Stealing the Alpha’s Heart

I couldn’t believe that Theo’s men had managed to repair pretty much all my windows and shelves in less than a week. When I returned to work on Monday, I could finally enjoy both united sides of my shop.

“Look at all this extra retail space!” I said, stretching my arms out and spinning around. “We’re gonna be stocking and arranging for ages now!”

It was probably silly to be so happy about something like a boutique when I had a curse witches were trying to use to kidnap my fellow pack members, but I was. It was a hint of normalcy that I was desperate for. A slight promise that maybe my whole life didn’t have to be fear and battle.

“Are you sure that you and Lyssa will be able to keep up with that and your online orders?” Theo asked, flattering me again that he understood so much of my work.

“Honestly, we normally wouldn’t, but I have some new hires coming in who can help with a lot of general work.”

“New hires? What happened to the humans?”

I felt my cheeks color at that. “You see…apparently when the witch helped erase the incident from their minds, she also maybe, sort of, erased the fact that they’d been hired here at all.”

“What, really?” Theo asked, looking at me like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or be horrified.

“Yeah. They were supposed to think there was a gas leak or something, but either that witch was juiced or they were just super-susceptible to her spell, because neither of them remember being hired here.

“I did call them to check in, and both couldn’t remember who I was or the store, so I just took it as a win. I don’t think I should have human employees right now. But I felt unfair that they weren’t paid so I anonymously sent them both some gift baskets with a week’s worth of pay in them.”

“That’s very generous of you,” Theo said, k!ssing the top of my head. But I didn’t think it was generous at all. I had put their lives in danger, then locked them in my office while lying to them. I probably should have given them a year’s salary or something like that, but I figured that would have been far too suspicious. “But speaking of work-related things, I actually have a lot of Zoom calls and meetings, so do you mind if I take over the office on the other side that you’re not using?”

“Oh sure, that’s a good idea. I prefer my original office anyway.”

“Great. I’ll get on that right now. You don’t mind if I have one of my tech guys setting up an encrypted router so I have my own network to hop on, do you?”

I just waved my hand. “Do whatever you gotta do. If it helps you get the job done, I’m happy.”

“Thanks. I appreciate you.”

Another k!ss to the top of my head, then he was off. As for myself, I prepped myself to onboard my new new hires. They weren’t humans; I realized that I’d made a mistake with that before. No, they were both shifters, one from our pack and one from Cyprus’s pack, both of them around my age and excellent fighters.

I did feel slightly guilty bringing them into danger’s path, but since they were both shifters, I figured they were already at risk. And hey, considering that it was getting more and more expensive to live in the city, I was pretty happy about giving a livable wage to fellow shifters.

I probably should have gone to that solution right off the bat, and I wasn’t quite sure why I didn’t. But at least I was going to have more backup. If the witches decided to attack again, they’d have to deal with me, Lyssa, my guards, and two women who were very anxious to get their own kind of revenge.

I was happy when both arrived on time, but before I could even start their walk around, someone unfamiliar stepped into the door. I was instantly on high alert, as were the two shifters in front of me; however, I recognized his wolf scent quickly.

“Are you Theo’s tech guy?”

“Yep,” he said, lifting the bag at his side. “I’ve got his router here that he wanted set up.”

“Oh great. Let me walk you to his office.” I sent my two new employees a bashful expression. “I apologize for the interruption. I’ll be right back.”

“That’s alright. You don’t worry about us, we’ll just look around on our own,” one of them aid.

“I’ve always wanted to be in here, but I could never afford it,” the other chimed in.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

What? Her words surprised me, and for a moment, I forgot all about the tech guy. “You know I have extra stock left over from my photoshoots, right? I’m more than happy to give away anything you might like.”

“Wait, really? That’s a thing?”

“Yeah! It always has been!”

Guilt lanced through me. I had assumed that most of the shifters in our pack just weren’t into my clothing. I didn’t know they were unaware that I would just give my own pack members stuff. Within reason, of course. I would need to do a better job of getting the word out there.

“Alright, I’ll have both of you leaving with full bags today, but for the moment, I have to handle this.”

Shaking my head, I led the guy back to Theo, who greeted him with a familiar tone. With that handled, I returned to my new employees.

The tour took, well, about twice as long as it did before when we were in a smaller shop, but both women responded positively. From there, I took them to my old office and started up the paperwork.

However, I didn’t so much as get their IDs before Theo opened the door and waltzed in.

“I’m about to go out to get coffee, you lot want anything?”

Oh, well I supposed that interruption was worth it. “Uh sure, I’d take a matcha rappuccino.”

“I wouldn’t mind a caramel macchiato!”

“I’d love a strawberry milk tea.”

“Alright then. I’ll go ask Lyssa, then order delivery.”

I shot him a grateful smile. “Thanks, Theo. I appreciate it.”

“Of course.”

He ducked out and I got on with one of my least favorite things: paperwork. I found I did the best when I just got it all done in one fell swoop. However, that was hard to do when Theo popped right back in about a half hour later, handing out drinks and even chit-chatting a little.

I’d never seen him be so sociable, and I had to admit that I certainly appreciated the view. But even his chiseled chin and intense eyes weren’t enough to distract me for more than a couple of minutes. Okay, five minutes.

Maybe ten.

Eventually, however, enough was enough and I cleaned my throat. “Hey, we just gotta finish this up, okay?”

“Oh yeah, of course, of course. I’ll go check on our tech guy.”

I’d never seen Theo be so open with so many people, and while it was nice, it was a bit confusing, too. Maybe it was just the effect I had on him, but that could just be my ego talking.

Fortunately, I was pleased when we were able to finish up the paperwork without any other interruptions and I was able to release them to Lyssa to show how our stocking worked. The internet was a bit complicated, so I resolved to show them that maybe on their third day or so. Provided that there were no witch attacks, of course.

While they were occupied, I turned myself over to our invoices, which once again had stacked up with everything that was happening. Major sigh. One step forward, two steps back.

“Whatcha doing?” Theo asked, popping back in and nearly startling me out of my skin. I couldn’t believe I’d been concentrating so hard that I hadn’t noticed his approach at all.

“Holy sh!t, Theo. I was just doing invoices.”

“Ah, are they bad?”

“Well, it’s not great. Not as bad as after the first attack, but definitely not great.”

“Can I help with anything?” he asked.

“No, that’s okay. Do you have a Zoom meeting soon?”

“In ten minutes or so. Just wanted to check in on you.”

“Aw, well thank you. I’m good though. Are…are you alright?”

He shot me a quizzical sort of look. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I dunno, you just seem a bit antsy.”

“Now that you mention it, I suppose I’m pretty anxious after that meeting we had with the pack. I’m trying not to hassle Sam, but it’s much more difficult than I ever thought it would be.”

Well, now that made sense. “Good on you trying to hold back. I could tell he was getting pretty irritated the last time you were on the phone with him,” I said honestly as I swiveled around in my chair to face him.

“And the time before that, and the time before that…” Theo let out a huff. “I just never thought this would take this long. When he said he needed to prepare, I thought a couple of days. A week tops.”

“That’s why we’re shifters and he’s the witch. I’m sure the spells he has to do aren’t easy. Remember how drained he was after he led you to Sarah? I imagine this has got to be worse.”

“You think so?”

I nodded. “The spell that Sarah was under with the moonstones was pretty old, and I think the witch we’re dealing with is quite powerful.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind.”

“Alright then.” I stood and k!ssed his cheek. I didn’t realize it until I was sitting back down again, but we were k!ssing a whole lot more lately. And not just torrid makeout sessions, but simple k!sses and gentle touches. Things that were wonderfully casual in their domesticity.

Huh, that was certainly something to think about.

“Thank you for stopping by, but I gotta get to work, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, that’s perfectly fine. Tech guy is almost done anyways. See you at lunch?”

“Yep! See you at lunch.”

Boy, I indeed saw him at lunch. And an hour later when he interrupted. And then another hour later. When he barged back into my office at three pm when I was wrapping up my break, I had enough.

Grabbing his hand, I marched out with him behind me.

“Emma? Is everything okay?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” I said, sending him a knowing chuckle.

“Why does it sound like there’s a ‘but’ coming.”

“Because there is one. I like you having a makeshift office here, but—” I reached the door to his new personal space and herded him in, “only if you actually spend time in your office instead of interrupting me in mine every hour.”

He chuckled lightly, which wasn’t exactly the reaction I’d expected, but I wasn’t unhappy about it. “I suppose that I was being a little overbearing. Sorry about that.”

“Naaaah, don’t worry about it. It’s kind of cute.”

“Is it now? So you like being mother-henned?”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it that way.”

He shut his office door and took a step closer to me, filling me with a certain type of thrill that I wasn’t opposed to. “What way would you put it then?” he murmured, voice low and sending goosebumps rising along my skin.

I swallowed hard, and no witty banter filled my head. “Oh, you know…” I trailed off, my words failing me, but Theo seemed to have mercy on me.

“What I do know is that I could see myself having a permanent sort of office here. You know, split time here between our main building and here.”

Old Emma wouldn’t have liked that. In fact, she probably would have objected entirely. But the thought of Theo being close by every single day was quite comforting. Maybe even a little exciting.

Sure, we’d only had s3x twice, but already, I was feeling electricity crackle between us. I’d never had s3x at any sort of work environment before, but suddenly, I was quite interested in the idea. Theo really brought out my adventurous, less responsible side, it appeared. Which was actually quite amusing, considering how straight-laced most people considered Theo to be.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that,” I said breathlessly, standing stock-still and letting him continue to approach me. I felt like I was being hunted, stalked, but in an alluring way rather than the dogged awfulness of the witches.

“Even though that would put us in each other’s path again and again? Every. Single. Day?”

By the time he finished, we were chest to chest, and I could feel his heart beating against mine. “That should be fine as long as we behave ourselves.” I breathed, surprised I could even speak.

“Behave ourselves?” he whispered right back, the chills along my limbs growing with every passing word. “That doesn’t sound like any fun.”

His hands slid down and gripped my rear before physically lifting me up and planting me right onto his desk. My legs went wide on instinct, and Theo stepped right between them, crowding me, but in a way that I very much liked.

“Well, a little fun wouldn’t be completely remiss.”

“That’s my girl.”

He gave me a k!ss, but wow, the word “k!ss” didn’t seem enough to describe it. It was like we were connected by our souls, not our l!ps, and I could feel every single drop of passion from him like it was on a direct IV drip.

It was so electrifying, sensations zinging left and right through my brain, I almost didn’t catch what he said when he pulled slightly away.

“You know, I don’t think lunch quite filled me up.”

I blinked at him a moment, because we had ordered quite a bit from the deli, but then he started to push me further back so that I was lying across his desk, my legs hanging off the side of it, and then I got it.

Oh.

I liked to think I was fairly adept at s3x. I was confident and knew what I was doing. But something about the raw, completely unveiled way Theo hungered for me made me want to blush. I could feel my cheeks burn with color as he knelt between my legs and draped one of my knees over his shoulder and then the other.

God, that was hot. Did he know that he was practically rewriting my brain to always crave him? He had to. There was no way he was this good and knew how to push all my buttons without being intentional.

Not that I was complaining. No, I was far busier making entirely different sounds when his mouth found me over my underwear, applying the slightest of pressure. While it thrilled me with the promise of so much more, it also wasn’t nearly enough, and I whined as I tried to push myself up into his mouth.

“Patience is a virtue,” Theo practically growled, and I could feel the rumble of his voice across my folds. It shouldn’t have been that physically stimulating, and yet it was, my brain lighting up in pleasure and anticipation.

“I don’t think I would be in this position if I was all that virtuous,” I p*nted, gripping the desk for dear life.

“Oh, I disagree on that.” He pressed another tender, gentle k!ss against me and I gr0aned. “I think you’re one of the most virtuous women I know.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I don’t say things that I don’t mean.”

Finally my brain came back online enough for me to get at least of little of my normal sass back. Never in a million years would I ever have dreamed that another wolf could have affected me so much.

“Then put your mouth where your money is,” I purred, sitting up just enough to look over my body into his eyes. His gaze met mine, and the fire in them made me gasp.

“As you wish.”

Finally, finally, he pulled my p*nties to the side and l!cked a long stripe up my center. I was wound up so tightly, I practically jackknifed off the desk and I had to clap a hand over my mouth. Sure, we may have been in the far office, but there were three shifters outside and fourteen shifters in various spots outside. Not exactly conducive to screaming and shouting about the not-exactly-office-appropriate fun I was having.

“Sh!t, Theo…” And that was about the last sensible thing I said before he really dedicated himself to it. There was something voracious about my mate’s pursuit of my pleasure. ike he would pull every single drop of it he could out of me until I was addicted to his touch. And while I’d always been an independent woman, I found myself more than happy with the idea.

Apparently he’d learned quite well from our very first romp, because he went straight for all the things I liked, warming me up before ever going near my apex. My clit had always been sensitive, and I usually couldn’t stand direct pressure on it right off the bat, but he gave me all the time and stimulation I needed before ever going for it, which I certainly appreciated.

And by appreciated, I meant was quickly losing my mind as my body responded more and more strongly.

“Theo, I’m close,” I managed to ground out despite the pleasant cacophony filling my brain to capacity.

“That’s my good girl,” was all he said, and he went back to what he was doing. His words slid like honey down my soul, coating me in a delicious sort of sweetness that felt oh-so-sinful to indulge in. But I couldn’t resist. His praise was an ambrosia I didn’t know I needed. One that made my cheeks color and my pride sing in response.

I didn’t think I’d ever had a lover who was so intent on making sure I climaxed at least twice in our interactions. Normally, most were proud with one. And while I didn’t think it was healthy to always equate s3x with o*****s, I certainly applauded Theo in his efforts. What was that old phrase about encouraging positive behavior?

I couldn’t think of it before two of his fingers slid into me, a counterpoint of sensation compared to his !ips over that engorged bundle of nerves. The next thing I knew, my entire body was clamping down before releasing, sending me awash in a chemical cocktail of ecstasy.

“Oh my God,” I breathed when I was capable of human speech again. Which might have been just a minute or five years later, I wasn’t sure. As for Theo, he was humming contentedly as he still gave me little kitten l!cks. “That was amazing.” Amazing didn’t actually do it justice. It was revelatory. Mind-blowing. I’d never had s3x that made me want to grab a thesaurus, but I was beginning to want to download one as an app.

“I’m glad you approve,” he said, grinning up at me and l!cking his l!ps. “Why don’t we try for number two then?”

“Huh?” An eloquent response, for sure, but I didn’t get a chance to clarify what I meant before Theo buried his face right in my center, l!cking while his fingers curled perfectly within me, hitting what had to be my g-spot.

“Oh, oh, oh!” I gasped, caught between the discomfort of overstimulation and the promise of pleasure beckoning me to hold out. It was a delicious place to be, making my toes curl and my fingers cling even harder to the desk.

Never, never, in a million years did I ever think I would be eaten out by my mate at my job, and certainly not the point of insanity. Because that’s where I had to be headed, considering how my brain was drowning in happiness, excitement, pleasure, and a litany of other sensations that some people paid a lot of money to inject into themselves.

Was this what making love to a mate was supposed to be like? Man, I’d really been cheating myself my whole life. I’d thought I had a great s3x life, but they were all preliminaries compared to what I had with Theo. Tutorial levels to ready me for the true reckoning that was coming.

I gripped his hair and could only take, take, take as he gave me his all. When I came again, it wasn’t so much a thunderous wave washing over me as it was a warm, welcoming pond, enveloping me in its embrace and letting me sink into the wonderful sensations.

It floated in the bliss for who knew how long, but eventually I was brought back to reality by Theo continuing to tease me, his fingers changing their angle.

“Again?” I gasped, feeling like I was dripping with sweat.

“Why not?” Theo responded, this time not even looking up.

And he was true to his word. Again. And again. And again.

By the time he finally stood up, wiping his mouth, I was little more than a pile of goo on his desk.

“Y-y-you’re definitely gonna need to sanitize this,” I gasped, my chest heaving. I didn’t know if I was numb or electrified from the waist down, but either way, I wasn’t likely to forget what happened anytime soon.

“Here, let me help you up.”

Theo’s strong arm slid under me, guiding me into a sitting position. Once he was sure I was steady, he pulled a bottle of cold water from his mini-fridge—where did he get that?—and held it to my mouth. I thankfully slurped it down, realizing that my mouth was dryer than the Sahara.

“What about you?” I asked blearily once I was done, feeling f**k-drunk and blissed out.

“What about me?”

“Don’t you want, you know, your turn?”

But he just tenderly k!ssed me, and tasting myself on his !ips made my heart skip a beat. “Don’t worry about me. We can work that out once we’re home?”

Ooooh, well, that gave me something to look forward to.

“You’re something else, you know that?”

“I’m fine with that as long as I’m your something else.”

I flushed from head to toe with that, my words failing me. But Theo just k!ssed the tip of my nose, then my forehead before helping me onto my feet. I arranged my clothing, then drained the second bottle he handed me.

“Ready for the rest of your day?” he asked, smirking at me. “I’ll be a good boy and stay in my office as much as possible.”

“Thanks,” I murmured, still feeling a bit of hormonal whiplash. Like my brain was being forced to return from a long vacation that it absolutely didn’t want to leave. “I’ll see you at close then?”

“I’ll see you then.”

I hobbled out, trying not to look like I’d had enough o*****s to fill a punch card, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself. Yeah, my life may have not been going perfectly, but some parts of it, I could get used to.

As a wolf, I’d never liked that phrase about silver linings, but hey, maybe I could get behind it. With Theo at my side, it felt like anything was possible.

---

“Ay,did you make sure your staff knew to add extra to your draft order this month?” Jacobian asked across the table to Parker, who was deep in conversation with Sam. Personally, I was surprised the witch had even come out. Ever since he’d started working on the spell, he’d pretty much become a social recluse.

“Of course I did. I take family dinners very seriously, just so you know,” Parker replied primly.

“Oooh, we love a man with responsibility,” Sam said, a definite note of teasing in his voice. “Yaaaas, king.”

“Shush you.”

Those two were cute together, I noted that much, but I was distracted when Theo pushed a glass of moscato into my hand.

“Hey, I thought you might like this.”

It was just a glass of wine, but I found myself smiling dopily at him. Something had certainly shifted between us. I’d gone from resenting him, to being happy he was around, to longing for his company. And it wasn’t just because he was handy with o*****s, although those were nice, too. He just made me feel so seen. And also realize that maybe, just maybe, I had dedicated a bit too much of my life to work.

Hiring on Lyssa had been the start of me realizing that working five days a week, ten hours a day, plus photoshoots wasn’t really sustainable. I still loved work and I was still dedicated to improving my business, but I wanted more time to go home and have dinner with Theo, or to run with other members of my pack. I wanted to live and experience all the things that witches wanted to steal from me.

“Oh, what’s this, tableside service?” Kaleb teased, his chin resting in his hand. I didn’t know what it was, but it seemed that ever since Theo and I had been mated, Kaleb had started to talk to me more. Maybe it was just my imagination, or maybe he’d known I’d had a crush on him and had tried his best to ignore me. Huh, if that was the case, I wish he would have just turned me down. Would have saved me from wasting a whole lot of years and effort.

Or maybe he was just oblivious and shy, and it took me being attacked twice for him to realize that tomorrow was never guaranteed. Either way, it was nice to converse with him as a friend and only a friend, not some conquest I was pining after.

“Not for you,” Theo retorted smoothly, sitting down beside me.

“What’s this? The great Theodore waiting on hand and foot on someone besides Mahlan?” Jacobian poked. I liked the guy alright. He was whip-smart and had a great sense of humor, but I noticed whenever he was stressed his jokes could get a bit…mean.

“I do that plenty,” Theo replied. “You’re just never looking up from your computer screen long enough to notice.”

Hannah snorted from across the table and Jacobian shot her a glare. I remembered her words at our last girls dinner, and I wondered if she would wither under his stare like so many others did. But no, Hannah just locked eyes with him, smiled brightly, then slowly drank her beer, never even blinking.

Whhheeew, the balls on her. She had tenacity, that was for sure.

“Hey now,” Mahlan cut in, his own smirk telling me that he was about to escalate the ribbing rather than tone it down. “It’s not gentlemanly to point out that a brother’s getting a bit soft.”

There was a cackle from several of the inner circle, and I felt a bit miffed at it. Theo had always been an open person, but I felt like people always joking about him being an ice prince or closed off had caused him to build walls.

So I decided to butt in, and of course, in the worse way possible for my brother.

“Trust me, nothing about Theo is soft where it matters.”

Dead silence. I batted my eyes at my brother, my grin not too different from Hannah’s. When nothing happened for a solid couple of seconds, both Hannah and Savvy broke out into full-on cackles, unrestrained, unhinged, and utterly perfect. I didn’t join in, if only because I wanted to maintain eye contact with my brother.

When he finally spoke, he sounded truly pained, which was amazing, by the way. “Why do you do this to me?”

“If you can’t handle the heat, stay out of the kitchen,” I shot back before turning and k!ssing Theo’s cheek.

“You see,” my mate said, also grinning broadly. “All of you think that I’m the one you have to watch out for, but Emma is far crueler than I could ever be.”

“I’m a savage,” I added in a complete deadpan tone. And that was about all I could handle before I joined the girls in their laughter. After another uncertain pause, my brother and the rest joined in.

It was strange to have so much happiness after weeks of fear and danger. And while the danger wasn’t over, I felt more equipped to handle it than I ever had.

Yes, the witches were dangerous. And yes, I still had their tracking mark on me. But we were making it work and soon would turn it against them. And then, when the mystery was solved and everyone was safe, I could finally enjoy the new life I was so looking forward to.

Just a little longer.