Chapter 200 Out of Her League

It was well past dinner, and they were still buried in financial records, demand letters, and filing plans. Eira finally closed her notebook.

"That’s enough for tonight. When did any of you last eat?"

Miles glanced at his empty coffee cup. "Do airport pretzels count?"

"No," Susan and Eira said at the same time.

Alpha Killian leaned back in his chair. "Let’s get dinner."

"Any allergies or foods you hate?" Eira asked.

"I’m easy," Susan said.

"Same," Miles added. "As long as it’s hot."

Eira called the farm-to-table restaurant where they had celebrated Dr. Shaw’s birthday. The kitchen was closing soon, but the host agreed to hold a quiet table upstairs.

"You know my order," Alpha Killian said as she hung up.

Eira glanced at him. "Lila gave me your entire food profile."

"Of course she did."

Twenty minutes later, Eira climbed into Alpha Killian’s SUV. Miles took one look at the front passenger seat, then headed for Susan’s car.

"I’ll ride with counsel," he said.

Susan raised an eyebrow. "How thoughtful."

"I have excellent survival instincts."

Halfway to the restaurant, Lila called.

"Eira! Professor Chase finally approved my paper."

Eira smiled at the excitement in her voice. "That’s great. Have you eaten?"

"Does iced coffee count?"

"No. Come have dinner with us." Eira texted her the address. "You know everyone."

"Perfect. I’m starving."

Lila pulled into the parking lot fifteen minutes later in a dark green vintage Mustang. She stepped out in jeans, ankle boots, and a cropped leather jacket, looking very pleased with herself.

Alpha Killian stared at the car. "Since when do you drive a Mustang?"

"Since I got taste." Lila linked her arm through Eira’s. "Team Eira has standards."

Alpha Killian looked from his sister to the car, trying to figure out what one had to do with the other.

Before he could ask, Lila pulled Eira toward the entrance.

"Don’t tell him where I got the car," she whispered. "He’ll take the keys and call it a safety inspection."

Eira glanced back. "Would he really?"

"He’s a control freak with an Alpha complex. What do you think?" Lila leaned closer. "Besides, I need every advantage I can get."

"Against whom?"

"My brother, obviously. I plan to stay your favorite Sterling."

Eira laughed. "You’re still number one."

"For real?"

"For real."

Lila hugged her, grinning over Eira’s shoulder at Alpha Killian.

A few steps behind them, Alpha Killian’s face went cold.

Susan glanced at Miles. "Should we warn her?"

"Not a chance," Miles said. "I like my job."

Their private dining room was on the second floor. As they reached the landing, the door across the hall opened.

Finn and Fiona Carter stepped out first. Vincent followed with Lainey and Logan Harris.

Eira slowed.

Fiona had not expected to spend the evening with the Crawfords. She and Vincent were hardly friends. The last time they had spoken, she had torn into him for defending Serena.

But Lainey had recently signed on as an ambassador for one of Carter Group’s fashion brands, which meant she and Fiona would be working together.

Vincent was also flying back to D.C. soon and wanted someone reliable to keep an eye on Lainey while he was gone.

When Vincent invited Fiona to dinner, Alpha Carter advised her to accept. Refusing a Crawford invitation would only create more Pack gossip.

Fiona had agreed, then brought Finn along so she would not have to face the awkward dinner alone.

Now both groups stood frozen on the landing.

"Alpha Killian. Eira." Fiona recovered first and greeted them with an easy smile.

Finn lit up the moment he saw Eira. "You’re having dinner here too? At this hour?" He glanced at Alpha Killian. "Please tell me Sterling isn’t making you work all night."

His concern was so open that Eira almost laughed.

"We just wrapped up," she said. "And it was personal business, not work."

That took the fight right out of him. "Oh. Okay, then."

Eira noticed Lainey watching her. It was not the usual look of a photographer studying someone’s face. This was quieter. Almost unsettled.

Lainey gave her a small smile. "We keep running into each other."

"Looks that way," Eira replied with a polite nod.

Lila greeted the others, then linked her arm through Eira’s. "Come on. I’m starving."

She pulled Eira into their private room. Alpha Killian followed without looking at anyone, including Lainey.

Vincent’s jaw tightened. His sister had tried to catch Alpha Killian’s attention, and the man had walked past her as if she were part of the wallpaper.

After the door closed, Fiona frowned.

"Finn, was that Susan?"

Vincent knew the name. Susan was one of California’s top family-law attorneys. In Pack circles, she was famous for handling ugly mate-bond dissolutions and multimillion-dollar asset fights.

Vincent stared at the closed door.

Lainey caught the look on his face. "What?"

"Eira and Alpha Sebastian already dissolved their bond," he said. "Why would she still need a divorce attorney?"

He turned to Fiona. "Have you heard anything?"

"No." Fiona pulled out her phone, but an uneasy thought had already hit her. If Eira planned to go after Alpha Sebastian over hidden marital assets, the fallout could reach Carter Group, Hale Group’s largest outside shareholder.

"I need to make a call." She slipped her phone into her clutch and looked at the others. "Thanks for dinner. Let’s do this again when nobody has a flight to catch."

Then she grabbed Finn’s sleeve and headed for the stairs.

Finn looked back at Eira’s door. "You know I can walk by myself, right?"

"Then walk faster."

Vincent, Lainey, and Logan left soon after. In the back of the black SUV, Logan loosened his tie and glanced at Vincent.

"Relax. I’ll check in on Lainey while you’re in D.C. If she needs anything, she calls me first."

"I know," Vincent said.

Lainey barely heard them. She could not stop thinking about Eira’s face. The eyes were different, but the shape of her cheekbones and the line of her jaw looked strangely familiar.

She looked like Henry Crawford.

Lainey wanted to ask whether Vincent had noticed. Before she could, he mistook her silence for something else.

"Let Alpha Killian go," he said. "You know he and Eira are seeing each other."

Logan turned sharply from the front passenger seat. "Hold on. Alpha Killian Sterling and Eira? Since when?"

If that news hit the Pack grapevine, every well-connected family on the East Coast would be talking by breakfast. Alpha Killian belonged to one of the country’s oldest Alpha bloodlines. For years, powerful Packs had treated him like the most valuable unmated Alpha in North America.

Lainey ignored Logan and looked at her brother.

"What do you really think of Eira?"

Vincent did not hesitate. "She’s out of her depth."

Lainey went still.

Vincent assumed she was comparing herself to Eira.

"Look, I’m not crazy about you chasing Alpha Killian," he continued. "But Eira isn’t someone you need to worry about. If he chooses her, that’s his call and his mistake. You’re a Crawford. She has no family, no Pack, and no connections worth mentioning."

Lainey tightened her grip on her purse.

"No family?"

"She grew up in an Omega group home. "

Lainey’s heart slammed against her ribs.

For one dizzy second, she forgot how to breathe.