I'm conflicted. On the one hand, Clayton Ward took away my agency when he had me kidnapped and initiated into his pack against my will. On the other, that insufferable man is all I can think about since our near kiss Saturday night.

Which is totally absurd, of course. He's my superior and he's taken. And that was never going to be a kiss, anyway. He was just manipulating me so I could turn. The only reason he's interested in me is . . .. Why is he interested in me? To pad his pack with another member? That seems like a weak reason to take on a sad-sack case like me. But why then?

Confirming that Clayton is an Alpha—now my Alpha—has at least explained my growing attraction to him. Who can resist someone who is not only so drop dead gorgeous, but also has so much power?

But that still doesn't excuse any of his actions. So when on Tuesday I get a note on my door requesting my presence at Ward Manor that afternoon, my anxiety goes into overdrive.

What does Clayton want that can't have us meeting in his campus office, instead? Will Gemma already be there to keep tabs on me or will she show up unexpectedly like last time? Do I have the option to politely decline? What would happen if I just ignored the invitation all together?

I open the folded stationary and look at the note again.

At the top is an embossed seal with the university's crest superimposed on a crescent moon on its side. Below is a handwritten message in the typical chicken scratch lettering of someone who takes a lot of notes. Someone like a research biologist.

Barlow -

I'd like for you to come to Ward Manor at 4:30 today. Dress comfortably and plan on staying for dinner.

Yours,

Clayton

I wonder if this is another part of the initiation. No one said there would be more, but then again, I didn't get a heads up about the sword ceremony, either. Plus, I'm not sure we even finished part one because technically I never got to Clayton at the end of the circle. Maybe he's planning on picking up there, but does that mean everyone else will be back, too?

My head hurts from all of the speculating, but it also makes me curious enough about the answer to accept the invite. So walking straight over after my dissertation advisory session, I show up on Clayton's doorstep at half past four on the dot.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Milligan." Carlos greets me as he opens the door. "Come in, please."

"Thank you, Carlos," I say following Clayton's butler who leads me through the foyer and into a large room in the back of the mansion I haven't seen before.

With at least twelve foot walls, several crystal chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling windows on one end, it looks like a grand place to hold a ball, especially since it is empty of all furniture. Instead, there are two yoga mats smack dab in the middle and only one is occupied.

"Be with you in a sec. Make yourself comfortable," says the platinum blonde who's down in a plank pose.

I'm not quite sure what she means, but Carlos motions toward the second mat before disappearing behind the closed door so I drop my purse and shoes by the wall. As I'm tiptoeing toward the center of the room in my stockings, the woman stands and meets me halfway.

"Galina Lexmann," she says extending her hand. "Apologies for starting without you."

I shake her hand with a puzzled frown. "I'm sorry, but what did you start?"

She thumbs to the mats behind her. "Warming up for our yoga session. Clayton said that you were a practitioner."

Why would he say that? We never talked about yoga. But it's probably another thing that he just assumed about me. Either way, that's now irrelevant and I quickly change topics.

"You were at the initiation Saturday night," I blurt out without considering whether it's appropriate or what I'd do if I were wrong.

Galina, however, isn't fazed by my bluntness and she nods. "That's right. How did you know?"

I take a deep sniff of the air between us.

"Your perfume. You're wearing the same scent now," I say, proud of myself for being right. And since I'm on a roll, I take a chance on a guess. "Let me see. Vanilla and cinnamon with a hint of . . . something?"

Galina laughs. "That would be flour."

"Flower? It can't be roses nor lilies," I say, now puzzled.

"No, no, no," she says, laughing even harder. "Flour as in f-l-o-u-r. I'm a pastry chef and these are just the tools of my trade that I can't even scrub off any more."

Now I'm the one who has to laugh. "Whoops. Well, at any rate, it does smell lovely. So maybe you should think about bottling it."

She nods again. "Maybe. Should we begin?"

I look down at myself in a plaid wool skirt and long-sleeved top.

"In this?" I ask, now realizing why Clayton's note came with instructions on how to dress.

"Honestly, you look amazing and I do love the fit," Galina says. "We can work with this."

I like her already and not just because of the compliment. We seem to be around the same age, but Galina has all of the confidence that I never had. She's also the masked stranger who whispered a few comforting words to me when I still had no idea who had snatched me off the street and why, which I really needed at that moment. So if I have to do a bit of yoga dressed like a chic librarian with her to fulfill whatever Clayton is trying to achieve with this, then so be it.

We start with the mountain pose, placing our palms together before reaching for the sky while inhaling deeply.

"Have you been part of this pack for long?" I ask, unable to resist my curiosity.

Galina leads us into a forward bend. "Yes, I was born into it, actually," she says.

"Really?" I say with both admiration and a bit of jealousy as I struggle to touch the ground with my fingertips without bending my knees. "So you must know all about Wards."

"Clayton, you mean?" Galina asks with a laugh, seeing right through me as she slowly pulls her hands up her shins to a flat back position. "No one really knows him, I'm afraid. Contrary to how he tries to present himself, he's very much an introvert."

Interesting.

"His fiancée is a lucky girl, then. To have him all to herself," I say with a little more bitterness than I had meant to reveal as I follow Galina into a plank.

"Gemma Calhoun? Not likely. It's a marriage of convenience than anything else," she says to my surprise.

I fiddle with my skirt, which is getting in the way. "How so?"

"Having the Alpha of Allegheny take the daughter of the Alpha of Black River as his wife will unite the bloodlines and bring resolution to the existing feud between the packs," she says, dropping her knees before also lowering her shoulders to the ground.

Having admitted defeat against my unsuitable attire, I sit on the mat. "So they're not mates?"

Galina goes into cobra pose. "No, although I suspect she truly loves him. But it's pretty clear to everyone with eyes that Clayton is only doing it to protect the pack."

Interesting, I think. Interesting, indeed.