Lee propped his cell phone against his ear, while he peered down his nose at his nails, inspecting them.

“That’s what I told Sven!” he yelled, waving an arm through the air. “You absolutely cannot serve that without a Chardonnay! But you know him, Mr. Know-It-All.” He flicked his eyes around the room that was emptying of all the officers and staff. Lowering the tenor of his voice to his normal tone, he said, “The reviews on his party are going to be atrocious.”

“Are they gone now?” Blaine asked on the other end of the line.

“Oh, yeah,” Lee murmured. “Scuttled away like rats on a sinking ship.”

“Told ya.”

“Time to get to work. Later.”

After he shoved his phone into his pants pocket, he typed his password into his Directive-issued laptop. While it booted up, he popped his buds into his ears. They weren’t connected to his phone, and no music played, but the visual kept to the character he was portraying.

His fingers flew across the keyboard, as he used particular word searches, resulting in nothing of interest.

Coup

Overthrow

Rebellion

Typing in Directive would’ve resulted in thousands of files that would’ve taken more time than he had to research, so he continued to hunt for anything else that might get a hit.

Revolt

Insurgence

Uprising

Echoes of voices in the hall filtered their way to him, and he snatched his phone out of his pocket, pressed the button for a pop music station, and closed the window.

A woman’s peals of laughter arrived before she did, as did her scent. Overwhelmed by the aroma, Lee straightened in his chair. She smelled of home, safety, and chocolate chip cookies. As she walked into the room, she glanced over at him and smoothed her skirt.

The need to grab her into his arms and run away with her propelled through his veins, and he fought to quell the sensation. To his entranced horror, she turned towards him.

Wearing a black A-line dress, with a Burberry scarf looped around her neck, she glided over in her Marc Jacobs square heels, her legs encased in distressed beige tights. Unable to take his eyes off her, Lee swallowed hard. She licked her lips, loosening the scarf a bit.

“The A/C must be broken in this wing.”

She had whispered it to herself, but Lee heard her. He envisioned her underneath him in his bed, crying out, her voice breaking, as his cock slammed into her in ownership.

As she looked at him, she was growing wet, and his brain almost shorted out when the scent of her pussy hit him. He could hear her heartbeat and the swish of her thick thighs, as they rubbed together. She swung her hips, as she approached his desk, and he stood, glancing at his watch, wondering why his stomach was growling so loudly. Embarrassed, he patted it, with his eyes pinned on her.

“Are you new?” she asked.

“Uuhh,” he stammered, trying to regain control of himself. “Yeah, my name’s—”

Suddenly, he doubled over in pain, dropping to the floor.

“Oh, my God! Are you okay?” she cried, squatting down beside him, patting his back.

“Food...” he croaked out.

“Are you diabetic?” Unable to control his reactions, meaning to shake his head, Lee instead nodded. “Your blood sugar must’ve dropped! I’ll run to the commissary and get you somethin’!”

From where he was lying on the floor, he saw her tottering away on her heels, yelling for everyone to get out of her way. His eyes followed her plump ass encased in that tight skirt until he couldn’t see her anymore.

After a few moments, the agony lessened, and he sat up. Shaking his head to clear it, he thought about what he’d eaten for breakfast.

A dozen boiled eggs, six slices of bacon, four pieces of toast, and some yogurt with mixed berries.

Shrugging, he got himself up from the floor, dusted off his pants, and went to sit back at his desk, musing about the things he wanted to do to her and the mewls and cries she’d make as he did them.

“Move! There’s a medical emergency!” he heard her shouting.

He couldn’t wait to watch all of her bouncing and jiggling, but as she rushed to him, he was again thrown into an insufferable distress of hunger, the likes of which he’d never known.

“Ugh!” He held his stomach and put his head on the desk. “What’s happening to me?”

Just then, she arrived in front of him, and his wolf surged inside him, wanting to be released. Tamping it down with all his strength, he stood and stumbled from her, as he took his phone from his pocket. Pressing the button to call Blaine, he tripped out the front door and leaned against the exterior of the building, gasping for air.

Blaine answered with, “Do you have a lead?”

“Come get me!” Lee snapped, as the hunger raged through him.

“What happened?”

“I don’t know! Just do it!”

“Be there shortly.”

“I’ll be waiting outside.”

Lee raised his face to the gray and foreboding sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance, as thick and heavy drops of rain began to fall.

“Hey,” a female voice said.

Lee craned his neck around to see his personal Florence Nightingale standing a few feet back, holding a matching Burberry umbrella in one hand, with the other outstretched, holding a packet of crackers.

“It’s all they had, but I thought it might help.”

“Ugh!” he moaned, doubling over yet again.

“Do you have a friend comin’ to pick you up?”

Lee nodded, and she stepped closer to him, shielding both of them from the downpour. In that instant, something deep inside Lee told him that she would be his for much longer than a night and that once he sank into her wet heat, his world would be complete.

She whispered, “My name’s Piper.”

“Lee,” he forced himself to say through gritted teeth.

“Nice to meet you. I’m sorry you’re not feelin’ well. Do you want the crackers? Maybe they’ll settle your stomach.”

Scared that if he reached out, he wouldn’t simply grab the packet, he shook his head. He couldn’t blow his cover because of some crazy impulse, especially not on the first day! What would The Directive think of him? What would happen to the clan?

When a car drove by, splashing dirty water onto the sidewalk, some of it hit Lee’s pants, and Piper reached out to wipe it away.

“No!” he yelled. “Don’t touch me!”

“Why?” Her hand was moving dangerously close to his cock. “Do you think you’re contagious?”

No! I’m about to yank you into the alley, slam you against the wall, and have my way with you! And I’d be willing to bet you’d go along with it! What the fuck is wrong with me? Hurry up, Blaine!

Piper fell into a one-way conversation, while Lee tried and failed to compose himself. As the minutes passed, the agony became unrelenting, the more Piper touched him. His dick felt like it was going to burst, it was so erect, and it was throbbing so hard that he wondered if she could see it twitching in his pants.

While he suffered, Lee’s mind went back to a discussion he’d overheard between his mother and a friend years ago. They were talking about the Legendary Hunger. Apparently, her son had been struck by it when he found his fated mate.

Then, with a certainty he felt in his soul, Lee knew that Piper was his. Yet there was nothing he could do about it but fight against it until the investigation was over. He had an image to stick to, a goal to meet, and a clan to rule.

“I just moved here a few months ago,” she said. “I wanted to live in the big city and buy clothes at the nice stores I only saw in magazines, ya know? We didn’t have any designer places out in the sticks. But once I got here, I was finally able to find what I always dreamed about. Got my hair done by a fancy stylist, too. Oh! You and him might hit it off.”

Not likely, Lee thought, as he groaned in agony.

“Bad thing is, though, it’s been hard findin’ people to hang out with. Everybody’s so caught up in their own lives. So much hustle and bustle we didn’t have in the country. Hey! Maybe you and me can be friends! Once you’re better, of course.”

We’re going to be so much more than that. You have no idea.

“My mom wants me to move back home and marry a farmer’s son down the road.”

Like hell, you will. Damn, my timing sucks.

“I’m not gonna, though. I want more than that.”

And you’ll have whatever you want once you’re mine!

“I think that’s your friend, Lee. He’s wavin’ at ya. Why’d he park way over there, when this space is free right in front of us?”

“It’s okay.”

“Well, then, let me help ya.”

Her scent and lilting voice had almost been his undoing, and as much as he wanted her to touch him again, he couldn’t allow it.

“Go inside, Piper. I’ll be fine.”

“You’re gonna get drenched.”

“Piper.”

His tone came out rougher than he’d intended, and he glanced at her in apology, as she gave him a gentle smile.

“I’m cranky when I’m sick, too. It’s okay.”

Forcing himself away from her, Lee used the building to remain standing, as he made his way to Blaine’s car. By that time, rain was pouring in sheets, so much so that it would have obscured his vision had he not been a shifter.

Lee pushed off the wall, straining with each step to get to the vehicle, and then he opened the door and fell inside.

“The Hunger,” he said, as he slammed it shut. “It’s got me.”

“That certainly puts a wrinkle in things.”

“Uuhhh!” Lee groaned, bending forward.

“Let’s get some food in you and figure out your next steps.”

“There’s a butcher up the street. I need a side of beef ASAP! No, make that two!