~Audrina~
I entered the corporate lobby while holding the check in my shaking palm. The smell of old coffee and polished wood wafted into the room as I walked up to the front desk, my heart thumping with anxious expectation.
As I walked up, the middle-aged woman working at the reception looked up from her computer screen, her expression hard to read.
With a hesitant "Excuse me," I said, extending the check to her. "I'm trying to find someone, and I heard he works here. Could you please assist me?
As she accepted the check from my hand, the receptionist's eyes sharpened, and her lips tightened into a tiny line. She ripped it in half and threw the fragments back at me without saying anything. Her move was so abrupt and out of the blue that all I could do was look at her in disbelief.
"What? What was that for?" My voice trembled with disbelief and confusion as I mumbled.
She gazed at me with hardly concealed disdain, her look intensifying as she didn't respond. "You need to leave immediately.” Her tone made no room for debate: "If you don't, I'll have security escort you out."
"But... I need to find someone," I pleaded, trying not to let my desperation show through in my voice.
Her eyes narrowed a little, but her stubbornness did not waver. "You've been coming here and making trouble for about a month now. Her statements were like a slap in the face: "We don't want your kind around here."
Anger and irritation welled up inside of me, but I knew that in order to obtain any information, I had to maintain my composure. Breathing deeply, I picked up the ripped bits of the check from the ground and held them out to her, trying in vain to make my case.
"This check came from your company," I stated, my voice quivering with fury. "I need to find the man who wrote it."
Although her look softened a little, her icy spirit was still in her gaze. "It doesn't matter where it came. Now leave before I alert security."
"Until you tell me where he is, I won't leave!" I matched her vigor with a demand.
She chuckled, her eyes brightening with astonishment. "Have you lost it? Do you really believe you can come in here and start giving me directions? I don't work for you.”
I gave her a sarcastic look and said, "Listen up, lady; I might be if you are not careful."
"I'm not here to make trouble; just give me the answers I need, and I'll leave afterwards," I indicated after a brief pause.
“And why do you believe that there is room for negotiation on this?” She put me to the test.
I was unable to comprehend why someone was so keen to obstruct my way. Had I not known any better, I could have thought that I had accidentally taken her mate in a past life or something similar.
"You do realize how extremely unprofessional this behavior of yours is, right?!" I questioned her, waiting for her to give me another terrible answer.
She glared at me three times in a row before spitting out, "Don't lecture me!"
“I was busy before you came here.” She pointed out the obvious.
“And I still don’t know why I’m having this conversation with a person who seems like she should be in a brothel or the slums.”
What?!
“Madame, you had better watch your mouth before I fix it up for you.” I gave her a warning.
The receptionist, however, just rolled her eyes, her contempt visible on every wrinkle of her face. With a tone full of mockery, she sneered, saying, "Oh, please, spare me the dramatics."
"I've previously worked with people like you. Constantly seeking assistance and anticipating special treatment for a beauty that doesn’t exist."
Her remarks pierced me deeply and brought back unpleasant memories of all the times I had experienced discrimination and humiliation just for being me.
However, I resisted showing her how deeply her remarks had upset me. Rather than backing down, I squared my shoulders and met her stare directly.
"I don’t seem to get it; did you find your fiancée with me in a strip club or something?!”
Instantly, a bitter laughter escaped her and filled the air. “You wish! My man would never.”
“You really think so? With this bad attitude of yours, you actually have someone who... I was cut off at that moment.
She curled into a sneer, her eyes flashing with contempt. "Save your nonsense, for who cares." she spat.
“And as for that imaginary man of yours, it’s either you visit a psychiatrist on your way out of here or perhaps he lied to you about his identity just to get in between your stinky legs.”
Her remarks made me shrink, and I felt a wave of fury come up inside of me. How could she, without knowing the whole story, make such terrible accusations?
"Excuse me?" I spat, my voice trembling with anger. "Who do you think you are, making such fucked-up stories about me? Do I look like a mad woman or a hooker to you?!”
Her features briefly displayed hesitation as her eyes expanded in surprise. "You definitely do, and a whore always gets dumped after a night stand.”
“In fact, you shouldn’t be roaming the streets freely; the king’s soldiers should capture and execute you immediately, cheap slut!”
“That’s it!”
Her words fanned the flames within me, and before I could stop myself, I reached up and gave her a forceful slap across the face. Everyone turned to stare at us as the sound of the slap resonated across the lobby and hushed the room.
The receptionist recoiled in shock, her hand flying to her cheek as she stared at me with wide eyes. "You... you little..."
“Shut it! I have had enough!” I shunned her.
I would have to set an example for these lowlife people, starting with the devil's first mistress in front of me, if I ever wanted to turn my life around, stop living in self-pity, and let them break the last bits of my heart.
~Audrina~I was seething with anger as I warned the receptionist not to talk nonsense. "I told you to watch your mouth, didn’t I? Now, I am going to make you eat your words!" I spat.She recoiled, her hand flying to her cheek as she glared at me with wide eyes. "How dare you lay your filthy hands on me?" she hissed, her voice laced with venom."How dare I? How dare you accuse me of such vile things! I could get you sued, you know!" I shot back, my fists clenched at my sides.Ignoring my protests, she covered her face and pretended to call security. "Security! We have a problem at the front desk. Please come quickly!" She exclaimed, her voice loud and shrill.I shook my head in disbelief, unable to comprehend how someone could be so heartless. "You're despicable and don’t deserve to work here," I muttered under my breath, my voice barely audible.But the receptionist wasn't finished yet. With a smirk on her face, she dropped another bombshell that left me reeling. "You know, Alpha was
~Audrina~The sound of Mabel slapping her cheeks reverberated through the lobby, followed abruptly by a horrified hush.I was startled to see her attack her with another one until the receptionist prevented the next, which made the other employees start talking behind their hands.Mabel appeared to have the advantage when she abruptly withdrew hers and gave her the last one, which rang directly in my ear and made the receptionist recoil in disbelief.“Madame, tell me, what have I done to deserve this?” She challenged Mabel, her eyes red with tears as her hand flew to her face in shock and pain.Mabel scoffed, casting her a dirty look. “You’re seriously asking me that question? After speaking to my clients so rudely like you own the company, Or is it the fact that you blocked my slap?”As if she didn’t care about her first offense, she countered, “That was assault, and I won’t stand for it.”“Good,” Mabel responded, a wide grin spreading across her lips as though she had been dying for
~Audrina~I never once anticipated that I would end up as the victim of a disastrous one-night stand, let alone that I believed the man who had entered was really him.Good Lord, I was going crazy, and my life was about to end if I couldn't think of a way out.Mabel's voice cracked again while I was still trying to figure out how to get out of this situation; there was no way I would endanger my life to abort my baby.She said in a serious tone, "Audrina, my dear, there's something else we need to discuss."I took a quick look at her and could instantly see that the message wasn't good. "What is it now?" With a hint of anxiety in my voice, I questioned.Mabel inhaled deeply and met my eyes with a steady gaze. "I know you don't know me, Audrey, but this could be the answer you've been searching for."It was Audrina; what was so hard to pronounce there?"I'm afraid you might not be able to handle it alone. Motherhood comes with a lot of responsibilities," she said, pausing, and I could
~JAMES-As her words repeated over and over again in my head, I hung up the phone and handled it roughly, swinging it to the coach nearby as I loosened my collar. How could she even suggest such a thing? I wasn't ready for such a lifelong commitment, so I could not just fathom her obsession with it."If only she would stop this madness." I murmured, cracking my knuckles as I thought about it.Perhaps she was fooling around, but I could only find out by calling her again to confirm."No, she sounded too serious." I remarked, sinking back into my executive chair as I exhaled in frustration.Wanting grandchildren was very much understandable since it was needed for the continuation of our bloodline, but she also needed to realize that good things take time.More like, I was avoiding the whole idea of love because it was non-existent."What's the problem, sire?" Dylan inquired the moment that he stepped his foot into my office.I hesitated to give him the details, but he was like family,
~AUDRINA~After my last meeting with Madame Mabel, she informed me that her son would be sending a delegate with some documents for me to sign, and I was curious to know what it was. As long as it was not a life commitment, then there was no problem at all.When the wait was beginning to get too long, I was close to giving up when he showed up at the point of meeting.“Sorry, I’m late.” The man apologized as he took a seat opposite mine, and I only flashed him a smile, having little or nothing to say.“It’s fine,”“Shall we proceed now?” He requested it, and I gave him a nod of approval.Bringing out a document from his bag, he placed it on the table, and my eyes darted towards it. I couldn’t read much of the details, but I was more eager than ever to do so.“Where are my manners? I forgot to give you a proper introduction. I’m Dylan, the Beta of Madame Mabel’s pack and a close friend to the man you would be marrying.” He announced.He seemed nice compared to the egoistic brat who did
~Audrina~As I stood before the mirror with the wedding dress draped over my shoulders, it felt like it was happening so fast. For the past two days, I have had sleepless nights because I kept shifting from nightmares to another with Paige trying to kidnap me on my supposed special day.However, the people assigned to make me the prettiest bride were actually so friendly that I loosened up a bit.As the makeup artist put the finishing touches on my face, her skilled hands worked so well that I almost couldn’t recognize myself.“Wow, you look absolutely stunning!” she exclaimed, stepping back to admire her work.“You’re going to be the talk of the kingdom for months with your pretty pictures everywhere.”A blush crept up my cheeks, but I was still unable to muster much enthusiasm.“All thanks to you,” I returned her kind words. “You are the one who did all the magic here.”She nodded in agreement but still countered my words, “Yes, that’s true, but if you didn’t have this alluring beau
~AUDRINA~A part of me kept screaming a gigantic yes, but the fear of the unknown made me think hard about the situation. What if Nicholas wasn’t the guy I used to know? He had never cheated on me before, and I was the one who was supposed to be on my knees, begging him to forgive me, but he was willing to give us a second chance.A nice guy if you asked me.I wanted to ask my wolf for her opinion, but I could already guess what her answer would be, so I never bothered. Nobody would understand my situation better than me.At this point, what mattered was my heart and happiness; it was yearning for Nicholas. Even if I was so terrified by the fact of eloping, it was a great idea to do it with the devil. I knew that an angel would treat me like his maid once we were alone.Besides, my stupid sister had already threatened me to leave, but what if this was a trap? No, Nicholas and Paige didn’t have any form of connection. In fact, she hated him and always mocked me for settling for a low l
~AUDRINA~After arguing with my wolf for a couple of minutes, I finally decided to prove her wrong by peering through the crack in the door, but what I witnessed made my heart sink to the bottom of my stomach. There in the room, Nicholas had his head fisted around the headboard, and with each thrust into her, the board slammed the wall.The center of the bed was literally soaked in their juices as he banged her even harder, as if he had been yearning for her for a long time now.I stumbled backwards, torn between barging into the room to confront them or turning away like a broken-hearted fool to finish what I had started.I shouldn’t have listened to him in the first place, but I was so blinded by love that I didn’t listen to the voice of reason from my wolf. She would definitely make me have an earful of ‘I told you so.’How could he do this to me? The whole time, he had been hooking up with my sister. Why did that even come off as a surprise? It was Paige that we were talking about