Page 40 of Billionaire Wolf Needs a Pilot
“What did she find?”
“Several employees hired during the last three years came with unusually strong recommendations from subsidiaries connected to Alpha Fang Technologies, the Song pack’s company.”His jaw tightened.“They’ve all been placed in positions with access to environmental data and safety protocols.”
The implications chilled me.“She was building a network inside your company.”
“A network that’s still in place, despite her supposed isolation.”He paced the kitchen, and pent-up energy radiated from him like heat.“Logan warned me that her influence extends further than we realized.”
Dinner became a working meal, our plans spreading across the dining table among half-empty wine glasses and empty dessert plates.
“We need to remove Victoria’s people simultaneously,” I said, marking names on an organizational chart.“If we start at the top, the others will be warned and might destroy evidence,” I continued as I studied the chart.“But if we move too slowly, they’ll have time to coordinate.”
Tanner nodded, his focus intense as he made notes beside each suspect’s name.“I’ll need Logan’s help.He knows how his aunt operates.My security team can detain them while we seize their devices and access.”
“The mine itself is the most vulnerable point,” I noted.“If Victoria’s people wanted to cause maximum damage, that’s where they’d strike.”
Tanner’s phone chimed with a text message.His expression darkened as he read it.
“What is it?”I asked, tension coiling in my stomach.
He turned the phone so I could see the message from an unknown number.
Unusual activity at north mine entrance tonight.V’s people mobilizing.Watch your back, Roberts.
“Someone inside Victoria’s circle is warning us,” I said, mind racing through possibilities.
“Or setting a trap.”Tanner’s eyes flashed gold momentarily.“Either way, we need to investigate.”
“Tomorrow,” I insisted, placing my hand over his.“We need proper preparation, backup, and daylight.Rushing in tonight would be playing into their hands.”
The war between the need to be strategic and the urge to end this war played across his features.Finally, he nodded.“Tomorrow then.But at first light.”
We continued working, but exhaustion eventually caught up with us.Papers and plans spread across the table would wait until morning.
In bed, Tanner pulled me against his chest, his heartbeat strong and steady beneath my ear.The warmth of his body and the security of his arms created a sanctuary that felt increasingly like home.
“Thank you,” he murmured against my hair.
“For what?”
“For seeing me.”His voice rumbled through his chest.“Not just the alpha, not just the businessman or the Roberts heir.For seeing the parts I hide from everyone else.”
I tilted my face up to his.“Thank you for letting me.”
His kiss was gentle at first, then deepened with growing urgency.Our bond flared between us, the physical connection both satisfying and stoking the emotional one we’d built throughout the day.Each touch, each whispered affirmation strengthened what had begun in desperation but was transforming into something neither of us had expected to find.
Later, as Tanner slept beside me, I gazed at the ceiling, thinking about tomorrow’s confrontation.The calm we’d found today would soon give way to the storm we both sensed gathering.Victoria’s forces were moving against us, against the town, against the future we were beginning to envision together.
The mating bond hummed between us, no longer just a primitive connection forged in survival, but something richer and more complex.Something chosen, not just fated.Something that would give us strength for the battle ahead.
Chapter 12
TANNER
I stood at the window of my father’s study, watching Angel Spring wake below.My territory.My responsibility.My burden.
The wolf paced restlessly beneath my skin, sensing the coming fight.For too long, I’d kept him leashed, denied the legacy that ran in my blood.Today, that would end.
My phone felt cold in my palm as I dialed a number I’d hoped never to use.
