She arrived at the diner a couple of minutes later and ordered a cheeseburger and fries and a glass of red wine. She took a table by the window so that she could people-watch. She sat looking out into the street, watching the world go by. Her attention was caught by a door opening on one of the houses opposite the diner. A man stepped out and looked over toward the diner.
Rachel’s breath caught in her throat when she saw him. He was like perfection personified, she thought to herself. He was tall, easily six feet, and muscular, his shoulders broad and square. His dark hair was cut in a buzz cut that suited him, making his square jaw stand out. Even from across the street, Rachel could see how brilliantly green his eyes were. For a moment, it felt like he was looking right back at her, holding her gaze.
She felt her body come alive as she looked at the man, and she pressed her thighs together, feeling the delicious tingles spread through her center. Her nipples hardened beneath her top.
“Here you go, hon,” a voice said from beside her.
Rachel turned to see a waitress putting her wine and her food down on the table. She cleared her throat, feeling her cheeks turning pink at the thoughts she had been having about the man across the street. She knew it was crazy, but she somehow felt like the woman would know exactly what she was thinking.
“Thanks,” she managed.
The waitress flashed her a smile and moved away from her table. She picked a French fry up and looked back out of the window, but the man was gone. Feeling strangely empty now that he was no longer there, Rachel looked down at her plate. She looked up as the bell above the door tinkled, signaling someone was coming in. She audibly gasped when she saw the man from the street standing in the doorway to the diner.
2
Bastian Marlowe smiled at the man sitting opposite him. Brady was his go-to guy in Fredericksburg, keeping everything running smoothly for him as he was based in Houston and couldn’t get out to the smaller towns within his district as often as he would like to. As the alpha bear for District 212, it was important to him that every pack member was kept updated and in line, and thus, it was important to him to have people in each area whom he could trust. Brady had never let him down yet, and his relaxed manner now told him that wasn’t about to change.
“Would you like anything to drink or eat before we get started?” Brady asked.
“No, I’m good, thanks,” Bastian said.
He was a little bit hungry, but he was hoping to get this wrapped up quickly and be back on a plane to Houston within the next couple of hours. He would grab something at the airport.
“Okay,” Brady said. He looked down at a folder he had open in front of him on the table. “Did you get a chance to look over the financial reports I sent you?”
Every month, Bastian had his people in each area mail over a financial report for the pack members within their respective areas.
“I did. It looks like you’ve all had a good month up here,” he said.
“We have,” Brady agreed. “Simon has opened a new winery which has really boosted our earnings, and Fiona has just been promoted, so her salary has gone up too.”
“Anything going on with Lewis?” Bastian asked.
“There’s been nothing in the news to imply he’s been active. No local disappearances or anything, but then this area was never really his hunting ground,” Brady replied.
“No, he mostly concentrated his efforts in Houston, but it always pays to be alert,” Bastian said.
“Indeed,” Brady agreed.
“Is there anything else of note?” Bastian asked.
“There is one thing,” Brady said. “Malcolm has met a girl. He’s confident she’s meant to be his mate. She knows he’s a bear and she’s had a test done. She carries the Sanmere protein in her blood and Malcolm would like permission to turn her and have her join the pack.”
Bastian sat up straighter, this bit of news piquing his interest much more than the numbers had.
“Have you met her?” he asked.
“Yes, a couple of times,” Brady said. “I like her. She’s levelheaded and she seems to have put some thought into the implications of immortality. From what I’ve seen, she’s genuinely in love with Malcolm.”
“Good,” Bastian said.
He had heard stories of human women who learned of the shifter world and went out of their way to meet a shifter just to gain immortality. Those stories never seemed to have a good ending, either bringing hunters or press attention when the girls turned and then couldn’t resist bragging about it to the wrong people.
“What do we know about her?” Bastian asked.
“She’s thirty-two, but obviously if she does turn, her genetics will revert back to those of a twenty-nine-year-old. She’s a surgeon at a local hospital and she volunteers for several charities,” Brady replied.
Bastian nodded thoughtfully. She sounded like she would be a good asset to the pack.
“I’m happy to authorize the turning and the mating assuming you don’t have any objections to it,” Bastian said.
“I don’t,” Brady confirmed. “I think she’ll be a good addition to the pack both personally and financially.”
“Right. That’s settled, then,” Bastian said. “Is there anything else to report?”
Brady shook his head.
“Good,” Bastian said. “There’s been rumors of a hunter in the Dallas area. As of yet, nothing had been confirmed and no deaths have been recorded in our pack or any of the other shifter packs in the area. Oscar is ahead of the situation and is taking proactive steps to confirm whether the rumors are true or not. It’s not something I’m worried about at this point,
