Erica’s POV
Lorenzo walked into the room and I jerked in fright. I didn’t expect to see him awake by this time.
He was still wearing the shirt that he wore last night. I could see the holes in his chest. They had
healed overnight and new flesh was in its place.
“Good morning, Sweetie.”
I didn’t expect an answer but he growled in reply and I knew that that was the best reply that I
was going to get. It was obvious that he was still angry with me.
Clarissa must have caught on to his bad mood and she began to jitter nervously. She played with
her fingers and refused to look Lorenzo in the eyes. Her face was a bright pink and beads of sweat
dotted her forehead.
“Darling, Clarissa just came back this more from her break and she met someone new. She is
asking if she can be coming to work from her new boyfriend’s house and I think that it is a good
idea. It is high time that she found her mate and this will give her the opportunity to grow closer
to him. I know it’s early in the morning but we would really like your take on this.”
The air was stiff and tension hung thickly above all our heads. I stared at him in fear and
expectation. I expected a ‘no’ since he was angry about Clarissa leaving and the kids being alone.
His eyes darted back and forth from me to Clarissa.
“Say something. Anything.”
I thought to myself as the tension grew denser by the second.
“Clarissa has a boyfriend, you say?”
His voice was deep and a menacing growl. I stuttered in fear.
“Y…yes… yes, that’s what she told me. Right, Clarissa?”
I deflected the question to her and she nearly bit her tongue as she gave her reply.
“Yes. Yes. We met at a restaurant.”
He looked her over with a scowl.
“I see.”
He said nothing more and walked away. I felt the air in the room rush again and I could finally
take a breath.
Clarissa was thoroughly shaken and her face was pale.
“W…what happened to him?”
“Oh, he just had a bad night. It is nothing to worry about.”
I took her hands and held them lovingly.
“Clarissa, I am really happy for you. Truly, I am. I think that it is a good idea for you to stay with
him. I know how meeting a mate for the first time feels like. The pull is overwhelming. You don’t
even have to stay today. You can stay with the kids and go back to him in the evening, or
whenever you are ready. I think that you should get some rest. I’ll smooth things over with,
Lorenzo. If he still isn’t happy about it, we can hire a new maid and…”
“No!”
Clarissa’s reply threw me off and I looked at her confused.
“No?”
She shook her head and managed a smile.
“I’m sorry. I meant, ‘no’ that…. that won’t be necessary. I am happy working for you. I love being
around the kids. I don’t want you to hire someone else.”
I smile. I admired her dedication to the job and my family.
“Well, I’ll get that sorted out. You should rest and I’ll talk to Lorenzo later, when he is in a…”
Bang!
The loud noise startled us and I realized that the front door had opened and been slammed shut.
I looked through the window and saw Lorenzo walking away. It didn’t take two minutes, he
flagged a taxi and disappeared.
I sighed sadly. What was wrong with him? It had to be beyond what happened last night.
“I’ll…I’ll be going to my room.”
Clarissa excused herself and headed up the stairs. I watched her for a while and then my phone
rang.
I dashed to it and picked it up but I groaned in anger as soon as I saw the name on the screen.
“I’m going to ignore this. Does he really think that…”
Ring! Ring!
His call came again and I was thrown into turmoil. I was still angry about yesterday and now he
was calling me again. What was wrong with him? Couldn’t he take no for an answer?
In as much as I was filled with hate, I felt a compulsion to answer his call. I did tell him that he
could call if it was something important.
I sighed and placed the phone to my ear.
“What is it, Dante?”
“Good morning, Erica. I hope you slept…”
“Cut the crap and get straight to the point. Why are you calling me? Is it about the gem? Hazan?”
He fumbled a little on the phone and my patience was running out like sand in an hourglass.
“You have two minutes.”
“Erica, can you just calm down? Can’t we talk nicely to each other anymore?”
“No. No, we can’t. Now, it seems that this call isn’t for anything important. Good…”
“Wait, wait, wait”
He stopped me and my finger stopped short of the green button.
“It’s not about the gem but it is related to business and our companies. I want to talk to you
about it and also lay a proper plan down. I think you are right. I think Hazan is trying to get to us
and he’s using Lorenzo.”
I listened and didn’t utter a word. I didn’t believe a word that he said but I had to go. I needed
everything that I could get to stop Hazan from destroying my pack. Dante had the gem and I was
the only one that could touch it.
It was the only thing that kept us within each other’s proximity.
“Erica? Are you still there?”
I groaned in frustration.
“Fine. I will be there in a few minutes.”
“How about…”
I didn’t wait for him to say more and ended the call immediately.
I sighed and put my phone down. What was I doing?
Lorenzo was mad at me and now I was meeting Dante again. Nothing went well with him. Would
today be any different?
“Moon Goddess please keep me…”
“Mummy, we want pancakes.”
My silent prayer was interrupted by my three adorable kids looking at me with puppy dog eyes.
I chuckled and pulled them into a big embrace.
“Alright, let’s go and make some…”