Page 72 of Mated To My Boss

“Yeah.”

“Do you know where she went?”

“She said she wouldn't be transforming on land with us. She's going to the woods here in town. It's a popular spot for lone wolves.”

She must have gotten that information from her friends, and if that's the case, she is definitely not safe.

“Fuck,” I groan. “I’ll never forgive myself for this. I should've kept her in my sight. If someone attacked Cora, Madeline is a logical next target. Will Cora recover?”

Grant releases a deep breath. “Yes, she'll be fine. She’s still weak now, but we're already doing the extraction. Wolfsbane is a tough thing to handle, but we realized what affected her in time. She’ll recover.”

“Thank you, Grant. This will mean a lot to Madeline.”

Grant moves toward me. “It seems like you and your mate have been having troubles for a while. She mentioned it, but didn't go into detail.”

“She's not wrong. We've always had trouble adjusting. Well, that's not true. I'm the one with trouble adjusting.”

“Hmm …” His attentiveness makes me want to share everything.

“Even though I'm afraid we won't work out, I still want to be with her. I'm torn between fear and desire." I shake my head to get my thoughts together. “Right now, what I want is a way to keep her safe.”

He nods. “That's what matters.”

“Do we know how Cora ingested wolfsbane?”

“No,” the alpha says. “We know it wasn't a lethal dose because we'd be having a very different conversation by now. My guess is that this was an indirect attack.”

My eyes widen. “I was attacked by a hunter outside Madeline's house. He shot at me in the middle of the afternoon with a silver bullet.”

I watch Grant's face turn furious. “Why didn't you tell me?”

“I'm sorry, all of this happened so fast. The two murdered wolves really threw me off.”

“If that's the case, I need to go back to IronFangs land right away.” Grant immediately starts down the hall. I’m right by this side, feeling as much urgency as the alpha.

“Do you think they'll attack there?”

“I don't know, but we have to be prepared,” he says. “With the wolves coming for the full moon, we have no idea who could be followed and compromise our sanctuary. We have to be ready for anything.”

“I understand.”

“I'm sorry, but under the circumstances you'll have to get Madeline on your own,” Grant says, sighing. “She's in the woods there; go get her while I get the rest of the pack mobilized on high alert. I wish—”

“You don't have to explain a thing,” I assure him. “You need to make sure the entire pack is safe from possible attack. Madeline is my mate and I'll take care of her. We'll be fine. Once I find her, we'll watch each other's backs.”

Grant gives me a firm nod. “There's so much at stake, but we’ll pull through this.”

The alpha and I go our separate ways when we reach the parking lot. I hop in my car and zoom out as quickly as possible. There's only one place in the city with enough space for a bunch of shifters to transform.

The drive takes a while and during that time, I worry about Madeline. My mind wanders so much that I barely keep my eyes straight, so I call Graham to distract myself from everythingthat’s happened. He answers like he's been waiting for my call. “Hello, Nate; what’s up?”

“I'm on my way to find Madeline,” I explain. “Grant said she told him about going to the woods to transform.”

“It's not a full moon yet,” Graham notes. “Was she planning to stay there a few days?”

“Looks like it.”

“She’s a smart girl,” my friend assures me. “I'm sure she's fine right now. All you have to do is find her and bring her home. We'll all travel together for the full moon tomorrow.”

---