Chapter 31

Darren

After everyone left the office that night, I stayed behind to do some digging of my own. Something wasn’t adding up with the printer fire; there was no way that hair tie just fell in there by accident, but it also seemed unlikely that Aria would have done it intentionally.

I pulled the printer out from the wall, inspecting the area around it closely. There was nothing out of the ordinary; just a singed carpet and the acrid scent of burnt plastic all around.

But as I dropped to my knees and began checking the area of the printer around where the fire had started, I saw it.

A long blonde hair sticking out of one of the maintenance panels.

Half of it had been burnt off during the fire, if the blackened tip of one end was any indication. But it was unmistakable.

Frowning, I carefully pulled the hair out of the maintenance hatch and held it up to the light. It seemed like the right shade, and a quick sniff told me all I needed to know. Sarah’s scent was all over it.

I clutched the hair tightly, my mind whirling. Had Aria been right when she said that she thought Sarah did this herself?

But why? Why would Sarah commit arson just to get back at her sister?

Something was rotten here, I was sure of it. I’d have to talk to Sarah tomorrow.

But first, a drink. Because I bloody well needed it after today.

I left Lucas with Liam that night and headed out into the city, tugging my jacket closer around my shoulders as I walked. A fine dusting of snow was falling from the sky, like powdered sugar gently floating through the air. It would have been a good night for a run in my wolf form, if I wasn’t in the middle of the concrete jungle.

Eventually, I found the bar that I frequented. My wolf made a snide remark about how ‘special’ the place was now that it was where we’d marked our mate, but I ignored that.

But maybe he was right. Because Aria was there already, as if waiting for me.

Before I knew it, one thing had led to another and now here she was, sitting at the bar in the VIP section while I sulked in the corner and nursed the rum and Coke I’d suddenly lost my craving for.

“You’re jealous,” my wolf purred, amused.

I shook my head and took a sip of my drink. “I’m not.”

“Oh? Then why have you been staring daggers at the back of her pretty head for the past ten minutes?”

Realizing what I’d been doing, I quickly turned my attention to the dance floor below the VIP section. It was surprisingly busy for a weeknight, so there was plenty to look at.

But no matter how much I tried to distract myself by watching drunk assholes grinding on each other, I couldn’t stop thinking about what Aria’s friend had said.

“We were talking about another man in Aria’s life.”

I shouldn’t have cared. I didn’t want to care. And yet… the thought of my mate with another man set something ablaze inside of me. Whoever he was, I wanted to rip his throat out.

It was just instinct, I knew. Mate bonds do funny things to people—they make them feel things that maybe they shouldn’t, say and do things that they definitely shouldn’t. I’d witnessed more than my fair share of mates who really had no business being mates. A soul bond wasn’t the be-all-end-all of ‘true love’. It was just chemistry at the end of the day.

But even knowing all of this, I couldn’t quell the fury bubbling up inside of me at the thought of Aria being with someone else.

And I couldn’t decide if I was angry with her or him. Maybe both.

No, I told myself, ripping my gaze away from her once more. It’s not her fault that men flock to her.

She really was beautiful. Tall and slender like a dancer, with chestnut hair that was falling in gentle waves down her back tonight. Even in her stuffy work clothes, she could have been a model.

“You’re ogling her again,” my wolf teased.

I turned around fully this time, not even caring that I was now facing the wall.

“I’m not. I’m just thinking about how she’ll have no problem finding a man once we cut our mate bond.”

…

The next morning, I called Sarah into my office almost as soon as the work day began. She sauntered in late as usual, fifteen minutes past the time I asked her to come to me, dressed in a low-cut top and a pencil skirt with high heels.

“Good morning, handsome,” Sarah cooed, circling my desk and perching on the edge of it, less than a foot from me. “Did you need me for something?”

I felt my eye twitch as I looked up at her. She’d been laying on the seduction pretty thick lately. Maybe I hadn’t made it clear enough that it wasn’t working.

What ever happened to the sweet, innocent girl who had helped me as a pup? The Sarah I knew never would have acted like a porn star. But time does strange things to people, I supposed.

Clearing my throat, I gestured to the chair opposite my desk and gave her a meaningful look. She looked wounded for a moment, but obeyed.

Once she took her seat, I held up the little baggie with her hair in it.

“I found this trapped inside the printer.”

Sarah’s perfectly-manicured eyebrows shot up as she studied the baggie. “What is it?”

“Your hair,” I said. I held the bag up to the light, right next to her head. It was the exact same shade and thickness.

She just blinked at me, mouth hanging open.

“Sarah,” I said slowly, not wanting to be cruel, “if you put Aria’s hair tie in the printer as some sort of retaliation—”

“I didn’t!” She shot to her feet and placed her hands on her hips. “I didn’t, Darren. I thought you knew me better than that.”

I sighed, staring down at the evidence in my hands for a few moments. To me, the implication was pretty clear. That side of the printer had been against the wall, and the hair had been trapped in a maintenance hatch—hardly the sort of place where a piece of hair might fall down on its own.

“I’m not angry, Sarah,” I finally said. “I just want to know why you did it.”

“Why? I! Didn’t! Do! It!” she insisted, her voice rising with each word. “And you’re a fool if you think I did!”

I flinched at that word, at her insubordinate tone. My wolf growled inside of me, willing me to punish her for speaking to me that way—I may not have been her Alpha, but I was her boss. And something was not right here.

“Don’t shout at me,” I said, tossing the baggie down on the desk. “I’m sorry, Sarah, but the evidence lines up. You were angry with Aria and you decided to get payback. Do you deny it?”

Sarah’s face reddened. “Yes,” she squeaked. “I deny it.”

I paused for a moment, studying her expression. Her lower lip was quivering, but her eyes… There were no tears there.

Just anger.

“I’m demoting you to receptionist for a month,” I finally said, making up my mind.

Her eyes widened. “Receptionist?”

“You and Aria can’t seem to stop fighting in the workplace,” I explained. “And I’m sorry, Sarah, but you’re causing at least half of the trouble. So until you can learn to get along—”

“Get along? You can’t be serious!” Sarah threw her hands down on my desk, causing my coffee to slosh in its cup. “You’re acting like an idiot, Darren! First you break up with me, and now—”

“That’s enough.” I rose from my chair, and she seemed to shrink beneath my gaze. “I am your boss, first and foremost, Sarah. This is the decision I’ve made. And I would appreciate it if you’d pull yourself together and get back to work.”

For several long moments, Sarah just stared at me, her jaw working uselessly. Finally, she turned on her heel with a huff and stormed out, slamming the door behind herself.

I bit my tongue to keep myself from cursing as I watched her march down the stairs to the rest of the office.

Crossing to the window, I looked out over the cubicles. The others all watched her storm past, even Aria—who then lifted her head to look at me curiously.

At that moment, I felt my breath catch in my throat.

Aria’s big green eyes blinked up at me, wide and innocent. And I swore… I swore she looked just like the little girl who had rescued me as a pup.

But that was impossible.

Because it wasn’t Aria, but Sarah who had kept me alive all those years ago.