Chapter 9

• “Hey, Fallon! How’s it going?” Luka’s eyes fixated on his protege across the room with a smirk as he answered his phone.
• Over the past few weeks, he and Anna had become close friends, and he suspected she had a crush on the superstar wrestler, Fallon Danes, from their rival wrestling company. He was older, but she always had a thing for older men and had mentioned it several times over the past weeks.
• One night, she had been having a hard time dealing with her emotions after the attack a few weeks prior, and Luka had taken time to hang out in her room and play cards to calm her. It was like everything she had held in over the past few years, spilled out in one night of his generous kindness. Sure, he was her boss, but Luka saw all his employees as friends, and Anna was no different.
• Sitting on his bed, watching reruns of old cartoons, Anna laughed hysterically while eating Chinese food. As soon as she heard her crush’s name, her eyes shot over to him.
• “Yes, she’s doing good. The guys have taken a liking to her. She’s like our little sister. Huh?... Sorry dude, I can’t do that. Grayson would have my head if I showed anyone what she looked like, and she was not ready for that. He’s still hell-bent on keeping up her mysterious persona for a while on screen. Let’s just say she sure as hell is your style. Brunette beauty with a nice rack,” he teased. “She’s a little short, though. I think I could save money on travel expenses if I just shoved her in my suitcase.”
• Smiling at her with a cheesy grin, Luka gave a chuckle at the blush that instantly showed on her face. Anna looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights when she realized who he was talking to and threw a pillow at him as a warning not to speak of her crush on the Lycan prizefighter.
• “Luka,” she whispered, “If you’re talking about me, remember eventually you have to sleep, and I won’t hesitate to tie you to the bed and beat the snot out of you.”
• Luka smiled, covering the phone to whisper,” You love your big brother figure too much to hurt me. Wanna talk to your lover boy?”
• Her mouth dropped open, hoping Fallon couldn’t hear the conversation through the phone. “What? He is not my lover!” she yelled, covering her mouth when realizing her comment was a tad too loud.
• Covering her face with the pillow, she flopped back on the bed, embarrassed her boss was starting to catch on about her mega crush. She hadn’t admitted it yet, but the signs were there.
• Luka laughed as he continued with his phone conversation. “Oh, yeah. We should get together, man. You’re going to be in the same town as us soon, right? Oh, yes… I’m sure Grayson would love a visit from the Dark Order. Maybe you can put the asshole in line for forcing her behind that mask. We all know he’s scared of you. Hell, man, everyone I know is scared shitless of you and your brother. Bring your sister Allora along and he’ll be running for cover. Your sister is more frightening than the two of you combined. I’m amazed she’s not your pack’s Alpha.”
• Luka continued his conversation while Anna tried to focus on the TV. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going as planned. She was switching channels like a madwoman, knowing full well she couldn’t get her mind off the conversation. She was just hoping Fallon would talk loud enough that she could hear his voice. Sure, she was a tad immature, but she hadn’t exactly had a chance to have many real-life experiences since all this madness started.
• “Damn that man for being so sexy,” she muttered to herself. Even his deep, graveled voice sent chills through her.
• Once Luka hung up the phone, he smiled at the woman, who was trying to avoid eye contact.
• “So, baby girl. Give it up. Why is it that every time Fallon calls me you blush and get that wide-eyed look on your face? It’s like you just got caught with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar.”
• Luka smirked as he popped some popcorn in his mouth he had been munching on all evening. She hated that smile. She learned very quickly that Luka had a charm she couldn’t deny. He was sexy too, and she couldn’t deny that either. If it wasn’t for Fallon, she would probably be attracted to him but knew they were really just good friends, and she would never think of her boss that way. He was at least some good eye candy to hang out with on lonely days and funny to boot.
• She sighed. This was one of the many times he brought it up, and she had been wanting to tell him the truth for weeks now.
• “Okay…” she hesitated while rolling over on the bed to face him. “Here’s the thing. I have wanted to tell you a secret, and you can’t let it get any farther than this room, okay? I know I deny it, but I can’t keep it inside any longer. You’re my best friend and I trust you. I’m not asking you to lie for me. I never would want you to do that. If he was to ever ask you about this specifically, I won’t expect you to lie. That’s not fair to ask anyone to do just because I’m shy.”
• “Fair. But I wouldn’t tell anyone anything you didn’t want me to. You know that.”
• Luka noticed she was fidgeting with her fingers and biting her lip, so it must have been serious. He noticed she did it often when she was nervous or scared. So, he decided teasing her right now was not what she needed. He always teased he thought she liked Fallon but was never really sure. All he knew is she hadn’t dated in several years. She always perked up when Fallon’s name came up in conversation, though, and never did that with any other guy.
• “I… um… How do I say this? So, you know I was asked to sign with Ritual-X before I came here?” She looked down at her hands, fidgeting.
• “Yeah. Grayson told me. He brags that he got that over on Chase by signing you first. You were his big money maker. We thought you were a Lycan by the way he talked about you.”
• “Nah. Just a girl who loves to fight. I’m just glad you all aren’t any stronger than humans in this form. If not, I’d get the crap beat out of me all the time.”
• Giving a chuckle, he agreed. “Yeah. When we are in the Lycan state, we’re much more powerful, but this old human body I have to work for.”
• “Grayson just took a liking to me, I guess.”
• “You guess? You’re his golden child, literally. I figure you didn’t go to Ritual-X because the money is good here, or because your ex would figure out where you were too easily there.”
• With a pang of sadness, she looked into Luka’s kind eyes. He was always so understanding.
• Moving his chair, he pulled it in front of her when he saw the tension boiling from within her. “You know we’ll protect you, right? You don’t have to be scared. Werewolves are tough, but once we have to shift, all hell will break loose. That jerk ex of yours doesn’t stand a chance.”
• “I know, but you can’t watch over me all the time. I didn’t care about Dylan. He can suck it for all I care. As long as I was on the road, he couldn’t afford the money he’d need to get to me, anyway. The only reason he got close while in Cincinnati was because it was near his home. He didn’t have to drive far, and his cheap, loser ass can’t afford to travel.”
• She shifted in her seat as the stress of her omission started to weigh on her.
• “Then what’s wrong?”
• “Maybe I should keep my mouth shut? No, Luka will understand. Maybe he can give me advice,” she said to herself. Maybe…