unimpressed with humans.

“Yes,” Leah answered simply, not sure what else she was supposed to say in this situation.

“This is the opening we’ve been waiting for, Leah. Things took an unexpected turn. We never anticipated that the Alpha would have any romantic interest in a human, let alone an employee. But this is good.”

Hope declared, the relief in her voice was the first hint of positive emotion she’d expressed since they first met.

It didn’t escape Leah’s notice that the older woman hadn’t raised the question of whether or not Leah had accepted the brothers’ offer.

“The next eclipse is roughly two months away. Do you think you can make any progress by then?”

Leah’s stomach bottomed out. Two months?!

It had taken her six months to gain their interest. Granted, that hadn’t even been her aim in the first place, but still...

“I’ll try…” Leah started.

“You’ll have to better than try Leah,” Hope informed seriously. “They might not survive this one.”

“What? What do you mean? Did something happen.?” Leah asked anxiously, her heart somewhere in the vicinity of her throat. She knew she should have gone home this weekend. If something had happened...

“Nothing happened,” Hope assured calmly, “we would have called if something had.”

It took a while before Leah registered what Hope had said, and her heart gradually slowed to a normal pace.

“But you know the effect the eclipse will have,” Hope continued.

Leah clearly remembered the last eclipse. That’s what had made her so determined to come to Bridgeway in the first place.

“I know,” she allowed.

“Just stay calm. Werewolves aren’t known for moving slowly when it comes to relationships, but you can’t arouse their suspicion. Don’t seem too eager.”

Was Hope giving her relationship advice?

Hard pass on that one.

She might not be experienced in relationships, but she was experienced enough in Bridgeway men...at least, more than Hope was. Not that any of that seemed to matter since she couldn’t seem to locate any of her brain cells when any of them even looked in her direction.

“Okay,” Leah answered lamely.

“Alright. I’ll inform father of your progress. Keep me updated.”

The other woman hung up before Leah could say bye.

Leah stared down at the phone for several minutes without actually seeing it.

She thought about the events of the last two days, including her conversations with Hope. She felt dirty and disgusting. She absolutely hated the person she had become. But above all of that, she feared that they would hate her when they finally discovered the person she truly was.

But even with that fear, she couldn’t step off the path she had chosen...that she would choose time and time again if given the chance. The moment she had chosen to come here, she had acknowledged that she might die in pursuit of her goal. She was still prepared for that possibility. But there was someone else’s life that was more important to her than her own. And that simple fact was the only motivation she needed.