18.1 The Long Game

“Do you really think this will work?” Nuri asked Kalmin as they stepped out of his car in front of his office building. Her voice held a tremor, subtle but there—uncertainty laced with a flicker of hope. She followed him inside, her eyes flicking from the gleaming floors to the towering walls of glass that made up his private domain.
Kalmin didn’t answer right away. He led her through the quiet halls to his office, then busied himself with his laptop, connecting it to the printer with quick, practiced movements. His fingers drummed against the desk in a steady rhythm, betraying a current of impatience under his usual control.
“In what way?” he asked finally, voice low, thoughtful. He leaned back against the desk, arms folding as he turned to look at her—and his gaze dropped, catching on the smooth sliver of skin revealed as she stretched her arms overhead with a yawn.
His eyes lingered for a beat too long.
Nuri’s breath caught. Heat prickled at her navel, traveling upward as she lowered her arms. She saw the way his jaw tightened, the flash of something raw behind his eyes. Lust. Or was it just possessiveness? Sometimes, it was hard to tell with him.
“What if the pack doesn’t accept my claim?” she asked, pressing past the sudden tension that gripped her spine. “What if they say it happened too long ago, or that I don’t have the right to challenge a beta in a pack I’m not a member of?”
Kalmin straightened. There was no hesitation in his stance now. He crossed the space between them in three purposeful steps, arms folding again, more forcefully this time.
“The second I declared you as my mate, you became a recognized member,” he said, each word like a promise. “And I’ll challenge anyone who tries to say otherwise. As for refusing to accept your claim?” His gaze swept over her—lingering, deliberate. “I will not allow anyone to dismiss you.”
Nuri swallowed hard. His intensity, when directed at her like that, made it nearly impossible to breathe. She felt like she was standing in front of a fire, too close, too aware.
“I made you a promise,” Kalmin added, voice rougher now. “And I meant it. You will get your retribution. And we’ll show them exactly why the bylaws have to change.”
“Is one example enough?” she asked, and suddenly she was painfully aware of how exposed she felt. Not physically—emotionally. Kalmin's attention felt like a touch against her skin. She started to tug her shirt down on instinct, then paused, recalling what he’d said about not showing embarrassment. She planted her hands on her hips instead.
His grin was quick, sharp with approval. “No, not by a long shot. But it’s enough to get the ball rolling.”
'She’s a fast learner. Good.'
'Let’s hope she can learn just as quickly for school,' Rian chimed in.
“We need to divide and conquer,” Kalmin said as the printer finally whirred to a stop. He collected the documents, scanning the pages with practiced efficiency before sorting them into two jackets. His gaze caught on a name, and his lips curled into a grimace. Gael Branson.
'I can’t believe I once called that spineless imbecile my best friend.'
“How so? What do you want me to do?” Nuri asked, brows drawing together as she accepted the folder he held out.
“That’s your copy of the subpoena. Keep it. I set an appointment with Moira to talk about your testing, but we won’t make it in time if we both go back to Gael’s. We’ll have to split up.”
'Liar,' Tempest growled in Nuri’s mind. 'He doesn’t trust me to stay in the car if we go back with him.'
Kalmin didn’t even blink. “I’m not lying, Tempest. Want to see the messages between Moira and me?” he asked, like he could hear Tempest’s voice himself. Then, softer, to Nuri: “If it were me, I’d think the same thing.”
Nuri blinked. “Wait… when did you set the appointment? I’ve been with you since I told you I wanted to do it.”
“Yesterday. When I told her what I wanted to do,” His smile was sly, tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I knew you’d say yes.”
“You didn’t know when I’d say yes, though.” Her voice dipped, lashes fluttering as her cheeks warmed.
Kalmin stepped closer, invading her space without touching her. “I didn’t,” he agreed, his tone hushed, intimate. “But I hoped you wouldn’t make me wait too long. We both knew what you’d choose.”
She didn’t reply—couldn’t, not when her heart thudded against her ribs like a drum. Kalmin turned, leading her back out through the building, toward the parking lot.
At first, she thought he was just walking her to her car. But then he veered off to a sleek black coupe parked at the edge of the lot and pulled a key from the tire well.
“Do you know how to get to the campus?” he asked, holding the keys out to her.
“I… think so,” she said, staring at the car, then at him. “Wait, this wasn’t here when we got here. Whose car is this?”
“Yours. I bought it this morning and had the dealership drop it off.”
Nuri blinked at him, stunned. The words didn’t register at first. Hers?
He opened the driver’s side door with a casual elegance that felt entirely out of place given the weight of what he’d just said. “When you get to the academy, go straight to Moira’s office. Don’t talk to anyone else. Don’t linger. Call me the second you’re back in the car.”
“Okay,” she murmured, sliding into the seat, still dazed. But as she put the key in the ignition, panic surged. “Wait, I don’t have a phone!” she called out the window.
“Check the backseat!” Kalmin called over his shoulder, already halfway to his car.
She twisted to look and found a box waiting. Inside: a new cellphone, a laptop, and a pink spiral notebook with a huge monogrammed “N” on the front. Her throat tightened.
'Why'd you lie? You have no idea how to get to the academy. We've never been there.' 
'I don’t know why I lied,' she admitted as she powered on the phone. 'I felt like… if I told him I didn’t know how to get there, he’d roll his eyes. Think I’m useless.'
'Are you blind or just plain stupid?' Tempest snapped. 'Did you not hear him five minutes ago? Look at what he did. What he said. He doesn’t think you’re useless, he just acts like he does sometimes.'
“I know,” Nuri whispered, her chest aching. She opened the GPS, heart racing. They were only three minutes away.
"What do you think Moira is like?"
A stuck-up bitch. Same as any high-ranking purebred, Tempest scoffed. Or any purebred, really.
"Yeah, probably. But we have to be on our best behavior," Nuri said, waiting for Tempest to agree. When all she got was silence, she grumbled, "Tempest, I’m serious. This meeting could literally change the course of our lives."