Chapter 38: The Hunt and the Horror-3

I heard many pairs of strong footsteps approaching us, three of them standing out in particular. I shrunk as much as I could, trying to hide myself behind Roma. I felt tired and afraid and for some reason, I suddenly wanted to cry. "Welcome back", I heard Mr. Penson say, as the three prominent footsteps stopped right beside us. There were still massive waves of power coming from the three people I knew were now standing by me. I continued to stare at my feet as my body shivered and lips trembled. Tears stung my eyes and I blinked continuously trying to keep them at bay. "Thank you John", two voices responded, one Master Cole's and the other unfamiliar to me. I didn't hear the CEO's voice. "Suzzanah?" I heard Mr. Talon whisper my name, his voice heavily laced with concern. Before I could look at him or respond a large dark shadow fell over me and almost instantly I knew who it was that was now standing in front of me. I gulped. Oh God! I slowly raised my head to see the CEO's imposing figure before me. His face was a mask revealing no sentiment whatsoever, but his eyes held something intense and powerful making me want to cry even more. He opened his mouth to say something and I flinched knowing this was it. He would be so mad. But before he could utter a single word a heavy hand landed on his shoulder making his head jerk to the side and glare at it. I looked to the side to see the guy I didn't know smiling widely at the CEO. He was a little shorter than the CEO, had blonde hair that was swept to one side and bright blue eyes. "Come now King, don't intimidate the poor thing like that. Can't you see she is scared out of her wits", he said removing his hand from the CEO's shoulder. King??? Then he looked at me and smiled sweetly at me, "Well hello there pretty young lady, it's a pleasure to meet you" Trying to calm my shaken nerves, I stared at him uncertainly then looked around to see who he was talking to, surely it couldn't be me. But in the next second he was holding up a rose in my face, his frame slightly bent so that he could talk eye to eye with me. I blinked at the rose and I thought I heard Master Cole face palm loudly. "Uh...I-" "Don't let the big bad CEO scare you, here, a beautiful rose for a beautiful lady", he said smiling flirtatiously at me. A growl filled the air making everyone except this strange man before me tense. I looked toward the CEO to see him glowering murderously at this man. "Go on", the man stressed and I didn't want to seem rude, he was trying to help me...or so I thought, so I extended a still trembling hand to take the rose from him. But before I could take hold of the rose, his other hand came up and caught my trembling one making my eyes go wide. "Don't be afraid darling", he said lowering his head towards my hand and making me gawk at him in horror as he attempted to kiss it. I heard Mr. Talon screech and Master Cole gasp and in a split second the man's hand had been removed from around mine and pushed away from me by a furious looking CEO. "DON'T TOUCH HER!" he yelled making everyone jump out of their skins. The blond man also seemed shaken by the CEO's outburst, so he took a step away from me while the CEO continued to glare at him with eyes so furious that I was surprised the guy hadn't gone up in flames yet. As if on cue I started to smell smoke, and my eyes frantically searched the area till they landed on the rose in the man's hand, which was now on fire. I gasped out loud and lurched forward pointing at his hand, "The Rose!" I shouted The man's eyes zeroed in on his hand before his eyes went wide and he threw the burning rose to the ground wincing and shaking his hand vigorously. "Are you alright?" I asked and instinctively reached out for his hand to check for injuries. But before my hand could touch his, a larger hand enveloped mine and tingles shot through my arm and body. I was immediately tugged back and I crashed into the CEO before he pushed me behind him and growled at the man, literally. I could no longer see the other man, or the CEO's face for that matter. I looked around to see all the guards gaping in shock at the events that were transpiring. While Roma looked worried, Master Cole looked frustrated and Mr. Talon looked dead, Mr. Penson looked rather amused and I couldn't help but stare at him in bewilderment while also wondering why the CEO had yelled and how the flower had caught fire. "That was a little much Alpha", I heard the other man say, his voice sounded bitter. The Alpha aka the CEO didn't say anything but I saw his fists clench and I stared at his back confused. The stare down continued for a few more seconds before Master Cole stepped forward. "Alright, break it up you two. Come on", he said standing in between the two men. "Let's go inside now. We have work to do remember" His words seemed to have calmed the men down a little as I saw the CEO's back relax and he abruptly turned away from the man towards me making me jump. The anger in his eyes dissipated and they immediately softened as he searched my face. I gulped and not knowing what to do, I gave him a small nervous smile. His eyes immediately zeroed in on my lips making me gasp and take a step away from him. His eyes returned to mine and they seemed slightly displeased. After that, he looked away seeming irritated and walked off. Half the hoard of guards followed after him, including my roomie who looked at me with a questioning frown before walking away. Master Cole sighed and shook his head. His eyes landed on me and I bowed quickly. Had I bowed to the CEO??? I was surprised when Master Cole smiled at me then turned to the other man who was still clutching his hand and glaring at the CEO's back. "We'll be going inside John", Master Cole said, "See you upstairs" and Mr. Penson nodded. With that Roma led him and the mystery man toward where the CEO had gone followed by the rest of the guards. I released a loud breath and slumped in relief. Mr. Talon immediately came up to me. "Are you alright?" he asked and I sighed before shaking my head. "I don't know" I answered honestly. "Come you two, let's go inside", Mr. Penson told us, "Ms. Winters seems unwell" "Oh no! I'm quite alright" I said, "I'm terribly sorry; I had just suddenly felt..." I searched for a word to describe my condition earlier but found none, "strange and a little shaken. It must be because I've been resting too much lately. I'm really alright now"