The Solitary Alpha

20 - Meeting an Old Friend*

They sat and worked non-stop till 2 in the afternoon. Work only ended when Sanada received a call. The meeting he sat for tomorrow was no longer possible, and today was the only available time. Gideon could hear the conversation and smiled at him. "I'm fine with going out."

Sanada wasn't sure about that, but she knew herself better than anyone and agreed to the meeting. They had 2 hours to get ready and meet at the location.

"Are you sure you're ok with going out in public Gideon? I had planned on keeping you inside the room for the day."

"I'm sure Toru, I'm masked and I have sprayed my clothes. I just need you to stay close to me."

"Okay, let's get ready then. After this we have the rest of the trip to ourselves."

Gideon smiled, she got up and sat in his lap, surprising him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, he felt her relax as his arms went around her waist.

"Thank you Toru, for doing this for me, for us." She pulled back to look at him, their eyes locking onto each other.

"Of course. My mom always told me that if I ever found my Mate, to treat them like they were everything. Because you are." Gideon didn't know what to say as she stared into his eyes. After a few seconds, she returned to the hug.

"I better change." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and went to the other room, she didn't feel comfortable exposing herself to him yet. She dressed in a nice solid grey form fitting dress with a long matching jacket, not wanting to redo her hair, she wrapped the ends into a bun. Both were ready with an hour to spare for travel time. On the way to the car, the two received stares while walking through the crowded hotel lobby, Gideon once again ignored them as one woman got uncomfortably close to her.  Sanada pulled his Mate closer and glared at the woman. Gideon noticed, but said nothing.

Once in the car, she turned to him. "Thank you Toru, but you can't go around glaring at people."

"Yes I can."

She laughed and fastened her seat belt as he drove off. The two made it to the building which was in an older part of the city. It was a single story U-shaped office building with an overgrown courtyard in the middle. The access from the sidewalk had been fenced off, the only entries for it were from opposite sides of the building. Walking inside, Gideon's eyes immediately started scanning the place. She wanted to explore on her own, but didn't want to move too far from her Mate. Even though she was fine with being out, she was still a little skittish; she was not back to being 100% and instinctively needed her Alpha close.

Gideon didn't need to translate anything as Sanada spoke Korean. While the two men spoke she continued to examine the place, making mental notes of what she saw. 

The windows would need replaced and she could smell mold, so there was water damage somewhere. The floors were solid and the foundation was good; that was a plus. The building would need a complete overhaul to attract tenants. As they neared one of the exits to the courtyard, Gideon immediately felt sick. Her eyes quickly scanned the outside area when she noticed the lush green plant in a far corner. She turned and rushed back to the front entrance.

"Gideon!"  Sanada and the realtor hurried after her. She was outside leaning against the adjacent building, gasping for air.

"Gideon what is it?"

She waved her hand, asking them to give her a minute. After a few seconds, she straightened up and turned to them.

"I'm sorry. They have a lockbane planted outside, in the back of the courtyard."   Wolves were highly allergic to lockbane, it was similar to Moonflower and was banned because of the adverse effects it has on them. Gideon could detect it due to her heightened senses as a Prime.