Chapter 2
Lucas
I massaged my temples, trying to ease the throbbing that had persisted since morning.
The remnants of whatever Victor had slipped into my drink last night still lingered in my system, though my wolf's metabolism had cleared most of it.
My mind briefly went to the lady I had spent the night with last night, and I tried to push her out of my mind, but couldn't.
How could when the moment our skins met, I knew she was mine.
My fated mate who was supposed to be bound to me forever.
It felt awful to kick out this morning, to be separated by the very thing nature had designed me to be a part of, but it was what had to be done.
My wolf screamed for me not to. But there was no other option.
It was a painful coincidence that the woman Victor had hired to sabotage me was my fated mate. Was Victor aware of it, or was fate just being exceptionally cruel? There was no way for Victor to have known. This was just the wicked hand of fate, and I still felt the pain of it in my throbbing head.
She had looked mortified when I accused her of working with Victor, which might suggest she was innocent, but it didn't prove it.
I have known Victor to be very cunning and resourceful, and he was one to play the long game.
So there was no putting anything past him.
Waking up to find her in my arms, I had quickly imagined Victor intended to use the affair to poison me against the Black family and get Victoria to renege on our engagement.
But then, there was the possibility that she actually had no connection with Victor, and she was just a lost soul I happened to stumble upon at the bar.
If she was, then it was the cold fingers of fate at play here, because what she and I shared last night had all the makings of a fated mate coital bliss to it.
Our pleasure mixed so well, in a way that I had never experienced before.
It was an experience that would be hard and almost impossible to just let go of. It would leave me forever marked, and I would always remember that moment we shared, regardless of what happened after it.
Well, fated mate or not, she doesn't matter to me. I would get married to Victoria and do what was best for my pack.
It was the right thing to do. Yet, why did it feel so wrong? Why did the thought of letting go of the idea of Alison, the woman I barely knew, fill me with a measure of dread?
"Mr. Hawkins," Eliza, my assistant, knocked on my door and stepped in. "Here is the coffee you asked for," she added, placing a fresh cup of black coffee in front of me.
I nodded, grateful for both the interruption and the caffeine.
"And we've received the resumes for the new financial analyst position." Eliza handed me a slim folder. "HR has narrowed it down to three candidates. Interviews begin in about an hour. I can ask for it to be delayed if you're not ready for it."
"There's no need for that. I'll be ready," I said to her and dismissed her.
As she left, I turned my attention to the resumes before me, as it'd be proper for me to get some information about the candidates before the interview, but I couldn't get Alison out of my mind.
Her smell, the taste of her lips, the way she twisted in pleasure underneath me.
Everything was too beautiful for me to forget.
The buzzing of my phone dragged me from my thoughts. A message from James, my head of security and Beta. "All clear on the Victor front. No unusual movements. No sign that last night was a coordinated attack."
I frowned, doubt creeping in. If Alison wasn't working for Victor, then she was exactly what she'd claimed to be—a heartbroken woman in the wrong place at the wrong time, whom I'd just humiliated and accused of being a prostitute.
The memory of tearing up my check flashed in my mind, along with her parting words. "Go to hell." Most humans would have taken the money, especially the amount I'd offered. Her integrity was... unexpected.
And completely irrelevant, I reminded myself. Fated mate or not, she was human. Ordinary. Getting entangled with her would only create complications I didn't need, especially with Victor circling like a vulture.
I straightened my tie, shoving thoughts of hazel eyes and wildflower scents to the back of my mind. I had a company to run and a pack to lead. One night of weakness wouldn't derail me.
I needed to focus on work. For now, that meant reviewing the candidates for the open position at my company.
A large portion of my staff were werewolves—members of my pack who had learned to blend seamlessly into the human world.
However, it was not rare for us to include humans in the fold.
Take the current set of applications before me, for example—all humans, yet undeniably the most qualified for the role.
Werewolves often formed strategic alliances with humans, particularly those of significant wealth and affluence—like my fiancée's family, the Blacks.
My connection to them was one of convenience, forged in the hope that their financial influence could help restore the stability my company so desperately needed.
I picked up the folder again and flipped through it. My eyes scanned the first resume, then froze.
Alison Miller
My wolf stirred, suddenly alert. It couldn't be. A common name, surely.
But as I read further, a cold certainty settled in my gut. Recent graduate, worked as a waitress to put herself through school, top of her class despite difficult circumstances. The photo in the corner removed any doubt—those hazel eyes stared back at me from the page.
I picked up the phone and placed a call to Eliza immediately.
"Hello, Mr. Hawkins, do you need my help with something?"
"I need to know who will be sitting in for the interview later today," I asked her, and she took a moment before she got back to me.
"Mr. Earl, the department manager, Becky from HR, and you, sir."
"Okay. I need you to call Earl and tell him I won't be sitting in with them. I trust him and Becky to make the right choice."
"Alright, sir. What reason should I give should he ask?"
"Taking a personal day off," I said, and ended the call, picking the resumes again.
With all that has happened from last night, I thought it'd be unfair for Alison to be at that meeting.
My presence would throw her off, and I had caused her enough pain already as it is.
It was best for me to stay away. I couldn't stay away forever, though. I knew.
Three days later, I found myself standing in the doorway of the financial department, watching as the new batch of analysts was shown to their desks. I'd told myself I was just doing a routine department check, but that lie wouldn't hold even in my own mind.
I spotted her immediately. Her long brown hair was pulled back in a professional bun, and she wore a modest navy suit that couldn't hide her graceful figure.
My wolf growled, but I kept it under control.
It wanted me to move to her, to pull her into my office and have her on the table, but thankfully, my human exerted control. I just watched Alison instead.
She moved with determination, if a bit nervously, as she followed the department manager.
"Mr. Hawkins!" The manager, Earl, noticed me and waved me over. "Perfect timing. I was just introducing our new team members."
I nodded, striding forward with practiced confidence while my wolf practically howled with excitement at being near Alison again.
"This is Ms. Peterson, Mr. Yang, and Ms. Miller," he said, gesturing to each in turn.
When my eyes met Alison's, the color drained from her face. Recognition, shock, and then carefully controlled panic flashed across her features before she schooled them into professional neutrality. I knew then that I had made the right choice to stay away from the interview.
"Ms. Miller," I said, my voice cooler than I'd intended. "Welcome to Hawkins Finance."
She extended her hand, and I took it, feeling an electric shock run up my arm at the contact. "Thank you, Mr. Hawkins. I'm looking forward to contributing to the team."
Her voice betrayed nothing, but her pulse, which I could hear with my enhanced senses, raced like a frightened rabbit's.
"Eliza tells me you were top of your class," I said, watching her closely. "Impressive, considering you were working full-time as well."
Surprise flickered in her eyes—she hadn't expected me to know that detail. "I'm no stranger to hard work, sir."
"Good. You'll need that attitude here." I turned to the manager. "I expect weekly reports on how the new analysts are integrating. Ms. Miller will be assigned to the Eurozone project. I want to see if her academic excellence translates to real-world application."
The manager's eyes widened slightly. The Eurozone project was our most challenging current initiative, usually reserved for analysts with at least a year of experience.
"Of course, Mr. Hawkins. Though perhaps one of the more established—"
"Ms. Miller will do fine," I cut him off. "Won't you, Ms. Miller?"
Her chin lifted slightly, a spark of defiance in those hazel eyes. "I welcome the challenge, sir."
I nodded, satisfied. I was setting her up for a difficult task that would keep her too busy to ask questions about our night together—and too far from my daily operations to be a distraction.
The Eurozone project quickly revealed Alison's capabilities and her stubborn nature. Despite the difficulty of the assignment, she'd produced work that, while not flawless, showed remarkable insight for someone fresh out of university.
By the end of her first week, I'd found myself looking for errors that weren't there, criticizing minor details that most senior analysts would have missed.
Each time, she accepted the criticism with a tight smile and fixed the issues without complaint, only the slight narrowing of her eyes betraying her frustration.
It was Friday evening, and the office had emptied out. I should have left hours ago myself, but the knowledge that Alison was still at her desk, reworking the analysis I'd rejected earlier, kept me rooted to my office.
The full moon was tomorrow night, and my control was fraying. Her scent permeated the floor now, driving my wolf to distraction. Every time she passed my office, my teeth ached with the need to claim her, to mark her as mine.
The logical part of me—the human part—knew how insane that was. She was just another employee, a human who knew nothing of my world or the dangers that surrounded it. The fact that biology had marked her as my mate was irrelevant.
I told myself I was checking on the project when I finally left my office and walked to her desk. The reality was, I couldn't stay away any longer.
She was bent over her computer, brow furrowed in concentration, a strand of hair escaping her bun to curl against her cheek. The urge to brush it back nearly overwhelmed me.
During all our interactions, she'd kept a strictly professional outlook, and if she held any malice for what transpired between us that night at the penthouse, she kept it to herself.
I understood her perfectly. She was new, fresh out of college, and didn't want to start ruffling any feathers.
She was determined to prove herself here at my firm.
Can I put a hamper on the growing hunger within me so as not to sabotage her efforts?
"Still here, Ms. Miller?" My voice came out rough, and I cleared my throat.
She jumped slightly, looking up with those amazing eyes that betrayed nothing. God, how I wished I could tell what she thought of me. Of course, she hated me. How couldn't she?
"Mr. Hawkins. Yes, I wanted to finish the revisions on the Frankfurt analysis."
"Show me what you've done."
She turned the monitor so I could see, explaining her reasoning for the adjustments. I leaned closer, inhaling her scent discreetly, my wolf practically purring at her proximity.
Her work was good—better than good. She'd taken my harsh criticism and used it to elevate her analysis beyond what I'd expected. Despite my determination to find fault, I couldn't.
"This is... acceptable," I said finally.
She blinked, clearly having expected more criticism. "Thank you, sir."
"Email it to me before you leave, and take the weekend off. You've earned it."
I straightened, intending to return to my office, when the elevator dinged. At this hour, it could only be cleaning staff or—
"Lucas, darling! There you are!"
Victoria.
Alison's head snapped up at the voice, her eyes widening as she took in the woman striding toward us.
Victoria Black, heiress to the Black fortune and my supposed fiancée—at least according to society pages.
In reality, our relationship was a business arrangement, a merger of interests.
Her family was old money, and mine had a strong legacy.
Victoria's predatory gaze landed on Alison, sharp and assessing.
"Working late, I see," Victoria purred, slipping her arm through mine possessively. "And with such... dedicated staff."
I could feel Alison's discomfort radiating from her, though her face remained professionally blank.
"Victoria, this is Ms. Miller, one of our new financial analysts. Ms. Miller, Victoria Black."
Alison nodded politely. "Ms. Black. A pleasure."
Victoria's smile didn't reach her eyes. "Charmed, I'm sure." She turned to me, dismissing Alison entirely. "The car's waiting, darling. We're already late for dinner with the Prestons."
I'd forgotten about the dinner entirely, too caught up in my fixation with Alison and her work. "Give me five minutes to close up my office."
Victoria pouted but released my arm. "Don't be long. You know how Margaret hates it when people are late."
As she stalked toward my office, I found myself inexplicably wanting to explain to Alison, to tell her that Victoria wasn't what she appeared to be. But that was absurd. I owed Alison no explanations.
"Good night, Ms. Miller," I said instead. "Remember to email that report."
She nodded, her expression unreadable. "Of course, Mr. Hawkins. Enjoy your evening."
As I walked away, my wolf whined, reluctant to leave our mate. But the human in me knew it was for the best. I couldn't afford to sabotage my engagement to Victoria. Not even for her. Or so I thought.