Page 5

Chapter Five

A LARIC HELLS

I knew my week was off to a bad start when I lashed out at a secretary, firing her on the spot for her incompetence.

It hasn’t been easy keeping the board in check or assuring everyone that I’ve got things handled.

The truth is, I’ve got nothing handled.

Not in H Industries.

Not securing my place as Alpha.

And definitely not finding the woman who has consumed my thoughts every damn day for the past six years.

The search for Irene has hit nothing but dead ends, and I’m starting to wonder if the bullshit Julian has been spewing to the pack is true.

That Irene might be dead.

That I’ve been chasing a ghost.

The pressure is suffocating, sitting heavy on my chest like a weight I can’t shake off. The migraines have been relentless, self-inflicted stress gnawing at me from the inside out. Maybe that’s why I didn’t bother asking HQ who my new secretary was.

I received the memo this morning. I overlooked her name.

I fucking overlooked the obvious.

And now, that mistake is standing right in front of me, staring at me like I should be dragged to a pit and burned to ashes.

I don’t have to look at her twice to know who she is.

My wolf knows.

He roars inside my chest, coming alive like he’s been dormant for years, like he’s just gotten a new breath of life.

“Lila.”

Her name escapes my lips in a breath of shock, surprise, and something deeper. Something I don’t want to name.

Six years.

It’s been six years since I threw her out of my apartment, called her a whore, and convinced myself she meant nothing.

I swallow past the sudden tightness in my throat, but my entire body has gone rigid.

Every nerve inside me is on high alert. Her scent, the same scent from that night, coils through the air, a beckoning spell calling to me, taunting me.

And her eyes?

Those spitfire green eyes.

The same wild, untamed gaze that met mine as I worshiped every inch of her body, giving in to the bond that neither of us understood.

She hasn’t changed.

She’s still breathtaking.

Still too much.

Still mine.

And damn me, because I remain transfixed.

“Mr. Hells.”

Her voice slices through the moment like a knife, sharp and detached.

I blink, snapping out of whatever spell she just put me under.

Mr. Hells?

Like I’m a stranger. Like she doesn’t know my first name. Like she doesn’t care.

I tighten my jaw. “You are my new secretary.”

“That’s correct,” she replies smoothly, emotionless. “I assume you received the memo.”

The memo I didn’t read properly.

Fuck.

My wolf paces restlessly, growling, demanding I move closer.

Touch her. Make her look at us. Make her remember.

How easy would it be to stand up, close the distance, and kiss her? To feel those curves under my hands again, to tilt her chin and taste the mouth that once moaned my name?

I exhale sharply, shoving the thoughts away. Control. Focus.

But my mind keeps whispering her name.

Lila. Lila. Lila.

Goddess, she looks beautiful. Infuriatingly stunning. The kind of stunning that sneaks up on you, knocks the breath out of your lungs, and leaves you wondering whether you’ve been blind for a century.

Her hair is pulled back in a sleek ponytail, exposing the graceful curve of her neck—an unintentional invitation my wolf doesn’t fail to notice. The blue windowpane blouse fits her snugly, accentuating every line on her body. It’s tucked into a black skirt that hugs her hips just right.

And those black heels?

Damn those heels.

They add to her confidence, making her look taller and fucking sexy.

I run a hand through my hair, forcing myself to stay grounded.

I lift my eyes to hers, searching for something…anything.

But all I find is disdain.

Still, I try. I have to try.

“Lila…about what happened in the past, I—”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Her voice is calm. Unshaken.

“You said it yourself, Mr. Hells. It’s the past, and it’s best left there. I’m here to work, nothing else.”

I swear I feel my stomach drop.

I could write her a poem of apologies, spell my guilt into words, strip myself of every ounce of pride and lay it at her feet, and she would toss it out the window without a second thought.

She doesn’t care.

I swallow the words stuck in my throat, forcing my expression back into the mask I wear so well.

“Very well,” I say, voice cold, detached, emotionless. “You’ll report to me directly. You’ll handle my schedule, oversee my meetings, and ensure my affairs are in order. Understood?”

She doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t even blink.

“Understood.”

That single word twists in my gut like a knife.

“Since it’s your first day, I’ll call someone to show you around the office. Are you comfortable with that, Lila?”

Something flickers in her gaze.

Not warmth. Not hesitation.

Just something cold.

“Miss Winter, sir.”

Miss Winter.

The way she says it, like she’s correcting a mistake, makes my teeth clench.

“The name is Miss Winter,” she continues. “And yes, I’m comfortable with that. Thank you, Mr. Hells.”

I’ll be damned before I call her Miss Winter.

I dismiss her with a short nod, watching as she turns without another glance.

I should let her go, pretend that she’s just another employee.

And yet…

My eyes follow her.

She walks with quiet confidence. She is sharper. Fiercer.

And I hate it.

I hate that I’m not the reason she became this way. I hate that she survived, thrived without me.

And worse than that?

I want to break through her walls and unravel her all over again.

I inhale sharply, flexing my fingers against the desk.

This is just the beginning.

And Goddess help me…because I feel like I'm on the verge of losing it.

Which is why I practically gave Lila the entire day off to roam the other floors. The only reason the top floor houses my office is so I can work in my own environment, at my own pace, uninterrupted.

For years, it has been my sanctuary. My space. Two board meetings a week, and nothing more.

Three minutes in her presence, and suddenly, the top floor feels suffocating without her there.

Which brings me here.

I’m on the thirty-second floor, one of the busiest departments in H Industries. This floor holds marketing, finance, and hundreds of employees who barely get a glimpse of me unless I’m addressing the board.

Yet now, with every step I take through the cafeteria, I can feel their eyes on me.

I don’t have to listen closely to know what they’re thinking.

What is the boss doing here? Why isn’t he locked away in his shrine of an office?

I ignore them.

Because there’s only one reason I’m here.

And she’s standing across the room.

The second I step inside, my eyes lock onto her.

Lila.

Rather than the cold, emotionless face she gave me earlier, right now she’s smiling.

No, laughing.

And not just a forced, polite laugh. It’s a real one. Unrestrained. Soft. Like she belongs here. Like she’s at ease with the people around her. With them.

Not with me.

And fuck, it hits me square in the chest.

I should look away.

I don’t.

I should turn around and go back to my office.

I don’t.

Instead, I watch, my body wound too tight, too aware of the way she tilts her head back, eyes crinkling as she laughs at something some asshole in a tie just said.

My wolf growls.

The sound rumbles through my chest, demanding I move.

She’s ours.

My fingers twitch at my sides.

I want to lock up that smile so it only ever belongs to me.

I want to fire the man who dared to put it there.

I want to close the distance, tilt her chin up, and remind her exactly what that mouth feels like against mine.

And for one reckless second, I almost do.

Almost.

“Mr. Hells, can you hear me?”

A voice shatters my focus.

I blink, forcing myself to tear my gaze away from Lila.

Slowly, I turn to face the short woman in wide-rimmed glasses standing next to me. Her name starts with an F…or an M. She’s the manager of this floor, if I’m not mistaken.

I give her a sharp, uninterested look, which turns out to be the wrong move because she follows my gaze straight to where Lila is standing.

“She’s Lila, your new secretary, right?” she asks, completely oblivious to the storm raging inside me.

“Don’t worry, she’s fitting in quite well.

Actually, I’ve never met someone as ready to work as she is.

You made an excellent decision recruiting her, Mr. Hells. She might be the best employee here.”

Employee.

The word rings sharp in my ears.

I force my shoulders to relax, even as my muscles coil.

Lila is my secretary.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

I repeat it over and over in my head, forcing it to be true.

The Mate bond might pull me to her, might cloud my thoughts, but Irene is the only woman for me.

My heart belongs to Irene.

Lila is just an employee. Just a reminder of a mistake I once made.

So why does it feel like I’m making a mistake now by walking away?

My jaw tightens as the thought hits me like a sucker punch to the ribs.

I shake it off. Irene is the one I chose. The one I’ve been searching for. The one who matters.

And with that painful, forced realization, I turn around and walk away.

Back to my office. Back to the world I built before Lila walked back into it.

I don’t look back.