Chapter 4: Blurring Lines

It had been three days after the partners for thesis work were announced. Three days since he asked for her email. And three days… of her waiting.

Anna is not the ideal woman to be kept waiting. Her patience is as short as the lifespan of her victims—which is not long at all. Does he intend to be one of her victims? She’d gladly kill him off for wasting her time.

Rica caught her sharp glare as she placed down their lunch. “You look like you’re enjoying our day off,” she greets sarcastically.

She quietly looked away and took a burger from her plate.

“Is this still about your thesis partner? That hot foreign exchange student?”

“He is not hot,” she sourly argued. “He looks unkempt. His hair looks like a muddy mop.”

“He is hot,” Rica counters, munching on her own burger. “He’s already famous, too. Still not as famous as Yezekael, though.”

Ah, Yezekael Ferrer. The campus resident playboy. She knows him. She needed to know about him if she wanted to stay under the radar. Getting anywhere near that man is like asking for a spotlight and a target on your back.

“I don’t care.” She huffs and puffs. “Maybe I might see past his unpleasant attitude and see the face everyone’s talking about if he contacts me about our thesis. I cannot accept losing my Latin honors just because a jerk like him is refusing to cooperate.”

“Speaking of Yezekael, though, I heard he’s been in mourning recently,” Rica says, completely ignoring her. “His father died. Do you know? I heard he was some rich businessman.”

“Do I look like I care?” She deadpans.

Rica tilts her head at her and shrugs indifferently. “It was a big rumor going around. We should at least stay updated.”

Anna merely shakes her head, her mind only occupied by Max, the man pulling out his audacity from God-knows-where and taking days to send her an email.

That asshole.

How long is she going to have to wait for him?

How hard is it to construct an email anyway? Is he illiterate?!

Lunch passes, and eventually her last class too, but there was still no email from the man. What kind of luck has gone her way, partnering her up with a mysterious and lazy partner for her most crucial final requirement?

Should she just do it alone?

Anna sighs, the thought weighing down on her until nightfall when she visits the headquarters for a new mission. Their three-day break has ended and it’s time to start a new mission. An urgent one, they said.

Her feet find the meeting room, and she was back in the familiar place where the missions were explained. The tall floor-to-ceiling windows were almost always covered by blinds, the dark room lit only by the hologram on one side, and the intimidating long table in the middle.

Anna occupies the seat nearest to the Minister and shoots him a quiet, respectful nod. “Good evening, Minister.”

He smiled softly at her, murmuring back, “Good evening, Anna, my dear.”

In the room with them was barely a handful of people. Rica and other Ministry officials in suits that were too similar every day she doubted they were even washing them. As the presenter cleared his throat, the rest of them shifted in their seats to see the hologram clearly.

With a click of the remote, the slide flashes the face of a middle-aged man. His long, winded hair and wrinkles around his eyes were enough indication that he was already past forty. Despite his age, he was still pleasant to look at. Anyone would know he looked good in his prime. The name under him read, ‘Kajik Ferrer, late Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack’.

More details about him were listed, but the presenter was already summarizing everything.

“This is Alpha Kajik Ferrer, who was recently buried after a cardiac arrest. He dies at the age of 54, thus leaving his wealth, and the Blood Moon Pack to his only son. This is his son…”

Anna’s eyes slowly widened, immediately recognizing the man on the next slide. She could not mistake a face like that anywhere else. Neatly pushed-up black hair, deep-set blue opal eyes, and a cheeky smirk showing off his deep dimples. Aside from his gorgeous face, he also had a well-built and fit body, after rigorous training as a rugby athlete.

“…Yezekael Ferrer.”

She finds Rica’s eyes, as wide as hers, as they exchange meaningful glances. The Minister does not miss it.

“Yezekael Ferrer attends NYU Law School as a senior. He is to inherit the pack and everything that was Kajik’s, but we have yet to determine his plans. His reputation is not the best, and he is known not to have the best relationship with his late father. He is difficult to read,” the presenter continues. “The objective of this mission is to discern the new Alpha’s motives to see if he will be a future threat to the peace and order of our world. This is an A-class mission with an indefinite duration, assigned to Agent Anna and her choice of agents. Do you accept?”

Anna leans back on her chair, inhaling a deep breath.

They’re basically telling her to tail Yezekael and get through to him to test the waters.

What luck.

Realizing her silence, the entire table turns to her in surprise. Even the presenter's brows rose as he asked again. “Do you accept, Agent Anna?”

Biting her lips, she reluctantly answered. “I accept the mission.”

She has no other choice but to accept, anyway.

She hears Rica’s long sigh from the other side of the table. They can already see a troublesome school year ahead.

So much for going under the radar.

Unbeknownst to her, the Minister had been quietly watching her reactions. He smiled, feeling her frustration even when her expression barely slips. He’s well aware of the new Alpha’s popularity and personality. Not to mention his father’s inhumane acts that he surely inherited, too. Once Anna learns contemptible men like them exist, she will subconsciously start making comparisons. And then Yezekael will pale in comparison to Maximillian. Anna will see that, and his plan can only go uphill from there.

—

Why did she agree?

Anna’s still contemplating her decision hours after the meeting. She immediately regretted accepting the mission after realizing the weight of her new mission. It will be the first time her work and school life will intercept. The first time she will have to be undercover on campus, her mind on her mission while doing her studies.

The first time her professional and personal work will merge.

If there’s anything Anna hates, it might just be that. The line blurs between her work and her personal life. She can’t just be human college student Anna now.

With her hands on her waist, she paces back and forth in her room.

Suddenly, her phone lights up and a notification catches her eye. She picks it up from her bed and softly curses.

Finally.

Anna’s eyes carefully read the email and the attached files.