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Chapter 52: Theo
I stood at the sink in the bathroom for a moment, taking deep breaths to calm my anger.
Turning on the tap, I started
washing the blood from my hands. I had spent two hours in the cell with Lloyd. I didn’t
intend to get that physical with him yet, but he really was a vile bastard with a bad mouth.
I pulled my shirt over my head and discarded it. I didn’t want Ayla to see me like that. We
were both trying to keep her mind off the rogue locked in the cellar.
We did manage to find a place for Denny, at least. I would be swearing him into the pack
in a couple of days, and he would be moved to a halfway house nearby. It wasn’t anything
spectacular, but it was a hell of a lot better than what he was used to. And I trusted the
woman who managed it. She was a genuinely kind soul who cared about her charges. If
anyone could help Denny assimilate into pack life, she could.
I was dressed and presentable when I heard Ayla arrive home. Zeff was in town, and I
could hear them talking about something that had Ayla in good spirits. I smiled in relief. I
was glad that I was able to mend things between Zeff and me, both as his Alpha and for
Ayla. If our plan worked out, he would be spending more time with her soon. And while it
seemed strange to be grateful for my mate to be in the company of an unmated male, I
couldn’t deny how important his friendship was to her. She needed that these days, and I
was giving her something familiar and normal. She deserved that.
I left the room and met them in the living room. Ayla smiled
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and met me with a kiss. She already seemed lighter and happier.
“Zeff,” I greeted, shaking his hand.
“I hear you have a proposition for me,” he said.
“That I do,” I said. “If you have time, we can talk now. Or do you want to get settled in
first?”
“I’m free now,” he said.
“Great,” I replied. “To start, I need to show you something.”
“You two go ahead,” Ayla said. “I’m going to change and finish up a couple emails for
school real quick. I’ll meet you there.”
She kissed my cheek before going to the bedroom. I led Zeff out of the packhouse and
walked to a nearby house. It was one of the first built, so it was older and needed some
updates anyway, which was part of the reason it was perfect. I unlocked the front door and
Zeff followed me inside.
It was completely empty at the moment. We had already had the furnishing removed, with
the exception of the beds and dressers in two of the three bedrooms upstairs. Everything
else had been cleared out. Zeff was obviously confused but interested in what I was going
to say.
“How is the magazine going?” I asked, taking him back to the kitchen.
“It’s going really well,” he said with pride. “It’s gotten off its feet sooner than we had
expected.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” I said, leaning against the counter. “Ayla tells me you two have
mostly been working out of each other‘
s homes so far. Have you guys thought about setting up a headquarters yet?”
Zeff shrugged. “It has been discussed. It hasn’t been a priority yet, seeing as all of our
contributors work remotely anyway.”
I nodded. “But that means you could set up anywhere, right? If the opportunity presented
itself?”
“Yes,” Zeff answered slowly. “I suppose so.”
“Good, because I would like for you to set it up right here,” | stated, indicating the house
we were standing in.
Zeff looked startled. “May I ask why?”
My lips twitched at his skepticism. “I need your help. It’s for Ayla.”
“I’m listening,” he replied, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against the wall.
“I know she’s told you everything that’s been going on,” I said. “She trusts you explicitly. I
won’t try to deny that I haven’t looked into you more to make sure her trust is well–placed,
because I have.”
“You didn’t hide it all that well,” he smirked. “I had some people reach out.”
“I wasn’t intending to,” I grinned back. It was a power move and he knew it. But he
respected it and I liked that. “But when it comes to Ayla, I trust you, too. I need that right
now.”
1 motioned for him to follow me as I moved to a door off of the kitchen. It led down to a
basement that already had Construction supplies stacked up.
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“We need better access to the cellar,” I said. “Something more discrete. So, we’re building
a tunnel entrance from here. It lines up well and is close enough that it shouldn’t take long
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmwith a good team. However, that means this can no longer be used as a residence. I
already have offices established for my business that Harmon runs in the city. I do
everything else from the packhouse. So, we need a cover. As you said, most of your work
is done remotely, so you wouldn’t have a lot of traffic coming in and out of the building.
And again, I trust you to keep this secret. So, would you be willing to set up shop here?”
Zeff thought for a few moments as he looked around the
area.
“What all would this entail for me?” he asked.
“It would require a couple responsibilities on your part,” I said. “Mostly just monitoring
who is coming and going, but a large part of that will be done by the security system.
Other than that, we just need the company to occupy the space. This also will give Ayla a
space outside of the packhouse to work. We’ll turn the dining room and master bedroom
into offices on the main floor. A third office on the second. The other two rooms I’ll leave
for you to do what you want. You can even live here if you like.”
He had listened intently and considered the offer.
“I’ll have to talk to Holly, of course,” he said. “She’s my partner. So she’ll have to agree.”
“Does she know who Ayla really is?” I asked sternly.
Zeff shook his head. “No,” he replied firmly. “And she won’t until you choose to tell her.”
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Chapter 52: Theo
I nodded, feeling better about trusting him.
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“Talk to her. You can bring her out to check things out. Tell her I’m giving the office to Ayla
as a gift if you want,” I said. “Just let me know what you decide.”
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