Page 68 of Mated To My Boss

I scan through my emails, looking for anything critical. Something that pops out is from Grant; I'd missed it. I pick up my phone and call him right away. The alpha takes a while, but eventually answers the phone. “Nate, is everything okay?”

“Yes, I missed your email. Are you coming to town?”

“Yes. I need to sort out a few things and check on Cora. It will be low-key, though.”

“Okay. Madeline said Cora is recovering, but it's still pretty slow.”

“Yes. I'm afraid these times are becoming difficult for our kind. It's going to be a rough period, so make sure you watch over each other.”

I stare at the empty office, feeling f guilt pangs. “Of course, we always watch out for each other.”

“Good. I'm counting on it.”

The call ends and I stare at the chair where Madeline usually sits.What am I going to do with you, Madeline?

I step out into the afternoon sun, taking in fresh air. I get in my car and drive down the street. An annoying song plays on the radio, but I continue driving, until I reach my destination. I park and stroll to the door, knocking casually.

“Madeline?” I call, knocking again. “It's me.”

Still no answer, causing my worry to increase. I take another breath and knock again. This time, however, I catch a whiff of something familiar. Instead of the sweet, flowery scent of my mate, what assaults me is a sudden whiff of gasoline and gunpowder.

The hairs on my body stand on end.

Eyes are on me.I step away from the door, sniffing the air and looking around for signs of danger. My senses are heightened bythe threat of impending danger. I turn back toward the road.Am I going crazy? It's the middle of the day.

My instincts kick in and I drop to the ground. A bullet flies just past my head, almost grazing me before it’s embedded in a nearby tree. I look up, seeing the sun flash the projectile.Silver!

After several beats I jump up, looking where the bullet came from. I see a man in a black balaclava holding a pistol. Our eyes meet and for an instant we watch each other, waiting for the next move. Then he turns and disappears.

“What the fuck?”I immediately chase him, summoning my superhuman power.Why would he attack in broad daylight?

The hunter turns a corner, and I follow in time to see him jumping into a car. I get there a moment too late, only managing to leave a single scratch on the vehicle. As the car drives away, I commit the license plate number to memory.

I whip out my phone and call Graham immediately. “Graham, I was just attacked by a hunter.”

“What the fuck? Where are you? Are you alright?”

“I'm fine, but he managed to escape.”

“It's not even dark yet,” Graham says. “Why does a hunter attack in plain daylight?”

“I don't know, but there's a lot going on. He attacked me in front of Madeline's apartment; she isn't home.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“No, but I'm going to find her. I'll send you the hunter's plates. Run them for me, let's see if we can find this son of a bitch.”

“I'm on it. Send it over.”

I end the call and quickly send the text to Graham. As I send the text I notice another notification.

“I missed a call?”From the Knitting Store?

I call immediately, waiting for Madeline to answer and tell me she’s okay. There’s no answer. I try again and again. Still, no answer. “What's going on?” I mutter.

I jump in my car and speed through busy streets to the store. I find the store open when I arrive. However, I pause at the entrance, sensing the lingering scent of hunters.

It's too faint for a hunter to still be there, but I immediately know that one was just here—perhaps the same one who just tried to take me out.

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