n, phone in hand, and texted Milo three separate times just to hear back from him, jus

ack the third tim

h the new job, she type

u too

the ordinary creak of an unfamiliar building settling around her until, sometime near dawn, exhaustion

d like a peace offering. "You look like hell," she

e seen? Should I even be

ank, appraising look Sienna was starting to recognize as a family trait. "For what it's worth, I gave him hell last night for telling you the truth so f

t exactly

of the gala venue this afternoon. Killian has to be there. You're on shift in the training room at two, working with the defensive line. Ke

ng worse than tha

just slightly. "Yeah," she said. "

ayers, checking range of motion, taping ankles, correcting a defenseman's rehab exercises with the kind of blunt clinical patience that had nothing to do with werewolve

llian w

ore she turned around, a prickle along her arms like weather changing. He was in a suit, gala-adjacent, tie perfectly straight, and beside him walked a

ia

yered over the one she'd heard in her apartment two nights ago. "This

f look Nadia had given her, except colder, more territorial. "The new

voice level, professional, though her pulse had k

caught a faint, sharp scent off her, something clean and cold like frost on metal, distinctly not hum

ent ver

dangerous, not looking away fr

al

a second before she reined it back under control, and Sienna understood, with a drop of pure ice t

aid, too smooth, buying time that wasn't going to hold. "It's

minutes with your new hire." Talia's smile had

ore he stepped back, out through the training room doors, leaving Sienna alone

once the door shut, her voice low and cold and utterly

ally

ncé's training facility like the last fourteen years never happened." Talia's eyes went gold again, hard and bright. "My father is going to want to meet you, Ms. Cole. And I promise you, whate

outh had gone dry. "You k

," she said. "Which isn't the same thing as knowing the truth. But it doesn't matter which one it is, Ms. Cole, because the second he learns you ex

ienna could feel the cold radiating

d. "I hear it's a beautiful