02

Her heels clicked against the floor with a rhythm as she headed for the elevator. Her manager was still in front, while her PA positioned himself behind. She moved with an effortless grace; heads turned and eyes followed her every measured step. 

While majority of the on-lookers stared with astonishment, others clad in suit costumes stared with warm smiles on their faces - the staff of the hotel. Even if they were too frozen to smile, they had to 'cause that was their boss. 

Jerika got into the elevator with the two men beside her and watched the floor indicator panel as it counted up to the fourth floor and stopped. That wasn't her floor, it had obviously stopped for someone. The elevator doors slid open, revealing the face of a young man on medicated glasses. He held a cup of milkshake with him which he drew from, his eyes were lost in his smartphone. He knew when the elevator doors opened, but when he lifted his gaze to behold the occupants, his lips pulled away from his straw. 

He gasped shockingly, letting the anxiety crawl into his face. The sight before him was rare - he was standing at such a close range with Jerika Krester!

"M...M... Ma'am," he stuttered nervously with a chuckle as his head lowered. "My...my goodness! It's you...!"

Jerika, her hands folded access her chest, had no vestige of concern as she stared at him. Her eyes were as cold as ever - savagely cold. 

"Take the next elevator, man," her P.A uttered before clicking on the button that shut the doors. 

Jerika didn't make as little as a sigh as the elevator resumed it's journey up. She never liked compliments, and since people were fond of giving it to her, she'd gotten bored. 

They finally hit their floor and the doors slided open. This time around, she stepped out first and walked ahead of her manager and P.A. She knew the seventh floor was limited and wouldn't be crowded by people she'd need to be shielded from. 

The seventh floor wasn't a regular floor for rooms, but one that was restricted to just conference rooms. 

The space from the elevators was vast and the spotless floors sparkled with the reflection of lights on it - especially from the crystal chandelier that was hung right in the middle of the hall. 

Securities in suits and dark glasses were positioned at certain points, each having an intercom fixed around their ears. 

As Jerika approached them, they bowed with so much respect - their body language interpreted just how much they were willing to do anything for her. Jerika barely looked at them as she maintained a straight face. And finally, they walked into the conference room. 

A long table surrounded by occupied seats welcomed her eyes the moment she stepped in. She didn't halt a step, but went right in like she wasn't ruffled by their sudden numbers. She hadn't expected them to be that much.

Her P.A was close behind her and drew back her seat which she took with ease. Now seated and relaxed, she ran her eyes through the number in the room; they were about eleven - nine Alphas and two police men. Although, there was one other woman in the room, but she was not on the table. She sat behind in a corner, seething with fury as she glared at Jerika's direction. Jerika equally glared at her before looking away. The table was meant for Alphas alone, not for the wives of Alphas. 

"You kept us waiting, Jerika," one of the aged Alphas said, but with a benign smile. "I thought you'd arrive faster seeing that you'd suggested we made use of your hotel."

Jerika said nothing but simply crossed her hands across her chest. Her P.A and manager stood behind her.

The men gawped at her, like they expected her to say something, but it wasn't a surprise to them when she didn't. Jerika was a woman of little words. 

"Okay, since she's here already, let's just dive into the meeting."

Although, the Alphas tried to conceal their mood, Jerika could still see how displeased majority of them was. The younger Alphas - about three of them - didn't try putting on a fake mood to please her, but they couldn't do anything other than that. 

"Um...Mr Evans, can you go ahead and lay your complaint?" The senior Alpha gave the go-ahead. He was an aged man with gray hair, although his strength was still intact. 

Jerika was not pleased with the cops presence as it only meant one thing. 

"Sure, thank you for the audience," Mr Evans cleared a lump in his throat and sat up. He pulled out some papers from his file and spread over the table. 

"For some days now, we've been getting attacks from your people. It's scaring the humans who's been filing these complaints. Not to sound rude, but you know we all had an agreement - as long as your people do not hurt ours, we're free to co-exist. 

"The other day, a fight had broken out at Dreamer's lane. Some mere boys and wolves were involved, and you wouldn't want to see the state of those boys after the fight. Although, the wolves had remained in their human form, those boys had been brutally wounded.

"nother set of wolves also attacked a grocery store and made away with a lot of items. Three days ago, a rout of wolves had shown up in an amusement park and ended up scaring the kids away. We all agreed the wolves should never turn in the streets, but they violated that rule and did.

"We actually appreciate the relationship we've had with the wolves for so long and wouldn't want it tarnished. So, please, we strongly advise you look into this 'cause we wouldn't want another complain".

Jerika listened casually to the sergeant's report, but when she noticed his eyes and that of the others staring intentionally at her, she became concerned. It didn't take her long to realize the sergeant's message was being directed at her. 

"Seriously?" She muttered with a scoff. "And what makes you think my people are behind this?"

Taking one of the papers from the table, the sergeant passed it to her. There was a printed picture on it - a picture of a group of boys running out of a grocery store with too many bags of items. Their faces had been captured from a CCTV camera, and her eyes glinted when she recognized all of them. Sullivan - that fool. 

"If I'm not mistaken, those are men from your pack. This is the reason I'm calling your attention to it, Jerika," the sergeant clarified. 

Leaning back in her chair, Jerika tossed the paper away from her. 

"I'll call my boys to order, then" she stated calmly. Deep down, she bubbled with rage. That felt more like an embarrassment to her. 

"Thank you, Mr Evans, for your patience and understanding," Alpha Charlie said. 

"It's fine. Thank you too." 

Alpha Charlie began flipping through the pages of his book, trying to bring in a new topic. 

"You expect us to do something when you bring complaints like this to us," one of the Alphas suddenly said, cracking the silence. 

Eyes turned at him. It was Alpha Cleo - one of the young Alphas that had recently taken over his father's Pack. 

"Yet, you don't do anything about the complaints we lodge to you," he continued. "Our people are being killed by hunters. This has been going on for years, but not even for once has the government been able to do anything about it."

The air in the conference room grew thick with tension. 

"He is right, sergeant, you know?" Alpha Kian chipped in. "A week ago, I lost a member of my Pack to an attack from the Wolf hunters. For years, we've had to live in fear and watch our backs, yet you keep bringing complaints to us and expect us to make you happy. We are not dumb, sergeant."

"Listen, listen," the sergeant waved his hands. "I understand your pain, but you also need to understand that we've been doing everything we can to find these people. Heck, not even you knows who they are. They keep acting anonymously with masks and..."

"But you keep knowing who the wolves are," Alpha Cleo cut him off. Then,he dipped towards the table. "Listen, if those hunters kills any of my own again, I'll be killing a random human in return."

"Alpha Cleo, stop it," Alpha Charlie censured. "No matter what, it should never come to that."

"You should listen to the wise Alpha," the sergeant said, a stern look on his face. "If you go about killing innocent humans, you'll definitely face the wrath of the law."

"Are you threatening me?" Alpha Cleo scoffed and sprang to his feet, but the Alpha beside him pulled him back. 

"Now, that's enough. Everyone should maintain silence, please," Alpha Charlie uttered peremptorily, and luckily, they listened to him. Normalcy returned to the room. Then, the old Alpha turned to the sergeant. 

"I hope you only understand the pain behind my people's voice, and not just their words. We only want the live like the normal humans where we could take a walk in the dark without having to be scared. That's just what we want, so see to it that the government puts in more efforts to find those hunters."

"Thank you, Alpha Charlie. You know all the humans loves you so much. I believe everyone of you have humans working for them, one way or the other. So, I promise you, that we're not discriminating here. These hunters are just enemies that we're definitely going to tackle," he assured. 

Alpha Charlie nodded in acknowledgement, while Cleo clicked his tongue. 

The whole time, Jerika was as still as a pond, silence clinging onto her like a second skin. She overlapped her hands and just watched the scene. She knew it was pointless arguing with the biased sergeants. 

Silence echoed afterward as Alpha Charlie flipped through the pages of his book for the next topic of discussion. 

"Why don't we move on to my wife's case right away?" Alpha Marlon said. 

Jerika glanced at the woman in the corner and saw how agitation spiralled through her body. 

Alpha Charlie looked up at Marlon with displeasure. "Uh...I don't think we should do that yet. I was hoping we would..."

"Don't worry, let's go into it," Jerika interrupted. 

Alpha Charlie had been skeptical about touching that topic 'cause he wasn't sure what Jerika's reaction would be. That lady could be brutally blunt with words; she could say things that could drive a man into depression. Well, since she had given the go ahead, he figured he had nothing to be afraid of. 

"Uh... okay, then," he shrugged, then glanced back at the woman in the corner.

"Luna Ramona, can you come to the table, please?"

Even before the last word left his lips, she was already on her feet and stomping to the table. She was so furious, she wanted to remain standing, but her husband signaled her to sit; and she did. 

She glared at Jerika as she sat facing her, and Jerika gladly returned the contact. Difference was, Mrs Ramona stared at her with eyes full of rage, while Jerika stared at her with eyes of full hate and sadism. 

Mrs Ramona was no doubt, older than her. She was a middle-aged woman - although was always well-dressed and on makeup - but Jerika barely considered her equal. 

"Okay, I'll read the complaints here," Alpha Charlie went on. "Alpha Jerika, Mrs Ramona here wrote bitterly that you are trying to steal one of her products. She claims on the seventh of march, she'd announced the launch of a latest product. She says she's yet to release the identity of the product to the public, but she told us it's actually an upgraded version of the TLC gadget. Now, you also made a post few weeks ago, announcing the launch of a TLC gadget as well, which is just the same that Mrs Ramona plans to launch. The problem here is - she believes you stole her content and wants you to take it down. She claims that if you go ahead with your launch, it'd affect hers greatly as her potential customers would be attracted to yours. This is the complaint, Alpha Jerika, and we hope for your earnest understanding."

The Alpha puffed out some stuffed air when he was done, feeling so relieved. For a while, Jerika said nothing, no one did. It got the Alphas confused. 

"Um... Alpha Jerika?" He softly called. 

"She claims I stole her content, her idea," Jerika walked her fingers on the table. "You all know me I am too busy managing seven brands; so, how could I possibly work for Mrs Ramona to get her ideas?" She was so calm, that was the most frustrating part of it. Her voice would always sound cold, yet lethal. 

"Stop it, you witch!" The woman snapped. "We all know you planted a spy around me, that's the only way you'd been able to get my idea, Jerika! Admit it."

Jerika said nothing, but another Alpha did. 

"Um... Jerika, this is a very serious issue. You of all people should know how painful it can be to get your ideas stolen. If you truly stole Mrs Ramona's idea, you should open up to us now" The Alpha voiced. 

Jerika scoffed and leaned forward, placing both hands on the table. 

"If she's so sure I stole her idea, she needs to provide me with the proof. Because as far as I'm concerned, this is just a mere accusation. Anyone can get ideas on anything, you do not own my brain."

"Really?" Mrs Ramona chuckled dryly. "I may not have all the proof I need now, Jerika, but you know what I'm talking about, and I promise you - if you go ahead with that launch, I'll bring you down."

"Threats are not allowed here, Mrs Ramona" Alpha Kian reprimanded. 

"And why shouldn't they be allowed when my brand is being threatened?" she snapped. "You clearly lack a good home-bringing, Jerika. It's quite unfortunate that you lost your entire family at a tender age and grew up to be a brat! If you had a mother, you probably wouldn't have turned this way!"

Her last words echoed in the room. Brows were raised and eyes were dilated in shock. A very thin line had just been crossed, every soul in the room knew it. At that point, they all became scared to see the look on Jerika's face. 

Mrs Ramona hissed between her teeth and looked away, trying so hard to keep her butts down on her seat. 

For a long time, no one said a word. Even Mrs Ramona looked elsewhere, not wanting to look Jerika in the eyes anymore. She knew how deadly they'd have become. 

Jerika exhaled calmly as she leaned back in her seat. And with her red-tainted lips, she uttered:

"My launch was fixed for two weeks time, but becuase I love your threat so much, I'll be bringing it down to a week."

Mrs Ramona gasped, few of the Alphas in the room expressed their shock. This lady was simply undefeatable.

"You wretch! How dare you?!" Mrs Ramona sprang to her feet, her jewelries dangling around her. "I promise you, Jerika, I'll take you down! I'll make you hate this day. You just dare!"

"Luna Ramona! There are officers here...."

"I do not need the officers," Jerika cut off Alpha Charlie who was talking. With the room tensed, she got to her feet, still staring into the eyes of Ramona. 

"I'll very much love to see Mrs Ramona execute that threat of hers, the officers do not need to get involved. Just make sure you don't miss when you hit me, 'cause then, I'll make life unbearable for you."

She picked up her bag and began walking away from the table. 

"Alpha Jerika? We're not done yet!" Alpha Charlie called back.

She stopped walking, but when she turned, her gaze was solely on Mrs Ramona. 

"You need to heal from the fact that I sent your son to jail. I know he was your heir, but that son of a bitch deserved it. Perhaps, if you had been a better mother, he'd still be here with you. Lick your wounds, Ramona, and embrace the fact that your womb was cursed enough to birth a beast. No wonder it got barren after it; I'm not surprised your husband has been searching earnestly for a mistress," she threw the words right at her. 

Mrs Ramona's breath froze, tears suddenly rimmed her eyes.

Turning away, Jerika walked out of the room with her staff, hearing nothing else from the people behind her.