2. Dante

I liked my job well enough. The people were great, the pay was great, and I was good at it… Usually, I was good at it. Today, I couldn’t seem to get out of my own way. I wanted to be with Kai, not here. But missing him wasn’t new. The past five minutes of not being able to accomplish anything was very new.

Checking my calendar to see what meetings I had scheduled wasn’t normally a difficult task. It took the click of two buttons. And here I was trying to get in for the third time and still not knowing what the rest of my week looked like.

It wasn’t that there were tech issues or I was missing my mate too much. If it were either of those things, I could easily explain away my struggles and move on with the rest of my day. But for some reason, my brain wasn’t working quite right.

Every little sound—my colleagues’ keyboards nearby, the squeaking of chairs, the pinging of notifications—was distracting me to the point that I couldn’t get the simplest tasks done. I closed my eyes briefly and looked to my wolf for comfort. Instead, I found myself comforting him. His anxiety was through the roof, which explained my sensory overload.

It was weird, though. He’d been anxious before, but this was different. Usually, when he felt this way, I did too. But today, I had no idea why, and that was messing with me—messing with me to the point I couldn’t even look at my stupid calendar like a normal person.

“Fuck!” I closed my eyes again and took a few deep breaths.

“What?”

I turned around and saw a delivery person looking at me with confusion. “Sorry. That was not at you. I’m just having a day.”

“I know. I can scent your wolf.”

Apparently, I was having a much worse day than I realized if those near me were scenting my beast.

“Sorry,” I called to him as he spoke to a colleague. My wolf needed out, and thank gods I worked in a place that accommodated our animal side.

I headed downstairs to hit up the courtyard for a shift. If he could scent me, the odds of me losing control of my wolf were high. I’d have a lot more to worry about if he was wandering around the office, that was for sure. A run should help him—I hoped.

Two minutes later, I reached my destination and rushed outside. I barely had my clothes off when my beast broke through. Had we been anywhere else, we’d be hunting. But between his mood and being at work, it was likely that a smaller shifter would be hurt if we did. I didn’t need that guilt on top of this wretched feeling building inside of me.

Kai.

Kai.

I froze.

What about Kai?Please don’t let this be about Kai.

Now that Kai was pregnant, my protectiveness had kicked in, more so than when we first met. Hearing this from my beast was only ratcheting up that feeling.

Kai.

My wolf was not being helpful at all. All I could pinpoint was that he was worried, but about what and why now? My and Kai’s bond increased during the pregnancy. Was my beast picking up something through that?

I forced a shift and gathered my clothing. I wasn’t going to get answers this way. I needed to talk to Kai. I was only partially dressed when Trevor barged into the courtyard, calling my name.

“Crisis in the house!”

“Can’t a guy get his wolf on in peace?” Had I thought there was an actual crisis, I’d have been less upset. But Trevor thought running out of coffee was a crisis. He didn’t have the same barometer I did.

“You can, but we are being called into an all-staff meeting in ten minutes. It was added to your calendar this morning.”

Of course it freaking was.

“Fuck. It is a crisis.” Or at least, they thought it was, which in this case was the same thing.

I threw on the rest of my clothes.

“I told you it was.” He rolled his eyes. “You never believe me.”

“Because you always cry wolf.”

He rolled his eyes again. Didn’t make me wrong.

I took out my phone, and as we walked toward the elevator, I typed away.

Just checking to see how your day is going. I miss you.

Realizing I needed more reassurance than a text could provide, I deleted it and hit call, walking past the elevator and taking the stairs instead to make sure I had reception. Trevor called after me, but I ignored him. This was more important than being a couple minutes later because I took the stairs.

The phone rang and rang, eventually going to voicemail. Not sure how to leave a message that wouldn’t add stress to his day, I hung up. He’d see that I called and phone me back… soon. He was probably on the train and out of the reception area, anyway. At least, that was what I was holding on to. If he didn’t call soon, I’d shoot him a text after my meeting.

My resolve didn’t last long before I sent him a text, shocked at how much time had passed since my wolf started to freak out.

Not wanting to be late for whatever shitstorm awaited me, I ran the rest of the way, walking into the meeting just as they were getting ready to close the door. I was itching to leave, but what could I do? Wander the city and hope I crossed paths with Kai on his outing? It was best I stayed put, as much as I hated it.

My boss called for attention and the head of HR began some spiel about a new procedure. Nothing he said couldn’t have been an email. But there I stood, pretending to care as I held my phone, hoping for Kai to get back to me.

When the question and answer portion of the meeting began, I, like probably eighty percent of the room, crossed our fingers no one had any. Of course, people did, and when the attention was on the opposite side of the room as Harry asked something about paperwork, I slowly worked my way toward the door, hoping to sneak out unnoticed.

Out of nowhere, a wave of comfort fell over me. Everything was okay. Good even. I wasn’t sure how I knew it, but there was zero doubt within me. Kai was safe and happy.

Kai.

Kai.

Kai. I sensed nothing but relief and love pouring off my wolf. He agreed with my assessment.

Kai was fine. I’d been worrying over nothing. I was sure of it.