Chapter 2: The Green Eyed Wolf

I wake up the next morning feeling like a truck ran me over. I didn’t even have a single glass of wine yesterday. I was too tired from traveling and drinking seemed careless. Plus Lucien doesn’t strike me as someone who would even let a nineteen year old drink.

Why am I even afraid of that guy?

He’s not my father.

I spent most of the night thinking about the lunch with Vivian and that blood sucker. He actually offered me an internship at his company. Or rather forced it on me. Right before asking a billion questions about my childhood, why I dropped out of college, he even had the audacity to ask about my love life. I didn’t tell him anything obviously, mainly because there was nothing to tell. Vivian on the other hand looked irritated throughout the whole lunch. I have to admit that tiny detail felt good.

But something about how fast everything was happening was off. First, Vivian invites me into her home after eleven years of dead silence. Now they offer me a job. The bright side is that it can get me closer to finding out why my father didn’t want me anywhere near Vivian.

I bet it’s more than just resentment over being abandoned. My father wasn’t jumping for joy when Vivian left but he wasn’t overly sensitive about it either.

I head downstairs after taking a shower and putting on my most decent dress. It’s black with tiny white flowers. It hugs my small waist pretty well and the skirt is loose around my lower body. It also doesn’t expose much because it stops right above my knees. It won’t embarrass my future stepfather. If Vivian gets her way.

I find her already at their kitchen island having breakfast. Lucien is nowhere to be seen.

“Morning.” I mutter and take a seat opposite her.

She looks up from her plate. “Good morning. Help yourself.” She gestures to the food.

Like I am about to do anything but. I’m a sucker for good food. And the bacon smells incredible.

She watches me pour a cup of coffee and put a slice of toast on my plate, followed by three pieces of bacon. “How was your night?” She picks up her own cup.

“Fine.” I take a sip of the bitter but probably expensive coffee. “When was the last time you saw dad?”

She spits her coffee, the cup in her hand falls hard on the counter. She screams as some of the hot coffee spills on her. But she could be screaming because her outfit is white and looks like it cost more than my entire existence.

“Ma’am,” Rosa rushes into the kitchen. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Vivian yells in frustration and stomps past her. “I’ll be right back.”

I smile up at Rosa as she gives me a suspicious look. She must be really good with people.

Vivian is definitely hiding something. And I’m going to find out what it is. Even if it’s the last thing I do.

“Are you human?” I take another sip of the pricey urine.

“Yes.” She puts the broken glasses into a plastic bag and starts wiping off the liquid. It stains the washcloth.

“Do they feed on you?” I raise my brow.

She doesn’t answer. I immediately wonder if it’s the twins or Lucien. I doubt it’s him though. He has my mother specifically for that, among other things. But I guess nothing could stop him from indulging. My mother might be bound exclusively to him but he isn’t bound to her.

“How long have you worked here?” I ask Rosa.

“Long enough to warn you not to ask questions.” She gives me another glare and continues wiping the counter.

“How long have my mother and Lucien been together?”

“Are you ready?” Lucien’s voice comes from behind me.

Heat crawls up my neck as I turn around and find him leaning against the wall.

How long has he been standing there?

I probably look like a child who was caught stealing candy. He is wearing a brown suit with a white shirt and no tie. His hair is tidy in the morning. He looks better than yesterday.

“Very ready.” I smile up at him and get up.

I know that Vivian has been his bloodmate for over a year. I remember my father told me when it happened that Vivian had finally gotten what she wants and had been claimed as a bloodmate. She now gets to live a glamorous, sponsored life while the rest of us rot.

The thought of what she gave up for it leaves an awful taste in my mouth. And it’s not the coffee. I want to see her living like a gutter rat. Just like I did in the past year.

“I am meeting some business associates for breakfast,” Lucien says just as the car pulls out of the driveway. “Joncil will get you a change of clothes.”

“A change of clothes?” I look down at myself. My dress isn’t exactly new but it’s not old either. In fact, it’s the newest thing I own.

“If you are going to intern for me, Layla.” He looks me up and down.

I watch as something flashes past his eyes before he clears his throat and looks forward.

“You have to look the part.” He continues. “Vivian will do some shopping for you while you learn the ropes. You can do your own shopping later.”

I nod. Because what else am I going to do with my life?

About an hour later, I find myself wearing a classy red dress. It exposes most of my back and the silky fabric feels good against my skin.

Lucien surprisingly puts his hand to my bare back as we walk into the restaurant’s private dining area. The skin to skin contact feels forbidden and amazing at the same time. I know he is probably not thinking anything of it, but I’m beaming inside. Something about the way he comfortably touches me has me in a twist.

“Don’t be nervous,” he whispers in my ear as we approach the table full of rich looking people, some old, others young. “Or the vampires will have you for breakfast.”

I smile nervously anyway. Nothing he said took away the dread. I’ve always avoided being in a space filled with vampires. And I knew from the moment we walked into this restaurant that it’s full of both vampires and werewolves. If we get out of this without a fight, it will be a miracle. Or maybe Manhattan is just different. Maybe they never overthink everything.

Usually you would never find such a setup. Each species tends to stick with their own kind and prefer their own space. We have vampire and werewolf clubs that won’t even accommodate the other. Humans are the only ones allowed in both spaces. With laws of consent protecting us.

“Lucien.” An older looking woman stands immediately after spotting us. “Who is this fine jewel?”

“This is Layla.” Lucien shakes the woman’s hand.

She smiles as her gaze locks on mine. “You are such a sight.”

“She is Vivian’s daughter.“ Lucien pulls out a chair for me.

“I can see the resemblance.” The woman adds.

Everyone greets us. It’s obvious that they have great respect for Lucien as almost all of them squirm to shake his hand. As if it’s made of diamonds. I try not to roll my eyes at the display.

I notice that there are two werewolves at the table before I sit. I know that they are werewolves because they are not as pale as the rest of the people on the table and they have pack tattoos.

Pack tattoos don’t have color as their skin heals quickly, so the tattoos are made to stick using extreme lasers. It’s also illegal for humans to have tattoos without color. It’s what sets us apart.

One of the wolves is already glaring at me. Long hair pushed back, long lashes, an even longer but clean looking beard.

The one with the short hair is too busy on his phone to look up. It’s clear that he would rather be anywhere else.

“Wolfe,” the one with the long beard nudges him with his elbow. “Hale is here.”

“And?” The man finally looks up. His green eyes instantly land on mine. He freezes.

“I’m Ryan,” Long beard says. “This is Elijah.”

Elijah still hasn’t taken his eyes off me. His phone slips from his fingers and hits the floor. He doesn’t panic to grab it.

My poor ass would be wailing right now.

He slowly gets to his feet, his jaw so tight that I think it might hurt. His breathing grows heavier with every passing second. I seriously hope he doesn’t turn.

I’ve seen werewolves lose control before. But never this close. It doesn’t seem like anger but I can’t exactly tell. All I know is that I’ve never seen this man before in my life. I can’t think of what I could’ve done to piss him off.

“Elijah?” Ryan’s smile disappears. He reaches for his friend’s arm but Lucien is already moving.

He stands in front of me. His movement is so fast I barely register it before his back blocks my view.

“You will stay where you are,” he says calmly.

“You brought her here,” Elijah says through gritted teeth.

“I did,” Lucien says.

“I’ve waited my entire life,” Elijah adds.

I don’t understand what he’s talking about.

Ryan grabs Elijah’s arm. “Sit down before you embarrass yourself.”

Elijah shakes off Ryan’s hand so violently that Ryan nearly crashes into the wall. Everyone else around the table quickly gets up.

Lucien doesn’t move. Neither does Elijah. They stare at each other with me partially hidden behind Lucien. I have no idea what the hell is happening. I’m in the twilight zone.

Elijah’s fingers slam onto the table. He groans and doubles over. Glasses topple over and break across the floor. Ryan lunges forward to steady him but Elijah shoves him away without taking his eyes off Lucien and me.

This Ryan guy is made of paper.

The move makes me jerk behind Lucien and take a step back.

Elijah’s eyes have turned a deeper green. Every instinct in my body screams at me to run. I don’t. I stand there staring at him. Lucien hasn’t moved either. Whatever he’s thinking, I don’t want to see a vampire and a werewolf fight.

Elijah slowly tilts his head to the side and only one word leaves his mouth. “Mate.”