LilyA sense of profound unease settled over me, like a dark cloud obscuring any hope of dismissing what I had experienced.I stood, under the silence if the bathroom. The shampoo was long forgotten.I was lost in a maelstrom of emotions—fear, disbelief, and a gnawing sense of dread.I didn't know how long it took my to finally move. How many minutes had passed before I reached out to turn the shower back on. The water from the shower continued to cascade over me, but my mind was in turmoil.‘It was real.’Everything I had seen then. The imagery of wolves tearing down people. Of that man. It was all real.Fighting my growing panic I took what was the bare minimum of a shower, running out immediately i was done as though something chased me by the heels.Stumbling into my room I fell onto my bed curling up and trying to ease the panic wavering inside me.Slowly, my gaze drifted to the undamaged bedroom door, to it's soft polished surface standing resolutely on its hinges, betraying no
LilyI walked into the office with a sense of routine, my footsteps echoing softly on the polished floors. I passed Alexander's office, but to my surprise, the blinds were completely closed, revealing nothing.It was the first time I had ever seen it in this state. My brow furrowed as I stepped closer, sweeping over the closed door and opaque blinds. Was there anything wrong?There was a nagging sense of unease that settled in the pit of my stomach.Recalling what Ron had told me, a rush of relief flowed in. Of course. It wasn't unusual for Alexander to be away on business trips or go away for long periods of time. There was no need to be worried after all. As I took a seat at my own office near his, I couldn't help but wonder why his absence felt more noticeable this time. After all, when I first started working in the hotel as his personal secretary, It was just one more thing I had to get used to.But now, with the realisation that he was gone, I found myself pondering the rea
LilyHolding my breath I knocked and opened his door. Surprise filled me at the reminder that he was actually there.‘Had he arrived today?'He looked unchanged. There was something about his eyes…I shook my head. I was thinking a bit too much.“You called me sir?” I asked, preparing for everything.He dropped the documents, turning towards me with a neutral gaze that.“You are to follow me to my meeting.” his voice held an air of finality. It was a clear command.Heavy silence hung in the air, broken only by the faint sound of breathing . 'What?' The word echoed in my mind like a relentless mantra. I was completely taken off guard by the sudden order.Any plans I had were upended, my mind blank as I struggled to process it.My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of Alexander's voice.“Leave and prepare." He spoke with an air of finality waving me away like a nuisance. "We'll be leaving in an hour."The sensible thing to do was to agree and turn away to do as he said. Bu
LilyAs the days turned into weeks, a new routine began to establish itself.Before, my life was an ordinary desk job, overseeing meetings at times, but nothing else.Now all of a sudden Alexander was dragging me to accompany him on his business meetings. I had thought the first was a fluke until the next one came the day after. Meeting after meeting, event after event, I followed him through it.The constant whirlwind of activity threw me off balance. But I quickly adapted, at the risk of sacrificing my friend-dates with Malina and talking to Lisa and Ron in the office.But even then, a part of me wondered why I was suddenly being dragged along for these things. Most of my time spent there was spent sitting down and doing absolutely nothing. It didn't help that Alexander, despite carrying me along, barely said a word to me aside from orders.Being near him was frustrating from his constant silence, but his close proximity never failed to remind me of how attractive he was. During th
LilyDaniel Bennet, stood leaning against the wall. His gaze was fixed directly on me, and a smirk played at the corners of his lips. I shifted, my back bumping against the door I just closed from the fright.“Hello there. I must say, that was quite an exit you made.” he said.The bitter taste of my vomit still remained in my mouth and my body felt heavier with every growing second. But staringWhy was he here? What about the meeting?I struggled to find my voice, bracing past the slight ache in my head to finally speak.“We took a short break you see. I was quite concerned when a beauty like you suddenly disappeared.”‘Oh.’ I relaxed slightly, though the last part of his sentence didn't sit quite right with me, I shrugged it off."Mr. Bennet," I began, my voice trembling slightly. "I apologise for any inconvenience caused. It was unprofessional of me to leave the meeting like that."He chuckled, his eyes never leaving mine. "No need to apologise, Miss Grace," he said. "After all,
Lily"Right on time Miss Grace." Alexander said, his voice ringing clear through the silence.I didn't speak, didn't respond. My gaze was fixated on him. Daniel Bennett, seated in a chair.He was far from the man I saw before, or even the celebrity pictures Marina used to show me. His face was swollen, a large purple bruise present. Though his hair was styled and face made up, the bruise remained present. Even then, there lay a smug grin on his face. Swallowing the knot in my throat, I closed the door behind me and approached the large table, trying to maintain my composure despite the mounting tension in my body. Nathan nodded at me in acknowledgment as I sat down next to him. I hoped that his presence would provide some support. To my dismay, his face held no expression, added to the uncertainty of the situation and made me even more unnerved.His job was also at stake, for defending me.And the reason for it all was…I clenched my jaw as I met Daniel's smug, unrepentant smile. I
Lily The entire room was filled with silence as Daniel remained resolutely on the ground.Alexander punched him. Holy shit. He punched him!It was so sudden that I didn't catch it, much less believe it. The man I knew was usually composed and calm, so what on earth did he…On that thought, nevermind. I pushed away all previous thoughts in favor of looking at him.Tingles spread through me at the sight. His jaw was clenched, his hair in slight disarray.‘He looked hot.'Looking down at his fisted arms, a zing of heat ran through me.Looking down at his fisted arms, a zing of heat ran through me.I must have been insane to feel this way about violence. Yet it didn't stop the curling sensation in my belly.My thoughts came to a halt the moment I spotted movement.Daniel slowly stood up, stumbling back and forth like a drunkard. There was no doubt that the punch hadn't left him winded.It took a few more seconds before he stayed in place. His face, still contorted in pain, twisted with i
LilyOut of all the strange things that happened, that dream was the second strangest.I couldn't get that dream out of my mind or the imagery of Alexander and the wolf. No matter how hard I tried, it lingered like a melody in the back of my mind.How had I thought of that? What did it mean? All those questions remained unanswered.It didn't help that now I had a pretty long time to think. After the incident with Daniel Bennet, there were no longer any meeting calls for the past few days. On one hand I welcomed the reprieve from the constant movement abd the distance it brought between Alexander and I.I was attracted to him. Hell, I was sure there were plenty of people, it made no difference. But I worked for him and was carrying his child.“Lily?” Sooner or later I was going to face him again. “Lily?” A warm touch suddenly appeared on my arm. Turning immediately to the source I met Lisa's green eyed gaze. She looked concerned.‘Oh no.' Remorse instantly washed over me once it all
Lily“I know what my next question is.” I saidHe looked up from the documents while the taste omelette I'd just had was fresh in my mouth.He'd called me to his office again for breakfast. My instinctive refusal died at his stare. I had a feeling that this was going to be a regular thing.Without giving him a chance to speak, I asked.“Why did you choose me to plan the Gala?” I asked, “Was it because of our agreement or Emilia?”“Thays two questions,” he pointed out,“Oh,” I flushed instantly. I didn't know why I was so embarrassed when it was just a fluke but either way, I wasn't taking anything back. The seconds felt longer as I waited for his answer. I wasn't searching for validation, I just wanted to know.His icy blue eyes met mine.“I know you don't believe in what I say— for good reason, but that's the truth. I wouldn't entrust this to anyone else out of pity or a whim.” he said,“Every word I said in the meeting room was true. Your work as an event planner before entering t
LilyWhen dinner came hours later, I'd stepped down wearing the pyjamas I'd taken. There wasn't any need to dress fancy when there was nobody to impress.The air held that same awkwardness from before, yet my heart was more settled. Ignoring the tumble in my belly as I murmured a greeting, I focused on the food immediately for the second time that day to stave away the tension.I'd barely forgiven him, so I was far from eager to start a conversation. That is, until his throat cleared next to me.“How was work?” He asked“It was fine. I did everything you told me to.” I replied curtly before finally looking up to face him, “This isn't part of the deal.” I said. The clunking of cutlery stopped when he looked at me.“What do you mean?” he asked. Under his gaze I could only shrug.“We…we only agreed on you asking things regarding the baby. There's no need to make any other conversation.” I faltered at first, but at least I made my point clear. I was already weary of false pleasantries
Lily “What?” I gasped, were it not for her smile I would have believed it was a prank. But her expression remained the same. “It's true. I'm guessing it'll be revealed in a meeting later, so try not to act unsurprised.” she said as she pulled away. I could still barely catch up with her words.“But…why?” I asked incredulously. As far as this company was concerned, I was hired as a secretary. “I suggested it, but it was Alexander who gave the final call.” she replied, shrugging.My mind went blank instantly. Yes, I was an event planner before losing my job. Yes, I enjoyed it and despite my initial joy when I first got this job, I still couldn't compare it to the thrill. But why would he do this?And a Gala at that? I had dealt with planning for large parties and weddings, but a Gala wass something else, much less an Annual Gala of what was one of the largest conglomerate hotels.The real question was what he was thinking when accepting this. Did he decide this the night before afte
Lily‘Was I doing the right thing?’That was the first thing I thought the moment I locked my door. Leaning onto it, I closed my eyes.The buzz of adrenaline hadn't stopped racing and my thoughts were still going to haywire.It was Malina’s words yesterday that was the tipping point. She was trying to assure me that I could leave, yet it had done the exact opposite. Somehow her talking about ‘fathers’ sent a different trim of thought entirely. It remained stuck in my mind throughout and the day after, especially after the incident with Alexander.My mother raised me just fine and I hadn't borne any resentment, especially not after knowing the truth of his absence, but could I say the same for my child? Not to mention that he wasn't going to be entirely human in the first place. That issue had bothered me for the longest time, settling doubts even if I was stubborn enough to try to deny them at first. It wasn't just being a werewolf. Even if I was resolute on helping there was noth
Alexander ‘They were footsteps.’That was the first thought that entered my mind as I met her gaze. The tapping sounds were footsteps coming from her and I hadn't noticed it until she was right in front of me, just like the last time she was here. It was ironic. I'd been so focused on her that I didn't notice her presence until it was too late, twice.But then came the question; why was she here?Under the lights, she looked slightly flushed. I could sense her slightly quickened heartbeat yet her face remained neutral and expressionless. There was something different about her gaze. The hardness from the walls shed built up was still there, yet there was a hint of something else. Resignation? Curiosity? It took me a few more seconds to realise that I was openly gaping. Before the embarrassment could set in, she'd moved away, taking her place on the seat beside me, her usual place.I trailed her frame but then noticed the empty space on the table. I took action swiftly, sending a qu
Alexander “I would have thought you'd be asleep by this time.” He chuckled. It grated on my ears.“If you thought so, you wouldn't have called.” I replied smoothly, keeping the scathing anger inside.“So you were expecting my call then?”“My Beta informs me of every contact coming through the pack. You of all people should understand.” He chuckled again as if I'd told a joke and it took everything in me to not crush the phone with my bare hands.“Isn't that funny? My Beta has the tendency to run around, being in places he's not supposed to be in. He's quite a troublemaker you see.”A knot formed in my gut. Of course, now he would mention Sirius. He'd left the city anticlimactically after days of monitoring, less than a week after I'd moved Lily into my home. After his disappearance, there had been no other ‘incidents’, hunters or rogues or otherwise. His presence alone was proof of Marcus's actions yet now he was pinning it on Sirius being a ‘troublemaker’.“Does that explain his p
Alexander Ever since that night she suffered the nightmare, I'd been paying more attention to her. The only things I knew or wanted to know in the past were the things that I counted as important. Things to let me take advantage of her, but now I was taking notice of everything, even if it was in our spare interactions and my glances in meeting rooms.‘She bites her pen when she's nervous.’‘She knows that I'm staring at her.’‘She's stubborn. Immensely stubborn.’‘She's better at hiding her emotions than I thought.’As I continuously offered dinner and expectantly got rejected, I still kept that in mind, noticing what she often asked for and what the pack members brought her.“She prefers meat, no doubt due to the baby.”“She likes anything citrus aside from peaches.”‘She still isn't sleeping well.’I knew that her nightmares still persisted. Every night the tug of restlessness that woke me up told me so. I stayed at the locked door, wondering if it would be acceptable to break it
Lily In the night, I was prepared for another round of nightmares. Skipping over the melatonin, I silently braced myself for the semi-sleepless night.I woke up as usual in the middle of darkness. I didn't feel any different nor did I have a nightmare. Sitting up, I was about to pick up my phone when th I noticed the shadow beside me A scream nearly left my lips until I realised who it was. My fears instinctively turned to anger and hostility.“How the hell are you here?” I bit out, hostile despite my racing heartbeat.On the other side of the bed, sitting on the chair, Alexander stared agape, like he hadn't expected me to be awake.‘My suspicions were correct then,’ I thought. It came together, the slight hints of scent so faint I thought, hoped, was my imagination. The occasional feeling of warmth and the strange emptiness when I woke up.Not to mention the hints of voices I heard in my dreams. Comforting words I swore were just my imagination.‘I’m here. Nothing would hurt you,’
Lily“Alright then,” Claire smiled victoriously, “I'll leave you alone now.”I smiled tiredly as she packed up her tools, taking the empty dishes with her. Under Claire's instructions — which were more like commands, I was forced to take things easy, eating constantly and sleeping or relaxing every other time in-between. She often came over to make sure I was eating well.The results were drastic. The weakness that had plagued me for weeks faded during the first few days and I felt fuller. Even though I was set on going to work the day after the first few days, the routine hadn't changed. The results of her second search were partly disappointing yet not. I should have known that sleeping pills weren't allowed for pregnant women and the last thing I wanted was to endanger him in the first place. She gave me melatonin pills in its stead which was equally as effective yet I couldn't take them constantly. I didn't mind. Some sleep was better than none at all. Although napping in the