Page 17

I nod, trying not to let my nerves show. “Thank you. The pleasure is all mine.”

Slipping the lanyard around my neck, I head toward the elevators. The ride to the thirty-fifth floor is the longest ride I’ve ever taken in my twenty-eight years of existence.

My wolf stirs uneasily, urging me to breathe and to stay calm. You already got the job. Everything will be smooth sailing from now on.

Yet, deep down, there’s that shred of doubt that makes me feel as if everything has come too easily with this job.

I breathe in deeply, my fingers tightening around the strap of my purse as I watch the numbers on the elevator ascend.

I hadn’t found much about my boss on the company’s website, but a little digging told me he comes from a prestigious family full of Alphas.

That alone makes my pulse spike. Alphas.

What if he’s impossible to work with? The company website might have given me nothing, but I read on a few job hunting forums that my new boss is a mystery—cold, serious, and demanding to an extreme extent. The only thing people know about him is that he doesn’t tolerate mistakes.

Goddess knows I've dealt with difficult men before, but something about this one makes my nerves spike.

But impossible or not, this job is my lifeline and the only safety net I have to survive in this city. If I have to tolerate a difficult boss, I will.

The elevator chimes, the doors sliding open silently.

I step out, and the minute I do, I find that the top floor is cold, intimidating, and eerily quiet.

A rush of cool air prickles against my skin, and I suppress a shiver, blaming it on the air conditioning. Unlike the lobby, which at least had a few people milling about, this floor holds only one office.

The boss’ office.

The opaque glass walls of said office shield me from catching a glimpse of my new boss.

And that only makes my heart thunder louder.

One last deep breath, one last attempt at courage, and I knock.

“Come in.”

Two words. That’s all it takes to send a spark of electricity shooting through my body and my pulse hammering like a war drum.

My wolf goes rigid. I feel it in my chest, in my bones.

Yet I shove the feeling down and force myself to turn the handle. It’s just a job. It’s just a boss.

The minute I step inside, my legs cease functioning, and I freeze.

It’s his scent that hits me first. Wild spice and cedar. Familiar, intoxicating, undeniable.

My breath catches. No. No, no, no.

Denial sits like a weight on my shoulders as I lift my gaze.

There’s no way the Goddess would play a cruel joke on me like this. No way.

Then, he speaks. And everything inside me shatters.

“Lila.”

Chapter Five

ALARIC HELLS