Casper
He froze on the spot, turning to give me a sharp look. Blood drained from his face, and his eyes widened in disbelief.
His lips parted to form an ‘o’ while he let out a gasp.
After he processed what I had said, he nodded, letting out a burst of hysterical laughter.
“I should have known from the moment you met her at the club and offered her a job instead of firing her. I warned you that this girl had ulterior motives, but instead, you let her into your bed,” he snickered, pinning me a disgusted look.
“I know she must have filled your ears with lies and touched you in places that don’t see sunlight. That is the reason you never listen to me.” He spat, panting about in the room with his jaws clenched.
“Don’t tell me you did this. Don’t tell me you had sex with her on your matrimonial bed. You never let any woman into this room, let alone sleeping on your bed. What has come over you?”
His chest rose and fell in rage as he swallowed. “She is using you, Alpha, and you will regret this. You will regret not listening to me.” He scoffed, shaking his head and licking his lips.
“I can’t believe you are doing this again.”
“Doing what?” I asked, grinding my teeth as a burst of anger spread throughout my body.
He was about to do it again. Blame me about my past decisions.
“You are not listening to me, just like you never listened to Marina and I hope I don’t have to die to prove to you that you are making a huge mistake by letting that bitch into your life!”
“Lilith is not a bitch,” I stated, defending her before my face hardened as I was almost blinded by rage.
“Get out of my room. I don’t want to see you today!” I commanded, using my terrifying Alpha voice as I watched him shudder in fear before scurrying out of my room.
I let him spew his nonsense, but I couldn’t take it anymore when he called Lilith a bitch.
I could still see his shocked face in my head when I defended her.
Was I in love with her?
It was a tough question that I didn’t have an answer to, but I knew I cared about her.
Maybe it was just feelings and I was certain they would go away soon.
“Is he gone?”
Lilith’s soft whisper jerked me from my thoughts.
She peeked her head out of the door, her eyes wandering about the room in search of Raphael.
I was mad that she heard all that he said.
“Yes,” I responded, walking to meet her, before grabbing her arm. “You can stay if you want to.”
My hands dropped on her silly hair and I ran my fingers through it, massaging her soft scalp in the process. It was something Marina loved and I thought she would love it.
She stifled a moan, relaxing her head in my hands before looking away from me.
I could taste her sadness and worry at the edge of my tongue.
Raphael was right, she was slowly taking over me.
These days, I shared her emotions whether in her absence or in her presence.
It baffled me knowing I could only share my mate’s emotions. But Lilith wasn’t my mate. Not when my wolf that would have recognized her was absent.
“Are you alright?” I asked, cupping her cheeks tenderly before lowering her gaze to meet mine.
She swallowed, chewing on her bottom lip. “I feel bad for what I just did.”
“What?”
“I hate when I come in-between 2 friends, it makes me feel like I’m the bad guy. I’m sorry I caused this fight, I never intended to…”
I silenced her with a kiss, encircling my lips against her plump ones before pulling back to catch my breath.
After tasting her lips, I couldn’t resist them.
“You are not at fault, meanwhile, Raphael and I fight all the time. It’s nothing that you should worry about.” I tried to convince her, but worry sank deeper into her heart.
Her face dropped in sadness as she shook her head. “I still feel horrible. If I hadn’t slept here, this fight wouldn’t have happened. Moreover, he already knows we made out.”
“And what if he knows? His threats were empty. He won’t lay a finger on you. You have my word.” I affirmed, giving her a rigid look.
“Who is Marina?” She suddenly asked out of the blue, making my heart skip a beat.
“She is my… I’m not ready to talk about her.” I blurted, blinking hard as pain lodged in my heart.
“Okay then. If that’s all, I would go to my room and carry out my duties since my arm is healed and also forget about what happened last night. I’m sorry if I led you, but it won’t happen again.”
“You don’t need to apologize. Who cares if it happens again?”
“You are my boss. It was never meant to happen. It did because we couldn’t control our raging hormones. Meanwhile, It will only make the work environment awkward and soon, Anna will begin to suspect us,” she complained, grumbling.
“Who cares if she does? Just go to your room, take a shower, and relax,” I suggested before peeking her forehead and releasing my grip on her.
“And for the record, you are a bad kisser and I don’t mind teaching you how to do it perfectly,” I said, trying to lighten her mood. A smile stretched on her lips as she blushed, looking away from me.
“Whatever,” she muttered, rolling her eyes, before hiding her cherry-stained cheeks.
When Lilith was gone, I took a quick shower, getting clad in black sweatpants and a shirt before dashing out of the house to go for a run.
I was close to losing my mind and Raphael’s words wouldn’t stop echoing in my head.
I understand that he was concerned about me, but he was being a bitch about it.
Now, I wasn’t on good terms with my Beta because of a lady I barely knew about. I was so confused and I didn’t know whose side to stick to.
Lilith’s or Raphael’s.
But there was Marina, I could imagine a betrayed look plastered on her face while I made out with Lilith shamelessly on our matrimonial bed.
I broke my promise of never being intimate with any woman after 10 years, defining our bed.
I felt bad that I betrayed her trust.
She must be mad at me right now.
I stopped running to pluck some fresh flowers from the garden before jogging to where her grave was.
I laid the flowers on the stone, blowing kisses before rubbing my fingers across her name.
A jolt of pain hit me hard, making me almost fall to the ground.
Before my brain could process what happened, I felt consumed by an invisible force that took over me. My senses were heightened and my bones began to snap painfully.
What was happening to me?!
I bit my lips hard, resisting the urge to let out a terrifying scream as I gathered my last strength running away from the grave to the direction of the dungeon I was afraid of going violent since Raphael wasn’t around to chain me.
Fuck, the curse!
It felt like my energy was sapped out of me rapidly and my legs couldn’t carry me. Each time I went in the direction of the dungeon, the strange force pushed me further into the woods.
Stifling a groan, I fell to the ground as my legs could no longer support me, growling as intense pain slammed my body.
It felt like my body was in hell when something began to sprout out of it painfully.
My bones reshaped out of place and my claws began to pierce through my nails. Long sharp canines replaced my teeth and I released agonizing screams that shook the ground.
Horror filled my eyes when my clothes began to rip from my body, spreading on the floor.
Fuck! How was I supposed to go home without clothes?
Black fur coated my body and I felt my tail wiggling freely. The smell of wet grass blasted my nostrils and I let out a soft pur when the breeze tossed my fur gently.
Sticking my tongue out, I started running, enjoying the gentle wind that caressed my new body.
Sounds made by insects and small rodents invaded my ears.
I hit my paws against the ground, lifting my eyes to meet the sky before releasing a deafening howling.
“Hello, Casper. It feels good to be back.” Max’s voice boomed in my head.
My eyes widened in disbelief as I took a quick glance at my transformation. I lost my wolf 10 years ago and I hadn’t shifted. I and Raphael kept it secret from everyone…
But today, my wolf was back!
It only meant one thing, my second-chance mate was close!
But who was she?