Prologue

Alicia Braswell checked her image in the mirror. She sure looked the same, but she knew she had changed forever. Her whole world turned upside down when she met Max Santos. He showed her that werewolves were real. That he was the alpha of his pack and now she would live in that world as his mate.

To the outside world they were engaged. Her parents didn’t know it yet but that was at the top of the agenda. First things first though. Max was coming to her office to show her a big surprise. She had no idea what he was up to, but his toothy grin told her he was excited about it. A soft knock on the door made her turn around.

“Alicia?” Stacey’s soft voice grew louder as she pushed the door open. “Max is here.”

“Thanks.” She straightened her skirt then exited the bathroom.

“Did I come at the wrong time?” He gave her his best smile.

“No, just freshening up.” She knew his nose picked up everything. “You are right on time.”

“You know me.” He wrapped his arms around her. “I love giving you gifts, and I think you’re going to love this one.”

“And you can’t just tell me?” She looked up at him. “You know my boss hates it when you take me away from work.”

“I do and I promise it will be worth it.” He looked at Stacey. “Would you like to join us? This will affect you as well.”

Stacey’s eyes opened so wide Alicia thought her eyes would pop out of her head. The poor girl still couldn’t handle being around Max.

“Stacey, can you tell our boss that we’re going to lunch with my fiancé and will be back in time for the afternoon meeting?”

“Of course.” Stacey bobbed her head then headed out of Alicia’s office.

“Do you think Stacey will ever be comfortable around me?” Max helped her into her suit jacket.

“I hope so.” Alicia slipped an arm around his. “She and I have gotten close over the last two months. She’s sweet and funny. I’d hate to lose her as a friend because she can’t talk to you.”

“I will do my best to win her over.” He offered Stacey his other arm just as she came back in. “Are you ready, Stacey?”

She stared at the arm then Max then Alicia. Alicia nodded at her. Stacey swallowed but took his arm and they headed out of the building.

He helped the women into his Hummer and headed just a few blocks away. He stopped the vehicle, climbed out and helped both women out of the SUV.

“Why are we here?” asked Alicia. The large building had a ‘For Rent’ sign in its window. She had always liked the architecture of the building, but knew it was way out of her price range.

“You have told me that you’ve always wanted to start your own business.”

“Don’t tell me you bought this building.” She put her hands on her hips. “I don’t need a building to start a business.”

Max grabbed her hand and pulled her into the building. “First, do not chastise me in public like that.”

“Right, sorry. I keep forgetting, Max. This is all so new for me.” She looked around the ground floor of the building and had to admit this would be perfect if she had her business already up and running. “But I’m not ready for this. I need capital.”

“Done.” He smiled.

“Backers.” She wasn’t sure if she liked that smile.

“Also done.”

“Max.” She tried to choose her words correctly. He had tried so hard and she sure didn’t want to anger him by not appreciating what he did. “I really appreciate you wanting to help me, but this building is more than I need. The rent would shut me down too fast.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about rent. It belongs to my corporation.”

“Won’t the board of directors be upset that you’re using their property for your own personal use?”

“Sweetheart, who do you think said you could have the building? You know that we’re always looking for new businesses to finance.”

“So you told them about my idea?” She wanted to add ‘without consulting me’ but knew that would probably cross the line.

“I know you would have wanted to be there, but it just happened. The council made a comment that they were looking for something new to invest in and Patrick said too bad you weren’t there, or you could pitch your idea. They asked me so I told them how you want to help people find old heirlooms. They loved the idea. There are a few stipulations. The board wants you to only help our people in the beginning, and your advertising would only be by word of mouth, but a lot of our people have lost heirlooms and you would be someone they could trust to find those missing items.”

“They really liked the idea?” She knew other people would balk at the stipulations, but she knew the board wouldn’t offer her all this if they didn’t think she could make it work. Being part of the werewolf world made her understand why they had stipulations and in their society word of mouth was equal to being on every talk show in America. They want to help their people first and they’ve made a lot of money doing that. Alicia started looking around. This time as a possible location for her business.

“They did and they offered you this building to house that business.”

“Max, this is wonderful, but I can’t pay rent on this place.”

“The board understands that. You won’t have to pay anything until you start making a profit.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Say yes.”

“What about Stacey?” Alicia looked at her friend.

“You will need an assistant.”

“And how am I going to pay her?”

“Covered by the board as well. They will pay both of you a salary to get started. All they want is ten percent of your profit once you start making one.”

“Stacey? How do you feel about this?”

“I–” Her voice broke. “I don’t know. I have a secure job with medical. I’m happy with my pay. I can even send money home to my parents when I need to.”

“They said they’d triple your salary, plus give you a pension, and medical.”

She squeaked then put her hand over her mouth. Once she could talk again she said, “Can I have a moment?”

“Of course.”

As Stacey walked away, Max shook his head. “We have got to get that girl laid.”