Damien’s POV
The private jet touched down at Silver Moon Harbor International two hours ahead of schedule, but I’d been restless for the entire flight, unable to focus on any of the docunts spread across my mahogany desk. Sothing about tomorrow’s dinner arrangents—and more specifically, the woman who’d managed them—had occupied far too much of my ntal bandwidth over the past twenty-four hours.
It was ridiculous. I was a powerful Alpha who commanded respect from wolves across three territories, yet here I was, completely distracted by a voice I’d heard exactly twice over the phone.
I couldn’t stop thinking about those two conversations. The way her voice had trembled with barely controlled fury when she’d called my request unreasonable. Most assistants either cowered in terror or quit via email after their first encounter with my temper. But Seraphina Knight had done neither. She’d pushed back, challenged .
"You’re thinking about her again," Alex observed with what sounded suspiciously like amusent.
I ignored him, but my wolf wasn’t wrong. I was thinking about her. Far more than was appropriate for an employer contemplating an employee he’d never even t.
"Maybe she’s already gone," I found myself thinking as the car pulled up to Nightshadow Industries, and the possibility sent an unexpected spike of panic through my chest. "Maybe the reality of working for finally sank in and she decided to cut her losses."
What the hell was wrong with ? I was practically eager to et a woman whose only qualification so far was that she hadn’t run away screaming.
As I strode through the marble lobby, employees imdiately straightened to attention, offering respectful nods and murmured greetings. But as I approached the executive floor, sothing unexpected caught my attention.
The door to my outer office was slightly ajar, and through the gap, I could see a figure bent over what appeared to be scattered papers on the floor. The woman was on her hands and knees, reaching under a desk, and the position offered a spectacular view of long, shapely legs encased in silk stockings, a perfect curve of hip and thigh, and the tantalizing glimpse of delicate lace underwear beneath a hiked-up erald dress.
My steps slowed involuntarily. The woman’s movents were graceful despite her awkward position, and sothing about the elegant line of her back, the way her dark hair had co slightly loose from its updo, sent an unexpected jolt of attraction straight through .
I cleared my throat softly, not wanting to startle her but unable to ignore the professional impropriety of the situation—or the way my body was reacting to the enticing view. Heat pooled low in my belly, and I had to adjust my stance slightly as my pants grew uncomfortably tight.
She froze completely, her entire body going rigid, and I could practically feel her mortification radiating through the air like waves of heat.
She scrambled to her feet with impressive speed. The movent was fluid and graceful despite her obvious panic, and I caught a flash of long, silk-clad legs before she yanked her dress back into place and spun to face . The sight of her flushed face, those wide, apologetic eyes, and the way her chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths did absolutely nothing to ease the tightness in my pants.
The woman standing before wasn’t just beautiful—she was breathtaking in a way that hit like a physical blow. Her face was a perfect oval frad by waves of dark hair, her skin luminous and smooth as cream. But it was her eyes that nearly brought to my knees.
Brilliant erald green, frad by thick lashes, they sparkled with intelligence and spirit even as they widened with what appeared to be shock. Those eyes... there was sothing familiar about them, sothing that made my wolf pace restlessly in my mind.
"MATE!" Alex’s voice exploded in my consciousness with such force that I actually took an involuntary step forward. "MATE!"
The scent hit then—vanilla and jasmine with an underlying sweetness that was uniquely hers. It wrapped around like silk ribbons, making my head spin and my wolf howl with recognition and desperate need.
"Miss Knight, I presu?" I managed to say, though my voice ca out rougher than intended.
She opened her mouth but no sound erged. Her green eyes were wide with what looked like panic, and I could see her pulse fluttering rapidly at the base of her throat. The air between us crackled with electricity, thick with an attraction so intense it was almost suffocating.
Before either of us could recover from the mont, familiar footsteps echoed down the hallway, followed by Lucas’s cheerful voice.
"Damien! I saw your car pull up—you’re back early!" He rounded the corner at his usual energetic pace, then stopped short when he spotted the woman standing frozen by my desk. "Well, hello there."
Lucas’s eyes imdiately began traveling appreciatively over Seraphina’s form, taking in the way the erald dress hugged every curve, the flush on her cheeks, the elegant line of her neck. I could practically see his interest spike, and my wolf snarled in fury.
"I don’t believe we’ve t," Lucas continued, moving forward with his most charming smile. "I’m Lucas, Beta of this pack and Damien’s right-hand man." He extended his hand toward her. "And you must be the mysterious new assistant I’ve been hearing so much about."
The sight of him reaching for her hand sent a bolt of pure rage through my system. My vision actually tinted red around the edges, and I had to clench my fists to keep from physically pulling him away from her.
"I... yes, I’m Seraphina Knight," she managed to stamr, her voice barely above a whisper as she reluctantly placed her hand in his.
"Seraphina," Lucas repeated, and the way he said her na—like he was tasting sothing delicious—made want to rip his throat out. "Beautiful na for a beautiful woman. Tell , are you free for dinner tonight? I know this amazing little place downtown—"
"Lucas." My voice cut through his flirtation like a blade, sharp enough to make both of them jump. "Don’t you have sowhere else to be?"
He turned to look at with raised eyebrows, clearly picking up on the dangerous undercurrent in my tone. "Actually, I was hoping to discuss the Pack alliance with you, but I suppose that can wait." His smile widened as he turned back to Seraphina, completely ignoring my obvious displeasure. "So what do you say? Dinner?"
I watched Seraphina’s face cycle through confusion, embarrassnt, and sothing that looked almost like fear. She glanced between Lucas and , clearly at a complete loss for words.
That’s when I stepped forward, close enough that my presence would be unmistakably territorial. "I believe Miss Knight has more important things to worry about than your social calendar, Lucas. Like explaining why she’s apparently been reorganizing my filing system on the floor."
Seraphina’s eyes widened at my tone, and I saw her shoulders square defensively. "I’m sorry, Mr. Nightshadow. I accidentally knocked over so files and was just—"
Before she could finish her explanation, a sickeningly familiar voice rang out from the hallway.
"Brother! I heard from my husband Gabriel that you’re hosting so fancy dinner party tonight, and you didn’t even think to invite us?"
Valerie burst through the office doorway like a pink tornado, her bleached blonde hair bouncing as she practically skipped toward us. "How could you possibly—" She stopped short when she noticed the back of Seraphina, her artificially enhanced lips curving into a cruel smile. "Oh, well well. What do we have here?"
I watched Seraphina’s entire body go rigid at the ntion of Gabriel’s na, her face draining of color so quickly I was genuinely concerned she might faint.
"Let guess," Valerie continued, circling around Seraphina like a predator sizing up prey. "Another desperate little assistant trying to claw her way up the corporate ladder by batting her eyelashes at the big bad Alpha?" She deliberately bumped into Seraphina’s shoulder as she passed. "How long do you think this one will last before she runs away crying? A week? Two days?"
"Valerie." My voice carried enough nace to make several nearby employees visible through the doorway take strategic steps backward.
But she was far from finished. "You know, Gabriel has been telling you for months that I’d make a perfect assistant. I’m family, after all, and I certainly wouldn’t spend my first day crawling around on the floor in inappropriate dresses, flashing my underwear at anyone who walks by."
"GET OUT!" I roared, my Alpha authority flooding the room with such force that every wolf present. "GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW, VALERIE!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)