“Fun weekend?” Christina asked as Kate entered her office.

Kate plopped down on the chair in front of the other woman’s desk and lowered her dark glasses down to the bridge of her nose. “Yeah, it was. But don’t worry; this hangover’ll be gone in an hour or two.”

“How much did you have to drink?” Christina asked.

“Not enough.” Kate pulled the glasses over her eyes again. “So, that’s one dirty move you pulled.”

“Excuse me?”

“Having your fun little team building exercise the same weekend I’m having my girls’ night with my best friends?” she accused. Ouch. Even the sound of her own voice made her head throb. She probably shouldn’t have had that tequila this morning, but she vowed to drink every last bottle of liquor they had brought for the trip, and she was no quitter.

Christina stood up and walked over to her side of the table. “Kate,” she said as she sat down on the chair opposite from her, “Did something happen between you and Petros?”

“Ha! I wish something did! Then at least I’d have gotten a good screwing out of this mess. God, I hate men!” She shot to her feet. “Tell me, are all guys from Lykos stubborn, confusing, and infuriating assholes?”

Christina’s brows furrowed together. “Why don’t we talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” Kate whipped the glasses off her face. “How that stupid man kept going on and on about being mates, and then he ignores me for a week? How he says I’m his mate, and we’re going to be together, and then lets that bitch sniff around him? Or how he saves me when I’m pretending to be drowning and—”

“Hold on!” Christina raised a hand. “You what?”

“I was playing this trick I did with Sybil and Amelia when we were at this God-awful camp one summer,” Kate explained. “I went into the water and started flailing my arms, pretending I was drowning. They were supposed to jump in—”

“No!” Christina gripped Kate’s arms. “You didn’t!”

“I did.”

“Gamisou!” Christina’s face faltered. “Sit down, Kate.”

“I don’t—”

“Sit. Down.”

Christina’s face had gone completely serious, and Kate didn’t have a choice but to plant her butt on the seat. For a human, Christina sure was scary. “Okay,” she said. “Now what?”

“Has Petros ever talked about his past? What happened when he was a child?”

Kate shook her head.

“Or about any recent events?”

“No.”

Christina paced back and forth. “I swear, I’m going to lock you two in a room until you sort this out! No wonder Petros has been on a tear since Saturday!”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Kate asked.

With a long sigh, Christina sat down. “This isn’t some big secret, so I’ll tell you. Petros wasn’t one of us. I mean, he wasn’t born on Lykos.”

“He wasn’t?”

“No. Petros washed up on one of the beaches on the island when he was a young boy, maybe four or five. An old fisherman and his wife found him. They thought he was dead, but they were able to revive him.”

Kate gasped. “What happened to him?”

“We don’t know exactly,” Christina said. “But a few days later, they found two more bodies. A man and a woman. His parents, most likely. Petros was too young to remember anything, but we think they were trying to seek sanctuary in Lykos. There was a storm, and their boat must have capsized.”

“Oh no.” Dread filled her as she thought of Petros as a young boy in a boat with his parents. How scared he must have been. And his poor parents ….

“We took him in, of course. He was a wolf, after all. The fisherman and his wife raised him,” Christina explained.

“His biological parents … drowned?”

“Yes,” Christina said.

Oh. My. God. Then she realized something. “I’m the asshole,” Kate exclaimed and covered her hands with her face. Petros saw her drowning and probably relived the trauma of losing his mother and father.

“That’s not all,” Christina said.

“There’s more?”

She nodded. “A few months ago, there was a mission in Cyprus. The Agency traced sources of bloodsbane being manufactured somewhere on an island off the coast. Petros went in with his team, but they were expecting them. Looking back now, they were probably part of The Organization. His team was ambushed.”

Kate swallowed the lump in her throat. “Did they make it out?”

“Most of them did,” Christina said. “Except for one. Milos, his best friend growing up. They were making their escape on a boat, but Milos was shot and tumbled overboard.”

“Oh no.” Kate really felt like dirt now. No wait. Was there something lower than dirt?

Christina gave her a weak smile. “You didn’t know. But that doesn’t excuse all this bad behavior. From either of you,” she clarified. “You guys need to talk. I know I’ve been a bit pushy, but you know … Petros, he’s a great guy. He’s saved my ass a couple of times in the field. You couldn’t ask for a better mate.”

“I …” She wasn’t sure about the mate part, but Kate knew when she was in the wrong. “I’ll apologize right away.” She stood up.

“Umm, give him some time, okay?” Christina said. “And if he doesn’t accept your apology, don’t give up easily. You guys are mates; it’ll all work out.”

The words made her chest constrict, but she found every ounce of confidence she had, balled it together, and held onto it. “Thank you, Christina.”

“I have faith in you.”

Kate nodded. She needed every bit of help she could.

Kate went straight to her cubicle, trying not to look over at Petros’ office as she walked by. He probably wouldn’t even glance her way, anyway. As she sat down and opened her laptop, she tried to work but couldn’t concentrate. For one thing, her wolf was furious at her, scratching and growling at her. How could she hurt their mate like that?

I don’t know. I’m just a great big jerk, I guess.

She wanted to wait and figure out what to do, but she couldn’t sit still and just do nothing. The image of Petros as a kid, losing his parents and then later his best friend, kept popping up in her mind. The urge to make things right was much too strong, and she got up and marched over to his office. Her heart hammered, but she kept on until she reached the door. She saw Petros inside through the glass and didn’t bother to knock as she opened the door.

“Petros, I—”

But he wasn’t alone. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck! Of course she had to be here. Agatha turned her head toward her with an eyebrow raised.

“Don’t you know how to knock?” he asked, irritation in his voice.

Agatha said nothing, but her red-painted lips curled into a smile.

“I—I need to talk to you.”

“Then speak,” he said. He was looking at her, but at the same time, he wasn’t. It was like she wasn’t there, and his gaze was passing through her.

“In private.”

“You can say what you need to now or wait and make an appointment.”

“I just …” Just say it! “I’ll wait. Later.”

Dejected, she turned around with her head hung low as she walked back to her cubicle. She swore she felt Agatha’s sneer, even with her back turned. Someday, she was going to get back at that bitch, but for now, she had to figure out how to make Petros listen to her, if not forgive her.

She bided her time, waiting until six p.m. when most of the staff were shutting down their computers and getting ready to leave. Petros was also packing up, and she quickly ran out of the office. Skipping the elevator, she went to the staircase, taking the steps two at a time so she could get to the parking lot faster. She spied Petros’ truck where he usually parked it, strode over, and waited.

She didn’t have to wait too long as she immediately saw him as he exited the glass doors of Lennox Corp. He seemed distracted and didn’t notice her until he was a few feet away.

Blue-green eyes turned to steel. “What are you doing here?”

“I told you I’d wait for later.”

“For what?”

“So we can talk.”

“About what?”

Stubborn wolf! “I wanted to say sorry. For … everything.”

He didn’t move a muscle, but she saw a tick in his jaw. “You’ll need to be more specific than that.”

“I—”

“Petros! Petros!” came the breathy voice from behind. “Sorry, I did have my keys in my purse.” Agatha’s gaze turned to Kate, her eyes sharp and cold. “What is she doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” She clenched her fists at her side. The growl was in her throat, but she swallowed it. No, she told her wolf. Don’t give her the satisfaction. “Are you headed somewhere?”

“There’s this new bar in town, Argo’s,” she said. “We’re headed there for a drink.”

“All of us,” Petros added, waving to a group of agents who were walking in the parking lot. “Agatha is riding with me, so we all don’t have to drive.”

“We just had so much fun over the weekend and wanted to hang out again. We would have invited you,” Agatha said in a sickly sweet voice, “but we didn’t want you to feel left out since you’re not one of us.”

Petros shot Agatha a warning look. “It’s not—”

“It’s fine,” Kate said, pasting a smile on her face. “I heard about that new place. It’s some big corporate chain, right? I don’t know; I think The Den is still way cooler.”

“Maybe it’s time Blackstone had some competition,” Agatha said. “Something shiny and new.”

“Well, people might be dazzled by shiny new things, but there’s nothing like a classic.” She bit her tongue. “Have a nice night.”

Kate pivoted on her heel, not bothering to wait for another cutting remark from that skank. She’d been humiliated enough, after all, and she knew when it was time to back down.

Petros didn’t want her apology. No, wait; he didn’t want her. And it was all her own damn fault.