Chapter 2

(Julia's POV)

I woke up slowly, unwilling to fully enter the world of the living just yet. And besides, my bed was so comfy, with its big, fluffy pillows, warm blanket, and — oh, no. Oh, no, oh, no, oh NO.

I sat upright, clutching the sheet to my bare chest, and looked down in horror at the one man I should never, never have slept with: Ronan. This can’t be happening. I can’t believe this is happening, oh, my God.

No subordinate in her right mind would ever get involved with her Alpha, even if he was one of the most handsome men in the entire city. Especially not me. I mean, my God, I already have a mate!

My mate. Kevin. My heart hurt at the thought of him, my sister, and their betrayal. He had always said he understood my schedule, that he was proud of how hard I worked. Now, I know it was just because he already had someone else filling up his time.

A low groan broke me out of my thoughts, and I realized I was still sitting in Ronan’s bed, with the sleeping Alpha right next to me. I held my breath, praying he wouldn’t wake up. Thankfully, last night’s whiskey was still serving as a pretty good sleep aid.

I climbed out of the bed as quietly as I could, tiptoeing around the room to grab my clothes and shoes and silently cursing myself for being so stupid. I got dressed, opened the door, and began moving down the stairs and towards the front door as quickly and silently as possible.

The door had barely closed behind me when my phone started ringing, the screen lighting up with Chloe’s name. I sighed, but picked up anyway. “Oh, my God, finally!” Chloe sounded relieved. “You never responded to any of my texts last night, and I was starting to get worried.”

“Maybe you should have been.” I took a deep breath, then said, “I've done something really terrible.” Chloe didn’t sound worried when she replied, "Oh, come on, what bad thing could perfect Julia possibly have done? Did you forget to turn in yesterday’s reports?"

I didn’t want to tell her, but I needed to tell someone, so I blurted out, "I slept with Ronan."

There was silence, then — “RONAN? Like, our BOSS Ronan?” I winced as I opened my car door and slid inside. “Um…yes?”

“Julia, you can’t tell anyone about this.” I frowned. “I mean, I wasn’t planning to, but why do you say that?” Chloe replied, “Do you remember Fiona from the business department? I heard she was fired for trying to seduce Ronan. I’m pretty sure she was even kicked out of the pack!”

I sighed. “You’re right. I mean, I don’t even know what I was thinking in the first place. Last night was complicated and I don’t need to make it worse.” There was silence, then Chloe said slyly, “Well…I gotta ask. Were you two…good together?”

My face felt like it was on fire. “Um. Well…oh, what the hell. It was good. Really good. Better than it ever has been with Kevin, that’s for sure.” Chloe squealed. “Oh, my God! I’ve never seen you like this before, all bold and impulsive. But I totally get you. Even though Alpha Ronan is tough in the office, his face and his body…well, I get why you slept with him.”

I hummed in response, but silently agreed with my friend. I was always the one to think twice before doing anything, and now here I was, sneaking out of my boss’ house after we had the hottest sex of my life.

It really wasn’t like me, that was for sure. But then I felt something stirring somewhere inside of me, and I realized something else was different. Something had changed last night — my wolf Aura was back to her usual self again.

(Ronan’s POV)

Oh, God, my head. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to fall back asleep, but a sliver of sunlight was peeking through the blinds and directly hitting my face. I groaned and rolled over, burying my face in a pillow.

I hadn’t meant to drink so much last night, but after finally coming to an agreement with the pack last night — an agreement that had taken weeks to hammer out, by the way — I figured I was due a little celebration. Don’t remember coming to the bedroom, though.

I flipped back through my memories of last night, recalling bottles and glasses of liquor, toasting to my own success, and — a woman. There had been a woman; soft hair and long legs and a body that moved against mine like we were made for each other.

I cracked my eyes open to get a glimpse of her in the morning light, but there was no one there. She left? How could she have left? I knew she had been there, though; I could smell her on the pillow.

Strange. Most women I sleep with have to practically be forced out of my bed. I closed my eyes again, concentrating on my wolf, and asked, Well? Do you have any clue what happened last night?

Ohhhh, yeah, it replied. And it was hot. You know, you should let loose like that more often. I rolled my eyes. My wolf, Tyler, was completely unlike me in almost every way; emotional where I was cold, carefree where I was cautious.

You enjoyed it too, didn’t you? he said slyly. She smelled really good — maybe she’s your mate. I laughed out loud at that. For one thing, what were the odds that a random hookup would just so happen to be my destined mate? The chances of that happening are slimmer than winning the lottery.

For another, there was the curse. Years ago, a witch’s curse took away my ability to recognize my true mate. Some might have used that as an excuse to give up, but not me. I plan on finding my mate, no matter what — and last night’s fling was not my mate.

I rolled over and felt around blindly on my nightstand until my fingers found my phone. I punched in Alex’s number and waited for him to pick up. Two rings, and then, “Good morning, sir, how can I help you?”

“You can tell me how the fuck I got home last night.” I closed my eyes, feeling a dull ache starting in my head. Alex paused, then said, “You called Julia, the new Acting Beta. She delivered the file you wanted? And then I believe she gave you a ride back to your house”

“Julia?” I frowned. How strange. I never really thought of her as a woman, much less an object of desire. I tried to remember her, but nothing much was coming to mind, other than plain pantsuits and a pair of black-rimmed glasses that swallowed up most of her face.

She was a hell of a worker, though, which is what earned her the new position, but that didn’t make up for the fact that she was hopelessly boring.

Without another word to Alex, I hung up and closed my eyes, focusing on the pack mindlink. Julia. We need to talk. Be at my place in 10 minutes. Don’t make me wait.

By the time I had dragged myself out of bed, gotten dressed, and made my way downstairs, she was already knocking on my door. I pulled it open and gazed down at Julia, who looked just as tired as I was.

“Good morning, Ronan.” She walked in and stopped at the base of the stairs, looking too professional for this early in the morning. There’s the Julia I remember. “What can I do for you today?”

“You can tell me what the hell happened last night.” I crossed my arms. “I know you were here last night. Alex told me I called you. Although, why he couldn’t handle it himself, I don’t know.”

Her formal facade dropped a bit, but she quickly recovered. “You called me to come meet you at the pub and deliver a project file. We spent some time there going over the file, then I gave you a ride home and helped you upstairs.”

“And that was all?” I eyed her suspiciously. “There…wasn’t anyone else here?” Julia shook her head. “No, I didn’t see any one else. However, I had other plans later that night, so I left shortly afterward. Now, if that’s all…”

I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Go.” She walked past me without argument, but as she brushed against my arm, I froze. I grabbed her arm, leaned in, and inhaled deeply through my nose.

Julia looked up at me, clearly nervous. “What? I thought you wanted me to go.” I sniffed one more time, then studied her curiously. “Why does your scent smell so much like the one on my pillow from last night?”