Chapter 38 The Name He Remembered
Selene’s POV
The two most famous hackers across the entire Werewolf Continent were Archie and Benny.
Almost everyone had heard their names before.
Archie was already considered a legend in the hacking world. He had broken into systems people believed were impossible to crack and exposed secrets powerful organizations desperately tried to bury. Every time his name appeared online, chaos followed soon after.
But Benny…
Benny was different.
More mysterious.
More untouchable.
Rumors about Benny had circulated for years, yet nobody truly knew anything concrete. Some claimed Benny was older than Archie. Others insisted Benny had personally trained him. There were even wild stories saying Benny could invade military systems in under ten minutes.
Most of those stories were exaggerated nonsense.
Still, one thing remained true.
Nobody knew Benny’s identity.
And yes.
That mysterious Benny was me.
Though one part of the rumors was completely wrong.
I was never Archie’s mentor.
The first time we met, he had actually attempted to hack into Starplay Entertainment’s security system. Unfortunately for him, I caught him halfway through and shut him down before he could finish the breach.
At first, we almost became enemies.
But eventually, rivalry turned into mutual respect.
And somehow, over time, we became close friends who enjoyed irritating each other almost as much as we enjoyed hacking.
Lying across my bed with my laptop balanced on my knees, I typed quickly and sent him a message.
His reply came almost immediately.
“Benny, do you realize it’s the middle of the night? Some people actually want to sleep.”
I rolled my eyes instantly.
“Stop whining and investigate it already.”
Bickering like this had become normal for us.
Another message arrived right away.
“This amount of information is tiny. You could find it yourself in five minutes. Why do you even need me?”
A small smile tugged at my lips while I typed back.
“Because I’m lazy. Hurry up.”
Several seconds passed.
Then another reply appeared.
“You’re unbelievable.”
I laughed softly under my breath and leaned back against the headboard while waiting.
Ten minutes later, Archie finally sent the file.
I opened it immediately.
Everything about Quin appeared on the screen.
Her background.
Her history.
Her connection to the Frostbane family.
The more I read, the slower my movements became.
So that was the truth.
Quin wasn’t related to Lucian by blood at all.
She had been adopted from an orphanage years ago by Lucian’s aunt.
I stared silently at the screen for several moments before finally closing the file.
Now everything made sense.
Quin truly had feelings for Lucian.
That explained the hostility.
The jealousy.
The constant targeting.
To her, I wasn’t simply Lucian’s fiancée.
I was competition.
And apparently, she wasn’t the only one who saw me that way.
Winnie hated me too.
Elena clearly disliked me.
Every woman around Lucian somehow treated me like an enemy.
Honestly, this entire engagement was becoming exhausting.
At the time, agreeing to my grandfather’s arrangement for these three months had seemed simple enough.
Now?
It felt like I had willingly thrown myself into endless trouble.
I sighed quietly and shut the laptop completely.
At this point, I only wanted the three months to pass quickly.
Once the engagement ended, everything would go back to normal.
I would return to Bloodfang Pack.
Back to my real life.
Back to freedom.
No pretending.
No schemes.
No Lucian Frostbane.
Just thinking about it made me breathe easier.
This had easily been the most frustrating weekend of my life.
Thankfully, it was finally over.
The next morning, I arrived at Moonveil Group earlier than usual.
The office was still relatively quiet when I stepped inside. I placed my bag down and immediately started reviewing the documents related to the Lady Couture collaboration project.
The work itself wasn’t difficult.
If anything, it was one of the few things in this company that genuinely interested me.
I had just finished reading several pages when—
Bang!
A heavy stack of files slammed onto my desk hard enough to make it tremble.
I looked up instantly.
Cyril stood there staring down at me with obvious irritation written all over her face.
“What are you doing?” I asked calmly.
She folded her arms.
“Input all this data,” she ordered coldly. “I want everything finished before noon.”
I glanced at the massive stack of documents.
My eyebrows lifted slightly.
Before noon?
Was she serious?
Even several employees working together would struggle to finish all of this within a few hours.
I looked back at her calmly.
“Sorry,” I replied evenly, “but I’m currently responsible for the Lady Couture collaboration project. These documents have nothing to do with my work.”
Cyril’s face darkened immediately.
“I told you to do it,” she snapped impatiently. “Can’t you see everyone else is busy?”
I almost laughed.
Busy?
Did I somehow look jobless sitting here?
I kept my voice polite.
“Mr. Frostbane specifically instructed me to focus on the Lady Couture project,” I said calmly. “Anything unrelated to it isn’t my responsibility.”
The moment Lucian’s name left my mouth, Cyril’s expression became even uglier.
Clearly, she hated hearing it.
Just as she opened her mouth to continue arguing, the phone on my desk suddenly rang.
I glanced down at the number.
Extension 888.
Lucian’s direct line.
Interesting.
I picked up the receiver calmly while Cyril remained standing there glaring at me.
“Hello. This is Selene from the secretary department.”
Lucian’s cold voice came through immediately.
“Bring me coffee.”
That was all he said.
Then the line disconnected.
I stared at the receiver for a second.
Coffee?
What exactly was he trying to do now?
Still, I slowly hung up before turning back toward Cyril with complete seriousness.
“Ms. Cyril,” I said calmly, “you heard him yourself. Mr. Frostbane asked me to bring him coffee.”
I gently pushed the mountain of files back toward her.
“You’ll need to find someone else.”
Cyril looked seconds away from exploding.
I ignored her completely and walked toward the coffee lounge.
Several minutes later, I carried a freshly made latte toward the CEO’s office.
But the closer I got to the door, the more uncomfortable I suddenly became.
Without warning, memories from the restroom flashed through my mind again.
That kiss.
His touch.
My heartbeat immediately became uneven.
Annoyed with myself, I took a slow breath before knocking on the office door.
“Come in.”
Lucian’s cold voice sounded from inside.
I pushed the door open and walked in calmly.
He sat behind the desk exactly as usual, dressed perfectly, his expression unreadable, as though nothing had happened between us.
Meanwhile, I still couldn’t erase last night from my mind.
I placed the coffee down in front of him.
“Your coffee.”
Lucian’s POV
Last night remained blurry.
The alcohol had clouded almost everything.
But one thing stayed painfully clear.
Teressa.
For several brief moments, I truly believed she had returned.
The girl from my memories.
The girl I had searched for all these years.
She had felt real enough to touch.
Real enough to hold.
But when I woke up this morning, the person sitting beside my bed was Quin.
Not Teressa.
Quin claimed she was the one who brought me back to my room last night.
But that made no sense.
Because Quin was not Teressa.
Not even remotely close.
Which meant only one possibility remained.
Maybe everything had simply been a dream.
Yet no matter how much I tried convincing myself of that, something still felt wrong.
Too real.
Too vivid.
“Your coffee is here. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be leaving now.”
Selene’s voice pulled me back to reality.
I lifted my gaze toward her.
She stood calmly in front of my desk, her expression composed, showing no sign of what happened between us last night.
She turned slightly as if preparing to leave.
Then suddenly paused.
“Oh, right,” she said softly, reaching into her pocket. “This belongs to you.”
She placed a small object onto the desk.
A button.
One of mine.
Probably torn loose while I was drunk last night.
But the moment she leaned closer—
I smelled it.
That scent.
My entire body froze instantly.
The exact same fragrance from last night.
Exactly the same.
My heartbeat accelerated violently.
Without thinking, I stood abruptly and grabbed her wrist tightly.
The emotions inside me surged uncontrollably.
My voice lowered.
Soft.
Almost disbelieving.
“Are… are you Teressa?”