Aurora:
“You can’t be seriously expecting me to work with HIM?” I asked, looking at Alpha Giovanni who smiled at me.
“I know that you are surprised, and in all honesty, I never expected the two of you to be meeting the way that you did; but we both knew that I wouldn’t be staying forever, Aurora” he said, his voice softening.
“I didn’t even know that you had intentions of retiring anytime soon. Yes, I know that you wouldn’t have stayed in your position forever, but I expected to at least be notified. You know, to keep it in mind, to be mentally prepared…”
“You wouldn’t have agreed to work with Dante if you knew. At least, now, you don’t have any excuses, and I know that you don’t like how you two met; but if I mean anything to you, please do this for me” he said, his voice softening. I sighed, and stood up from my chair to get on my knees in front of him.
“Alpha Giovanni, you have been the father that I didn’t have. You saved my life when everyone around me was using me for being alive. I owe you my life for what you did, and you know it; however, I just need a little time to think about how all this is going to go. I know that you want me to work with him, and I know that I can never do anything to repay the debt that you did for me, but…” I said, stopping as I felt my chest ache. The fact that he didn’t even notice me as his mate broke my wolf, causing her to quiet down completely. But I knew not to tell Giovanni that his son was my potential mate “just let me think about it. I still have to speak to Aiden about this too”
“I thought that you two had an open relationship?” He asked, watching as I got up. I nodded and smiled.
“I told you that last night would be the last time I slept with any of the other men. I want us to try being real. You know, considering that it was me who told him that I wanted our relationship to be an open one, I believe that I should at least try speaking to him about wanting us to be real” I said, smiling. Giovanni chuckled and nodded. He got up from his chair and cupped my cheeks, gently kissing my forehead.
“You are forever going to be my daughter, do you understand that? I got Dante here, and I know that it is a matter of time till I’ve found my mate and daughter. They might not even forgive me for leaving the way that I did, but I know at least that I have someone who I can say considered me as her father over the years” he said, his tone softening. I stood on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly.
“I will forever be grateful for your existence in my life, and whether or not you were my Alpha, my respect for you will always be infinite”
*******************************
I entered Aiden’s building, Casper’s Co., smiling at the employees who nodded in greeting at me.
It wasn’t the first time that I came here, but this was the first time I’ve come unannounced; however, I wanted to surprise him with a nice brunch for the two of us.
I knocked on the door of his office twice before his secretary opened it for me. Her hair was messed up and needless to say that her makeup was a little messed up. She smiled at me and walked out, leaving me with Aiden who was fixing his shirt when he took sight of me.
“Someone was having fun” I teased, entering the office.
“Sienna was just leaving, but I wasn’t expecting you, is everything alright?” He asked, taking a step toward me. I extended the bags of food for him to see, and smiled.
“I brought us brunch, figured that it has been a while since the two of us have spent any time together…”
“You are a lifesaver, you have no idea how starving I was” he said, stopping me. I couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t bother kissing or hugging me in greeting when he took the bags, and heading to the couch, the two of us sat, leaving a small distance between us.
Aiden dug in without saying a word, the man didn’t even bother looking at me “it is either you are very hungry, or something is bothering you”
“No, nothing is bothering me. But I have been meaning to talk to you about something”
“So was I…” I said, smiling at him, my cheeks reddening as I blushed, now unsure how to open the subject.
“Oh? What’s wrong? Is everything alright at work?”
“Yes, yes, everything is fine. You start though, I need to arrange the words properly in my head before saying them” I said, fiddling with my fingers, growing more nervous by the second.
“I think we should break up” now, to say that I didn’t expect that would not be a lie. My heart felt like it fell out of my chest, and instead, I felt like a bucket of boiling water was spilled over it.
“What?”
“I know we agreed to keep this as an open relationship, but I can’t find myself looking at you as more than a friend, and I can’t keep doing this anymore…”
“Is it about us not spending time together? I already arranged myself at work to…”
“No, no, Aurora, it is not that” he said, stopping me “I’m in love with Sienna, Aurora”
I froze, processing his words for a few seconds before he went on, seeing as I didn’t respond “she is pregnant, and the two of us planned on getting married in a few months. I have been meaning to talk to you about it, but the two of us never had the time to do so”
“Sienna, as in your secretary, Sienna?” I asked, looking down at my lap. Aiden didn’t respond for a few seconds before he nodded, and swallowing the lump that formed in my throat, I smiled and nodded “well then, I wish the two of you a happy life together”
I got up from the couch and walked to the door before he could see the tears that formed in my eyes, not wanting to give him that bit of satisfaction “what were you going to say?”
“It doesn’t matter” I said, looking at him over my shoulder “have a nice brunch and I hope that you and Sienna are happy together”
“Aurora…”
I walked out of the office before he could say another word, practically running out the building. My tears fell from my eyes before I could stop them, and had it not been for the fact that my wolf was giving me the strength to keep walking, I know that I might have fallen on my knees as his words played in my head.
Stopping in front of a bus stop, I forced myself to wipe my tears from my eyes before my phone vibrated in my pocket. I picked it up, expecting to find a message from Aiden only to be surprised when I found that it was from Giovanni.
-Don’t get too carried away with Aiden, mi amor, you still have a dinner date with Dante, and attached below is contact number in case you decided to say that you didn’t find the paper;).
Stay safe, and have fun.
I glared at the message for a few seconds before throwing my phone back in my purse, cursing under my breath as I massaged my temple while I sat on the bench.
Thank you, Giovanni, that was just what I fucking needed…
Dante:“Do you think that she would be calling?” Leonardo asked, scrolling through his phone. He has been searching for something for the past hour, though what it was, I was sure that not even he knew. “Considering the fact that she wants nothing to do with me, no” I said, answering Leo, ignoring the clench in my chest as I spoke so coldly about a woman who was supposed to be my mate. The idea of her being my significant other was disturbing enough, and the vision of her walking out of that hotel, smelling like sex and alcohol for some task for a prick like Giovanni wouldn’t escape my mind no matter how hard I tried. I wasn’t even sure that she knew that he was simply taking advantage of her for HIS own benefit, and even if she did know, I wasn’t sure if she was okay with that or not.“What if she decides to test her luck and do as your father told? And even if she DOESN’T want to test her luck, what if your father persuades her into this?” Leonardo asked, taking a sip of his cockta
Aurora:I ran my brush through my hair after taking a shower, making sure to get the tangles off it before drying it with the towel.I planned on leaving it to dry naturally, but a towel would always help me not get my clothes soaked, and judging by the fact that I would be meeting Dante, or need I say, Alpha Dante, in an hour, I guessed that taming my curls would be somewhat necessary.Applying my hair cream, I gently ran my fingers through my hair, spreading it evenly before turning to my closet, deciding what to wear. The bedroom was already a mess, and knowing that I had to clean it up when I was back, I couldn’t help but dread the night already. I didn’t even know where he planned for us to meet; therefore, I couldn’t decide on what to wear and have been sitting in my white robe for the past twenty minutes. That didn’t bother me much, though, I had used that time to apply my makeup and get my hair done. The makeup I applied was lighter than the one I usually applied when in busi
Dante:Aurora’s eyes were wide in surprise as she processed what I just told her.“You are either sick or out of your mind. There is no in between” Aurora said, glaring at me. I raised an amused eyebrow at her, and shaking my head, I leaned in and rested my arms on the table. “I am a little bit of both, but I know that you and Giovanni have been looking for information, something that he is well aware that I have. Now, I am giving you the option to be smart and get it out of me, and you can choose your method” I said “and by the way, just to give you a small notice, if you think that the pendant I gave him was the real one, it isn’t. I am not as stupid as to risk him using its compass” “You are a fucking bastard”“I have been called worse” I said, shrugging my shoulders “but you seem to be in a mood, and it’s not only because of my offer”“You being in front of me is annoying enough, offer or not” she said, nodding at the waiter who wanted to pour her a glass of wine. He offered me
Aurora:I brushed my hair as I got ready for my day, not really bothering to blow dry or straighten it as I knew that I wouldn’t be doing much. Plus, should I be required to be with anyone, I could always wear a wig.To say that I was not excited for it would not be a lie; however, I had no say in this. I had to do this for Giovanni, and whether or not I liked it; I had to comply.My phone rang, breaking my train of thoughts, and despite wishing that it was Aiden, I knew that he would be staying as far away from me as possible.Checking my phone, I smiled when I saw that it was one of my friends, Jade, who was calling. It has been a while since I’ve heard from her, and seeing as I was aware of her coming back from her trip to Europe; I knew to expect a call.“Tell me that you missed me without telling me that you missed me” she said once I answered the phone. I laughed, my chest swelling at the fact that I knew that something was going right at least. She was yet to know about Aiden b
Dante:“Okay, I think that this is the last of it” Aurora said, massaging her temple. I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips as I looked at her as she got up from her chair to head to the printer, and having given it the order to print wirelessly, I could hear the paper going through as to print what she needed me to read and sign. Her heels clicking on the ground with each step she took back toward me.She handed me the paper to sign, and standing as close as she was from me, the two of us looked at one another, and I couldn’t help but tense when her cheek brushed against my own. She looked at me, her expression calm before she took a step back, straightening up. Her hair which was tied in a bun allowed me to see her features completely, and I would be lying if I said that it didn’t get harder for me to contain myself.“This is the last paper to sign, for now. The banks still need to send their statements, but that would require your dad to give the approval” Aurora said,
Aurora:I glared at Dante who dismissed me out of his office as his beta arrived. “What’s gotten on her buttons?” I heard him ask as I slammed the door shut. I had to get out of the building before I slammed a plate on the man’s face, and despite my aching chest, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed at my wolf who weakened when he growled.I caught sight of a few new faces inside the reception, and frowning in confusion, I shook my head in question at one of the employees. He shook his head in response and nodding, I walked toward them, crossing my arms over my chest.“Need I ask who you are?” I asked, looking at the group of five men and two women. They looked at one another then at me, the girls eyeing me up and down before one of them, a redhead, opened her mouth to speak.“We are Mr. Dante’s employees. He brought us over personally, and I believe that if you have a problem, you can discuss it with him” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, challenging me.“And why was I no
Dante:“I take it that the two of you are yet to discuss the fact that you are mates” Leonardo said, chuckling when he was sure that Aurora was out of the building “nor did you inform her of the new employees that we were bringing in”The anger that she left in had my wolf urging me to follow her, and having heard her speaking to my pack members; I had to fight every instinct that urged me to go and punch my pack members for insulting her the way that they did. “No, and I am keeping it that way for a while. I have to make sure that she wouldn’t betray me and go on ahead telling Giovanni everything that we’re doing” I said, pinching the bridge of my nose “plus, you know my morals when it comes to choosing a woman that I would date. Yes, she would have her past just like I have mine, and that doesn’t make a difference, but with Aurora things are a little more complicated than we both can call acceptable, and you know it”“Then why not reject her?” Leonardo asked. I had to admit, his qu
Aurora:“So, basically, Giovanni retired and gave his place to his son, and now you are stuck with working with a man that is a douche?” Jade asked, reciting what I told her. I nodded, laying my head on the armrest, looking at her “is he at least cute?”“Is that all that mattered to you?” I asked, laughing at my best friend who winked at me.“He is, I can even say that he’s a little more than just cute; but as I said, he is a douchebag who doesn’t know how to act around a woman, and I’ve had enough of that” I said, crossing my legs on the couch. “You never did tell me what happened with Aiden. You told me that you wanted to tell him about getting serious, but you never did tell me what happened afterwards” Jade said, her tone somewhat hopeful; however, I could tell that it wasn’t hoping for US to be together. Their past behaviors told me everything that I needed to know, and it was one of the reasons why I didn’t tell her about what happened.“He broke up with me to be with his secre