Chapter 8 Tension
{Warren's POV}
"I... I'm so sorry," she stammered, her face filled with regret, and just by staring at her I didn't know what to do. A part of me wanted to fire her, and another part felt like I should give her another chance.
I looked away from her and down at my shirt which was now ruined, before letting go of her hand. She immediately stepped back, her eyes getting teary, and I guessed she was expecting me to ask her to leave, but instead I turned toward Jane.
"Get the cleaner to take care of the mess on the floor and..." I turned back to Diana and she immediately lowered her gaze to the ground. "You, come along with me. I need to get a new shirt."
Diana looked up at me, her eyes widening in shock. I turned to the door and started walking toward the exit of the building. Through my peripheral view I saw her walking in haste to meet my pace, and the sight made me slightly disgusted.
How can someone be so clumsy and rough.
The ride to the boutique took a while, and as I moved my hand against the steering, I kept feeling the urge to look toward Diana’s direction. She sat calmly, her fingers fiddling against each other, showing how nervous she was. I looked back at the road, wondering how her mate manages to tolerate her clumsiness.
By the time I pulled into the parking lot of the boutique, the coffee stain on my shirt had dried off, forming a line that irritated me. I got out of the car and closed the door as I made my way to the entrance, desperate to take it off.
Diana followed closely. The moment we got in, a man dressed in a white shirt and brown pants came toward me. "Welcome, Alpha Warren, please follow me, let me take you to the VIP section."
I followed the man down the boutique and into the VIP section which had most of the clothes displayed on mannequins. I walked through for a while and stopped when I saw a brown shirt, and the man moved in haste to pick it up, handing it to me.
"It is a fine collection, Alpha," he said with a smile, but I walked past him to get the stained shirt off me.
I entered the dressing room and started unbuttoning my shirt as I stared at my reflection in the mirror. My mind drifted to that night at the party, the way I felt being around my mate, the ease she brought to me. It was like a cure to my chest, something I never felt before. Even the air around her felt different. I remembered how she smelled, soft, warm, like something my wolf wanted to chase forever. For the first time in a long while, I felt peace. Real peace.
And the way she looked at me… like she knew exactly who I was and wasn’t scared.
That thought made me smile before I even knew it was happening.
I grabbed the new shirt and put it on, thinking about how Layla walked up to me, claiming she was my mate. She acted so bold, so confident, like she expected me to never doubt her. The way she smiled and touched my hand like it was already hers. Everything seemed messed up in my head, and because of that one night I couldn’t fully remember, I believed her. I still remember the way she smirked when she said, “I’m your mate, Warren.” Like she had already won.
But even now, whenever Diana was close to me, my wolf never stayed calm. It reacted in a way I couldn’t understand.
After buttoning the shirt, I looked at myself in the mirror once more before walking out of the dressing room. As I made my way to the lobby of the boutique, I saw Diana sitting on one of the couches. The moment she saw me, she stood up. I looked at her, remembering the moment she poured coffee on my shirt, and she quickly avoided my gaze.
I walked past her toward the exit and she followed closely, taking her usual position behind me. When we got to the car and I was about to enter, she suddenly spoke, her voice shaky. “Alpha… I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to—”
I stopped halfway, sighing. I wanted to tell her to stop saying sorry and just learn to improve in doing her job. But when my eyes met hers, something strange pulled at me. Something inside my chest nudged forward and my wolf rose immediately, reacting in a way I couldn’t ignore.
He growled softly inside me, not in anger, but something else I couldn’t understand.
I turned fully toward her. “There is something strange about you,” I said before I could stop myself. “I can’t understand it. Why are you so… I don’t even know how to describe it.”
Diana’s eyes widened and she lowered her gaze instantly, her hands tightening around each other.
I stepped closer to her without realizing it and she stepped back, her breath trembling. I could hear her heartbeat clearly, fast and loud. My wolf pushed forward again. “I can’t fully describe it,” I said, my voice calmer without meaning to. “But I feel like you’re… something. I don’t know what it is about you.”
Her breath hitched, and for a second, she smelled different. Softer. Warmer. Like something familiar my wolf wanted to get closer to.
I swallowed hard and forced my thoughts back into place. “If you want to work as my personal assistant, you have to work on your weird behavior around me—"
Before I could finish, my wolf suddenly jerked forward in my mind, sharp and alert. He sensed something before I did. Diana tried to step back again but her leg moved toward a pavement behind her that she wasn’t aware of. She tripped, her body tilting backward.
My wolf moved before I did.
I grabbed her, my hand wrapping around her waist. Her eyes widened in shock, her breath brushing against my chin. For a moment, everything around us stilled. Her scent wrapped around me again, stronger this time, and my wolf leaned so close I almost let him take over.
I blinked hard.
“Jeez,” I muttered, irritated at myself more than her, my voice low. “I can barely stand your behavior.”
She stiffened and I stepped away from the pavement, letting go of her waist. She moved back quickly, like she didn’t trust herself to stay still near me
She stiffened at my words and I stepped away from the pavement, letting go of her waist. She moved back quickly, almost like she didn’t trust herself to stand near me.
I turned and walked to the car. Once I got in, I looked through the window and saw Diana taking a deep breath, her hand resting on her chest as if trying to calm her heart. The sight made me scoff under my breath.
Why does she keep doing things that make me want to sack her?
And why does my wolf keep reacting to her like he knows her?
Layla is my mate… that’s what I keep telling myself. But the way my wolf moved for Diana…
I gripped the steering wheel, refusing to think further as she walked towards the car, opened the door and sat next to me obviously refusing to look towards my direction and I wondered what was going on in that mind of her's.