Chapter 0004

Carol’s POV

“I am requesting to be moved to a different client,” I announce. Zack starts laughing.

“What, scared off already?” Zack mocks. I don’t even bother looking at him.

“Why are you requesting to be moved?” Daniel asks. “The competition is meant to be fair. You both have the same file.”

Zack only laughs harder. “Oh, now I get it,” he snickers. “You’re backing out because you’re scared.” Finally, I shoot him a look.

“Why would I be scared?” I retort. Zack smirks.

“Because you don’t know anything about hockey. Lucky for our company, I do.” He turns to Daniel confidently. “Don’t worry, sir. I can take care of this.”

I rub my forehead and sigh. If only he knew the half of it. It’s true that I’m not a big hockey fan and Zack is — it always seemed like more of a werewolf thing to me. Werewolves, Alphas especially, have a tendency to be stronger than ordinary humans and excel in sports. Some humans liked to watch it, sure, but I never really had.

“Well, those are the terms of my decision,” Daniel says sternly. “If you don’t feel confident enough, it is your right to resign. I assure you I will write you an excellent letter of recommendation.”

I shake my head. “No, sir,” I say with determination. “I will take up the challenge.”

I ignore Zack and Sophia’s mocking looks and dig back into the file. As I thought, Aiden is renting temporarily while considering purchasing property. His budget is quite sizable — that means a large service fee for whichever real estate agent wins him over. The pressure is obviously high. I can see why Daniel was so insistent on assigning us this file.

Both Zack and I head back to our respective cubicles to continue reviewing the case. I’m pouring over the file when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I spare a moment to glance down and see a notification from Fiona.

‘How did it go last night?”

Reading the first message makes me groan. Where do I even begin? I think. Just as I’m about to respond, another message comes through.

‘Btw, just found out your handsome neighbor is apparently a famous hockey player?!’

I blink with surprise. He’s famous enough that she found out?! I notice that she attached a link to her message, and I can’t resist clicking on it.

I find myself directed to a webpage dedicated completely to Aiden. I scroll through in stunned silence as the information washes over me. Aiden isn’t just a star hockey player — he’s one of the most famous hockey players in the world!

The webpage goes into much more detail on his life from there. Aiden apparently comes from a wealthy Alpha family. The local hockey team he had transferred to had apparently fought for him tooth and nail, eventually settling on an annual salary of 60 million dollars. It takes all of my self control not to let my jaw drop.

I can’t help but look to see if there’s any information on his relationships. Since he slept with me, he’s likely one of the werewolves who doesn’t mind dating around before meeting his fated mate. He’s incredibly handsome and talented, so it’s not like he’d have trouble finding someone to keep his bed warm.

I swallow the bitterness rising in my throat. It’s to be expected that I’ll likely find no shortage of scandals and rumors.

As I look further, however, it’s not nearly as bad as I expected. There are a few rumors of Aiden being entangled with various celebrities and models, certainly, but each mention noted Aiden had publicly denied the reports. Even more interesting was a notorious public statement Aiden had apparently made.

‘Don’t believe the rumors you see online. If I ever do go public with a relationship, it will only be because I have found my fated mate.’

I feel a complex wave of emotions. This morning, Aiden’s note made me think he was interested in getting into a casual relationship to pass the time. Now, the thought seems foolish. Aiden most likely simply had a fun time last night and wanted to do it again.

The thought makes my eyebrows furrow with annoyance.

Great. Just another werewolf who thinks I’m disposable, I think sourly.

I already felt it was bad enough that he wanted to date around, but knowing I’m only a hookup only makes me feel worse.

I’m feeling annoyed by the entire situation. I don’t even want to tell Fiona about our tryst last night anymore — the thought is humiliating. I switch back to my messaging app and reply to Fiona.

‘It was alright. He walked me to my door, but it didn’t go anywhere. Thanks for checking in.’

I put my phone back in my pocket and turn back to the file. Despite the agitation that had only been building throughout the day, I won’t let anything stop me from doing a good job. I roll up my sleeves and begin the process of meticulously looking through the file. I refuse to resign.

I know that with my impressive resume of work experience, the issue isn’t that I wouldn’t be able to get another job. The issue is the principle of the idea. Zack is the one who wronged me. I will not let him uproot my life again.

An hour passes before my phone buzzes again. When I look to check it, I do a double take.

‘Are you lying to me?!’

I frown. How did she find out? Thinking I must have said something to give it away, I click on the notification to see the rest of our conversation. The next message almost makes me drop my phone in shock.

‘Isn’t Aiden talking about you in an interview right now?’

I quickly search for Aiden’s name online. Immediately, my attention is grabbed by the title of an article that came out only minutes ago: “Aiden Cruz hints at having a girlfriend — has the billionaire Alpha finally found his fated mate?”

My heart is pounding in my chest. I click on the link and scroll down to the video attached to the article. It looks like footage of an interview from today. The interview has hundreds of comments on it already.

Seeing Aiden’s face again so soon makes my heart skip a beat. Well, I clearly wasn’t just attracted to him because I was drunk, I think dryly. He’s dressed more formally than he was last night, wearing a fitted navy blue button down shirt and a pair of casual slacks. I feel myself becoming enraptured all over again.

It’s clear the interviewer is enraptured, too. Her face is flushed for the entire video and she’s constantly playing with her hair. Aiden is as charming as always and has the interviewer laughing almost nonstop. I ignore the strange feeling the sight gives me.

It’s toward the end of the interview when the subject of the article finally comes up. The interviewer leans forward with a conspiratorial expression on her face.

“As you probably know, many of your fans want to know if you’re still single…”

The interview trails off meaningfully and raises her eyebrows. Aiden laughs softly, clearly expecting the question. He runs a hand through his tousled hair and gets a faraway look in his eyes.

“Well… I guess I’m not anymore,” he says. The smile on his face is small, but it still makes my heart race. “I’m about to start a relationship with my new neighbor.”