Chapter Two

M I K H A I L

"Well, I'm just glad that was over," I say with a sharp exhale as I climb into the backseat of the SUV. "Now we can go back to normal."

"Or new normal, considering Olivia's fans are still coming after you," my cousin and my executive assistant Evan says dryly. He points at the other side of the street to show me a group of adolescent girls trying to take a picture of the car. "I bet it's going to be worse online."

"Please," I mumble. "What's the worse they can do?"

I roll the window up and signal the driver to go, and soon we're cruising down the streets toward my office downtown.

Am I excited to get back to work considering that I have that public conference tomorrow? Well, no. Because that was just a PR stunt that Evan suggested I should do.

The truth is, I did give Olivia Lacroix the impression that she and I had something special going on. I wanted her to be at the front and center of the ad campaign we're launching for a perfume line of Belladona, one of the fashion brands that I have acquired under Satellite. She was the ‘it’ girl of recent years, and I figured hey, she’ll be a great asset.

Well, I was wrong. I was also wrong for taking that a step too far by using gifts and personal chauffeurs to convince her. I was wrong for letting her run off with the idea that I was interested in her. Because not more than a week later, she made a post saying that I was trying to get with her.

That blew up insanely. It even got covered by so many news outlets. Then, she took it a step further and tried to visit me in my own office. When I told her that I was just trying to get her for the campaign, she made a scathing post about me.

And don’t get me wrong, she’s gorgeous. She’s totally my type. I would have given it a chance, but I can’t.

I literally can’t, because she’s a human and I’m a Lycan.

Not even that, I’m next in line to the throne as the Lycan King.

Us Lycans have been driven out of our homes in the dense forests by development. Our homes were starting to get exposed, and in fear that we would be next, we as a group decided to adapt to human society.

But we didn’t know that our Lycan instincts would be too strong, because a single contact with a human could ignite our defense mechanism and make us shift without our control.

This is especially strong with me.

I can’t be within a foot of a human because I could feel my Lycan awakening. I know for sure that any kind of skin-to-skin contact with a human would definitely guarantee bloodshed and chaos.

And why is it difficult for me? It’s because I’m the most powerful Lycan born in centuries, which is unfortunate since Lycans are not in their natural homes anymore. I’m a Protector, my parents say, bred to keep my brethren safe from the enemy. And since humans are natural-born enemies of Lycans, they trigger this protective side and bring out the monster in me.

This is why I have a five-foot rule with humans and a brigade of Lycan guards. I’m basically a walking landmine, one touch and I will get set off.

After a long while of traveling and battling traffic, we finally arrive at the office.

There seems to be some kind of tension hanging in the air, probably because the public conference was impromptu and I had to make everyone work overtime. Still, I find it pretty strange that no one has met my eye yet.

“Don’t tell me Olivia is here again,” I tell Evan as we board the elevator. “Because if she keeps doing it, I will have to file a restraining order on her.”

“Noted on that.”

“Good.” I fix my suit as the elevator door opens. “Because I’m getting really sick and tired of. . . .”

I trail off when I see who’s waiting for me at my office. It’s not Olivia. It’s even worse.

“Mom,” I croak in a strangled voice. “Dad.”

“Mikhail!” Mom gets up from the black leather couch and opens her arms for a hug. “We’ve missed you!”

“I missed you too,” I say, but inside I’m panicking. What the hell are they doing here? Why now? “Er, I thought you guys were in Sweden, no?”

“Well, we did miss the LA weather,” Dad says. “But we’re not here for the sun, I’m afraid.” He motions me to take the spot next to Mom. “Please, sit.”

While I don’t appreciate being told what to do in my very own penthouse office, I take a seat next to Mom. Evan looks horrified, and wordlessly, he vanishes back into the elevator and leaves me alone. That bastard.

My parents just smile at me like two creepy puppets, and I can say comfortably that I’ve never been this scared in my entire life.

“What brings you here?” I ask when I couldn’t take it anymore. “Not missing me or the weather, I assume.”

Dad clears his throat. “Well, we reunited with some of our relatives and they all had the same concerns when they heard you were once again involved with a human fashion model.”

I almost groan in exhaustion, but I grit my teeth and say, “It wasn’t like that at all. She totally misunderstood everything and I don’t like her that way--”

“Yes, we know.” Mom has a rictus smile plastered on her face. “The point is . . . your behavior is getting a little too repetitive. One human model after the other, all heartbroken because you don’t want to date them. Or even be around them at all. Our relatives, your dad and I included, are worried that people might start to pick up on your habits and draw some conclusions.”

“What do you mean by that?”

It’s Dad who answers, “We mean that you might draw some suspicion to our family and our kind by acting that way. We noticed that you have been too uptight around humans, even risking our reputation just to get away from them, as you do with all these models.”

“What?” I splutter. “It was all just a misunderstanding. Where did you get these ideas?”

Mom and Dad look at each other. He sighs. “We’re worried that you’re not fit to be the CEO and the Lycan King, Mikhail. We are worried that you’re not well-adapted enough for this world.”

My heart sinks. Right into the floor and down to hell. For a whole moment I can’t speak. All I can do is stare at the wall, trying to process what I just heard.

“You think I can’t control myself around humans?” I ask in a low voice. “You think I will blow our cover and pose a threat . . . all because I refused to date any of those women?”

“Not just that,” Mom says gently. “We also noticed that you haven’t taken any human business since you took over. You’ve surrounded yourself with Lycans only--”

“That’s what you told me to do!” I yell, now upset. I start pacing the floor. “I did that because that was your advice! I am holding an open conference tomorrow too, for all humans!”

My mom’s eyes light up. “That’s really good! That’s what we need. That’s what we want to hear, Mikhail. We want to see you blending in!”

Dad still looks unfazed. “How about the more public aspect of things? What about those women who are now tarnishing our reputation? What about--”

“I can’t date them, and that’s it,” I say.

“Why?” He also rises to his feet. “Because they’re human? Because you can’t stand to be around them and control yourself?”

“Because I. . . .”

I trail off, my anger shooting through the roof out of nowhere. I’m enraged. Livid. I can’t believe the kind of treatment I am getting for simply following what they have told me before, and that is to stay away from humans.

But maybe they’re right. Maybe my public issues might arouse suspicion. And I don’t want to lose any of the titles that belong to me.

Dad steps up to me and stares me straight in the eye. “Why do you stay away from humans? Why do you refuse to work closely with any of those human women?”

I meet his eyes, then out of nowhere I declare, “Because I’m already in love with a human woman.”

Fuck.

The effect of it is instantaneous. Mom cheers and claps with actual tears in her eyes, and Dad looks so relieved that he basically deflated in front of me. As I start to zone out, they hug me, congratulating me and telling me they want to meet her as soon as possible. And in a daze, I tell them that it would be a surprise, that I would bring her home for dinner next week.

They like it. In fact, I think they just straight-up love it. They think it would make me less dangerous, to date a human woman. I personally think it would be perfect. It would show that I have self-control, and that I can still be the Lycan King and the CEO of Satellite.

The only problem is that I lied.

I’m not dating a human woman. I can’t. I have tried to get close, only to feel that telltale rise of energy and strength and hunger. There haven’t been exceptions. Ever.

But now I have to find a human woman who I won’t be tempted to kill.