CHAPTER TWO

A man is biologically supposed to just be a man, right? Nothing extra, just flesh and blood with a lot of emotions since they're always pulling it in, right? Well, I thought so a second ago but what I'm seeing is definitely a different reality.

A man I had known for the past two years since I graduated from the university after accruing a load of student loans has a wolf clawing out of him or was it the other way around? I was too dumbfounded to tell. But my boss was shifting from human to a brown fur wolf in a very quick succession and I couldn't help the scream that poured from my throat.

My arms involuntarily began to shake, and my mind couldn't focus on anything for a few seconds. A white noise started from my right ear and I stamped my feet for it to stop and then I looked up.

There were about five people in the very tense atmosphere and they were all staring at me, a hostile expression on their faces.

They growled at me and I jammed the door and took to my heels, terrified.

Luckily the elevator had just gotten to the fifth floor and as the occupant exited, I ran into it, continuously pressing for the ground floor and hoping it closes before they come after me.

Right as the elevator began closing, my boss's driver who was in there with them ran out first, followed by my boss and his visitor. The driver, Tuscan ran at the door with obvious inhumane speed but thank goodness for technology, the door closed right before he could touch me.

I was in the elevator, shocked and panicked at what I had just witnessed. He had changed so fast that if you weren't paying attention, you'd have missed it. I was very confident in my mind, else I would have felt like I was hallucinating.

I couldn't stop my hands from shaking and I was struggling to stand up straight; I struggled to comprehend what I had just witnessed.

Now, everything began making sense. A lot of people in this establishment must be just like him, I thought as I rode the elevator down.

The women looked like models.

I mean, they could have been walking on runways and some could pass off as celebrities but they were here making a decent amount of money. I even joked with Tara last week about her wasting her talent in the marketing department. She could have been working for Versace, with her long legs and beautiful facial features. She laughed it off, telling me she was happy with her job.

At my office, strange things were always happening but I could never have guessed it was because the owners and their staff were supernatural. Why on earth they employed a plain Jane like me, I'll never understand it.

The elevator hit the ground floor and I began panicking. I obviously didn't plan this properly, what if they had taken the stairs? My Boss rarely used the elevator and I always wondered why.

The elevator doors opened and I prepared to make a run for it. But there was no one there. It was business as usual with everyone running around the lobby, attending to some high end client or other.

I nearly ran into someone as I was looking around in panic, searching for my assailants.

“Aurora, why do you look like you've seen a ghost?” Cherie asked me.

I eyed her with suspicion. She was definitely one of them. They probably sent her to capture me back upstairs, I thought, eyeing her with suspicion

So I decided to act normal to avoid her getting me. This place was too open so that ruled out any direct attack from them.

“It's nothing, I needed to get that file to Mr. Ken before the regional manager got to his office and I missed them by a hair's breadth so I'm going to get ice cream. I need to be prepared for the hell he'll rain on me later on” I explained, winking at her as I walked past her through the automatic glass doors of our office complex.

I quickly hailed down a taxi and ran into it without looking at the driver.

“631 County, please be fast” I told the driver.

“Yes Ma'am.”

I looked up in shock. I had just walked into the cab driven by Tuscan, my boss's driver.

“Please, I beg you, let me go. I don't want to die so early, I will take this secret to my grave I promise” I begged, tears pouring out of my eyes uncontrollably.

The thoughts that poured through my mind made my fear heighten.

What if this was like the Mafia movies where they shot anyone who knew too much. I obviously knew too much and now they had sent this man to kidnap me.

While I begged and pleaded for my life, he put the car on child lock and rolled the windows up.

I cried like a baby, hitting the windows and hoping for someone to notice me and rescue me.

No one did.

“Miss, I'm not the one you should be begging, even though I don't see the point of it. But you are being taken to our Alpha and he will decide your fate. For now, it's best to comport yourself as it's going to be a difficult few days ahead” he finally deemed her worthy of a response and after which he focused on driving her to wherever it was they were headed to.

I took out my phone and tried dialing 911. The moment it rang, he quickly reached out and grabbed the phone out of my hand, making me scream.

He cut the call and pressed a button that turned the windows a shade darker.

No one would see me or try to help out. It finally dawned on me that I've been kidnapped by the very people I'd worked for the past two years.

It was an over four hours journey and when they got to the place, I had to pick my jaw off the floor. There was an iron gate that led to this beautiful little village, or at least, that's what they tried to create.

There were cute little cottages all over the place with a fountain right in the middle of the place. The street lights were obviously for decorative purposes as I assumed they wouldn't be very bright at night and when we went a little further down the road, we came to a huge mansion.

It looked like a giant apartment building but with sophistication. People were milling about, involved in one activity or the other. I was staring abashedly at everyone and everything, surprised at the beauty before me. Although it was humongous, it had a nice aesthetic to it.

The driver packed the car and came to my side and opened the door. I was about to make a run for it when he grabbed my arm.

“Don't even think about it. You wouldn't last two minutes out there and there's nobody coming to rescue you so you have to follow me. It's your only safe option” Tuscan said, closing the car door behind me.

I grumbled in irritation but followed him regardless. I didn't have much of a choice but I knew that if they tried anything, I wouldn't go down without a fight.

On the drive here, I had managed to create a plan in my head. The driver had collected my phone but I had kept my second phone a secret. It was the one I kept just for my father. He bought it for me when I was fifteen and insisted I only use it in case of an emergency and absolutely nothing else.

I could have called already but I needed to figure out what was going on. If I called him or the police and told them my boss who was recognized all over Manhattan as the epitome of class and wealth turned into a wolf at will, I'd be in the psych ward by evening. So I knew I needed to be careful.

He led me from the car pack all the way to the entrance of the building, many people pausing to stare at me, even the gardener paused with a big pair of scissors in his hand and watched me get dragged into the ominous mansion.

Right before opening the door, the driver paused and looked at me.

“Look, when we get in there, avoid anything that might suggest disrespect. And don't look the Alpha in the eye except he asks you to which I'm sure he won't. If you want to leave here unscathed, you must do as I have said, understand me?” He said in a whisper, which I considered weird. Nobody could hear us all the way here.

I nodded to him regardless and he proceeded to open the door.

I walked in after him and terror wracked my body as I was scared of how this was going to go. My body had not had a moment to relax in the last few hours. The fear of never escaping this place and leaving my dear mother alone to that douchebag that was responsible for my conception scared me to my bones.

Tuscan walked into the grand room, holding my arm with him.

I looked around the room which seemed like a scene taken out of a royal movie, depicting court day. There were many intimidating people lounging in different chairs and Sofas around the humongous room and at the far end of it, sat a striking man who was putting on a perfectly tailored black suit with a silver chain dangling from his neck. My eyes immediately drawn to a tapestry that had a very bold drawing of… war? I noticed many wolves with blood on their snouts and one half man, half wolf standing in the midst of them all with the head of another man, as he roared his victory.

I blinked and remembered Tuscan’s instructions and I quickly lowered my head as we got closer to the throne.

My escort dragged me down to kneel with him as he bowed to the king.

“Good day Alpha, I present to you, Aurora Wilson, secretary to Beta Jayden, a human who walked in on him mid shift. I was commanded to bring her to you for a memory wipe.” he said, his head bowed to the ground.

I jumped apart from him in shock.

“What? What do you mean? You never told me that's what we were coming here to do!” I protested, getting really terrified of these people. How could they command such power?

The Alpha who upon closer inspection, had perfectly polished Italian shoes got up from his throne and walked down to where we knelt.

I ensured in all my anger and outburst, I didn't look at his face. That was until he got to where I stood and grabbed my chin.

“Human? Look at me” he commanded, his voice sending strange signals down my entire nervous system.

I obeyed without protest, not daring to disobey him. He had an aura that suggested he could kill me without even straining himself and the moment he looked into my eyes, something shifted in the atmosphere. Then he uttered the word that changed my life.

“Mate"