Two

Dimitri's POV

"What is that?" I asked.

"My resignation letter."

I was so surprised that I could have gotten knocked down by a feather. I stared from Valeria to the letter she held out to me in utter disbelief. On her face was an expression that I had never seen before- stubborn determination. My mind whirled in a hundred different directions.

Docile, obedient Valeria turned me down? That was a laugh. What I had said about money probably hadn't registered yet. Or maybe it had, and she was just playing hard to get so I could improve on my offer.

"I told you that money is no object," I said slowly. "Name your price, and let's get this negotiation over with."

She threw the paper on the bed. "And I told you that I'm not interested in your money. I don't care how much you want to offer. I'm done."

I gave her a once over, taking in her skin tight jeans and close fitting shirt. The look was meant to be insulting, and I felt a savage sort of pleasure when she flushed under my steady gaze.

Feeling at a disadvantage, as I was undressed and she was fully clothed, I quickly got off the bed, hunted for, and pulled on my trousers. All thoughts I had harboured of making love to Valeria before we had to leave went away fast.

"You now have a high opinion of yourself, don't you?" I sneered as I perched on a chair opposite her. "You are turning away the offer of money without a second thought. You are nothing, you mean absolutely nothing to me. In case you have forgotten, let me remind you of a few home truths. All that all you have, the designer clothes you strut around in, the car, the apartment, everything, I gave them to you. You owe what you are today to me."

"Then take them back," she shouted. I blinked in surprise. This was a first. Valeria never shouted at me. "I don't want your- your trinkets."

"Trinkets. You say! Don't be quick to forget that I paid off all your debts."

"And you made sure I paid back every red cent in kind. I've been like your sex slave for three whole years, Dimitri. I consider my debt to you paid in full. Now, I want to be free, free to get married, and maybe have kids. Since you can't give me those things, there are lots of men out there who will."

"You think so?" I said with a sneer.

"I know so," she said with confidence that had me staring at her.

My wolf especially felt the stirrings of unease. I was an Alpha wolf, after all, and Valeria was the perfect submissive. She would usually melt at the tone of command or displeasure in my voice. When the hell did she grow so confident?

My unease quickly grew into anger. The nerve of this woman! After all I had done for her. After everything I did for her, I couldn't let her go. Not like this. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of trying to convince her to stay.

"Well, suit yourself. I'll be damned before I ask you to stay. There are lots of women ready and willing to take your place. As for the work part of our arrangement, I'll start looking for a new secretary next week. You won't leave until the new secretary arrives, and you've handed everything over. Understand?"

She shrugged. "Fine by me."

I swore under my breath, grabbed the rest of my clothes and went into the bathroom. I didn't even have the satisfaction of leaving before her. By the time I had gotten dressed and returned to the room, she was gone. I stomped out of the hotel, snapped at the manager who wanted to exchange a few words, and got to my car.

I couldn't remember feeling this angry, bitter, and though I hated to admit it, sad. I had a whole lot of work to do at the office, but I could not stand the idea of going there now. I needed a place to vent. Silas, my Beta, would listen.

Silas's living room curtain twitched as I pulled up in front of his house. Before I got out of the car, he was outside the front door, staring at me in surprise.

"Dimitri," he said. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work? Or wait, do I have my days mixed up? It's a Monday, isn't it?"

Ignoring him, I pushed past him and went into the house. I plonked down on a sofa.

"I need a drink," I muttered.

Silas frowned, crossed his arms across his chest. "Well, good morning to you too. Nice of you to just breeze in here and demand a-"

"-Drink, Silas. A stiff one. Maybe I should go and get it myself." I half rose to my feet.

Silas impatiently waved me back into my seat. "Fine. I'll get you the bloody drink, as long as you promise to tell me what has gotten you so worked up."

I eased the collar of my tie and struggled to rein in my anger. Silas soon returned with a bottle of spirits. He poured some into a glass, pushed it over to me. I grabbed the bottle from him, filled up that glass and quaffed the drink in one gulp. Silas's eyes widened.

"What the hell, Dimitri? What's going on with you?"

"It's Valeria. She heard of my engagement to Summer and told me this morning that she was done with me, that she was leaving, because those were the terms stipulated in our contract. I told her to name her price, so things could go on as they were between us. Guess what? The ungrateful little thing refused."

Silas stared, shook his head. "Are we talking about the same person here? The obedient, submissive Valeria I know?"

"The very same." I poured myself another glass of alcohol.

"Damn! I wouldn't have believed it. What has gotten into her?"

I shrugged. "Search me."

"Hmm." Silas was thoughtful. When he looked at me, there was a twinkle in his eye. "You seem extremely upset that she's leaving you. I thought you said you didn't care about her."

I shot him a glare. "I don't."

"If you say so. Maybe she's found another guy she's taken a fancy to."

My heart sank at the thought. My fingers clenched around the glass.

"I'm sure she hasn't," I growled, more to convince myself than him.

"Well, look on the bright side. Maybe it's best that things ended this way. A romance between humans and werewolves is forbidden. Besides, you shouldn't lose sight of why you are really in the human world."

I nodded. Silas was actually right. Five years after coming into the human world, seeking for clues, I had finally found a clue about the human organisation that had attacked my pack and murdered my parents and my mate, Victoria twelve years ago.

I had a higher purpose than that mere slip of a woman, Valeria. She would definitely regret leaving me when she found out how important I was to her, how I was the thread holding her life together. How she couldn't do without me…

"Listen, Dimitri," Silas continued. "Your date with Summer is tomorrow. I ran a background check on her as you asked. She's clean. She doesn't know her family is into the werewolf hunting business. That part is all on her father."

"I thought as much. I just want to use her as a means to know more about her family's secrets."

A couple of hours later, I returned to the suite, tipsy, but clear headed. The sight of the torn scraps of her lingerie and her resignation letter greeted me as soon as I got in. After a moment's hesitation, I picked up the letter, opened it.

Dimitri, it read.

I write this letter to officially resign from your employ. This is something I should have done a long time ago, but I guess it's better late than never...

She wrote some more stuff that I just skimmed through. Angrily, I crumpled the paper in my fist. I decided I wouldn't let Valeria walk away that easily. A mere pleasure toy couldn't reject me. I still needed her to fill the void that my mate had left behind. As much as I hated it…I needed her. My wolf needed her.

My wolf was restless, agitated. It had grown attached to her, and I would be damned before I would allow my wolf get more riled up than it already was. If Valeria had to leave, I would be the one to tell her to.