Chapter 6

Selene’s POV 

The sharp sting of antiseptics filled my nose, dragging me back to consciousness. I had always despised that smell as it reminded me too much of my mother, her fragile body clinging to life by a thin thread in the hospital.

But the job required I ran a medical test in order to qualify. 

Blinking, I caught sight of a woman in the corner of the room. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, busy with something, but the moment my eyes adjusted, I shot upright. I wanted to leave. I couldn’t stand lingering here a second longer than necessary.

Then the memories came, a bit foggy flashes before I fainted. The stranger's face I couldn't make out. Last night. Him. I had kissed him. I had thrown myself at him and though I couldn’t recall what happened afterward, I remembered waking up next to him this morning. 

Then it clicked. A memory of me throwing up on him. 

I grabbed my hair, going crazy as to what I had done. That was so embarrassing. He probably hated me at that moment.

“Why did he ask if I remembered him?” I whispered, my voice uncertain as I turned to the lady, who was arranging drugs on the counter. 

I sizzled the thought out and focused on what's important. Getting that job would help me cover a lot. Becoming that man's daughter's tutor is the only way out for me to pay for . 

Plus he is so good looking. My heart ran up my cheeks as I sighed out dreamily imagining my life teaching his daughter while stealing glances of a wealthy handsome man.

But then the truth hit me. He would probably have some women more suited for his level with a potential level twice better than mine. 

The realization lodged in my throat, bitter and unrelenting. Just days ago, I had been scouring the city for jobs, desperate for even the smallest chance and every door had been slammed in my face. Now, here I was, suddenly chosen over all the others who had taken the interview, suddenly hired. A mere poor girl without a luxury tag to my name. 

I should stop dreaming. I have a mother lying in a hospital bed with her fate uncertain.

What was wrong with me?

The door creaked open and a middle-aged man stepped inside. I recognized him as the same man I had assumed was the butler of this house. He exchanged a look with the woman before whispering something to her. I barely paid attention, lost in my own swirl of thoughts, still wondering where I even was.

Chicago was a vast city, one filled with stories of wealthy families whose lives were worlds apart from mine. I wasn’t one of them. My poor parents had died in a car crash, leaving me with nothing. My adoptive mother though barely able to feed herself had still taken me in. That was the life I knew. Not… this.

And yet, suspicion clawed at me. Why would a rich man keep a doctor inside his mansion? Even the building itself, those towering walls I had glimpsed when they drove me here, looked nothing like the homes of ordinary wealthy men. This wasn’t just a mansion. And this room, no, this clinic was equipped with everything one would expect in a hospital wing. It was unsettling.

The butler began walking toward me, but before he could speak, the woman called out to him.

“Beta, where should I, ” She froze, cutting herself off as his face snapped toward her in sharp warning, his eyes dark with anger.

I stiffened. My lips parted before I could stop myself.

“Beta?” I muttered under my breath, confusion flooding me. What was that supposed to mean? What did they mean by that?

However, my question died the instant he began walking toward my bed. Panic surged through me. I scrambled down, my knees hitting the floor hard as I bowed before him, pleading desperately.

“Please, sir. I really need this job. I can’t afford to lose it. My mother is sick, she needs urgent medical attention that I must pay for. Please don’t take this away from me, I beg you!” My voice cracked as I cried, real tears streaming down my face. I only hoped they would soften his heart, that he would pity me.

“Selene, your test result shows you consumed a lot of alcohol. For someone who will be handling a child you are not qualified enough.” he said, his voice deep and firm. This made me panic even more, it only fueled my terror, making me plead harder.

This was it, I thought. He had been sent to dismiss me.

“I swear, I only went there last night to drink. I’ve been through too many heartbreaks these past weeks and I thought the club was the only place I could loosen up. I’m not the sort of woman you might mistake me for. I can tutor his daughter well, he will never have complaints, just please, help me beg him to forgive me!”

“Selene, you’ve not done anything wrong for all th, ”

“Please, sir, I promise I’ll do my best to impress him!” I cut in, unwilling to listen, unwilling to accept comfort. My thoughts churned wildly. Perhaps they were trying to dismiss me discreetly, sugarcoating it so I wouldn’t realize I was being sacked before even starting. Perhaps it was all a trap.

“I know your boss doesn’t want to employ me because he thinks I have a bad habit with alcohol, but believe me, that’s not who I am!” My words tumbled out in a rush, frantic and desperate. “Even if he does not want me, please let me work just for this month. Let him judge me after. Please beg him not to sack me. I’ll endure anything, just don’t take this chance from me!”

A hundred thousand a month, it was too much to walk away from. Too much to lose when my mother’s chemotherapy bills hung over me like a noose. Better to humble myself this way, on my knees, than to return to Collins for a pitiful sum that would do nothing.

“Who told you I would be sacking you, Selene?”

The voice came sharp and cold, cutting the air like a blade. My breath caught in my throat as my body froze. Slowly, I turned my head toward the door.

He was standing there. Him. My boss.

“Alpha…” the woman murmured, bowing her head quickly.

“Alpha,” the butler echoed, his tone respectful, submissive.

“Alpha?” I whispered to myself, the word strange and heavy on my tongue. What did it mean?