Chapter Twelve

Joselyn was running late, as usual. When she pulled into her spot at the brewery, reaching for her briefcase, she sensed something odd in the air. Something wasn’t right.

She turned around, shut the car door, and faced the building.

Shit. Something was definitely not okay. No one was outside, and the world appeared perfectly normal from where she stood, but the stressful vibe she had from inside the front offices was palpable in the air.

She hurried forward, wondering what the hell was going on.

When she pushed through the front doors of the building, she found the lobby jammed with at least two dozen of her relatives. They were all shouting over one another, huddled around the big-screen television on the far wall. The news was on. Had there been a storm somewhere? Or a national disaster?

Before Joselyn could get anyone’s attention to ask what the commotion was all about, someone whistled loudly, and a hush fell over the room. All eyes turned to the TV as the news broadcaster said a few words Joselyn couldn’t hear. And then the camera panned to the left to show Allister Tarben standing next to his brother Riddell. They were beaming with pride as they pointed out a giant advertisement between them.

“What the hell?” Joselyn mumbled as she inched closer. She dropped her briefcase next to the front desk and peeled her coat off to set it on top of her bag. Liddie, their receptionist, stood like a statue next to the desk, so Joselyn stepped around her to get a better view of the television. And then the world spun out of control.

The hush lasted only moments, and before Allister and Riddell finished speaking, the volume in the room rose to a new decibel. Shouting. Cussing. Even screaming.

Joselyn couldn’t move. She blinked at the television, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. The unveiled artwork was eerily similar to the campaign she had planned for her own brewery for over six months.

The problem was this announcement was coming from Mountain Peak Brewery. Not from her own family’s office.

As if drawn by a magnet, she crept forward, ignoring the bodies between her and the TV and not taking her eyes off the screen. When she was close enough that she had to tip her head back to see better, she finally fully absorbed what was happening.

Mountain Peak Brewery, the very place where her mate worked, had beaten them to the punch and launched nearly the same product one week before the scheduled launch Jocelyn had worked so hard on.

The same product.

The same, or at least similar, advertisement.

She rubbed her temples with both hands. This could not be happening.

Unable to breathe, she turned and walked away from the cacophony of noise, headed down the hall toward her office, and slumped into the chair behind her desk. She set her forehead against her fingers and inhaled slowly.

She was dizzy. Confused. A headache was already forming behind her temples. Her brain stopped functioning.

She had no idea how long she sat like that before her mother stepped into the room. “Joselyn?”

She lifted her face, still too shocked to speak.

Rosanne’s brow was furrowed. “I didn’t see you come in. I guess you heard?”

She nodded.

Rosanne sighed and came more fully into the room to slump into a chair across from Joselyn. “Your father’s about to have a heart attack.”

“I’m sure.”

“The board is scrambling to figure out what to do. How to respond.”

Joselyn nodded again. What could they do?

Reality slammed into her. The Tarbens had to have known. They knew about the planned launch from their competitor, and they stole the idea and arranged their own launch to beat the competition.

Alton knew. Fuck. Alton knew. A flush raced over Joselyn’s body, making her feel like she might faint after all.

The Tarbens stole this idea, pretended it was their own, and sandbagged the Arthurs. There was no other explanation. There was also no way Alton hadn’t known this was going to happen this morning.

She’d had sex with him last night. She’d been naked in his arms twelve hours ago. They’d discussed the future. And all that time he knew his family was about to attempt to ruin hers in the morning.

The flush was replaced with a complete draining of blood from her face. She would be white now.

Someone else leaned into her office, but she didn’t hear what they said. Her mother got up and rushed from the room, leaving her blissfully alone.

She had no idea how much time passed before Isaiah slid into her office, shut the door, and took the same seat her mother had occupied.

She sat with her hands flat on the desk, her gaze on her computer screen, seeing nothing. Feeling like she’d been punched.

“Did you know about this?” he asked softly.

She flinched before jerking her gaze to his. “What?” Her voice squeaked.

He lifted a brow.

“You think I knew about this? Are you fucking kidding me?” Her voice was high-pitched. Shrill.

“I’ll take that as a no.”

She shook her head. “No, Isaiah. No, I did not.”

“Have you spoken to Alton?”

She winced. “No. And I have no intention of doing so.”

He hesitated. “Ever?”

“Right now I’d like to burn him alive. So, no. At the moment my intention is to never speak to him again.”

Isaiah looked pained.

She narrowed her gaze. “Did you know about this? You could have just as easily found out from Austin,” she pointed out.

He blew out a long breath. “I didn’t know, either. Maybe the two of them didn’t even know.”

“That their brewery was launching a new product this morning?” She lifted a brow. “We don’t have a single employee who’s unaware of our ruined launch for next week. How could two employees and pack members as high up as Austin and Alton in the management of Mountain Peak Brewery not know about a launch?”

Isaiah shook his head. “Of course they knew about the launch. Maybe they didn’t know it was stolen.”

She leaned forward, bracing herself on the desk, feeling every bit as wild as she assumed she was behaving. “How the hell could they not know? The entire concept had to come from somewhere. Do they think it came out of thin air?” She thought back to his behavior last night and over the past few weeks. He’d been shifty and worried. More so than usual. Concerned. Oh, he knew. He totally fucking knew.

Like her own pack and brewery, there wouldn’t have been a single person working in his brewery who didn’t know what was planned for that morning and the devastating effect it would have on their competition. Essentially the Tarbens had pulled the rug out from under the Arthurs. Any effort to go forward with their own launch next Monday would make them look like fools. A day late and several hundred thousand dollars short.

Joselyn shuddered as she remembered so totally giving herself to Alton last night. They’d shared a new experience together. She’d given him another piece of her. No, she still hadn’t opened her mind up to allow him full access to her thoughts, but it hadn’t been easy for her to admit she wanted to add a bit of kink to their relationship. And she’d loved it.

What was he thinking now? What had he been thinking last night when he so thoroughly debauched her hours before his brewery intended to make hers the laughing stock of the entire region?

She set her forehead on her palms again and groaned. Nothing made sense. She knew he loved her. She knew he wanted to be with her. Right? They had a spark, a something between them that insisted they bind together for life. They’d felt that spark for most of their lives.

Right?

Isaiah stood. “I don’t have the answers, but try not to jump to conclusions. If you call Alton and start tossing around accusations, you could do serious damage to your relationship for no reason.” He paused a moment and then continued. “I’ll leave you alone, but think about what I’m saying.” He left the room, shutting the door with a quiet snick.

Joselyn pushed to standing and paced across the floor to stare out the window. Snow was falling again. Giant flakes meandering toward the ground with no care or knowledge of the storm building inside the brewery.

Leaning her forehead against the window pane, she welcomed the cool glass against her skin. How did his family find out about this launch? Because one thing was for certain, someone intentionally stole secret information and sabotaged the Arthurs.

There was no way to deny the Tarbens had orchestrated this launch. Every detail of their promo emulated hers. Mountain Peak Brewery had intentionally set out to attack Glacial Brewing Company where it would most hurt.

She almost laughed when she considered how stressed she’d been worrying about how Alton would react to finding out her family had secretly planned and launched a new product. That stress had eaten her alive for months.

She felt like a complete fool. While she had needlessly worried about her launch, Alton had known all along that his family had stolen the entire concept and planned to beat their competitor to the punch.

Isaiah’s words rang in her head. Maybe Alton hadn’t known… But that possibility seemed preposterous.

She shuddered. Did she even know him at all? What sort of person would do this to another? And their own mate. When had their relationship ceased being what she’d once thought it was?

How had he managed to sleep at night?

Thoughts raced through her head, flying around, crashing into each other, piling up until she couldn’t follow any one line of thinking for longer than a second before she had another thought.

There had to be a mole, someone inside her brewery who fed information to someone inside his.

She stiffened further. Was it possible she was the connection? Had she inadvertently leaked information to Alton?

She shook the idea away as fast as it consumed her. She refused to believe he would use her like that. She knew him. She’d known him for most of their lives.

Surely Alton hadn’t planned to fuck her up the ass since they’d been nine. That made no sense. She refused to believe the time they’d spent together had been a fraud. He’d stayed in school for six years just to be near her. No one would pretend to love another for that many years while secretly waiting to sabotage their family’s business. Not a chance. The entire concept for next week’s launch had been conceived six months ago, not years.

He’d never asked a single question about her work. He would make an awfully inept spy if he’d been waiting all these years to undermine her brewery only to then never attempt to pry details from her.

She’d also never told him a thing about the launch. Not one word. She’d never had anything work related on her person when she’d seen him. She wanted to spend every second of their time together either having sex or curled up together. He’d never been to her house. She’d never been to his apartment. They met most often in the mountains carrying nothing.

Joselyn simply didn’t believe she was so naïve that she could spend most of her life mistakenly thinking Alton was her intended mate. No way. They were lovers. Her heart beat out of her chest when she was with him—a chemical reaction to his pheromones. Nature intended for them to be together. She wouldn’t play this sort of joke on a living, breathing being.

Think. Let’s assume he didn’t have any ulterior motives until more recently. Was it possible someone else in his family knew about his relationship with Joselyn and put him up to this? Maybe even blackmailed him?

She shuddered. Would he do that to her? Even under duress?

No way. She couldn’t believe it. But the evidence suggested otherwise.

There was no telling what he would do after what she’d learned this morning. At the very least, he failed to inform her his family had planned to sabotage hers for months. That was above and beyond the pale all by itself.

Oh, she knew she’d skirted the edge of what would be considered acceptable by not informing him about her launch in the first place. But that was business. Her obligation to her family ran deep. It hadn’t been nefarious or deceitful. It had been a strategic plan to gain a new section of the market. Businesses were constantly developing new products. Hers was no different. And no matter what her relationship status was with Alton Tarben, she never would have spilled company secrets.

She went back in time in her mind, trying to figure out when Alton knew. If he didn’t find out from her, who did he learn of the launch from?

Joselyn wrapped her arms around her middle. Obviously, she wasn’t the leak. There had to be another explanation. And yet, the moment anyone found out about her connection to Alton, they would assume the worst. No one would ever believe she hadn’t shared the details.

Her head pounded harder. This was insane. She started shaking. Her legs wouldn’t hold her up any longer. She turned around and slid to the floor, her back against the wall and her head between her knees.

Maybe some other member of her family also had a clandestine relationship with a member of the Tarben pack. She wasn’t the only person who could have a connection.

The door to her office opened slowly. She glanced up to find Liddie easing into the room. “You left this in the lobby.” She held up Joselyn’s purse, briefcase, and coat and then set them on a chair next to the conference table. “I’ll just, uh,” she glanced over her shoulder, “leave you alone.” On her way out the door, she ran into Joselyn’s mom. “Oh, sorry.”

Rosanne bustled in as Liddie left, shutting the door behind her. “Joselyn? What the heck are you doing?” She crouched down in front of Joselyn and took her daughter into her arms, stroking her hair. “Honey, I know this is bad, but why are you hiding in here alone on the floor in a fetal position?”

Joselyn lifted her face, not bothering to stop the tears.

“Honey, what is it?”

“Tell Dad to come. You should hear this together.” She could have communicated with her father herself, but she didn’t have the energy, and she didn’t want to give away her stress telepathically.

Her mother nodded. “He’s on his way. Why don’t you get off the floor and sit on a chair?”

Joselyn shook her head. “I’m good here.” She drew her knees up, thankful she’d worn khaki pants instead of a dress or skirt that day.

When her father came into the room, he silently shut the door. “What’s going on? Jos?”

Joselyn lifted her gaze to her parents. Where to begin? She decided to spit it all out. “I’ve been in a relationship with Alton Tarben for four months. I’ve known we were meant to be together my entire adult life.” The words flooded out. Why had she always thought it would be so hard to tell them?

Bernard gasped, taking a chair. “Alton? He’s the one that’s your age, right?”

“A year older. Yes.”

Her mother kneeled down next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Why are you telling us this now?”

Joselyn turned her gaze toward her mother. “People are going to think I’m the leak.”

Her mother frowned. “Why would you say that?”

Joselyn rolled her eyes, but her father spoke. “Did you tell him about the launch?”

She shook her head vehemently. “No. Never. I wouldn’t do that. But obviously it leaked somehow, and I’m probably the only person in the family who has a close relationship with one of the Tarbens.”

Her father hesitated, his brow furrowing. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. You might be making more out of this than necessary. For one thing, you aren’t the only person with a connection to the Tarbens. Hell, Isaiah’s best friend is Alton’s brother.”

“Come on, Dad. You know Isaiah didn’t tell company secrets to Austin Tarben. I wouldn’t believe that in a million years.”

“I’m merely pointing out that you wouldn’t be the only possible suspect. Besides, I find it highly unlikely either of you had anything to do with the leak. I’m not buying it. Isaiah has been close friends with Austin for too many years. No way would he have undermined our business by discussing it with his friend. And even if he did inadvertently tell Austin something, I don’t believe it would have gone further. I trust Austin.

“And I can’t imagine in a million years that Alton would ever do anything to hurt you. It’s inconceivable, honey.” He crouched down next to her mother and set a hand on Rosanne’s shoulder. “I’d sooner cut off my right arm than ever do anything to upset your mother. That’s how it works when you meet the right person. And after binding to them, it’s even stronger. Mates don’t have the capacity to hurt each other intentionally.”

Would everyone else in the pack see it the same way?

“Honey,” her mother began, “why have you been hiding this?”

Joselyn couldn’t stop the tears from falling. “I don’t even know anymore.” She choked on a sob and then continued. “At first I thought it was necessary not to upset the family dynamics. Cause a rift in the pack. At some point along the way, it was just normal for us. There’s always been something that caused us to put off telling anyone. Or maybe we were just cowards.”

“Honey…”

“Are you sure he’s…the one?” Bernard asked.

Joselyn nodded.

“Then there’s no way he would undermine your relationship like this.”

She thought back on all the times she’d asked him to bind them together. Fuck the world and just do it. Hadn’t he also made similar suggestions? They had tossed the ball of responsibility back and forth between them. When one of them was weak and wanted to throw in the towel and tell the world to fuck off, the other took the reins of reason.

Her father spoke again. “I think you’re overreacting right now, honey. We all are. Everyone’s pointing fingers at everyone else this morning. It’s natural. The blame game has got to stop, starting with you. Sit on this for a few days.” He sounded just like her brother Isaiah. “Let’s see what develops before you accuse your mate of sabotage.”

When her father referred to Alton as her mate, she stopped breathing. Neither of her parents had flinched at the idea. They seemed to be taking it in stride. Their only concern was for the health of her relationship. Not one judgment had been passed over her choice in mates.

In her heart, however, her parents had never been her biggest concern. It was the rest of the pack that worried her. Several aunts and uncles and cousins were determined to badmouth the Tarbens for the rest of their lives. The feud had gotten so out of hand it was ridiculous.

But Joselyn couldn’t do anything about that. She needed to worry about herself from now on. Her happiness. Her sanity.

With or without Alton Tarben at her side, she needed to stop living a lie and face the music. Telling her brother and now her parents was a start. She didn’t need to get carried away today of all days. But soon she needed to come out of hiding and out herself. Even if she never saw Alton again in her life, she wouldn’t go to her grave with this damn secret. To hell with everyone’s stupid quarrel with the Tarbens.

»»•««

Alton picked up his phone for the tenth time in less than an hour.

Nothing. No response from Joselyn.

He’d texted her a blank message the first five times, and then he’d said fuck it and typed actual words at least five times also.

Call me.

Are you okay? That one was a joke.

You’re scaring me.

Jos, please.

Jos?

After several hours, he’d also called several times. The phone went to voicemail every single time. It rang four times and then he heard her sweet, gentle voice. “You’ve reached Jocelyn Arthur with Glacial Brewing Company. I’m sorry I’m not available to take your call. Please leave your name and number after the tone, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”

He was close to total panic.

When Austin popped his head in at lunchtime, Alton shot him a glare that would have frozen a mere mortal to stone.

Austin winced. He eased inside, shut the door, and leaned against it. “I take it she isn’t happy.”

Alton narrowed his gaze. “Worse. She isn’t answering my texts or calls.”

“Well, what did you expect? I’m sure she’s busy scrambling around trying to come up with a new business model. She’s the marketing director, right?”

“Yes.”

“Then she’s been in meetings all day planning how to repair the damage and what to do in response.”

“You’re right.” Alton took a deep breath. It made sense. Of course, she was busy. And she’d undoubtedly never had a moment alone.

“I wouldn’t worry. Not for a while, anyway. Maybe tonight. If she hasn’t called by this evening, then you can get concerned. In the meantime, come to the break room. Dad ordered a spread of sandwiches to celebrate.”

Alton nodded. “I’ll be there in a few.” He needed to compose himself. His nerves were wearing on him. He wouldn’t be able to fully relax until he spoke to Joselyn and knew for certain she wasn’t ready to string him up by the balls and light him on fire.

It was business. That’s all it was.

She had to understand that. Right?

It wasn’t like this launch was going to put Glacial Brewing Company out of business. Sure, it might hurt their bottom line while they recuperated in the short run, but that was to be expected. They’d bounce back.

Was he kidding himself? What did he know about the dealings at Glacial Brewing Company? For all he knew, they’d been hanging on by a thread, and this product launch would seal their fate. He had no idea what their bottom line looked like.

Granted, if things had been that bad at work, Joselyn would have said something, wouldn’t she? Maybe not. But she at least would have been worried. She’d never given him any impression business was anything but status quo.

Alton stuffed his concerns to the back of his mind and stood to join his family now celebrating in the break room. None of them, except Austin, had the first clue how detrimental this entire thing could be for him and his mate.

It wasn’t until later that night that Alton really freaked out.

Several more calls had gone to voicemail and still not a single peep from Jos. Was she that mad?

He sat in the living room of his lonely apartment and flipped the remote around in his hand, not caring that he hadn’t turned on the television.

He debated getting in his Explorer and going straight to her parents’ house. To hell with what anyone thought. He needed to see her. Touch her.

Instead, he talked himself out of it. Who knew how her parents would ultimately react to them binding on a good day? But today was not the day to throw Joselyn under the bus in front of her family.

Maybe Jos was still at the office. It was possible. However, no matter what, it wasn’t reasonable that by now she hadn’t seen all his texts and heard his messages.

She might have been extremely busy the entire day. He didn’t doubt that. But at this hour, almost nine o’clock, there was no way to avoid admitting she was ignoring him.

He lifted the remote in the air and threw it hard against the far wall.

If this damn launch ruined his relationship with Joselyn, he would never forgive himself.

If he had never agreed to return to Silvertip after university in the first place, this wouldn’t have happened. The two of them would be living blissfully happy anywhere but here.

Maybe they wouldn’t have their families, but they would have each other, and that was all that mattered in the end.