“Harold, I…”
Harold Sr. froze on seeing Christine, perched at his meeting table and beaming.
“Is it bring your wife to work day?” he asked with a slight edge.
“Would you be disappointed that you didn’t get a chance to bring Marguerite with you?” asked Christine sweetly.
His father narrowed his eyes. “Harold, I see you’re faring well enough.”
Christine huffed and returned to her highlighting. He gave her a small task – highlighting expenditure records. She was keen to help in any way she could; it also meant he could covertly watch her while pretending to do his own work.
“Any idea how this burglar got past our security?”
Christine looked up sharply.
“No,” growled Harold hurriedly.
“Well find out,” commanded his father. “Our pack relies on the compound being safe. We can’t have random people running around trying to steal from us and shooting us in our beds.”
“Of course not,” agreed Harold automatically.
Harold Sr. looked at Christine, grunted and left.
“He doesn’t know it was my ex, does he?” she breathed the moment the door closed.
“No,” he admitted, hoping that would be the end of that conversation. It wasn’t.
“Why not? Why not tell him?”
Harold waved his good hand dismissively. “It’s neither here nor there to him.”
“But surely…”
“Christine, the identity of our housebreaker is no matter to my father.”
“But if he knew, he’d realize that it was personal – your other pack mates aren’t targets.” Christine frowned at him before realization dawned. “You don’t want him to know. Why?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
She folded her arms. “Tell me anyway.”
He took a deep breath, considering that lying would not help the situation.
“My father would like to absolve our mating.”
Christine’s eyes widened. “Why?”
“He believes you are a bad influence.”
She let out a burst of laughter. “Me? A bad influence. In school, everyone thought I was a teacher’s pet.”
“Were you?”
“Kinda.”
“My father thinks you take my attention away from work.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
Christine came over to him and sat on the edge of his desk. “This why you’ve been avoiding me?”
“Yes, I was trying to prove to him I’ll make a good alpha,” he said wryly. Perhaps his grandmother and father were not the right people to impress on that matter.
“You think a good alpha ignores his wife? Makes her feel abandoned?” asked Christine sharply.
“Christine.”
He stood up and winced. Christine sighed.
“You’re injured and in pain.”
“Christine.” He murmured her name.
She sighed. “It’s okay, at least I know why you haven’t been around much now. I know being alpha is important, and your priority is with the pack, maybe I should go…”
Harold grabbed one of her hands. “No. Stay. Please.”
He wasn’t sure if she meant she should leave his office, or leave him altogether. He did not like either option.
“You don’t need me here.”
“I’m in pain.”
Christine slanted a look at him.
“I was shot, you know.”
“Yes, I recall,” she replied in a sour voice.
“Stay,” he urged.
“Your father won’t be happy.”
“Your father can’t even stand to be in the same room as me.”
Christine pressed her lips together to stop a laugh escaping. “Yeah.”
“Stay.”
“Okay.”
He almost sagged in relief. He didn’t want her alone; he wanted her where he could see her until his beast could calm down. He wanted her near, to make up for the last few weeks. Actually, he just wanted her near to him at all times – he didn’t need a reason. Just… because.
*
Harold pulled on his jacket. He must have winced because Christine hurried over to help him with the buttons. He didn’t need any help, but he liked having her help him.
“Do you have a meeting?” she asked.
“Yes, but only in here.”
“Do you want me to go?”
“No.” Anything that was about to be said was for Christine’s ears too.
There was a knock on the door and Harold called out, “Come in.”
Christine’s expression dimmed a little as Sabrina entered. The female was far removed from her usual, confident self. She was even shaking and appeared to be wearing two different shoes.
“Sabrina.”
“How are you?” she asked, looking at both of them, rather than avoiding looking in Christine’s direction as usual.
“There’s something you wish to tell me,” Harold informed her.
Christine looked between the two of them, completely baffled.
Sabrina licked her lips. She was considering lying, and he growled at her. It was enough to make her break. Christine flinched and clutched Harold’s arm as Sabrina let out a wail.
“I’m sorry!” sobbed Sabrina. “It’s all my fault; this is all my fault!”
“What is?” whispered Christine, completely lost.
Harold grunted. “Sabrina told… that male,” Roark’s name was a dirty word to him, “how to get into the compound. She told him how to get past security in order to get to our house.”
“Oh.” Christine chewed on her lip before rage flashed in her eyes. “Oh!”
“I am sorry,” spluttered Sabrina. “I just thought… He said Christine was still in love with him; I thought he would just persuade her to run away with him. He was charming and seemed so normal…”
Christine could surely attest to that – no doubt when he wanted to he could act like a perfectly nice guy. But he definitely wasn’t.
“I honestly didn’t think he would hurt you – either of you. Please, I’m so sorry.” She dropped to her knees in submission.
Harold let out a low rumble. “I should throw you out of the pack. Should mark you as a traitor.”
Sabrina sniffled. It was an old tradition that a traitor’s face would be clawed by the alpha, as a permanent sign that they were dishonorable and had been thrown out of their pack. Though, it wasn’t a tradition that his father had ever had to enforce. He wasn’t sure about his grandfather – it seemed like the kind of thing his grandmother would revel in.
He turned to his wife. “Christine, what would you have me do?”
Christine blinked up at him, surprise on her face. Alphas rarely deferred to anyone in matters like this, but he was not an alpha yet, and really, the offense Sabrina committed was against Christine. He wanted to know what she would have him do as punishment.
She looked at Sabrina still hunched on the floor, crying silently, and he knew what his sweet wife’s answer would be. He imagined if the roles were reversed, Sabrina would show no mercy, but Christine’s kindness knew no bounds.
“I don’t think you should throw her out, and I never believe that marking is an answer. She made a foolish mistake, but she was manipulated into it – and I know from experience just how manipulative R… that particular male can be.”
Harold nodded and smiled slightly at her before turning a cold look on Sabrina.
“You will not be thrown out of the pack, but you are to leave town for the next two, no, three months and stay with your sister in her pack. You are not to tell anyone of this, and when you return, we will say no more about it.”
“Thank you,” murmured Sabrina.
“Get out,” he hissed, and she did as quickly as possible.
Christine leaned up on her toes and wordlessly kissed him.