Babysitting The Amnesiac Lycan King

CHAPTER 124

"Don't move, don't breathe, don't get found."

I count each footstep as though they're fucking grenades.

One. Two. Three.

Jacob's boots drag against the hardwood, slow like he knows someone's holding their breath inside this goddamn cabinet. And that someone's me.

My knees are cramping. My spine's pressed so hard against the back wall, I swear I'm becoming furniture. I try not to think about how loud my heartbeat is, or how much I have to pee. I hate hiding. I'm not built for it. I'm not a fucking shadow. I'm flesh and blood and dumb-ass mistakes wearing overpriced Italian boots.

The knob of the cabinet twitches.

Fuck. This is it. This is how I die. Hunted down in a Milan conference room like a rat in a desk drawer. What a legacy.

But then-

"Excuse me,” Seraphina's voice cuts through the air, sharp and sugary. Like a knife dipped in honey. "I think the woman you' re looking for was just spotted on the ground floor."

Her heels click into the room like she owns it-and yeah, technically, she kind of does now. Secretary to the CEO. Sleek, silver badge. Designer pencil skirt. Smile like she could sell your soul and you'd say thank you.

Jacob stops. I can feel it-like the whole goddamn cabinet sighs with me.

"And you are?" he asks.

"Seraphina Grimaldi," she replies without missing a beat, bowing just enough to pass for polite but not submissive. "I believe the CEO mentioned that your... high status deserves nothing less than exceptional conduct."

Bitch is a chameleon. A power-dressed savior with good lighting.

I imagine him squinting at her, probably running mental diagnostics. She's lying. She knows it. I know it. He

on the ground floor?" he

smoothly. "Blonde,

leaves. So does the rest of the search team, their shoes

I wait. I count

opens, and light floods the

lips curling into a glare.

stumble out, rubbing my knees, wincing. "You try peeing when an Imperial

sniff your soul out through

was here. Do you know how many NDAs I'm going to have to sign

saved my ass. I owe you gelato and

do." She smooths her skirt and glances at her watch. "Come on.

behind like a half-dead soldier dragging a baby-sized secret inside me. And yeah. That

to the HR office, Ser leans into the glass doorway and does this subtle, smug wink at the woman behind the desk. It's the kind of wink that says this one's

Sinclair?" she says, folding her hands.

are sweating. I wipe them on my skirt and sit. The cushion's hard. The air's cold. There's a poster on the wall

"It says here

together in New York. He offered me

your background

a little louder. "Freelance journalist.

werewolf rights, pack reforms, some corporate corruption. My last article

CHAPTER 124

Just... don't

little but nods. "What's your stance

matters is if your facts are bulletproof." She blinks. Like

piece someone who's exploiting Omegas just because they have a title. I write the truth. If that makes people uncomfortable, maybe they

screen. Then at Seraphina's wink echoing