There was something even more appealing of him in the daylight, and I hated that I stared, trying to figure out what it was, even for that millisecond of silence when he realized I was finally piecing it together. The land in the north. The Bloodrose Lycans.

But I was better than this. I had to be. Even as I stood there dressed in my sweats and jeans, he barely seemed to notice as his stare was piercing my very soul.

I hugged the file to my chest. "So, is Tysriel Caine your real name, or are we still playing games?"

His smile broadened and I wanted to kiss him. I hated how much I wanted to kiss him.

"Were we ever playing games, Amethyst? I've been serious about my intentions from the very beginning."

His intentions... control was the only intention he conveyed as far as I could tell. And that was something I wasn't going to give to him. As much as I want to surrender myself to that mouth, those hands, the power that I knew he could have over me with a single word.

But I knew his name now, alias or otherwise. It was back to an even playing field as far as I was concerned. And now he was on my turf, and this Alpha was going to see I was more than a witch ready to spread her legs for a dominant dick under the garden's bridge.

"Come this way then, Mr. Caine, and we can begin your intake interview." I turned and walked back into my office without waiting to see if he would follow, but I knew he would. He did. I could feel his gaze piercing through my back, past my spine and ribs, to my heart. It made the blood in my veins run hot and my power want to surge. Turning to face him only made it worse and I was glad there was a desk between us.

I waited until he was in the office and took a seat in the chair across from me before I sat down— I didn't expect him to close my office door behind him but I also didn't protest. If Tom came back I didn't want him walking in, not that I expected him to— he slated two hours for whatever lunch he was attending.

"Now, tell me more about this 'land' you want us to investigate." I steepled my hands in front of my face to at least give the impression I was listening— the distraction of him just sitting there so casually in that suit and knowing well enough what was underneath it...

"My request for your services was made well before our paths crossed last night." A casual leg crossed over the other as he made himself more comfortable in his chair.

"So what happened, Tom told you a younger female investigator would be available to hear your case and you just found the need to track me down outside of office hours?"

"Truth be told, I came to the office first, unknowing that you were closed."

"Didn't you ever hear of Google?"

His accompanying smile told me there was more to his recount but I didn't have the mental fortitude to decipher it before he started talking again. "I called your manager and scheduled the appointment once I figured it out. And since I was already in the area I decided to get a drink."

"A drink that just so happened to be at the same bar I decided to visit."

"You have good taste in drinks."

"You've been stalking me."

The accusation was heavy as it fell from my mouth but there was no other way to describe it, at least not in the physical, mundane terms. I was still in denial of the runes— mine throbbing underneath my pants and his, just barely visible to my Sight beneath the dark hair falling over his brow. I wanted to reach out a hand, brush it aside, if only to confirm it was still there, thrumming in time with our pulses that I'd been tracking since he arrived.

With a drawn out sigh the Alpha— Tysriel— paid attention to an invisible speck of dust on his suit jacket's shoulder. "You continue to think so ill of me, after everything I showed you last night."

"I didn't call you a bad fuck, I said you were a stalker."

"I did my research," he corrected as he lifted that piercing gaze. "You had helped one of my own in the past, and I was seeking your help again."

I wracked my brain, trying to think of any recent cases that passed over my desk. Often there are missing persons to be investigated because the individual doesn't want their loved ones to know they now have no choice but to shift on the full moon, or they became an unsuspecting victim to a newly created vampire and never returned home. Local authorities assumed they wanted to just get away and felt no need to look into it further, and by the time they finally did, the individual in question was long gone, with a pack, or a cover, or at the worst, dead.

But generally, when those cases come into the office, I get a sense, and my Sight helps with the rest. And if one of those people were with the Bloodroses, I definitely would have known. So I had to shake my head. For once the Alpha was wrong. Point for Amethyst.

"I don't recall anyone from your pack, sorry to disappoint."

"I didn't say you worked with someone from my pack. I said you helped one of my own."

Now it was my turn to arch a curious brow and lean back in my chair, folding my arms over my chest as I waited for him to continue.

"Six months ago, my sister's Second was murdered by a rogue. It was the rogue's mother who visited you, seeking the whereabouts of her wayward son. Your involvement in the situation gave Camilla enough time to seek out the rogue herself and dispose of them on her own, as per pack law."

It took me only a moment to recall the case. "That rogue was made by one of Sabien's coven. His dhampir assured me the situation was under control, and they'd comply with their Accords. We were even able to find the whereabouts of the rogue, bring them home safely and reunite them with their family. Case closed."

And the invoice paid. I remember Tom and I celebrating with steak and merlot that night.

"And you believe it stopped there?" Tystriel leaned forward in his chair. I watched as the muscles of his arms seemed to ripple under the expensive Italian material. "That a rogue would be welcomed back to their mundane family with open arms and everyone would have a happily ever after."

I pursed my lips, biting back my response.

"As I said, justice was served under our law, and now we are in need of your service again."

"I can't continue to distract Sabien's coven for you every time you want to kill a rogue," I informed him. Even as I worried at the inside of my cheek. Pack politics and Coven code of conduct were not what the Witches generally involved themselves in. Especially the daughter of the High Red Priestess.

"This time it's more than a rogue. As I said to your employer, this involves my land—"

"And vandals?"

"Who happen to be vampires. Encroaching on our territory."

"This sounds like a personal problem."

"It is. Which also means it's soon to be your problem."

"I'm not going to keep vampires distracted so that you can go vigilante—"

"Once they discover you're my mate, you won't have a choice."