Page 7 of The Lab: Rigg

The one who wore my mate’s scent, but not his face, just stared at me.

For a split second, I thought he recognized me, but then he schooled his face and had a blank expression.

That was ridiculous. How would this guy recognize me? We’d never met before. He wasn’t the same person. Was he?

There was no way he was—except for the fact that everything about him called to my wolf in the same exact way as the stranger in the breakroom.

Did some company come up with a perfume that would torture me until my last breath? One that mimicked my ideal mate’s scent?

If so, I was good and fucked because I could not live like this. I couldn’t be scenting my mate everywhere, only to find him nowhere.

The impatient guy cleared his throat.

Oh yeah, I needed to respond and not stand there like a creeper and scare them away. “Sorry. I’m just—I’m cleaning. Let me grab your dirty glasses.”

“Oh…okay. Here.” The not-my-mate guy pushed them toward me.

I gathered them up and carried them back into the kitchen, still not sure what to do. But standing there, staring at him was definitely not a plan. It would only do one thing—make him leave.

And I couldn’t allow that.

Not right now.

Maybe not ever.

5

RIGG

“What was that about?” Dax tapped the table in front of me to regain my attention. That was reasonable because I was too busy watching the dishwasher walk away.

“I’m not really sure.” I turned back to face the man I’d come here to meet—and the truth was, I wasn’t sure what was going on either.

I’d been doing this shifting thing for a long time, and I’d met the same person in different forms on multiple occasions without incident. Never once did I suspect I was recognized. But I was pretty sure this guy recognized me.

And that was terrifying.

Terrifying because it meant my shift wasn’t as firm as it should’ve been.

There was something about him that made him stand out to me. Something beyond his sexy looks, his magical mouth, and that smile. The one that could melt the polar ice caps. It was his scent. He smelled so good. But a lot of people smelled great, right? That wasn’t new. Was it?

Maybe my lack of male company was playing a trick on me. The way his mouth wrapped around me—I’d never felt anything like that in my life.

And what did I do in response to the best orgasm of my life? I panicked and bolted.

I could justify my reaction and pretend I had no choice. In reality, I did have an important appointment with Dax. I needed to focus on figuring out what Dax knew—or didn’t know—or maybe might know and didn’t realize he knew.

I wasn’t sure about anything to do with this meeting other than it was important.

But as important as it was, I couldn’t let it stop me from learning more about the wolf dishwasher. While I talked to Dax, I scribbled my number on a napkin and left it on the side of the table. It was probably a dumb decision, but I had enough burner phones that it wouldn’t put me at risk. Not too much anyway.

The meeting with Dax had turned out to be a stroke of luck. Once we sat down together and I started talking to him, I realized it was probably the most important meeting of my life.

This man knew who I was and what I could do. He didn’t say as much, but he dropped hints as he spoke. They were little hints, but hints nonetheless. He was letting me know that he was fully aware of who I was when he arranged to meet me and that he wasn’t a danger.

The relief I felt at having an ally was immeasurable.

I wasn’t scared of Dax, even though I should’ve been. I’d spent my life hiding, and even one person knowing who I was always felt like a death sentence. But for some odd reason, I trusted this guy with my secret.

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