Page 5

Aurora

"Hurry, Ro. You're gonna be late for school!" I call out, loading the dishwasher.

"I can't find my drawing book, Mom," Ronan replies. I can hear him shuffling through the papers in his room and throwing things around.

I roll my eyes, making my way to the living room. We go through this almost every school day. He stalls under the pretense of missing a drawing book, even though he knows I put them in the same spot every night.

Just as I guessed, there's a booklet with shapes and figures on the second shelf of the mini bookcase in the corner of the room. "Found it."

A low groan echoes my victory, and shortly, Ronan's light steps follow. "Where did you find it? I searched everywhere for it."

He gestured towards the toys scattered on the floor as solid proof that he had searched everywhere.

If I wasn't already working with a tight schedule, I might've found the time to indulge his little game of pretense.

"How about you start your search from this spot," I point at the bookcase, "before proceeding to turn the house upside down."

His face split into a wide grin, mischief hiding behind his eyes. "Okay, Mama."

It is scary how much he looks like Lucien when he smiles. They have the same dimple on their right cheek and piercing blue eyes.

When I prayed to the Goddess to rid me of any attachment I had to Lucien, I didn't expect her to answer by putting his miniature clone in me.

I never thought it possible for a kid to pick mannerisms from a parent they've never met. I mean, everyone knows looks are passed through genes, but behavioral characteristics are often passed through presence and imitation.

The rules must've skipped my son because as he snatched his lunchbox from the table and headed for the door, his little legs somehow managed to move in a way that gave the left a slight kick, exactly how Lucien walks.

"Coming, Mummy?" he asks, holding the door. I snap out of my daze, masking my worry with a smile.

I steal a glance at him through the driver's mirror to find him swinging his legs and munching on a piece of carrot. "Snacking on your lunch already?" I ask, a smile playing on my lips.

"I like carrots." He pouts, and I let out a soft laugh. Another thing he picked from his father was an undying love for food.

"Be sure to have your fill. Remember, no eating in class." I recall his first day in school and his teacher asking if his lunch box wasn't a bit too big for a boy his age. I remember smiling and asking her to watch and see. When I returned, she couldn't stop talking about how she wished her daughter had an appetite as healthy as Ronan's.

A part of me knew it was the supernatural in him responsible for his strength and ability to consume so much food, but that is a topic I prefer to avoid till the time is right.

I'll keep him sheltered for as long as I can. I refuse to let him have the life I had.

"We're here." I pull into the school parking lot and hop out of my car to help Ronan out. I catch the glances of a few passers-by thrown our way, or, should I say, at my car.

The Mercedes is the latest model I snagged for myself as a congratulatory gift after being promoted to the level of COO for the Phoenix branch of the Pinnacle Group. It was a splurge, but when I consider the years that led to this moment, I consider it a worthy gift.

"So, what did we say about break time?" I ask Ronan as I walk him to his class.

He recites the set of rules without missing a beat. "Stay close to the teacher. Don't speak to strangers, and don't take anything from anyone."

"Good boy," I cheer as we walk into his class. I hand his things over to his teacher and turn back to Ronan, bringing myself to his height. "You be good, and Mommy will come get you after school, okay?"

"Okay," He replies, standing on his tippy toes to place a wet kiss on my nose. The little charmer.

We do our little handshake, and he runs off to meet his friends at the corner. I catch a glimpse of one of them pulling out a toy from his pocket and displaying how it works to rest before returning to the parking lot.

Finding a great school that happens to be less than a ten-minute ride from my office was definitely the needle in my haystack of worry when I was searching for a school for Ronan. I wasted no time enrolling him, and now, I enjoy the peace of not having to drive across the city every morning. I am at the office bright and early every day without having to deal with the hassle of the traffic.

"Good morning, Miss Veronica," Lily, my personal assistant, greets, taking my bag and handing me a file containing my itinerary and a cup of coffee as soon as I step into the reception of the humongous structure that is the Pinnacle Empire.

"You have a meeting with Mr. Adams at 10:00 a.m. He wants to discuss the safety of his funds and investment options. Lady Charlotte wants to expand her jewelry line and needs financial advice and suggestions. You also have lunch with Mr. Damon at 1:00 p.m.," she scrambles off, and my eyes follow her words on the file, soaking up the details of every activity she mentions.

"Seems like a packed day for me," I sigh, preparing my mind for the day ahead.

"I can always stand in for you if you want me to." Her voice is chirpy and too enthusiastic. I've never met a person so eager to help.

"Thank you, Lily, but this is, unfortunately, one of those days I have to handle alone." I take my right at the end of the hallway, bringing us to the door of my office. "We wouldn't want Lady Charlotte going off about our customer service, now would we?"

While running into Katherine almost three years ago at a networking event is obviously the best thing that has ever happened to me, and this job being my dream come true, my clients are a completely different topic.

Dealing with the creme d'coup of the society is not the easiest job in the book, and satisfying them is an entirely different story. It turned out to be the biggest challenge during my first year here. I was convinced on different occasions that Katherine would decide I wasn't good enough, but she merely said some of the best brains she'd ever known have the worst people skills and went ahead to hire Lily to help with managing our clients and conducting a quick background check before I meet with them.

I didn't think it possible for a stranger to have so much faith in you till I ran into Katherine Lockhart, and our less than twenty-minute interaction was all it took for her to hire me on the spot. Our work relationship eventually turned into a full-blown friendship, close enough for me to let her in on my past and on the story of me and Lucien. After she discovered she was mated to a wolf shifter, of course.

She was the most supportive friend for the most difficult period and an even more amazing boss for the longest time. She was my ever-present confidante till she had to move to Europe with her mate to rule his kingdom. The distance didn't affect our friendship very much, and we still do our best to keep in touch. Still, there are moments I wish she were physically here with me."She seems like a really sweet woman." Lily hands me her tablet, and on the screen is a woman who looks to be in her fifties. She lacked the haughty "I'm better than you" air my regular clients wear like a second skin, but she did have an awfully straight and aristocratic nose, almost like Lucien's.

I held back a sigh, handing the device back to Lily, who continued to fill my ears with unending information about Lady Charlotte. For some reason that I can't seem to wrap my head around, Lucien has been making unwarranted appearances in my thoughts lately. It's not like there is a day that goes by without me thinking of him at some point. I love his miniature clone, but the frequency has definitely gone up a notch.

I push back that wave of sadness his name always leaves in its wake, forcing myself to remain grounded in the present. It's probably my wolf expressing her displeasure at my upcoming date.

She has been restless since I agreed to go on a date with Damon after he asked for the fifth time.

Five years after he treated us like vermin, and we went on a self-imposed sabbatical from men, she still manages to find ways to give him grace despite the pain he put us through. The traitor.

"You can let Lady Charlotte and every other person on the list know that the details of our appointment have not changed," I reply, thanking Lily for her hard work and dismissing her for the day. Another thing I'm yet to understand is calling to confirm an already set appointment. Where I come from, people set appointments and honor them, but over here, you have to remind them.

I make a quick trip to my private restroom, fixing my appearance, touching up my makeup, and getting into character for the day to come. My job is to help these people grow their wealth, give advice, and protect their finances, not to analyze their behavioral patterns.

*********

It is a little past one by the time I am done with consultations. Lady Charlotte turned out to be an awfully hard-to-please woman with almost no idea what she wanted to do with her money. The meeting ended with me listing out options for her to consider and rescheduling for another day. I pack my bag and head to my next appointment, lunch.

Despite cutting through corners, it takes almost fifteen minutes to get to my lunch date. The restaurant has a soft ambiance. The mix of gold, cream, and rich brown blend deliciously to give off a vibe that screams luxury, but not in an obnoxious way that has you feeling like the menu will rip off your wallet.

I spot Damon waving from the corner. His face stretches into his signature boyish grin. How he manages to retain his boyish charms years after college is something I'll never understand.

"I was scared you wouldn't show up for a minute," he says, standing to pull out a seat for me.

I raise a brow at him, settling into the chair. "Why would you think that?"

"Let's see," he taps his jaw as though he's in deep thought. "It took seven years and ten tries to get a yes from you. Figured you probably said yes to get me off your back with no intention of actually showing up."

"It wasn't even up to ten tries." I laugh at the obvious exaggeration, and he throws his shoulders back, a playful smirk flirting on his lips.

"Okay, twenty. It was definitely twenty tries, with this being the twenty-first. Whoever said the third time's a charm should be turning in their graves. The saying should definitely be twenty times is the charm."

I snort out a laugh while he stares at me like my humor is lost on him, and that only causes me to laugh more.

Damon is an old friend from college who I ran into at a charity event a year ago, and despite his claims to have been in love with me since college and constantly dropping hints, I only ever saw him as just a friend till recently. My wolf stirs at the thought, but I pay her no heed. She can always go back to sulking after our lost mate. She managed to stay mad at me for weeks after I rejected Lucien, and sometimes, I'm pretty sure she called a truce because of Ronan. Regardless, I intend to have a great time today.

Lunch arrives shortly after Damon makes a full presentation of how he knows the menu by heart and taste buds and would love to wow me with the best dish from the kitchen.

"Wow. This is really good," I comment, taking another bite of pasta. I love the way it melts into my tongue without being soggy. Everything is so yummy."

"See, if you had said yes to me a long time ago, we'd be halfway through the best restaurants in Phoenix by now." He points to the chicken sauce next to me. "You should have a bite of that too. It feels like heaven in your mouth."

I let out a chuckle, failing to understand how one knows what heaven tastes like, but I indulge him, cutting a sizable piece and putting it in my mouth while he watches, waiting for my reaction.

True to his words, the chicken tastes amazing. It is easily some of the best I've had, but the reaction I get upon swallowing is the complete opposite of what I am feeling.

I clamp my mouth shut, constricting my throat to keep the food from coming back up. Damon hands me a glass of water, his face pulled into a worried knot. "Did you swallow a bone?"

I shake my head, chugging down the glass of water. The reaction is a result of my wolf's refusal to relax. She's had her panties in a twist since I got to this location, but I didn't expect her to feel so strongly about an innocent date. It's like she's agitating for something I can't place.

My attempts to calm her are met with strong resistance, so I lay down my cutlery, having no interest in making a fool out of myself. "Must be the cheese. I had a glass of milk during breakfast, and now the lactose-intolerant part of me won't let me hold down another bite of dairy." I lie through my teeth, hoping Damon doesn't put two and two together.

He is a shifter, too, and it doesn't take much to sniff out when another wolf is not exactly impressed by your presence.

"Sorry about that. Should I order something different? Maybe dry and crispy?"

I open my mouth to tell him how much I love the meal and will order a takeout when we're done, but I'm hit with the mouth-watering combination of amber and sandalwood. My nose flares, and my ears prick up.

My wolf's agitation gives way to excitement, and my heart stops, sinking to the pit of my stomach as goosebumps trail the part of my neck that feels as though someone is shooting lasers through them. My joints lock in place, and every bit of me stiffens.

Goddess, no, no, no. Anything but this.