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My heart pounds and aches because I know him. I don’t just know him in this dream. He’s familiar, too familiar, like a name on the tip of my tongue or a face I’ve seen a thousand times but can’t quite put my finger on it.

Who is he, and why do I feel guilty for forgetting his face? For forgetting someone so…important to me?

The answer teeters just beyond my reach, slipping further the harder I try to grasp it. I reach out, but instead of pulling him to me, my hands close around empty air.

A sharp pain pierces my skull, as if my mind itself is forcing me away from the memory, and then, just as suddenly, I wake up. I’m breathless. My shirt clings to my body due to sweat and bitter tears well in my eyes.

It takes two seconds to realize I’m sitting on my bed staring into the dark and that what just happened was a dream. My baby girl snores loudly with her arms still wrapped around my waist.

I’m thankful I didn't wake her up, but my mind and my wolf fixate on the dream. It felt real. Just like the other memory at the hospital, this one felt real, too. I try to remember the forest, and then there was a…

An ear-splitting headache almost cracks my head in two when I try to recall the details.

My wolf urges me to calm down.

I’ve been under a lot of stress and saying that I’m okay would be lying.

I’ve not been okay since I saw Alaric and Lina together. I’ve not been okay since I remembered my father and I standing outside St. Bishop’s hospital.

I can’t even remember for certain if it was St. Bishop’s Hospital or another hospital.

And the biggest elephant in the room?

Alaric kissed me.

And on a depressing note?

I kissed him back, and I would’ve asked for more if we hadn’t been interrupted.

Embarrassment and humiliationfeel like sticky toffee against my skin when I arrive at H Industries a few hours before my boss does.

Before I walked out of the parking lot, I promised myself I would tell Alaric straight to his face that I'm not like the whores he sleeps with on the regular.

Okay, saying whore would be accusing him of sleeping around but he kissed me!

Me! His secretary.

If HR were to get a whiff of what we did, I would be the one not only fired for messing around with the boss, but also tainted with a bad reputation for trying to seduce said boss.

But more than the scandal or the risk of losing my job, what truly infuriates me is that Alaric rejected me all those years ago. He looked me in the eye and deemed me unworthy, as if I were beneath him.

Yet now, after all this time, he dares to come back into my life, inserting himself into my daughter’s world and forcing a kiss on me, as if he has any right.

It’s not even about the fact that he is my boss. It’s about my self-worth, my pride. It’s about how hard I fought to pick myself up after he shattered me. One kiss from him though, and the walls I erected might be coming down.

The wisest decision would be handing in my resignation letter, but a, being Alaric’s secretary pays a lot more than I imagined and b, me and my baby are settling in here nicely.

So here I am, walking to my little desk as I try not to trip, when I see a familiar guy waiting for me up ahead.

He has ash-blonde hair, a permanent scowl on his face, and eyes that tell me he judges everyone like it’s his day job. While he’s close to Alaric’s height, this man makes me feel two times smaller the minute he looks at me.

After all, he’s the same guy who caught me sticking my tongue down his boss’ throat. Shit.

Alaric called him Ian? Ivan? No, Ethan.

“Lila, good morning.” Ethan stretches his hand out, and I’m surprised he wants to shake hands with me.

Nonetheless, I accept the greeting.