Chapter Fifteen

Willow’s POV.

When I woke up, it was to Dimitri staring at me with a worried expression on his face. The worry eased a bit when I opened my eyes. He was no longer naked. He had a robe on but I could not forget what he looked like without a stitch of clothing. And suddenly, everything came back to me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes again.

Dimitri had turned into a wolf in front of me. Dimitri had fucking transformed into a wolf in my presence. I opened my eyes again and stared at him. “Did I imagine all of that or did you really turn into a wolf in front of me?” I asked, needing some confirmation.

“You did not imagine it.”

“Damn,” I winced, then I sat up in bed. I frowned when I realized I was actually in bed. “How did I get here?”

“You fainted. I carried you,” he explained and I nodded. That explained the piercing headache.

“Can I have some painkillers before you explain any more of this to me?” I asked quietly.

Almost as if he had been preparing, Dimitri took a glass of water and two pills and gave it to me. As I was drinking it, a thought occurred to me that it could be something else apart from painkillers. But weirdly enough, I trusted Dimitri not to do that. When I took them, I looked at him.

He looked stressed, almost as if he had aged five years in the minutes I had been out of it. I blushed as I thought about losing consciousness. That was such a weak thing to do. How did I just lose consciousness like that?

“Dimitri?” I called out as a thought occurred to me.

“Yes, Willow.”

“Why are you telling me all of this about you being a werewolf? Is it not supposed to remain a secret?” I asked him, an unpleasant feeling building up in my gut.

“It is,” he said.

“So why tell me then?”

“Willow…”

“Tell me Dimitri,” I insisted.

“You’re my mate. You’re my mate, Willow. That’s why I am telling you this.”

I had read enough of werewolf romance to know what a mate meant. And my entire experience with Dimitri flashed in front of me. How he treated me terribly, the number of times he had spoken to me like I was less than him. The women he had flaunted in front me. And he was telling me I was his mate?

“You’re crazy,” was all I could say. “You’ve known all this while?”

“As soon as you entered the interview room.”

“You knew? Oh my goodness, you knew. And you treated me like that, Dimitri? Like I was some sort of trash? You flaunted your women, sent them gifts, made me feel like I was stupid. You went off on me because of a fucking perfume!”

“Because I could not claim you, goddamit. I could not claim you, Willow. That was why I was callous to you. Because I knew that I would not be able to stop myself. That is why I asked you to wear that fragrance. Your scent was driving me mad.”

“Oh and now that it is convenient for you, you want to claim me? Is that why you gave me this?” I asked, shaking the hand that wore the bracelet he gave to me.

“Willow…”

“Newsflash, that is not how you treat people, Dimitri. You cannot just decide to want me when it is convenient for you! That’s messed up.”

“Willow…” I did not let him finish.

“Leave me alone! Get out!”

“Willow, please let me explain.”

“You had months to explain, Dimitri. Leave me alone. I don’t want to see you!”

Dimitri hesitated for a moment, but it seemed he understood that I was really pissed. So, he left the room and closed the door behind him. I put my face in my hands and started sobbing. All of this was just a little too much for me to handle. Not only do I have to find out that my boss is a werewolf, I also discover that we are mates?

This sounded like the script of a romance movie.

What had my life become?

***

I did not know when, but I had fallen asleep. When I woke up, I was expecting to have a pounding headache. But nothing. It seemed like what Dimitri had given me had actually worked.

Dimitri. I winced as I thought of what he said. We were mates. Dimitri and I were mates. He was a werewolf and we were mates. A lot of this sounded like the plot of a badly scripted romance novel, one that I absolutely did not want to star in. I let out a sigh and sat up in bed. I needed some fresh air, but the last thing I wanted was to run into Dimitri downstairs. So, I did the next best thing.

I got out of bed and picked one the dresses I had packed, then I went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I didn’t even bother with the heater. I needed something that was going to cool me down. After wrapping my hair (because I didn’t think I would have the strength to dry it later), I got into the shower and let the water run over me as I stewed in my thoughts.

A lot of things made sense now: the fact that Dimitri could not stand my unfiltered scent, the fact that he got jealous any time I spoke to anyone else. Dimitri hated it when I got attention during the meetings. I had not thought anything of it, but it was all making a lot of sense now. Did he really think I was going to forget everything because he had given me a bracelet and had been nice to me for a week? If he did, he had something coming for him!

After about thirty minutes, I got out of the shower and dressed. I was still sad, but now I felt a lot better. I was shocked to realize that someone had come and made my bed while I was in the shower. How did they even know I was in the shower? It made me feel a little violated.

I went to my back and got my phone out. I wanted to call Kendra and tell her about what was happening but I thought better of it. Instead, I just sent a text and dropped the phone. No point in me trying to explain something that I did not understand myself.

As soon as I dropped the phone, I heard all knock on the door. For some reason, I did not think it was Dimitri. So, I said, “Come in.”

Dimitri’s brother walked in and I braced myself for whatever conversation was about to happen. He smiled at me when he got in and I smiled back tentatively.

“Willow,” he said. “I’m sorry for coming here so suddenly, especially with all the turmoil you must be feeling now.”

I chuckled a little. “It’s fine. I would have gone crazy in here with my thoughts. And it probably would not have ended well for your brother.”

I winced at my thoughtless words. I was casually threatening someone in front of their brother. Dimitri’s brother did not take it the wrong way though. He laughed and I let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m Vladimir, you can call me Vlad.” I nodded at his words but I did not say anything. The look on his face told me that he had a lot more to tell me. “I know what Dimitri did seems unforgivable and selfish. And I guess you just be feeling very betrayed now. So, I thought it wise to come in and explain certain things, things that my brother will never tell you.”

His voice was similar to Dimitri’s own. But the accent was so heavy. Dimitri had a slight accent when he spoke sometimes. But it was nothing compared to his brother’s.

“I was born two years before Dimitri. When he came, I was so happy. At last, I would have someone to play with. Our father was the Alpha and it naturally set me apart from the other kids. Dimitri and I grew up peacefully, but there was one thing looming over our heads. The prophecy. I had been groomed to be Alpha, and Dimitri had never minded.”

“Alpha means leader?” I asked, then I bit my lip, feeling a little foolish for interrupting.

“We could put it like that. Where was I– ah yes. Dimitri and I both knew I was going to become Alpha. But this where things got complicated. The prophecy said whoever found their mate first was going to be Alpha. This prophecy had never really bothered us. I was going to find my mate anyways, right?”

I stared at him, enraptured with his story. “Well wrong. Dimitri did not tell me when he found you. I know it can seem selfish, but Dimitri has never once been selfish. I have known all my life that I was going to be Alpha. I probably should not have taken it so much for granted. But it seems like I do not know how to exist out of that. Dimitri knows this. I do not need to tell him.”

Vladimir paused for a bit again. “I am not trying to justify his actions. I think he should have told you as soon as he found you. But if he did that, I would lose my chances to become Alpha. If he had asked me, I would have told him to go ahead with mating you. For a werewolf, it is incredibly difficult to go without their mate, especially when they have already found them. His wolf was on the verge deserting him because he would not claim you.”

Dimitri’s words to Adrik now made a lot of sense. My head was spinning with all the extra information I was receiving. I did not know how to feel.

“Did you find your mate?”

“I did,” Vladimir smiled sadly. “She died a few days ago.”

“Oh. That’s why we came here.”

I now understood why he was so mad at his brother. Dimitri had a mate and he did not want to claim her.

“That’s why,” Dimitri’s brother confirmed.

I took a deep breath and looked down at my fingers. Vladimir’s explanation definitely put a lot into perspective. That did not mean I forgave Dimitri entirely, but I understood where he was coming from. I still needed time though, to adjust and think about everything that was going on.

“Thank you for telling me this,” I said to Vladimir finally.

He took my hands in his and squeezed. “I’m not asking you to forgive my brother. But I am asking you to understand him. He looks so lost without you.”

I nodded but I did not address the lost without me comment. Not because I did not think it was true but simply because I did not know how to feel about it.

“Can you please tell Dimitri I do not want to see him for now? I am too overwhelmed and I need some time to process everything that has happened so far,” I told Vladimir. For some reason, I felt comfortable with him.

“I will.”

“Thank you Vlad. And thank you for the talk.”

“Any time, Willow. Let me know if you need anything.”

I nodded as him then I watched as he got out of the room. When he closed the door behind him, I sighed and put my face into my palms. The urge to laugh hysterically was bubbling in me. At this point, whoever was writing the story of my life was probably just winging it. A werewolf mate? Man, this was crazy.

I stood up then I dropped back on my bed and closed my eyes. My life was a fucking movie.