Tempting the Dark

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Maelyn Dreyfus forced herself to listen as her Southern district manager gave his report. Her first week back at work, and her days had been full of meetings, reports, brain-draining budgets...

Something dark flitted at the corner of her eye, and she brushed her hair away from her forehead. Damn it, not now, not here. It was important that she came back from her "rest" fully charged and healthy. Strong. She had to be, otherwise, it would be a bloodbath for her vampire coven if there was even a hint of weakness in the Noctis Coven. She couldn't afford to weird out her followers.

"Explain to me again why we can't use the river to transport these goods?" she interrupted in a cool tone. She didn't miss the fact he'd glossed over that detail.

Alex Chambers halted, lifting his eyes from his laptop to meet hers. He seemed a little hesitant, and Maelyn frowned. Alex was rarely hesitant. It was one of the reasons he was usually so good at his good. Yet he looked reluctant to share some critical information with her. She arched an eyebrow, and he sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

"Things have changed since..." He frowned, trying to find the right word. She couldn't blame him. What did you call an eight-month coma that was magically induced after what should have been a lethal werewolf bite?

"My break?" she supplied.

A breathy chuckle whispered past her ear, and she turned. Who the hell was that? The area behind her was empty, with just a few yards between her seat and the wall—just the way she liked it in the boardroom, so she could see whoever was coming for her, no sneak attacks...figuratively or literally.

She frowned as she turned back to the table, then quickly composed her features when she realized her six directors were watching her warily. "I'm waiting," she prodded primly, ignoring her interruption.

Alex nodded. "Your break. Lockwood Pack and River Pack formed an alliance—"

"How is that possible? Lockwood fights with everyone."

"Not since Ezra Lockwood was cast out of the pack and Maverick Hewitt became Lockwood Alpha."

Maelyn's lip tightened at the mention of the former alpha's name. Ezra Lockwood was the reason she'd been lying in a coma for eight months. Still, apparently, there had been quite a shift since that late afternoon when the black mutt had bounded out of the shadows and attacked her. Her eyebrows rose. "Maverick is now Lockwood?"

Alex nodded.

She leaned back in her chair. Ezra Lockwood had been wild and erratic. Maverick Hewitt would be a steadying influence in controlling the Lockwood Pack and its territory. Damn it. It was so much nicer when things were a little chaotic. She'd managed to creep their border forward when Lockwood was distracted with its petty squabbles with River Pack.

"Why did River Pack shut down our access to the river?" She'd asked a direct question, she'd better get a direct answer. Forcing their goods to be delivered overland was costing them a small fortune. "And please, let's not make this a breadcrumbs trail. Tell me everything."

Alex sighed. "When Ezra Lockwood attacked you, your brother found your body. He then attacked Lockwood—"

"Of course," she responded, dipping her head. It was the obvious course of action.

"He killed some dog, and they teamed up with River against us."

"Well you know my view—the only good werewolf is a dead one. My brother did the right thing. But are you telling me we've lost river access to Crown Point, all because my brother killed some mangy mutt?" Maelyn shook her head. And in all this time, none of her guardians had successfully rectified the problem. What had they all been doing while she was in her coma? Watching the Lycans ride rough-pad over the Noctis Coven?