Vrost shook his head. “No, it’s not. When we decided this would be our headquarters, one of the problems we encountered was that the entire structure was solid, which was great for defense, but that meant we couldn’t see what was going on outside. Plus, it made the place pretty gloomy. So, we installed 4K screens that have a direct feed to the outside to mimic windows.”
“Cool.” Jacob tipped his chin. “So, this place is our war room.”
“You could say that. This floor is central operations. Above us is the actual war room and command, while we have the training rooms and dorms in the two floors below us.”
“How did you fit all that in the tower?” Jacob asked.
“Magic,” Vrost explained. “Daric was able to find a magic spell that could expand the space on the inside. I don’t know how it works, and it cost us a pretty penny, but it was worth it. This place is more secure than Fort Knox. Now, I need to introduce you to some people, though you already know most of them, Jacob.”
He led them to one of the enclosed offices and opened the door. It was a small, cramped space, filled with PC towers of varying sizes along two sides of the room and a wall of monitors in the middle. There was a single desk in the middle that had a laptop, and a large, beat-up leather chair turned away from them.
“You’ve reached Acme Proctologists, where we promise you a thoroughly good time. How may I direct your call?”
Vrost’s gaze slid heavenwards in an exasperating manner and cleared his throat. “Lizzie,” he said in a warning voice.
“.…no really, sir … that’s right. Would you like to make an appointment?” The chair swiveled around, revealing its occupant—a cute redhead with sparkling blue eyes full of mischief as she spoke into a cell phone. “You don’t have to be shy, sir. All our doctors are gentle.”
“Lizzie,” Vrost repeated.
The woman—more like a girl, really—bit her lip as she tried to smother a giggle. “No need to take that tone with me, sir. I already deal with assholes all day.”
“Martin.” Vrost warned.
Martin? Delacroix turned to Jacob, who only gave him the same exasperated look on Vrost’s face.
With a delighted cackle, the redhead put the phone down. “Wha—Oh! Al Doilea!” She shot up from her seat, then froze when her gaze landed on Jacob. “And—Oh, my God! Runt, you’re home!” Her face turned from embarrassment to shock to excitement as she launched herself at Jacob, leaping up at him to wrap her arms around his neck.
“Runt?” Delacroix asked as Jacob tried to untangle the young woman from his body.
“I—get-off-me-you-crazy-woman! Argh! Stop!”
“Aww, can’t I express how much I’ve missed my baby brother?” She let go of him, then punched him in the arm. “Nice to see you, runt.”
Jacob scowled and rubbed his arm. “Don’t call me that. I’m more than a foot taller than you and outweigh you by a hundred pounds.”
“But you’ll always be the baby of the family.” Her face scrunched up as she pinched his cheeks.
Vrost cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you all to get acquainted while I round up Wyatt and Mika.”
“Oh, of course, Mr. Vrost.”
The Beta gave Delacroix a warning look before turning on his heel and leaving the office. The redhead turned to Delacroix. “I’m Lizzie Martin, head of tech around here, and Jacob’s sister.”
“So I gathered.” Jacob had mentioned he had two siblings, but didn’t give any more details. He shook the female’s hand. “Marc Delacroix.”
“I thought that’s who you might be.” Arctic blue eyes peered up at him. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Dressed in a short plaid skirt, a T-shirt with a cartoon alpaca on the front, and knee-high boots, she looked out of place here, but he’d learned long ago not to judge people by their looks. He turned on his megawatt smile automatically, and his eyes darted up and down her curvaceous body. “Funny. Jacob’s never mentioned his sister was so … interestin’.”
“Keep those eyes at an appropriate level, Delacroix,” Jacob warned. “Unless you want me to pull them out of their sockets.”
Lizzie rolled her eyes and then pulled something out of her pocket—a lollipop, which she proceeded to unwrap and suck into her mouth. “Please, Jacob. I can take care of myself. You know, the last time a guy tried anything funny, he ended up on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.”
He took a step closer. “Ah, you are giving me a challenge then?" Her scent was pleasant enough—a sweetness that smelled generic but his Lycan senses detected the wolf in her and a hint of something different, similar to the way Jacob smelled. Probably the same thing that marked him as a hybrid, but it wasn’t enough to rouse his wolf, who, during all this time, remained passive and indifferent to their new surroundings.
“Oh, you charmer, you!” Mirth made her arctic blue eyes light up. “You don’t want to mess with me. I can make you hurt in different ways.”
Which of course only piqued his curiosity. “Oh, really?” He reached out to touch a lock of red hair intending to brush it off her shoulder. “I—”
The low growl that followed made his hackles raise and pull his hand back immediately. Turning to the door, Vrost stood there with another man, who stalked into the room like a predator who’d found his next victim. He was at least half a foot taller than Delacroix, and just as wide, though it was hard to tell with the way he seemed to puff out his chest and shoulders. Green eyes so light they were almost yellow blazed with an icy fury that was directed straight at him. Familiar eyes.
“Ahem.” Vrost stepped between them. “Delacroix, you’ve met Wyatt before, haven’t you? He’s our operations manager.”
Wyatt Creed. Queen Desiree’s brother. Ah, that’s why he was familiar; he was practically a younger carbon copy of his father. He’d seen
