Chapter 9

Elena's POV

“I thought I informed you to cancel all meetings, Monica”, Horace said in a stern, deep voice, his expression suddenly changed from flirty to dead serious.

I quickly fastened my robe and walked into the kitchen pantry, standing by the door to eavesdrop on the conversation.

“Yes, you did and but...”,

“But what?”

The wavy-haired woman hesitated.

“The council called for an emergency meeting. They say it's urgent, and they want to meet with the Alphas of every district. It may be of national concern”, she said, last minute, drumming her nails against the flat board.

She was beautiful. I couldn't deny that. Her hair, her clothes, and even her demeanor screamed high class and luxury. I wondered who she was. Not really, tho, because with the way she spoke, she obviously worked for Horace.

Maybe his personal assistant.

A tinge of jealousy washed over me suddenly.

“What the hell, Elena, it's not like you two are married?”

“I am not going to be attending. Tell them that”, Horace said, turning away from her.

“But sir, this is an extra important meeting.”

“And so it is today extremely important that I spend time with my son.”

“And your mistress?” Monica asked, her eyes suddenly darting to where I stood. I panicked and quickly hid behind the door, a very useless move because Horace had already seen me.

“My girlfriend”, he corrected his assistant. My heart leaped at the sound of those words, my wolf delighted to hear him call me that. But I scolded myself immediately.

“Don't let him get into your head.”

So Horace was insisting on staying. God, if we had one full day together, I knew I'd succumb to his flirtatious moves before the day ended.

So I shouted out of the blue.

“You don't have to miss the meeting.”

Both Monica and Horace looked at me like I was crazy.

“I mean, ummm.. Ethan has his doctor's appointment, and you could just, you know, drive us to the hospital and then get to the meeting. It's within town, isn't it?”

“Yes, it is”, Monica answered hesitantly, not a smirk or a smile on her face. “This is the capital”, she said in a tone that sounded like it would have rather gone,

“Duh, obvious”

“I'm sure you'll come back in time to play with Ethan.”, I added, glancing from Horace to Monica.

Horace stared at me, a sly smile at the edge of his lip if he just knew that I was looking everywhere possible to avoid me.

To avoid being in the same space.

Monica coughed, ruining the moment between us. I couldn't help but feel how uneasy I made her.

“The meeting is in three hours, sir.”

Horace didn't answer. He just walked over to where I was standing and cornered me at the edge of the kitchen counter.

“Whatever games you're trying to play, Elena, are not going to work.”

“I'm not playing games. I have two weeks. I need time alone with Ethan.”

He smirked, his tall frame towering over me as he leaned closer

“We both know that's not what this is.”

I could almost touch his six-pack abs, and his loose tank shirt from jogging revealed his hairy, muscular chest, making me even the more hot inside.

From afar, I could sense how uncomfortable Monica was with our proximity. Just as I thought, she coughed again.

“Two hours, thirty minutes…”, she said, a bit of hastiness in her voice.

“Don't rush me, Monica. I didn't plan to go out today.”

“Well, that's why I brought your wardrobe stylist and hair stylist with me so we can get you there in record time. Chop, chop”, she said, clapping her hands.

Horace looked at her with the most uninterested pair of eyes ever.

“I'll be down in twenty minutes. I need to take a shower.”

Horace took an apple from the kitchen as he left for the stairs. The SWOT team dispersed immediately, some of them spreading throughout the living room and even upstairs. I took Ethan, who had come downstairs, back to his room to change.

“Where are you going, mama?” Ethan asked as I put on his shorts.

“Umm.. a trip. Don't worry, you'll enjoy it.”

“I thought we were all staying indoors today. Dad and I are going to build Legos.”

“And you will”, I assured quickly. I ran a hand through his hair. “You can take your Lego set with you. We are going to drop by the hospital first but after, we'll build a giant castle with giant walls”, I said, deepening my voice a little to imitate his favourite cartoon character. He laughed and laughed even more as I tickled him.

Just then, I heard Monica’s voice behind us.

Ethan, upon seeing her, rushed to her in excitement. “Aunty Monica!”

She picked him up and threw him in the air in excitement. He crackled in excitement, asking her to do it again.

“Hey buddy! How are you? It's been so long,” L

“I’ve missed you, Aunty Monica”, he said, wrapping his small hands around her neck in a hug.

“Aww, I've missed you too, buddy”, she said, placing a hand on his back.

“Here's a little something”, she said, reaching into the pocket of her coat. Her hand held the green lollipop, and Ethan squealed in excitement.

“Thank you, Aunty Monica!”

“You’re welcome. Are you all set?”

“Yes. I'm wearing my favourite shirt. See”, he said, tugging at the Wolfman print on his shirt.

“I see. That's good because we will be ready to go in a few minutes.”

“I need to pack my LEGO set!” he said, and Monica put him down.

“Be careful”, I said just before his little legs sprinted out of the room. Now it was just Monica and me, and the awkward silence that engulfed us both.

It was uneasy. The kind that made you wish you could just disappear.

There was a sneer in her eyes as she looked at me, her eyes assessing every part of my body.

“So the rumours are true. Alpha Horace has a mistress. Quite an interesting pick.”