Author’s pov
On the other side of the forest, a golf cart slowly drove through the fairway.
"Xavier?" Cici called softly, snuggling up to him, and suddenly realized that sothing was wrong with his expression.
He stared at the forest not far away, his eyes glued to the graceful figure - the white sleeveless top hugging her curves, and the black short skirt swaying lightly with her steps. That silhouette looked like Cecilia.
Cici followed his gaze, but only caught a glimpse of legs disappearing into the woods.
"What are you looking at?" She pouted and tugged at his sleeves, "Xavier?"
Xavier snapped back to reality, his eyes hidden in shadow, and whispered, "Nothing."
He looked away and stared at the road ahead, but suspicion was already brewing in his eyes.
Cecilia
I continued following Sebastian, my heart pounding with each step. He stopped beside a tall oak tree and answered his phone, acknowledging my presence with just a brief glance over his shoulder.
Realizing he needed privacy, I retreated to a small mushroom-shaped gazebo nearby. I rubbed my temples in frustration, ntally replaying my disastrous performance. Once Sebastian finished his call, I gathered my courage and approached him again.
"Alpha Sebastian clearly has excellent judgnt," I said with forced lightness. "I clearly can’t even read the room properly. You’re right—I’m not suitable for the secretary position. I apologize for wasting your ti."
His eyebrow arched elegantly. "You followed all the way here just to confirm that you’re unsuitable? That’s your big revelation?"
I stood speechless, completely thrown off by his sharp retort. I gave an awkward laugh. Since my chances were already ruined, there was no point in pretending anymore. "Obviously I followed you to try and change your mind. But between the terrible first impression I made and today’s total disaster, I clearly don’t et your standards. I just wanted to end things without pissing you off further."
Sebastian regarded with cold detachnt. "You think those are my reasons for rejecting you?"
"Aren’t they?" I asked, genuinely confused.
"You ca dressed like this to interview for a position as my secretary," he said, leaning slightly forward, his voice lowering to a dangerous timbre. "If I were to accept you, wouldn’t it suggest I’m only interested in your appearance?" His eyes flickered over my outfit. "Even if I were that type of man, I wouldn’t be so obvious about it."
My face turned bright red. The blush spread from my cheeks to the tips of my ears, burning with such intensity I thought I might combust. His aning was crystal clear—he thought I was trying to sleep my way into the position, and he found the attempt both transparent and distasteful.
I couldn’t bring myself to explain that this wasn’t my chosen outfit. "Fair enough," I managed to say. "I should go. Goodbye."
I didn’t wait for him to say anything. Spun around and walked away as fast as I could without losing dignity.
The sting of rejection burned hotter than the blazing sun overhead, making it hard to breathe.
Once I was out of sight, I vaguely heard a familiar voice from a distance.
"Where did Cecilia go?" It was Yvonne, her tone full of confusion.
"She’s gone." Sebastian’s voice was completely flat, as if he was talking about the weather.
"What? Why?" Yvonne was obviously stunned. "Alpha Sebastian, Cecilia is actually very capable-"
I couldn’t make out the rest.
I just kept my head down and walked quickly, as if I wanted to escape from that space where the air was thick with sha.
No matter what Yvonne said now, it cannot change what he saw and assud.
Of course, it was impossible to erase the humiliation that was still gnawing at .
...
Back ho, I imdiately peeled off the borrowed outfit and changed into my comfortable loungewear. I sat dejectedly in front of my vanity mirror, staring at my reflection.
Without Xavier, without my position at Blood Moon Pack—was I truly nothing now?
After feeling sorry for myself for an hour, I finally checked my phone, which I’d silenced during my disastrous eting. The screen showed tons of missed calls—several from Xavier and many from Yvonne.
I completely ignored Xavier’s calls and dialed Yvonne instead.
"I’m so sorry for taking off," I said when she answered. "I wasn’t feeling well—low blood sugar. I had to leave quickly and totally forgot to tell you."
Yvonne was silent for a few seconds. "...I’m the one who should apologize."
"Don’t worry about it, really. I was just rolling the dice anyway," I reassured her. "You’ve already helped tons, and I appreciate it."
"Don’t beat yourself up. Listen, I explained the clothing situation to Sebastian, though he didn’t really react. I got his number from Jude—do you want to reach out to him directly?"
After a mont’s consideration, I declined. "It’s cool. The Silver Peak Pack and I clearly weren’t ant to be."
Hearing my resignation, Yvonne didn’t push further.
After hanging up, I crawled into bed, my emotional exhaustion hitting like a truck.
Half-asleep, I heard the bedroom door open.
"Mmm..." I rolled over, squinting to see Xavier standing by the bed, his expression ice-cold.
I didn’t want to talk to him, so I turned away and pulled the covers over my head.
"Have you been ho sleeping all day? You didn’t step outside?" Xavier sat on the edge of the bed, his voice probing.
I remained silent.
"I saw soone who looked like you at the golf course today."
My eyes snapped open beneath the covers.
He was at the golf course too? How perfect. He and Cici had been flaunting their relationship right in front of , yet he had the audacity to question my whereabouts.
I wanted to confront him—yes, I was there, so what?—but then I worried he might cause trouble for Yvonne. I kept silent instead.
Xavier leaned down and pulled back a corner of the blanket, his gaze falling on my bare neck, searching for any suspicious marks. Finding none, his expression softened slightly.
Still, he persisted, needing verbal confirmation. "Did you go out today or not?"
"No, I didn’t leave the house," I lied through gritted teeth. "I spent the afternoon cleaning the yard. I’m trying to sleep—please buzz off." I yanked the covers back over my head, disgusted by his closeness.
Apparently satisfied with my answer, Xavier finally left alone.
Sebastian’s pov
As night fell, I sat alone at the dining table in the penthouse. The windows blazed with light, but the room was as quiet as ever. Liam poured a glass of aged red wine as usual, his movents smooth and practiced.
"Any updates on the headhunter?" I asked casually, gently swirling the wine glass with my fingertips, the wine creating a deep red whirlpool in the crystal glass.
"Beta Sawyer just sent a new list," Liam replied. "Whenever you’re ready, you can take a look." He paused, and a aningful light flashed in his eyes. "I noticed that Miss Cecilia, the woman you saved in that car accident made the cut."
I froze mid-motion. "Oh really?" I said casually, but Liam’s sharp eyes caught that I was anything but indifferent to that na.
"Grab the tablet." I turned around and entered the study, he brought the device to a few seconds later. I opened the screen and clicked on the files compiled by Sawyer. I went through the candidates from previous rounds one by one - either too weak or too slick; either too kiss-ass or too greedy.
What I need was a secretary who could back up and handle everything for . But more importantly, soone I could trust and who wouldn’t bore to death.
I was still not sure what to make of Cecilia Moore yet. Liam stood aside and said thoughtfully: "Even though Miss Moore isn’t that old, she has an impressive track record. It only took her four years to go from project specialist at Blood Moon Pack to project manager. She led most of their recent profitable projects, and tons of competitors in the industry tried to poach her, but struck out - because her partner is Alpha of Blood Moon, Alpha Xavier."
He paused, his tone tinged with pity, "But I heard that he is now planning to hold a mating ceremony with the fourth daughter of Shadow Pack. Cecilia quit after finding out. Poor thing..."
I went still.
"Mate," Soren growled softly inside .
The sound was quiet, but it was like thunder coursing through my bones and blood. He was stirring. Not just alert or excited, but a...deep awakening.
He rembered her.
I recalled the faint scent on her skin - not typical human fragrance, not perfu or anything artificial. That was her natural essence.
Rembering her appearance in a tight skirt this afternoon, my lower abdon tightened involuntarily, and the feeling of arousal made shift uncomfortably.
I forced myself to suppress the instinctive impulse and continued to scroll through the information, but my attention had already shifted from her resu to her photos.
In the docunt, she looked gentle and calm, with steady eyes, completely different from the woman wearing that ridiculous outfit and acting flustered today.
But I knew that was the real her.
When the mask is stripped away, you see the most authentic version of a person.
I shouldn’t care about this, let alone be affected. After all, she was human, and I, Silver Peak’s Alpha.
But Soren didn’t care about any of that.
He only knew that she belonged to us.
"Interesting." I whispered, my eyes locked on her na.
So this was how fate worked—always coming full circle.
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