Chapter 43

Arthur

Arthur sat in his office, seething. He could smell that asshole all over the room. While Almara had told him about Noah’s visit, she hadn’t said anything about him coming into his office. What the fuck?

He had tried to trace the scent, to see where exactly he had gone, but Noah had been smart. He’d made sure that his scent couldn’t be tracked to any one location. So Arthur had no idea what he had touched or if he had even taken anything.

Arthur’s only consolation is that Almara hadn’t been in here with Noah. So whatever it was doing, Almara hadn’t been helping him. The fact that she’d let him into the house in the first place still irked him, but he could overlook that. This time.

He looked at his desk for what felt like the hundredth time. Nothing was out of place. Nothing looked like it had even been breathed on. There was nothing of interest here anyway. Except for one thing.

With his heart beating fast, Arthur pulled open the bottom drawer. He pulled out all of the nonsense papers that had no real importance until it was empty. Then he opened the false bottom where he had stored the contract with Almara.

His relief was almost palpable. It was still there. All of it. He sank back in his chair. Maybe Noah had just done it to mess with him. He wouldn’t put it past the asshole.

Arthur had just poured himself a glass of whiskey when someone knocked on his door.

“Yes?” Arthur asked, trying and failing to keep the anger out of his voice.

“It’s me, Alpha. There’s someone here to see you,” came Dana’s reply. Arthur raised his eyebrows. Who the hell was here at this hour? It had better be pretty damn important.

“Who is it?” he asked, downing his whiskey in one go. The liquor burned sweetly on the way down, adding more fire to his already growing anger.

“It’s Noah Cunningham, Alpha,” Dana answered tensely. Arthur’s body stiffened. Why was he here? Again? Why the hell did he want to talk to him? Only one way to find out.

“Send him in,” Arthur called and he lounged in his chair like he didn’t have a care in the world. He even poured himself another glass of whiskey. Let the fucker see how unbothered he was. Or at least he pretended to be.

Noah sauntered into his office like he owned the place. Arthur’s hackles rose, but he managed to keep his nonchalant facade. He interlaced his fingers and stared at Noah over them.

“To what do I owe this…pleasure?” Arthur asked, sarcasm dripping from every word. It was no secret that he hated Noah. He saw no reason to hide it now.

“I have come to make a bargain,” Noah drawled, dropping into one of the plush chairs across from Arthur’s desk. He leaned back against the right armrest and threw his legs over the left one. He looked right at home.

“Why the hell would I make a bargain with you?” Arthur asked, letting amusement coat his voice. He wanted Noah to think that he thought the whole thing was a joke. And in a way, he did. There was no way in hell he’d ever strike a bargain with Noah Cunningham.

“Oh, I think you’ll find that I have something that you want. Or rather don’t want as it were,” Noah said, flashing a smile that was more a baring of teeth. Arthur fought to keep a snarl off his face.

Just let me tear his face off. Then you won’t have to see it anymore, Caleb chimed in and Arthur huffed out a laugh. He might just take Caleb up on that offer before the night was through.

Arthur feigned a yawn. “I’m getting bored. Can you get on with it? I have a pretty little wolf waiting for me in my bed.”

Arthur hid a smirk as the words had their intended effect. Noah looked like he’d gotten struck in the face. Unfortunately, Noah recovered quickly and sported his own smirk.

Ah yes. About that pretty little wolf. My bargain involves her, you know?”

Arthur grit his teeth together. He was two seconds away from jumping the man across from him and beating him to a bloody pulp. Noah was trying his patience.

“And speaking of bargains, I know all about yours. A rather atrocious one, I might add. Debt forgiven for a baby?”

Arthur froze, icy fear flooding his veins. How did he know? How could he possibly know?

“You’ve got to find better hiding spots, Alpha. It was all too easy to find that contract and take pictures of it,” Noah said, sitting up. His face had darkened, taking on a more serious edge.

“What do you want?” Arthur growled, losing all pretense that he was unaffected by the whole thing.

“I think you know what I want,” Noah replied, cocking his head to the side. His eyes darted to the left, toward where Arthur’s bedroom lay. It was almost like he could see Almara through the walls.

“You want Almara.” It wasn’t a question. Arthur had known ever since he’d met Noah that he coveted Almara. But he never thought he would stoop to these kinds of levels.

“Obviously. And I know that you don’t. You just want the child that’s currently inside her,” Noah said viciously and Arthur flinched. He even knew about the baby. Of course he did. He was with Almara pretty much every day. He’d be able to detect the change even with the scent dampener.

“So, here’s the deal. I want you to give Almara to me when the contract is over. In exchange, I’ll keep the whole thing a secret. No one else has to know. Since you don’t want Almara, I can imagine that this is an easy yes.”

Arthur didn’t know what to say. It was like his mind went blank. There was a buzzing in his ear. It felt like he was drowning and there was no one there to save him.

You can’t give him Almara! Caleb growled and swatted a paw across his insides. Arthur grimaced at the pain, but it woke him out of his shock.

“NO!” The word burst from Arthur’s lips, wild in its intensity. He was breathing heavily and he briefly noticed that he had knocked over his chair.

“No? Don’t tell me you’ve actually fallen for her. How could you? You have nothing in common,” Noah said, raising his eyebrows.

Maybe it seemed that way to him, but Arthur had plenty in common with Almara. At least where it counted. They shared the same hopes and dreams. They both wanted that perfect little family.

“I said no,” Arthur growled and he let his fangs descend. His fingers grew claws and fur started to erupt all over his body. He was shifting into the halfway phase. That’s all he would need to kick Noah’s ass.

Noah scoffed. “I can’t believe it. You are in love with her. Well, this complicates things. Forget I was here. But I haven’t given up yet. I have many ways of getting what I want,” and then he was gone. Poof. Just like what had happened at the beach. Something tugged at the back of Arthur’s mind, but in his current state, he couldn’t concentrate on it enough to bring it into fruition.

Arthur took a deep breath, de-shifting bit by bit. He walked over to his desk and grabbed the contract, ripping it up in his claws. As much as he hated to admit it, Noah was right. He was in love with Almara.