3. HUMAN MATE

It was Tuesday, and Selene woke up tired again.

By the time she finally slipped through the double doors of Blackwood Corps, her feet were already aching. 

She navigated the labyrinth of sleek, mirrored hallways to her cubicle, the familiar hum of ringing phones and clacking keyboards filling the air.

The office was already buzzing with a strange, electric tension that made the hairs on Selene’s arms stand on end.

She immediately buried herself in spreadsheets and proposals, trying to ignore the mounting deadlines weighing on her mind.

It was just another regular Tuesday until it wasn’t.

“He’ll be here any minute,” Selene heard as whispers and the clicking of heels passed her desk.

“Who are they talking about?” she inquired, leaning over the wooden partition of her cubicle to nudge Chloe.

Chloe stopped typing and looked up at her as though she’d just asked if the sun was going to rise tomorrow. “Did you not see the memo?”

“What memo?” Selene frowned, reaching for her phone to check the latest update.

“The one that went out last night on all the corporate listservs,” Chloe whispered fiercely, her eyes darting toward the main hallway. “The one that said the CEO would be coming today? You need to start keeping up with internal information, Selene.”

“Wait, you mean the CEO of this entire company? As in THE Mr. Blackwood?” Selene asked, stomach dropping in horror.

“Yes. Who else would it be? The President?” She rolled her eyes and rearranged the stack of files on her desk. “If I were you, I’d start checking to make sure the Q3 marketing numbers are perfect. We could never tell what might be going on. I mean, he hasn’t set foot in here in a long time.”

Selene tuned out Chloe’s voice. The pressure of trying to balance everything over the weekend, combined with the stress from yesterday, made it difficult to process anything happening around her.

“I heard he fired an entire department once,” a woman whispered.

“No, seriously. My cousin works in the finance department. She said someone spilled coffee on his documents and got fired that same day.”

Nyx snorted.

Dramatic humans. If he’s that terrifying, why does everyone suddenly smell so excited?

Selene barely had time to process everything she’d just heard before the huge glass doors to the main office flew open, and the atmosphere instantly became heavy.

 The idle chatter and sound of shoes against the marble floor ceased immediately. It felt as though everyone held their breath in anticipation.

“He’s here. The CEO is here,” someone whispered loudly, breaking the spell. Employees scrambled to straighten their posture and look intensely productive. 

Straighten your back, girl. You don’t want to be caught looking like a slob, Nyx said.

The double doors flew open, and Alaric Blackwood walked in, commanding the attention of the entire room. Right beside him was his best friend and also the COO, Flynn Donovan. 

Tall, muscular, and carrying an unmistakable air of authority, the CEO scanned the office with his piercing gaze.

Wow, Selene heard in her head. Nyx suddenly sounded serious, almost intrigued. What an aura.

Alaric moved to the center of the room like a predator, mysterious and unaffected.

Selene kept her head low, hoping to blend into the crowd and remain unnoticed. But as he drew closer, a strange, inexplicable feeling bloomed in her chest.

Then suddenly, he stopped, his eyes locking directly onto Selene’s. Alaric’s posture stiffened, and multiple emotions flashed across his face—confusion, sadness, heartache—all of which he quickly tried to mask.

Flynn immediately noticed the tension radiating from his friend and leaned toward him. “You good?” he whispered.

“Yeah… yeah, I’m fine,” Alaric muttered, eyes still fixed on Selene. 

“Everyone,” the voice of the Operations Director echoed in the large room.

“As stated in the memo that was circulated earlier, Mr. Blackwood will be staying at this branch for the time being. I need productivity at its peak. There should be no slacking. Now, get back to work.”

Alaric, still looking disturbed, turned to Flynn. “I need the personnel file of that woman immediately.”

“Who? The one you were staring at?” Flynn asked, suddenly interested.

“Yes, that one.” He nodded. 

“Why? You like her?” Flynn smirked, teasing his friend. 

“Just get me the file.” Alaric gritted his teeth, unwilling to continue with the conversation. 

They both headed toward the private elevator, the Operations Director trailing behind them.

Well… that was strange, Nyx remarked. The tension and awkwardness clearly hadn’t gone unnoticed by her.

Selene thought so too. She had felt the air shift when Alaric stared at her. She’d noticed everything—the flicker in his eyes, the clenching of his jaw, the tightening of his fists.

He was staring at her. Her. She couldn’t understand what she’d done to make him stare at her like that.

“Or am I imagining things?” she thought aloud, her voice low as she sank back into her seat.

You may be confused, but I’m not. I know what I saw, Nyx insisted.

Maybe he likes you. She teased. 

Yeah… right! Selene scoffed internally. 

Upstairs, on the executive floor, the confusion was no different. Alaric stood by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Ravenwood, his fists clenched in his pockets as he gazed down at the cars and people moving below.

Flynn sat comfortably in the executive chair, idly swiveling with a smirk on his face, clearly amused by his best friend’s distress.

“You know I’m not going to leave until you tell me what’s going on, right?” Flynn said, finally standing from the chair.

He perched on the desk, bracing his weight on his arms while keeping his legs extended and crossed at the ankles.

Alaric remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.

Finally breaking the silence, he held out his hand. “Hand me the file.”

“Selene Hart,” he muttered to himself. 

“Why are you so interested in her, anyway?” Flynn pressed, clearly unwilling to let it go.

Alaric stared directly into Flynn’s eyes, “She’s my mate.” 

“WHAT?” Flynn’s shock was evident, standing upright immediately, he asked, “Are you joking?” 

“Why would I joke about my mate?” Alaric said curtly. 

“My mate is human.” 

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

🎧 SPEAK UP! What are your first impressions of Selene and Alaric? 👀

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🔮 PREDICTION: Do you think Alaric and Selene are going to cross paths again soon? 👀

🎤 RANDOM QUESTION: Are you a morning person or a night owl? 🌙☀️

Thank you for reading! 😍❤️ See you in the next chapter!