Page 18 of Pistols & Peonies

Assessing intel is just one of my many duties as Commander. I’m also the one who dishes out enforcer assignments, coordinates protection details, and keeps the gears turning on the darker side of this operation; the part I’d walk away from if I could.

The Chicago pack’s real source of income isn’t exactly clean. Alpha’s got his hands in everything from illegal betting, to money laundering, to trafficking drugs and weapons. He runs a full-fledged criminal network across the Midwest, and the pack enforcers are his muscle, whether we like it or not. Criminals don’t concern him unless their crimes threaten his rule or cut into his business. He turns a blind eye to everything else, and we’re expected to do the same.

I don’t like it, but I do it. That’s the job. That’s the price of holding rank in this pack; the cost of clawing my way to the top and staying there. Duty has a way of warping the moral compass. Or maybe I’m just too far in at this point to crawl out.

If last night wasn’t confirmation that I’ve sold my soul, I don’t know what is. I’m usually steady in the mornings– up before dawn, sticking to routine like religion– but after the Pairing, I barely slept. My wolf turned into a complete dickhead after the run, pacing circles in my skull all night and refusing to let me rest. While I tossed and turned, he whined and clawed, yearning for his mate like a lovesick pup.

Pathetic.

He’s gonna have to get used to disappointment, because with any luck, Violet and I won’t have to see one another outside of monthly full moon runs. Neither of us chose this bond, and I don’t intend on holding her to it.

I’m running on fumes, but discipline is discipline. I’m outside Alpha’s office at 9 a.m. sharp, knocking once before letting myself in. He’s behind his desk scrolling idly on his phone, but he jerks to attention the moment I step through the door.

“Kane,” Alpha greets, brows lifting like he’s surprised to see me. “Wasn’t expecting you here so early today.”

“Same time as always,” I drawl, striding over to his desk and dropping into the chair across from him.

He leans back with a smirk, lacing his fingers together as he gives me a once-over. “So,” he says lightly, “how was it?”

“How was what?”

“Your first night with your mate,” he clarifies, that smug grin spreading across his face. “She seems like a wild one. Bet she knows how to make a man howl.”

I grind my molars, my wolf rising despite myself. Alpha’s baiting me, testing boundaries, pushing just to see if I’ll bite. I won’t give him the satisfaction.

“Wouldn’t know,” I mutter, eyes sliding to the wall of windows overlooking the city. The morning sun glints off steel and glass, turning the skyline into a blinding wash of gold that’s far easier to look at than his face right now.

“Don’t even try to tell me you just slept next to her,” he goads, chuckling like we’re swapping locker-room bullshit.

“I didn’t,” I say flatly. “Slept alone.”

His brow creases. “Where’d she sleep?”

I shrug a shoulder. “At her place, probably.”

“You sent her home?”

“Cohabitation isn’t really my thing,” I murmur.

“I don’t care what your thing is, Kane, this is about optics,” Gage snaps, a sharp edge of irritation creeping into his voice.

My eyes cut back to him, brow lifting.

“How do you think it looks to the pack if you don’t even move the girl in with you?” he presses, scoffing like I’m an idiot for not considering the broader picture.

“I don’t really give a shit,” I mutter.

“Well you should,” he barks, his frustration building by the second. “The whole purpose of this mating was to get the pack’s attention, make the Pairing appear lucrative…”

“I thought it was about my wolf?” I cut in, deadpan.

“That too,” he grumbles, flicking his hand like it’s a minor footnote. “Dual purpose. What I’m saying is there’s already buzz going around the pack about your mating, and we need to harness that, use it to our advantage.” He leans forward, snatching his tablet off the desk. “You and your mate are scheduled for photos tomorrow afternoon. You need to play it up, look all happy and shit. They’ll be used in a press release I want out by the end of the week–”

“Photos?” I interject.

He snaps his gaze up to mine, eyes narrowing like he’s daring me to push back.

I heave a sigh, stabbing my fingers through my hair and tugging at the roots. “Respectfully, Alpha, you’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”