The thoughts were consuming him, driving the need to see her again. But the next day, she didn’t come back to work either. He stalked the garage looking for signs of her car, but it was nearly five o’clock, and she still hadn’t show up. What was going on?
He marched to the elevator, hoping to take it to the command room to find some answers, but someone was already waiting inside.
“Delacroix, there you are.” It was Wyatt Creed, dressed in one of his fancy suits, arms crossed over his chest.
“What do you want?”
He stared at Delacroix in his usual haughty manner. “Meeting in my office, now. Let’s go.”
“Can’t it wait?”
“No.”
Fuck this fils-putain. He had half a mind to tell him to pound sand, but Wyatt gave him an impatient “don’t fuck with me” look that reminded him of Sebastian Creed. Though Wyatt wasn’t a dragon like his father, Delacroix didn’t underestimate him. The quiet ones were always the ones to watch out for.
When they reached central operations, Wyatt motioned to follow him to his office. When he stepped inside, he was surprised to find that it wasn’t empty as two people were already waiting inside.
“Hello, Delacroix.” Vrost’s ice blue eyes pierced right into him. “Nice of you to finally join us.”
“Al Doilea,” he said in a mocking voice as he used the Beta’s traditional honorific.
“Actually, you should be calling me that.” Astrid Jonasson-Vrost grinned at him. He remembered the young woman as she was also Queen Desiree’s best friend. “I’m Beta now. Officially.”
“Well, you’re certainly a more welcome and lovely sight than your predecessor,” he replied, then turned to Vrost. “Why didn’t you invite me to your retirement party?”
Vrost snorted. “I just came here to give you the news personally. Just so you know it’s official.”
“What news?”
“You’ve been reassigned, Delacroix. From this point on, you’ll officially be part of the Lycan Security Force of New York, and you’ll be guarding the Alpha.”
Reassigned? But how—wait. Mika. Had he forgotten her end of the bargain? She promised him a cushy job and a chance to shorten his sentence.
“You don’t look happy,” Vrost remarked.
“I’m crying with tears of joy on the inside,” he said sarcastically. “When do I begin?”
“As soon as possible,” Astrid stated. “We can’t let the mages get Lucas. If they capture him and get his blood, it could mean the end. With your powers, you could easily hide him in the shadows, right? And no one would find you guys?”
He nodded. “Yes, that’s how it works. But doesn’t the Alpha have adequate protection?”
Vrost’s eyes glinted like hard flint. “From what we’ve learned, even if they had all three artifacts, the mages still need his or Adrianna’s blood to activate whatever spell they’re planning to use. We need to make sure that we have a way to take him out of the equation if that ever happens.”
“Sounds like a brilliant plan.” Delacroix could bet who came up with that one. Speaking of which … “So, the boss lady’s fine with that? Should I go and give her my farewell?”
“Mika?” The female’s nose wrinkled. “Oh, you won’t have time for that. Besides she’s not going to be back anytime soon.”
The information hit him like a ton of bricks slamming into his chest. “Not going to be back soon?”
“Yup.” Her head bobbed up and down. “Things got too hairy in Russia, and she had to step in before we lost the alliance. Took the first plane out to Moscow this morning. Don’t know when she’ll be back, but if I know Mika, she won’t come back until the job’s done.”
“Yeah, definitely,” he managed to croak out before the pain in his chest dug deeper. “She certainly finishes what she starts.”
Chapter Eight
JFK International Airport was busier than usual. Perhaps the unseasonably warm winter weather was an incentive for tourists to flock to New York. The international arrivals was packed to the gills, and weary travelers trudged along the lines into the immigration booths.
“Welcome back to the United States, Ms. Westbrooke,” the immigration officer said as he stamped the passport on his desk. “I’m sure after three months, you’re happy to be back.”
“I am,” Mika answered automatically. “I can’t wait to eat some bagels and cream cheese.” And maybe some pizza. And Chinese food. God, she didn’t know if it was the baby or being back in New York, but the moment the plane landed, all she could think about was food.
The officer slid her passport back to her and laughed. “Go on then. After a long flight, you’re probably cranky and starving for a real meal. My wife was the same with each kid we had.”
Realizing his gaze had briefly slid down to her growing belly, she quickly wrapped her coat around her. “Thank you, sir,” she grumbled as she walked away. Didn’t he know it was rude to remark on a woman’s pregnancy unless her condition was explicitly stated?
Still it was a reminder for her to be careful. No one in the States knew about her pregnancy yet. In fact, the entire time in Russia, she had worked to conceal it too. It had worked for the first few weeks, but Natalia Ivanova had definitely remarked on it. The Russian Alpha had simply shrugged and said it was fairly obvious to anyone who’d been pregnant and that if she was trying to hide it, she had to do a better job. Rude, yes, but when you were Alpha of a clan of over a hundred Lycans, you could pretty much say anything you want.
An involuntary smile spread across her lips. Despite her tough-as-nails exterior, Natalia had a soft inside that she rarely showed to anyone. While most people thought of her as a bitch, Mika knew that she had no choice but to
