I ignored him, but my wolf wasn’t wrong. I was thinking about her. Far more than was appropriate for an employer contemplating an employee he’d never even met.
“Maybe she’s already gone,” I found myself thinking as the car pulled up to Nightshadow Industries, and the possibility sent an unexpected spike of panic through my chest. “Maybe the reality of working for me finally sank in and she decided to cut her losses.”
What the hell was wrong with me? I was practically eager to meet a woman whose only qualification so far was that she hadn’t run away screaming.
As I strode through the marble lobby, employees immediately straightened to attention, offering respectful nods and murmured greetings. But as I approached the executive floor, something unexpected caught my attention.
The door to my outer office was slightly ajar, and through the gap, I could see a figure bent over what appeared to be scattered papers on the floor. The woman was on her hands and knees, reaching under a desk, and the position offered a spectacular view of long, shapely legs encased in silk stockings, a perfect curve of hip and thigh, and the tantalizing glimpse of delicate lace underwear beneath a hiked-up emerald dress.
My steps slowed involuntarily. The woman’s movements were graceful despite her awkward position, and something about the elegant line of her back, the way her dark hair had come slightly loose from its updo, sent an unexpected jolt of attraction straight through me.
I cleared my throat softly, not wanting to startle her but unable to ignore the professional impropriety of the situation -or the way my body was reacting to the enticing view. Heat pooled low in my belly, and I had to adjust my stance slightly as my pants grew uncomfortably tight.
She froze completely, her entire body going rigid, and I could practically feel her mortification radiating through the air like waves of heat.
She scrambled to her feet with impressive speed. The movement was fluid and graceful despite her obvious panic, and I caught a flash of long, silk-clad legs before she yanked her dress back into place and spun to face me. The sight of her flushed face, those wide, apologetic eyes, and the way her chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths did absolutely nothing to ease the tightness in my pants.
The woman standing before me wasn’t just beautiful -she was breathtaking in a way that hit me like a physical blow. Her face was a perfect oval framed by waves of dark hair, her skin luminous and smooth as cream. But it was her eyes that nearly brought me to my knees.
Brilliant emerald green, framed by thick lashes, they sparkled with intelligence and spirit even as they widened with what appeared to be shock. Those eyes… there was something familiar about them, something that made my wolf pace restlessly in my mind.
“MATE!” Alex’s voice exploded in my consciousness with such force that I actually took an involuntary step forward. “MATE!”
The scent hit me then -vanilla and jasmine with an underlying sweetness that was uniquely hers. It wrapped around me like silk ribbons, making my head spin and my wolf howl with recognition and desperate need.
“Miss Knight, I presume?” I managed to say, though my voice came out rougher than intended.
She opened her mouth but no sound emerged. Her green eyes were wide with what looked like panic, and I could see her pulse fluttering rapidly at the base of her throat. The air between us crackled with electricity, thick with an attraction so intense it was almost suffocating.
Before either of us could recover from the moment, familiar footsteps echoed down the hallway, followed by Lucas’s cheerful voice.
“Damien! I saw your car pull up -you’re back early!” He rounded the corner at his usual energetic pace, then stopped short when he spotted the woman standing frozen by my desk. “Well, hello there.”
Lucas’s eyes immediately began traveling appreciatively over Seraphina’s form, taking in the way the emerald dress hugged every curve, the flush on her cheeks, the elegant line of her neck. I could practically see his interest spike, and my wolf snarled in fury.
“I don’t believe we’ve met,” Lucas continued, moving forward with his most charming smile. “I’m Lucas, Beta of this pack and Damien’s right-hand man.” He extended his hand toward her. “And you must be the mysterious new assistant I’ve been hearing so much about.”
The sight of him reaching for her hand sent a bolt of pure rage through my system. My vision actually tinted red around the edges, and I had to clench my fists to keep from physically pulling him away from her.
“I… yes, I’m Seraphina Knight,” she managed to stammer, her voice barely above a whisper as she reluctantly placed her hand in his.
“Seraphina,” Lucas repeated, and the way he said her name -like he was tasting something delicious -made me want to rip his throat out. “Beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Tell me, are you free for dinner tonight? I know this amazing little place downtown -“
“Lucas.” My voice cut through his flirtation like a blade, sharp enough to make both of them jump. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
He turned to look at me with raised eyebrows, clearly picking up on the dangerous undercurrent in my tone. “Actually, I was hoping to discuss the Pack alliance with you, but I suppose that can wait.” His smile widened as he turned back to Seraphina, completely ignoring my obvious displeasure. “So what do you say? Dinner?”
I watched Seraphina’s face cycle through confusion, embarrassment, and something that looked almost like fear. She glanced between Lucas and me, clearly at a complete loss for words.
That’s when I stepped forward, close enough that my presence would be unmistakably territorial. “I believe Miss Knight has more important things to worry about than your social calendar, Lucas. Like explaining why she’s apparently been reorganizing my filing system on the floor.”
Seraphina’s eyes widened at my tone, and I saw her shoulders square defensively. “I’m sorry, Mr. Nightshadow. I accidentally knocked over some files and was just -“
Before she could finish her explanation, a sickeningly familiar voice rang out from the hallway.
“Brother! I heard from my husband Gabriel that you’re hosting some fancy dinner party tonight, and you didn’t even think to invite us?”
Valerie burst through the office doorway like a pink tornado, her bleached blonde hair bouncing as she practically skipped toward us. “How could you possibly -” She stopped short when she noticed the back of Seraphina, her artificially enhanced lips curving into a cruel smile. “Oh, well well. What do we have here?”
I watched Seraphina’s entire body go rigid at the mention of Gabriel’s name, her face draining of color so quickly I was genuinely concerned she might faint.
“Let me guess,” Valerie continued, circling around Seraphina like a predator sizing up prey. “Another desperate little assistant trying to claw her way up the corporate ladder by batting her eyelashes at the big bad Alpha?” She deliberately bumped into Seraphina’s shoulder as she passed. “How long do you think this one will last before she runs away crying? A week? Two days?”
“Valerie.” My voice carried enough menace to make several nearby employees visible through the doorway take strategic steps backward.
But she was far from finished. “You know, Gabriel has been telling you for months that I’d make a perfect assistant. I’m family, after all, and I certainly wouldn’t spend my first day crawling around on the floor in inappropriate dresses, flashing my underwear at anyone who walks by.”
“GET OUT!” I roared, my Alpha authority flooding the room with such force that every wolf present. “GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW, VALERIE!”
Seraphina’s POV
The moment I heard that sickeningly sweet voice calling out “Brother!” my blood turned to ice in my veins. Even before she rounded the corner, I knew exactly who it was. That voice had haunted my nightmares for five years -the voice that had laughed as my world crumbled, that had mocked my pain with casual cruelty.
Valerie.
My hands instinctively clenched into fists at my sides as she swept into the office like she owned the place, her bleached blonde hair bouncing with each calculated step. I quickly turned my back to her, praying desperately that she wouldn’t recognize me. Five years had changed me -I was no longer the broken, naive omega who’d fled Whispering Valley in shame. But some things about a person never changed, and I couldn’t risk her seeing my face.
“Brother! I heard from my husband Gabriel that you’re hosting some fancy dinner party tonight, and you didn’t even think to invite us?”
*Gabriel.* The name hit me like a physical blow, confirming what I’d already suspected but desperately hoped wasn’t true. So Gabriel hadn’t been lying after all -he really was part of the Nightshadow family. Which meant Damien… my mate… was Gabriel’s brother.
The cosmic joke of it all made me want to laugh hysterically. Or scream. Or both.
“How could you possibly -” Valerie’s voice cut off abruptly, and I could feel her predatory gaze focusing on me like a laser. “Oh, well well. What do we have here?”
Every muscle in my body tensed as she began circling me like a shark scenting blood in the water. I kept my face turned away, my heart hammering so hard I was sure everyone in the room could hear it.
“Let me guess,” she continued in that same mocking tone I remembered so well, deliberately bumping her shoulder into mine as she passed. “Another desperate little assistant trying to claw her way up the corporate ladder by batting her eyelashes at the big bad Alpha? How long do you think this one will last before she runs away crying? A week? Two days?”
The familiar cruelty in her voice made my wolf snarl with rage in my mind. Ayla was practically clawing at my consciousness, demanding I turn around and show this bitch exactly what five years of independence had taught me. But I forced myself to remain still, to keep breathing, to not give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
*Just like before,* I thought bitterly. *Still the same entitled princess who thinks she can destroy people for sport.*
“You know, Gabriel has been telling you for months that I’d make a perfect assistant,” Valerie continued, her voice dripping with false sweetness as she tried to cozy up to Damien. “I’m family, after all, and I certainly wouldn’t spend my first day crawling around on the floor in inappropriate dresses, flashing my underwear at anyone who walks by.”
That did it. My hands clenched so tightly my nails bit into my palms, and I could feel heat rising in my cheeks -not from embarrassment this time, but from pure, unadulterated fury. How dare she? How dare she waltz in here and try to humiliate me the same way she had five years ago?
I was just gathering the courage to turn around and face her -consequences be damned -when Damien’s voice exploded through the office like thunder.
“GET OUT!” The words carried such raw Alpha power that I actually staggered, my wolf immediately submitting to the overwhelming authority in his tone. “GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW, VALERIE!”
The force of his command was so intense that Lucas visibly flinched, and I could hear other employees in the hallway scrambling to get out of range. Even Valerie, for all her entitled arrogance, went pale under her carefully applied makeup.
“But Damien -” she started to protest, her voice suddenly much smaller.
“NOW!” His roar made the windows rattle, and the sheer fury radiating from him was so palpable I could practically taste it in the air.
Valerie’s face cycled through shock, indignation, and finally wounded pride before she gathered what remained of her dignity. “Fine,” she sniffed, tossing her hair over her shoulder in a gesture I remembered all too well. “But don’t come crying to me when this little omega proves to be just as useless as all the others.”
She sashayed toward the door, making sure to swing her hips dramatically, and threw Damien one last sultry look over her shoulder before finally disappearing down the hallway. The silence that followed her departure was deafening.
Lucas cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well, that was… intense. I should probably go check on the territorial agreements we discussed earlier.” He shot me an apologetic look. “Rain check on that dinner, Seraphina?”
I barely managed a nod, still too shaken to form coherent words. After Lucas left, closing the door behind him with unusual gentleness, I finally found myself alone with Damien.
He moved to his desk with predatory grace, settling into his leather chair and studying me with those devastating blue eyes. There was something different in his expression now -a knowing intensity that made my skin prickle with awareness.
“Mate, huh?” His voice was casual, almost conversational, but there was an undercurrent of something dangerous beneath the surface. “Interesting. From what I understand, you’re an omega.”
The casual way he mentioned my omega status made Ayla practically spit fire in my mind. Here I was, thinking he might actually be different after defending me from Valerie, only to have him drop that familiar alpha superiority right back into his tone. That subtle little inflection that said *omega* like it was something quaint and amusing.
I crossed my arms and tilted my head, giving him my sweetest smile. “Yes, absolutely fascinating. Though I have to say, I’m still weighing my options on whether to accept you. Call me picky, but I have standards.”
The look of pure shock that crossed his face was absolutely delicious. Clearly, Mr. High-and-Mighty Alpha wasn’t used to being treated like he was the one who needed to prove himself worthy.
Before he could recover enough to respond, I swept over to his desk with my most professional demeanor and began laying out documents like I was dealing cards. “Your dinner arrangements,” I announced cheerfully, placing the guest list down with a satisfying snap. “Complete with dietary restrictions, seating charts, and wine pairings that won’t poison anyone or start any pack wars.”
I added the quarterly reports with a flourish. “Pack assessments, territorial dispute documentation, and that lovely little crisis brewing on the northern border that apparently couldn’t wait until Monday.” Each file landed on his desk with increasing emphasis.
He leaned forward, studying each document with growing interest, and I caught something that looked suspiciously like impressed approval flickering in those devastating blue eyes.
“Impressive work,” he admitted, though he looked almost annoyed to be saying it. “Still, an omega refusing an alpha? That’s a new one, even for me. You might want to rethink that.” His mouth actually fell open slightly, and I had to bite my lip to keep from grinning at his expression.
“Well then,” I continued with exaggerated politeness, gathering my own files and heading back toward my desk, “if there’s nothing else requiring my *omega* attention, I should probably get back to work.”
I’d barely taken two steps when his hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist, his fingers warm and strong against my skin. The contact sent electricity shooting up my arm, and I had to bite back a gasp at the intensity of the sensation.
“Tonight’s dinner,” he said, his voice dropping to that low, commanding tone that made my knees weak. “You’ll attend as my date.”
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