The Strange Secretary

Logan

Jeremy had just left my office to get the new secretary who might be working for me. I wouldn’t say that I’m thrilled about having a new secretary—he’s not going to last for long anyway. Just like the rest, they always quit before six months.

Yes, I was a difficult person to work with.

So, I’m not looking forward to the new guy coming in today. His portfolio said he was a late bloomer, so he was definitely ot going to survive my harsh work environment. But I wasn’t ready to be biased by sending him away because he was a late bloomer, without giving him a chance at all.

I stare at the email I got from a close ally, James, from the International Council of werewolves. The email stated that there seemed to be a serial killing going on in the world of humans, and it seemed to be the handiwork of a werewolf. An alpha, to be precise. I wondered who had the nerve to wreak such havoc.

“The FBI is in collaboration with the NIS, but the worst part is that they are keeping it on a low. I think they might want to use this case to find faults with our community, so be on guard.”

Those humans and their cunning acts to find faults with us.

I sent a “thank you” message back to James, and I also promised him to investigate the matter from my own end. That would make me have something to defend myself with in case the federal government tries to act funny with me again.

Jeremy stepped in just as I was about to open another email. I raised my head towards the door. In fact, I already smelled him before he entered, but I couldn’t smell the guy behind him. And that did nothing, but piqued my curiosity.

From the way he was observing the room, he hadn’t noticed I was sitting across the room. I didn’t know when Jeremy had ever done his job properly before. It was odd enough that he was bringing in a late bloomer to be my secretary, but I never imagined he would be so frail and pale-looking.

Seeing how he bowed hurriedly even before our eyes met, he must have felt my presence.

“Really, Jeremy?” I asked in disbelief with a slight annoyance in my voice.

And he talked back too, after I expressed my displeasure with his physical appearance. I guessed he was a feisty one compared to his timid look. I took a step closer to him to assess him better, and that was when I smelled it on him.

It was faint and slightly distinct, but I still knew what I smelled. I could never be wrong. Even my wolf felt it and wouldn’t stop stirring in my head.

Did the moon goddess give you a gay mate?

“That’s not possible. If it was the smell coming from him should be stronger than what I am perceiving right now,” I replied to my wolf in my head. The moon goddess wasn’t the sort of comedian who would play such a childish trick on me.

Jeremy and Aub kept explaining how good Aub was at his work, but that was the least of my concerns at that point. And Aub was such a weird name to begin with.

I scoffed. “Your experience and weakness are not even the issue now.”

“Then, what is?” He asked, his eyes searching mine for answers. I wondered how he’d react to my next question.

“Why do I smell my mate on you?”

“What!?” Jeremy and Aub chorused.

The rest of our conversation from that point was chaotic. And Jeremy seemed to be getting so much from it. They think I’m mistaken. How could I be? I had been waiting my whole life since I shifted to meet my mate. I attended conferences and parties organized by other packs even when it wasn’t convenient for me, just because I was eager to meet my mate. But now that I get a whiff of her scent, I might be mistaken.

I refused to accept that.

Even as I handed the pen and paper to Aub, it didn’t feel like I was doing the wrong thing. I needed to find my mate.

It might not just be from someone he met on the bus or on his way to the pack; it might be a close relative of his. So, I asked him to add the names of his relatives to the list of the strangers he met on his way to the pack, too. That would be his first job as my secretary.

But my new secretary seemed to be the type that wouldn’t follow my instructions blindly. He didn’t even flinch much when I used the alpha’s tone on him, but I was too distracted by the smell of my mate to focus on that.

He was about to give another excuse before Nathan stepped in. Just right in time, except I didn’t know Jeremy had already mind-linked him and given him the whole backstory of what was going on in my office.

“Just do as you are told,” Nathan said, preventing him from going on and on about how good he was at his job. Maybe I was seeing things, but I could swear I saw him ogling Nathan. Could he be gay and was just lying earlier?

“Bullshit!” He blurted out without thinking. I could see he was brazen, too.

I guess he realized that his word could cost him his life because he agreed to do what I asked immediately without compromising.

“Listen to me,” I began to speak. “If you want to work here for a long time as my secretary, you need to do a good job at finding whoever left that scent on you before coming here.”

He bowed his head slightly, and it made me feel like I was abusing my authority. But, I couldn’t care less. I needed my mate.

I noticed how Nathan was eyeing him suspiciously, so I wasn’t surprised when he expressed his displeasure with him being my secretary.

“Just let him be for now since he has to figure out who my mate is,” I interjected. "You know how much I want to find my mate.” Nathan kept his cool after my words. He was my best friend, and he knew how desperate I was.

“Are you sure about this?” Nathan asked the moment Aub and Jeremy stepped out of my office.

I went back to my seat, releasing a deep breath the moment my back touched my seat. “I don’t know, man. Let’s just see how far he can go.”

“But…”

“You are being suspicious for no reason again,” I said, preventing him from arguing further. “I’ll get rid of him myself when I see he might become a problem for us one day.

He nodded.

Nathan had always been like that. He investigated any new member of the pack, especially ones that had contact with me. He had been doing that ever since I was attacked by the third secretary I was working with.

Besides, I didn’t think Aub had the potential to hurt me, given his appearance and how weak he looked.

“We have a more pressing issue at hand.”

“What’s that?”

I turned my computer so Nath could see the email James sent to me. “We need to look for a serial killer.”