Chapter 4 - Jackson

      I had sat at my desk, a mug of strong coffee by my side, working to go through the papers that I had allowed to build up over the last few days. Always a big mistake allowing it to build up. Paperwork was not my strongest skill. One of the roles I hated so much as an Alpha, and definitely one of the things I generally delegated when I could. But, today was the day I had promised to work through some of the paperwork I could not delegate. Which meant I would also be working through many mugs of strong coffee to allow me to still be fully functional by the end of the day, or I would likely end up in a heap asleep at my desk after the first few pieces of paperwork. 

   When suddenly the door to my office opened and Cayden strolled in, like he didn't have a care in the world. Never thinking to knock this guy. Thinking he owns the place, I swear! I am about to make a sarcastic comment as I so often do, when I realise he is not alone…

      Cayden stands alongside a petite, beautiful woman, with shoulder length blonde hair. Her eyes, an unusual deep, silvery-grey tone, are looking everywhere they can around the room other than at me or Cayden, which I have to admit is quite endearing… though I am sure she looks to be trembling, I am beginning to wonder if she is okay, when Cayden suddenly throws his arm around her shoulder like he is her best friend or something, taking me by surprise. And going off the look on the poor girl’s face, I would say I was not the only one surprised…

      “I do believe I have found Miss Anderson, ready and waiting for her interview and ideal for the job opportunity we are looking for. But I will say the little lady is a little on the nervous side with it being her first job interview outside her own pack, so go easy on her big man” he nods at me with a deep stare.

       ‘So take it easy on her, she seems terrified J.’ he adds via mindlink. Before doing what I could only class as something close to a bow as he stepped back toward the door. What in all of holy hell was this fool doing? Putting on a show for our guest?

     I look to Evelyn, she looks in shock, there is no other way of describing it. She looks ready to flee. Though I don’t think I could blame her considering Cayden’s recent behaviour! I would be asking him later if he had been drinking or something whilst working. Because that was weird. Her beautiful eyes were darting any which way they could to avoid making contact with me, as she fidgeted with her hands. I could certainly see what he meant about her seeming terrfied. 

     I cleared my throat, suddenly finding it dry, and she dropped her gaze to meet mine, and in that moment I felt my stomach clench in a way I cannot describe. I shook my head to clear my mind.

      “So, Miss Anderson… you met Beta Cayden” I smile. “I am Alpha Jackson, and I promise I am the normal one of the two of us.”

      I bear in mind what Cayden had said about trying to put her at ease, so tried to be as unthreatening and be as friendly as I could be. Though I know no matter how hard I tried sometimes I struggled with this according to people within pack…

     “Please, you can call me Evelyn or Evie.” She says quietly. “And yes, I met Beta Cayden. He was, erm…”

    She seemed to be thinking of a word to describe him that wouldn’t be insulting I assume. I could not help but laugh, interrupting her long pause as she thought.

     “You really don’t need to continue that. There are many ways we could describe Cayden. We will just say he was being a gentleman and trying to put you at ease, how is that?” I smile, trying to come up with something close to a reasonable cause for the way he was acting.

    She looked puzzled, but nods. Okay, maybe I chose the wrong words there…

    “Cayden said you were feeling a little nervous, I have to say you did look a little terrified when you came in, so I assume that wasn’t because of him?” I joke.

    She laughs, and her whole face brightens. Her eyes seem to almost shimmer. Her laughter is a glorious sound. My heart warms at the sound and I am suddenly confused, surprised by my own emotions…

   “As strange as he was, no, it wasn’t him.” she smiles, a genuine smile in my direction. “This will likely sound quite pathetic to someone like yourself, Alpha, I was nervous coming for an interview with you.”

   I see the anxiousness cross her face as she admits this, and I feel a tenderness toward her I do not expect. But quickly sweep that to one side. She seems to have let her guard down a little, so I am glad of that. “Cayden said this is your first role outside of your pack, so I think it is understandable to be a little anxious. Don’t worry, I am not too bad. Or I hope not.” I smile.

      She smiles awkwardly at me, looking up at me through long lashes. Giving me a glance of those beautiful deep, silvery-grey eyes once more… they are almost entrancing. You could get lost looking into them. So beautiful. I feel myself gulping, my mouth suddenly dry, then stop myself realising the thoughts going though my mind. This was not like me. I did not even know where those thoughts had come from. It had been a long time since thinking like that... 

   I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to cause myself pain, to clear my mind. Now tasting a hint of blood in my mouth as I spoke. “I have looked through your resume Evelyn, it looks like you have done some good work for your pack, will they not mind you working for us too? As the workload here could be quite considerable at times due to the companies we own too.” I quickly begin talking about business to distract my mind from the overwhelming emotions building in my chest.

     “I have discussed the possibility with both the Alpha and Beta, and they were happy with that. They have other staff that could do many of the role I do. The job opportunity you have here is better suited to my qualifications. Many of the roles I do in my pack as simple secretarial roles.” She says confidently.

       I nod. “And, a very important question here..." I begin, and she looks suddenly nervous again, likely expecting some proper interview questions now. "Do you think you could manage working with Cayden?” I say with a grin.

      She begins to laugh again. There it was, the laugh I was so desperate to hear once more. Her face lit up as she looked at me. “Well, that I would have to see, but I think I am willing to give it a go if you would be willing to give me an opportunity at the job.”

     I chuckle, she was good. “Well, considering there are not many people training in the role you do within the neighbouring packs, and nobody willing to move into our region from other packs out of area, due to the current conflict, you are in luck I think Evelyn. Because otherwise it would mean employing someone off pack, which brings many other complications in itself, especially if we need them to deal with any pack-business, so I think considering your qualifications, your good references, and your resume, as well as the other circumstances I mentioned; plus the vital fact you would even be willing to consider putting up with Cayden then how could I say no to you?”

      Her eyes widen at me. “Really?!” she smiles brightly. “You would be willing to give me the job?”

     Seeing her reaction I don’t think I would ever want to see her disappointed. The way her face brightens when she smiles is something else…

      I nod, her smile making me smile. “Welcome to Mystic Shadow Pack Evelyn, I look forward to working with you” I say with a smile, taking in her beautiful smiling face, those stunning silvery-grey eyes shimmering in the sunlight coming through the office window. Little did she know how much I was looking forward to working with her, yet I had no clue why she was having this effect on me…