With every passing day, the Taleman empire’s handsome CEO and secretary duo looked more haggard. The office ladies frowned and whispered in pity at the pathetic state of their eye candy bosses. Despite the efforts to look fresh and professional, the tell-tale sign of sleep deprivation beneath their eyes could not be hidden. Their perpetual coffee breaths and lackluster smiles broke hearts. However, the stubborn CEO and his aide wouldn’t accept any help from concerned employees.
Only the HR team knew the true reason for their haggard appearance. Ever since the search for caretakers began, CEO Taleman and Mr Beowulf looked more irritated and lifeless. Many candidates came and left the Taleman CEO’s office but none of them stayed long enough to lighten the personal burdens of the single father. The HR manager wouldn’t be surprised by their fickleness. None of them was qualified for the
Five minutes ago, Richard received a new message from the stand-in shifter tutor complaining about his pups’ conduct. Oliver started learning the bad influences from his older brothers and refused to do as he was told. Even though he wasn’t the worst troublemaker, he was still a fussy fluffball to manage.Immediately after the text, the CEO’s personal phone rang. Before the CEO could greet the other party, he was dropped with terrible news. The nightmares he had were coming true.“I’m quitting by the end of this week. Please find someone else to babysit your pups. I can’t deal with them.”It was the fifth time the shifter caretaker tried to resign, and the first few times, they were able to convince him to stay by increasing his pay. The last time he tried to quit, they redu
When Favian heard that his boss was going to interview a shortlisted candidate recommended by their HR, he almost booked himself the first flight back until Richard convinced him that he wouldn’t hire her on the spot.“You can sit in the interview and grill her if you want. Just stay in Lithuania and relax. Even if we don’t have a caretaker for the boys, Ambrose can look after them until you return for her trial period if you like her enough.”Hearing Richard’s promise to not act rashly, the secretary calmed down. However, he wasn’t convinced to leave Richard alone to meet her personally after hearing how Richard’s inner wolf felt about the candidate.“I’m going to ask Annie to sit in with you. She knows more about the school’s education requirements and ch
The interview with Emily Horton happened two days after. Favian and Annie were still sorting out some technical issues with the tablet while Richard was forced to visit the bathroom before the girl arrived. The CEO felt that it was a little ridiculous to be treated like a child at his age by his best bud. However, he understood that his secretary was concerned about his accidental meeting with the interviewee. After all, the CEO and secretary were out on business trips and couldn’t attend in person, according to Annie.Waiting for Emily to show up made Richard feel like a kid again. When was the last time he felt giddy with butterflies in his stomach? His palms were a little clammy, and no matter how the CEO tried to focus on his work, his eyes kept drifting towards his wrist to check the time.The meeting was decided on ten in the morning, and Richard en
Stunned by her pure beauty with just a smile, Richard didn’t realise that his mouth was parted until Favian cleared his throat.“And pray tell, why would you do that?” the bespectacled man asked.The smile on Emily’s face grew wider, but there was some sadness in her eyes. Whatever answer these people were expecting, they certainly weren’t expecting Emily to play dead in the face of violence. Ordinarily, people would retaliate. However, her rather religious grandmother often taught Emily with an extraordinary amount of patience, kindness and forgiveness that what others did unto her should not be reflected in haste if it was negative. Negativity only begot negativity, and it took the stronger party to become that ray of light this dark world needed.Although Emily couldn’t become
After selling her grandmother’s house and paying off all her debts, Emily Horton learned to travel light without many physical possessions. The minimalist lifestyle on the go wasn’t too terrible. She had all her essentials and needed only a few sets of clothing for interviews. She did not wear makeup and used dual-usage products instead of a whole line of specialist beauty essentials. Whatever she needed, she would buy from stores to be used whenever required. Apart from that, all of her belongings fitted nicely in one plain duffel bag.“You’re leaving for real?” a tangled haired night worker asked while taking her morning puff.Emily looked at the lady with smeared make-up. Her housemate must have entertained clients last night at a back alley or something, judging by her ripped tights and shag appearance. Although she wasn’
“That’s all?” Annie could hardly believe her eyes when Emily returned.Even for a minimalist, this was too little belongings to move! When the red-haired young lady told her she was homeless, it was a little hard to believe. She looked very well groomed despite the circumstances. However, that single duffel bag of belongings spoke volumes about the hardship she must have suffered.“Do you have all the essentials like shampoo, toothbrush and soap?”Emily nodded. “It’s not a lot, but I have some.”Looking at the duffle bag, the HR Manager wondered if she should get Emily other things that she might need. Even if the staff dormitory was furnished adequately, there would still be little things missing that required employees to
Emily didn’t know what to think about all the lovely things and benefits she had been receiving from those who worked at Taleman Incorporation. She met many kinds of people in her life, but it was the first time the copper-haired angel experienced a non-hostile, depressed or toxic environment full of giving and kindness. If she didn’t know she was still living on Earth, Emily might have mistaken Taleman Incorporation for Utopia.Initially, she accepted help from Annie because the HR Manager looked like a genuinely kind person who wished to help her not out of pity but concern. However, even after an introduction to some of the employees who lived in the upper-end apartment complex privately owned by the CEO, Emily discovered that Annie wasn’t the only nice person. The reason for their generosity wasn’t really for themselves either. It was for someone else.
A week passed quickly, and by some form of miracle, Favian finally got the tedious politician to sign the deal. He booked the first flight back at once, but it was still delayed. Hence, Richard had to trouble Annie to brief Emily about her task in Favian’s absence. The CEO was still avoiding his mate to the best of his abilities because he was unsure of how he would react in her presence when his inner wolf was acting more out of control with each passing day.Back at the mansion, the boys were already studying how to impress a lady with Ambrose’s unhelpful intervention. Richard couldn’t stop them all, but he managed to avert the worst ideas, such as sniffing someone’s butt, cheesy pick-up lines, and giving her roasted squirrels that they hunted.Honestly, these pups were going to struggle a lot trying to woo their future mate with Ambro
In a blink of an eye, two years passed quickly. Richard and Favian deliberately took some off time from work to attend the important occasion that afternoon with the boys who took special leave from the boarding school.Oliver, William, Ludwig and Darren sat proudly on their chairs as the presenter announced the names of the graduates. One by one, they watched the cohort’s graduates walk up to the stage and shake hands with an old man before posing for pictures and walking down the stage with their certificates.“Where’s Emma?” William asked, and Oliver pulled his brother to sit on the chair properly. The youngest of their pack was still rather ill-mannered.“Patience,” Ludwig smiled. “They will call her name soon. You’ll see.”
The purple sunset on the horizon made a beautiful backdrop for their candlelit dinner date. Richard outdid himself and arranged for a romantic beachside set up on the sand and under the sky so Emily could enjoy the sea breeze and sound of waves during the low tide. The venue looked like something out of a magazine, giving off a magical atmosphere.“Enjoy your meal,” the waiter smiled and left after serving the couple some fancy seafood pasta.Richard grinned at how Emily marvelled at everything. It took him a few days to organise this with some string-pulling after Ambrose insisted he put more effort into wooing his mate. Things were gradually changing in their lifestyles for the better with each day Emily was around in the Blue Moon Mansion. The Fenrir changed so much around Emily. The werewolves could hardly believe their lazy and bigoted founding
Two months passed quickly after the family meeting. Emily was slowly getting used to the shifter lifestyle, although there was a lot of compromise and arguments between her and Ambrose over the children’s education.Today, it was no different.“They need to learn how to defend themselves!” Ambrose growled, and Emily raised a brow.“There will be no robbers with guns in the boarding school that they need to disarm or kill,” she reasoned. “Rich- Mr Taleman doesn’t choose schools with poor security. If it happens, they will have to go out of business. If anything, they need to learn how to eat with proper dining etiquette more than disarming a robber. You might not care about it, but bad dining manners signify inferior upbringing among humans.”
“She’s here!” Ambrose announced tipsily as Favian sighed in frustration at the chaos.In the short span he left to find the home tutor, Richard managed to engage in a drinking competition with the other alphas. They might be going easy on him by choosing a less destructive method of competing as alphas but dealing with a drunk Richard Taleman was almost as troublesome as having ten Ludwigs high on sugar.“Emily!” Richard beamed and waved uncoordinated to the copper-haired human.Almost at once, everyone turned their attention to the little protection squad around her. Emily nearly froze on the spot. If it wasn’t for Favian acting as a shifter barricade, she might have suffered a heart attack from how predatory everyone looked.Ev
“Stinky one-eyed bastard!”“Old furless mutt!”“Bring it on, you fangless faggot!”Of all the things Emily mentally prepared for, the slew of vulgarities and flying furniture was not one of them.The front yard that was brilliantly decorated was reduced to a mountain of trash with shifters growling at each other. The expensive handmade tapestry was torn, the special ordered outdoor carpet was ruined with mud, the steel chairs were bent at different angles, and Ambrose was organising a gambling den for the makeshift fight ring full of rowdy shifters.Emily wasn’t even fazed by the sight of wolf ears, swishy tails or exposed fangs during the day. They reminded her of the boys when she f
Escorting Emily from the beauty parlour was a whole new experience. Although she looked wonderful whenever he saw her, the beauty parlour lived up to its reputation and turned Emily into a goddess. Richard almost dropped to his knees there and then to worship her but remembered that they were still among humans.He stood before her and said nothing, taking in her scent and appreciating the difference good clothes and makeup did to her. Wolves were particular about strong human scents, so Richard was happy how the beauticians did not use products that hid Emily’s earthy scent. He liked how the colours complimented her natural beauty without changing who she was. It was perfect!“You look stunning,” Richard finally breathed after his mind caught up. The wolf inside was howling in delight at the fine mate they had.
Richard was nervous. He had reasons to be. Favian shared his pack brother’s feelings as well. Ms Gwayne was more than a roommate. According to the more detailed private investigation, the older lady took Emily in when she was homeless for months and treated her like a daughter. Ms Gwayne was Emily’s foster mother in some ways, and making a good impression on the future mother-in-law was a higher hurdle than winning the approval from all the packs at the family meeting this weekend.“Are the preparations ready?” Richard whispered, fiddling with his seatbelt.Favian sighed. The excitement from the pups through the bond did not help Richard ease up. If anything, the CEO checked his hair for the fourteenth time since they left the company. He texted Emily to let her know they would be back soon, and she replied that her foster mother was get
Family meeting…Emily had no idea what she should do at the meeting. As someone who was considered an outsider to their secret society, Emily did not want to make enemies. Richard was the prophesied child who was constantly under Ambrose’s protection. There would be countless shifters who might be envious or simply unhappy with Richard, right? Would it truly be alright for her to attend such an event when she wasn’t fully ready to give Richard her reply? What if she could not give him a reply to his confession before this weekend?The more Emily thought about it, the more confused she became. Even if she liked her boss in a romantic sense, Emily did not know what to do with those feelings. Richard had children even if they were not biologically his. Ignoring the supernatural secret, they were too different. What kind of funny fate tied
As whimsically as he decided to come, Ambrose finished his promised egg tarts and disappeared into thin air. He kissed her copper strands and promised that they would be seeing each other again rather soon over the weekends at the family meeting.“Don’t forget to bring some treats. I’m sure the other packs would appreciate your gifts!”As Ambrose dematerialised, Emily stood dumbly in the kitchen. The fridge door was still wide open, so she closed it, feeling as if she had aged ten years from the brief encounter with the mysterious Fenrir. Exhausted, even if it wasn't even time for dinner, Emily dragged herself to the living room to check on the boys’ homework.From upstairs, four pairs of curious eyes studied Emily. Their tutor had been staring at the same page for the last five minutes