Wes shrugged off his backpack as he sank into an armchair in a nondescript hotel room. With a basic color scheme of cream and gray, and two beds beneath a window facing the street, it perfectly met his and Dakota’s needs of sleeping and showering.

She was already pulling a laptop out of her bag and setting it on the nearby table, her lips pursed. Wes just watched her type away, her braid a little looser than before, and tendrils of black hair falling around her face.

She was still the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but he kept that thought to himself. His wolf kept pushing at his self-control, urging him to get closer, to smell and touch her… But he shoved those instincts aside.

Despite the fact she might be harboring some attraction toward him, Dakota was still all business, and seemed to be avoiding his gaze more than ever. So Wes hung back, giving her her space.

“There are only so many hotels in town someone like Campbell would stay at,” she said, pulling one leg up onto her chair. “But I know he has a thing for historical places, so I think The Crawford is our best bet. He’ll probably be in meetings all day, but if we can catch him coming or going…” she trailed off, still staring at the screen.

“Then we have time to get some rest,” Wes remarked.

“I thought you wolves didn’t need sleep,” Dakota clucked her tongue.

“But you do,” Wes chuckled. “And I could use a shower.”

“Uh… Yeah,” she stammered. “I still say we should get separate rooms,” she added, getting up to pace around the room.

“Oh no, you’re not cutting me out of this,” Wes shook his head. “I know I promised to stay out of your way, but I still want to see how you work. Besides, you’d probably lock me in my room while you go chase down Elias.”

“I would never,” she replied with exaggerated shock, making him laugh out loud.

“Sure you would,” he said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” she smirked. “That does sound like something I would do.”

“So go on, rest. I’ll wake you in a couple of hours and we can go stake out The Crawford,” he said, tilting his chin toward one of the beds.

“I guess a little nap wouldn’t hurt,” she replied, stifling a yawn.

“Then it’s settled.”

She nodded as he headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind him and giving her some privacy. He knew she must have felt awkward sharing a room with a practical stranger, but he couldn’t afford to let her out of his sight.

Turning on the faucet, he fished out his phone from his pocket, not at all surprised when he saw a message from Tate displayed on the screen.

How’s it going? it read.

Wes glanced back at the door behind him, listening to the rustle of sheets behind it. He didn’t know how to respond. It wasn’t going according to plan, that was for sure. In the end, he opted for the truth.

Now all that was left was to see how that went over with his Alpha.

* * *

Hours later, Wes was back to sitting next to Dakota in her car, parked outside of The Crawford. It was an elegant brick building, with high windows and an industrial feel to it. People were walking around the small café out front, and the scent of freshly brewed coffee hung in the air.

“How sure are we he’s even going to be here?”

“Reasonably sure,” Dakota shrugged. “If he doesn’t show, we can try the other hotels. Campbell will be in town for another night before returning to New York.”

She looked more rested than before, her eyes bright as she kept her gaze on their surroundings. Wes kept his eyes open, as well. From magazine covers and interviews, he knew exactly what Elias Campbell looked like, so spotting him wouldn’t be a problem.

“You do realize he might be even less eager to talk to you in person?” Wes questioned.

“Yes,” she replied. “But this time I’m going to make myself a lot harder to ignore.”

There was a dangerous edge to her voice, and Wes didn’t like it one bit.

“You still haven’t told me, what exactly are you planning on doing?” he asked, studying her closely. “I’d hate to see you wrestled to the ground by his security, or worse.”

“What are they going to do, shoot an unarmed woman?” Dakota scoffed.

“They might,” Wes argued, brows rising. “Dakota, tell me you’re not going to do something stupid.”

“You know, tagging along usually means you’re seen and not heard,” she replied.

“What, and miss an opportunity to be called an idiot who hasn’t got a clue about how the supernatural world works?” Wes asked, before leaning closer to Dakota and lowering his voice. “Never,” he whispered, grinning to himself.

Dakota stiffened for a moment, perhaps at how close he now was to her, before sighing.

“I’m sorry,” she said, taking him by surprise. “I’m a little more on edge than usual. I actually appreciate having someone to talk things through with. But having this rich asshole running around with magic at his fingertips has gotten me in a bad mood.”

Elias Campbell did have a bit of a reputation, that was for sure. No one would dare publicly call him an ‘asshole’, but he did walk around with an air of superiority that came from being born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

In Elias’ case it was more of a diamond encrusted spoon, but that was neither here nor there. Add in the fact that Campbell Industries had gone through a wave of lay-offs since Elias took control, and it made sense he wasn’t a well-liked man.

“Apology accepted,” Wes said, throwing Dakota a quick smile. “And I told you, you would grow to enjoy my company,” he couldn’t help but add, earning an eye-roll from her.

Wes wasn’t easily offended, and even if he were, Dakota had all the reason in the world to be high-strung. Her father had died while she was out of the country, and his prized collection had ended up in the hands of people who had no business even touching the stuff.

Now, it was all up to her to make it right. That kind of pressure had to be weighing on her.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Dakota suddenly reached for the door, flinging it open. It only took Wes a split-second to see a black SUV had pulled up to the hotel, with men in suits pouring out of it.

One man in particular struck him as familiar, with his dirty blond, slicked back hair and hawkish features.

That’s Elias Campbell, all right.

Wes reached for Dakota, grabbing onto her wrist just as she swung her feet out of the car.

“Let go,” she all but snarled, yanking her hand back.

“Dakota…” Wes tried to reason with her, still holding on to her wrist.

“You said you would stay out of my way,” she cut him off, staring pointedly at his hand on hers.

Wes could have easily pulled her back into the car, but that would be crossing a line. Putting his hands on her in the first place was more of a reaction than a decision, and one Dakota was not taking kindly to.

With a resigned sigh, he uncurled his fingers from around her wrist, and watched her stomp away. Resisting the urge to punch a dent into the dashboard, Wes groaned to himself, before jumping out of the car and following her.

No way am I hanging back for this.