Chapter 12

“Ely, you know that’s not what I meant,” she said, looking desperate for me to believe her.

“You said you didn’t want a normal child!" You said I was perfect the way I was. All these time…” My voice broke at the end as I tried to steady my breath.

“Ely… "Let’s just wait down and talk about it.”

I shook my head and went to my room. “I can’t deal with you right now."

I went to my room and thought of everything.

How I wasn’t normal

How I was chased by beings I could not even explain what the fuck they were.

I was tired. I just wanted someone to hold. And for some reason I dare not acknowledge, my mind went to Eric, him comforting me, holding me right, and whispering sweet nothings in my ear.

"Eric,” I muttered as I drifted off to sleep.

….

The next morning, I dressed up. “Hey baby,” my mother greeted me, but I ignored her. “I made breakfast," was her response, which was met with me slamming the door shut.

“Morning!” Ian said it was popping out of nowhere and scaring the shite out of me.

“What the fuck is your problem?" "I told you to stay away.” I said, looking him up and down.

“I relayed the message to the alpha. Turns out he was quite pissed about my letting you know before he was ready to, anyway. "I was told that he would flay my skin if I let you out of my sight.”

He gave me a smile.

“Stay away from me in public,” he nodded and led me to the car. “Can we stop over at a bakery along the way?”

“Sure”

The drive was long and quiet. It was almost too quiet.

“Look, don’t throw away what you have with Eric." It could be a beautiful thing if you let it grow. He’s a good guy, just a little misunderstood; this was the most serious I heard him sound in a while, not that I’ve known him for very long anyway.

“Your mate, she must be lucky,” he sighed.

“I haven’t found her yet. "But hopefully I will, soon.” He sounded sad about it, so I decided to drop it and let the silence consume us.

“I actually have something to do, but you would be at work." I promise to come pick you up on time.” I rolled my eyes.

“You know you don’t have to do that, right?" You’re not my butler or chauffeur. I’ll be alright. I came out of the car and took the box of doughnuts out of the car.

I took a deep breath.

Something did not feel right. It felt like I was being watched. I shook off the feeling, thinking it was Ian again, and then went inside.

“There she is!” one of my colleagues said, stopping me from my mission.

“The boss is looking for you; he is on the edge.”

“What does that old fart want now?” I said, "My mood immediately dampened."

“It's actually not him." "It's his son.” I felt the hairs on my neck stand.

∆¶flashback∆

I walked through the crowd. I was uncomfortable in the dress I was made to wear. My boss’s son, who was also my boss, had insisted that I wear a dress that barely covered my chest.

“Sir, we have signed the deal; do we still need to be here?” I tried to explain over the music. Lord knows why they decided it was best to have a meeting in a club.

“He needs you to do something for him in the VIP section.” He whispered too close for comfort.

I nodded and walked to the VIP section.

It was a lot quieter because the doors of the room were soundproof. They seemed convenient.

"Hello, sir,” I said in my practiced professional tone.

“Please call me Dave.” He said and patted the side next to him for me to sit down. It was awkward, but I knew that I could not outright refuse it. It was definitely going to get me into trouble.

I, after thinking the whole situation through—not that there was much to think about—sat next to him, almost falling off the chair because of how far off I was on the chair.

“Come on, sit properly,” he said, taking me by the hips and pulling me to himself.

He reeked of cigarettes and beer.

“You know,” he said when I was a bit closer. “I could not help but notice how you looked at me when we were signing the deal.” I went blank for a moment before my famous word came out.

“Huh?” I blinked, looking at him. “Sir, I don’t think you understand." I wasn’t looking at you in any way. "I tried shifting away from him because he was really starting to make me uncomfortable, especially since his hands were creeping up my dress.

“Sir. I am not comfortable with...

He didn’t seem to be listening to me.

“Shut up. "I've had your type before,” he said, trying to kiss me with those tobacco-stained lips.

I pushed him off of me and ran. out the door.

“That was quick,” my boss said, looking at his watch.

“You knew about this?” I felt my adrenaline skyrocket after hearing that.

He looked unbothered. “What? It was just fuck. Don’t tell me you are one of those girls.

“You sick bastard!” I yelled, carrying the drink onto the table and pouring it on his face. “He touched me!” I yelled, but obviously it was swallowed up by the music.

My mind went back to the way his hands cupped my breasts. making me squirm in an uncomfortable way.

I shook my head violently to remove the thought. The fact that he didn’t seem fazed by it

"Oh, come on! It couldn’t be that bad,” he said, rolling his eyes. He didn’t even seem bothered by the drink I had spilled on his shirt.

“Let’s go,” he said, and stood up. I stood in the center of the room, feeling very violated.

I wanted to cry, but I knew this was definitely not the place to do it. I held myself together till I got home, where I poured out my heart...

∆∆

“I’ll handle it,” I told my colleague calmly, even though I was shaking on the inside.

I kept the box of doughnuts on my table and went inside the office.

We had other encounters over the years, but that memory of that night seemed to stick with me.

“Where the fuck have you been? "We have a meeting in five!” He looked enraged. Between him and his father, I would choose to work for his father any day.

“What would you need me to do?” I said in a monotonous voice.

“Give me the plan and draw a schedule for the day.”

With his tone toward me, I was suddenly not even in the mood to work anymore. “You know what, do it yourself. I need a day off.” I don’t know what had gotten to me, but I was starting to act as much as I wanted without giving a fuck, and I was fine with it. It was as if something had shifted in me; the night was almost over.

“Eloise!” he called, but I could care less about him at this moment.