The Beast in the Suite

The giant glass doors of Vane Tower didn't just open; they hissed. I stood in the lobby, my wet shoes making ugly marks on the white marble floor. I looked down at my hands. They were still shaking from the shock that hit me outside.

"Can I help you?" a woman at the desk asked. She didn't look happy to see me. Her eyes went from my messy hair down to my cheap, muddy dress.

"I’m here for the cleaning job," I said. I held up the crumpled paper I found at the bus station. "Night shift."

She sighed and pushed a plastic badge toward me. "Top floor. The CEO’s private suite. Don’t touch the desk, don’t look at the files, and if you hear a noise, just keep working. Mr. Vane likes his privacy."

I took the badge and headed for the elevator. My heart was thumping. I needed this job. I had exactly five dollars in my pocket and nowhere to sleep. If I failed here, I’d be sleeping on the rainy streets of Aethelgard.

The elevator was quiet and fast. When the doors opened, I stepped into a room that looked like it belonged in a movie. It was all silver and black. Huge windows showed the city lights, but the air felt heavy. It smelled like burnt wires and something else, something that made my skin crawl. It smelled like a wolf.

I started working fast. I wiped the glass tables and emptied the bins. I tried not to think about the man I saw outside. Silas Vane. He was scary, but he was also the only person who had actually looked at me in years.

I moved toward the large wooden doors at the back of the room. I figured it was just another office. I pushed them open, ready to mop the floor.

The room was dark, except for a flickering red light on the wall. A low, wet growl filled the air. My blood turned to ice.

In the corner, a man was hunched over on the floor. His shirt was ripped to shreds. His back was arched, and I could see his spine moving under his skin like it was trying to break out. He was clutching his head, and a small metal device behind his ear was sparking. Blue sparks jumped from the metal into his neck.

"Get... out..." he gasped. It was Silas. But his voice sounded like two rocks rubbing together.

I should have run. My brain told me to turn around and bolt for the elevator. But I saw his fingernails digging into the floor, drawing blood. He was in so much pain. It reminded me of the way I felt when Jax rejected me, like my whole world was being torn apart.

"Mr. Vane?" I took a step closer.

"Run!" he barked. His head snapped up. His eyes weren't blue anymore. They were a glowing, angry red. His teeth were lengthening, turning into sharp fangs right before my eyes.

He lunged.

He was too fast. Before I could move, he slammed me against the wall. His heavy hands pinned my shoulders. He was hot; his skin felt like it was on fire. He buried his face in the crook of my neck and took a deep, shaking breath.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the bite. I waited for him to kill me.

But the bite never came. Instead, the sparking device behind his ear went quiet. The red light on the wall turned green. I felt his body go limp against me. The heat leaving his skin seemed to flow into mine.

"So quiet," he breathed into my skin. He sounded tired now, not angry. "The noise... it stopped."

He pulled back, his eyes fading from red to a confused blue. He looked at my hands, which were resting on his chest. Tiny silver sparks were dancing between my fingers and his skin.

He let go of me and stepped back, his face turning back into a mask of cold stone. He straightened his ruined shirt and acted like he hadn't just tried to eat me.

"You're the girl from the street," he said. He looked at the sparks still fading from my fingertips. "You aren't a wolf. But you aren't human either. What are you?"

"I don't know," I whispered. "My pack called me a glitch."

Silas walked to his desk and picked up a tablet. He tapped a few buttons, and a digital contract appeared on the giant screen on the wall. He looked at me with a sharp, hungry look in his eyes. It wasn't the look of a wolf; it was the look of a businessman who just found a gold mine.

"My tech is failing, Aria. My wolf is trying to kill me, and you're the only thing that puts the beast to sleep," he said. "I don't care what you are. I need you."

He turned the screen toward me.

"Thirty days," Silas stated. "You move into this penthouse. You wear a ring. We tell the world you’re my wife. In return, I give you ten million dollars and protection from any pack that tries to hunt you."

I stared at the number on the screen. It was enough to change my life. I could finally show Jax and Lila that I didn't need them.

"Why me?" I asked.

"Because the board of directors thinks I'm a monster," he said, stepping closer until I could feel the heat from his chest again. "And because if you leave this building, I will lose my mind by morning."

I looked at his hand. He was holding out a pen. I reached for it, but as our fingers touched, the lights in the entire building didn't just flicker.

Every window in the office shattered outward at the same time.

Down in the street, a black SUV with a silver wolf logo on the door slid to a halt. My heart dropped. It was my father’s car. They hadn't just let me go. They were here to finish the job.

Silas didn't look at the broken glass. He looked at the door.

"It seems your old life is here to take you back," Silas said, a dark smile touching his lips. "Do we have a deal, or do I let them take you?"