5| The Silver-eyed Devil

Amber eyes clashed with a pair of silver, sharp and icy. She gasped, not at the cold-faced Adonis standing in front of her, but because of a sudden vision that flashed across her mind’s eye. Red eyes. The ones that she had seen a few weeks ago. 

Dorian looked at the employee with ill-concealed ire after the momentary daze that had convinced him that the girl was his mate. He glared at her. She was practically gawking at him, which annoyed him further. Who recruited her? He wondered. His wolf was another story. He was purring at the sight of his mate, the suppressants barely keeping him from taking over. He looked down at his now spoiled shirt. He’d have to go back and change again. 

“Watch your steps,” he gritted, continuing to glare at her. He glanced around. A sizeable crowd had gathered. His employees tried to be inconspicuous as they watched the scene unfold. No one dared to come close to him or offer him any help. Dorian didn’t need any, but he felt angry at their lack of decorum. His eyes zoned on the person he had been looking for. “Trevor, in my office. Now.” Not sparing another glance at his mate, he stormed off. 

Summer’s eyes remained on his retreating figure before she heard someone mutter, “Damn, she was lucky.” Someone commented, “Why is she so clumsy. Freak.” Se almost flinched at the word. 

“Boss must be in a good mood today,” another male voice muttered. Her eyes widened when she finally realised her mistake — spilling the tea on your boss’ expensive suit and spouting nonsense is not what one wants to be their first impression. How did she not recognise him in an instant? Working for the past three weeks, she heard about him and had seen his photos on some old brochures, but today was the first day she had the bad luck to collide with the silver-eyed devil himself or say they said. For some reason, she had always felt something...unexplainable when she had seen his photos. She had written it off as a mere attraction. But just now, just a few moments ago, the vision that popped up jarred her being. 

“Summer!” Hannah’s worried voice cut through her daze. She felt herself being guided by her colleague. She plonked on the chair. “Are you okay?” she asked again, handing her a bottle of water and some tissues. “Yes,” she finally mumbled and started to clean the remnants of tea. Her skin had become an angry red. Hannah sighed in relief. “That was close. I mean...facing the devil himself can be quite traumatising.” She shook her head. Summer thought, ‘Trauma? Not really.’ 

Hannah turned to look at her as Summer took a sip of water, realising just then how parched her throat was. “You were quite lucky though, he usually doesn’t spare these mistakes.” She huffed out a laugh and said, “But that collision. Dayum, it felt like a scene straight out of rom-com.” Summer could just offer an answering smile because she never got to taste the simple privileges of a teenager, such as watching movies, hanging out with friends, or going out with someone. Until 15 she was too busy hiding her scars from her classmates. She was a freak in the school, a loner. But the day she turned 16 was the day she had started getting those dreams. Dreams that could be called nightmares. 

If she was a freak before, she became even weirder to everyone after that. She rarely slept properly, not that anyone noticed at home. At 18 she learned to put on makeup to conceal her eye bags, to blend in the scars. At 20 everything had changed. 

“Hey!” She was startled by Hannah again. “Earth to Summer,” she said, waving a hand in front of her face. Then she placed a paper bag probably containing sandwiches on her white work desk. “They were making the special today,” she said and turned back to her screen. When did she get up and go to the canteen? She wanted to shake herself vehemently. ‘Get a grip!’ she chided herself. 

~~~~~

“Alpha, please forgive me,” Trevor pleaded in a shaky tone. Dorian looked up from the laptop screen. Interlacing his fingers, he asked, “Why should I?” The tea stain had started to dry on his shirt and his mood had taken a sour turn. He wasn’t feeling very forgiving. “I…I didn’t know that it was our rival...they—” Dorian held up his hand, effectively shutting the other man’s mouth. 

“So, you are saying that, while giving away some of the most important details about our new tech which you are not allowed to do, by the way, you had no clue who the other person was?” Trevor shook his head vigorously, his face turning paler by the seconds. The black high-back chair creaked as he got up and approached the beta wolf. Gripping the lapels of his cheap suit, he growled, “You will not turn into your wolf for the next fortnight.” His firm voice left no room for argument. Trevor collapsed on his knees and pleaded earnestly, “Alpha, mercy! You know we can’t…” Oh Dorian knew the pain alright. He knew what it felt like to suppress one’s wolf. He was well-acquainted with the pain, not that anyone knew. 

He smirked. “Should have thought about it when you were leaking information. I hate spies, more so the ones who act like cowards.” He called his beta through the mind-link. Kyle entered immediately. “Take this scum away.” His derogatory tone made Trevor whimper. Kyle hauled him up and dragged him out. Dorian scoffed under his breath and went back to his seat. His thoughts drifted back to that amber-eyed girl. Leaning back on the chair, he wondered, ‘She can’t be a wolf, but she isn’t a human either.’ He struck off the third option. Bile rose in his throat just at the thought of his mate being anything else. He didn’t need her, anyway. His head throbbed. He could feel Kai’s frustration and anger. His eyes fell on a glass paperweight. Taking it in his hand, he threw it across the room. The glass shattered against the white wall, its pieces scattering on the tiled floor. 

He was breathing heavily, trying to reign in his wolf. Mates meant nothing to him. They were predestined, but that doesn’t mean that he has to shackle himself with that girl. He didn’t need anyone. He was fine this way.