Chapter 12 — Redhead at the Lycans’ Table

The meeting room at Rurik Motors had a modern atmosphere, lit by wide windows and a large digital screen where the final adjustments to the campaign were being projected.

The publicity team was gathered: voices exchanged ideas, folders passed from hand to hand, and the natural tension of a major event filled the air.

Susan, beside Maki and Tatiana, organized slides and documents with careful attention. The tight light-blue blouse seemed to beg to be torn off, and the black skirt outlined her curves unintentionally. Or perhaps on purpose, considering the looks it attracted.

But it was more than that.

She avoided looking at Dmitry. She fiddled with the papers with forced concentration, her fingers slightly trembling. And when someone commented on something, she reacted with a faint blush. As if she carried a secret, something intimate that refused to surface.

He noticed.

Dmitry sat at the head of the table, silent, analyzing everything with his icy eyes.

But he only saw her.

The movement of her red hair when Susan leaned forward. The soft sound of her voice when she commented something to Maki. The scent… That damned scent invading every cell of his body.

But there was something different.

“Feel that? She’s nervous. She’s remembering the dream… The way we fucked her.”

His Lycan vibrated in alert. His instinct recognized the signs: the heat radiating from her skin, the slight unevenness in her breathing, the altered perfume. She remembered.

She knew.

Dmitry clenched his jaw. At that moment, his instinct fought against logic.

“Look at that, what a beautiful team gathered!” Alexei entered smiling, in his light suit and mocking expression. “I hope you didn’t start without me.”

“Late again, Alexei?” Dmitry cut in, without even looking at his brother.

“Charm arrives after punctuality, brother.” He winked at Susan as he sat down, making her smile slightly.

Susan smiled, but Dmitry noticed the quick shift of her eyes, as if she feared being caught. As if she knew that smile didn’t belong to Alexei… but to him.

Right behind him, another unexpected guest entered.

“I hope there’s still coffee. I hate meetings on an empty stomach,” said Aleksandr Volkov, “Sasha,” removing his sunglasses and hooking them on the collar of his shirt.

Susan tensed for a second. It was impossible not to notice Sasha. Tall, masculine, with that carefree and dangerous air.

He saw her. And smiled.

“Hello, little redhead. Good morning,” he said casually.

Dmitry finally raised his eyes. A muscle pulsed in his jaw.

“I didn’t know you were interested in advertising, Sasha,” his voice was low and cutting.

“I’m not. But I am interested in what you’re trying to hide, cousin.” He smiled sideways, looking straight at Susan as if undressing her with his eyes. “And in your new convertible, of course.”

Natalia, seated beside Dmitry, pretended to take notes on her tablet, but her eyes betrayed her growing discomfort.

Dmitry no longer hid it. His glances at Susan were… inappropriate. And constant.

Tatiana whispered to Maki:

“Do you think this is going to end badly?”

“It already is,” Maki replied, staring at the heavy atmosphere.

Susan sat up straighter, trying to ignore the looks and focus on the presentation. But Dmitry could feel it. Her blood was heated. Her scent sweeter, denser. The Lycan growled inside him.

“Look at that… She’s all wet just from hearing us breathe. She’s ready. All we need to do is rip off that skirt and bury ourselves deep.”

“Here are the final images for the campaign,” she said, advancing the slides. “The chosen slogan was ‘Freedom in the Curves.’ The proposal is to combine sensuality, speed, and control. The three pillars of the new convertible.”

Dmitry smiled for the first time.

“Sensuality, speed, and… control? Interesting.” His eyes locked onto hers. “And who represents control here, Susan?”

She hesitated, eyes fixed on the slides. Her blush deepened.

“The brand. The car. The… overall concept.”

“Of course,” Dmitry replied, but his tone made it clear he was talking about something far beyond the campaign.

Sasha chuckled softly.

“I’d say sensuality is very well represented,” he commented, looking shamelessly at Susan. “And control… Well, that seems to be slipping away around here.”

Dmitry slowly turned to him, his gaze deadly.

“Careful, Sasha.”

“I’m just admiring the talent on your team,” he said, relaxed. “You should do the same. Or better yet: act, before someone else does.”

Alexei cleared his throat, trying to ease the tension.

“Can we focus, kids? We have three days until the event, and there’s a list of businessmen, investors, and middle-aged lycans expecting something epic. And I want champagne, Susan. That French one you mentioned.”

“It’s already ordered, Mr. Alexei,” she replied, trying to smile.

Dmitry watched. Susan was trying to maintain her composure, but her scent had changed. She was… aroused.

Even unwillingly, her body reacted to the game, to the tension.

“Fuck… She wants us to tear her apart. She’s begging, even if she denies it. She wants to feel our tongue, our teeth… She wants to be ours!”

He tapped his fingers on the table.

“The campaign is approved. Nothing else will be changed. Susan, you’ll be with me at the reception on Friday.”

Her eyes widened.

“But… I’m support staff, sir. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for Maki or Tatiana…”

“I chose you,” he cut her off. “Any problem?”

Susan remained silent for a moment, then shook her head.

“None.”

Natalia shot him a sideways glance, her eyes hard. Dmitry ignored her.

“Great. Meeting adjourned. You may leave.”

Everyone began to move, except Sasha and Alexei, who remained seated near Dmitry.

“This is going to be fun to watch up close,” Sasha murmured, spinning his chair to watch Susan leave the room. “I can hardly wait for Friday.”

Dmitry also watched Susan walk away, still feeling her scent lingering in the air.

“She is ours. Fuck, she IS OURS! On Friday… we’re going to take her, rip her open, fuck her. Nothing of her will be left that doesn’t belong to us.”

He brought a hand to his face, his skin still burning. The hunger, more alive than ever.

“Friday… And fuck whoever tries to stop us.”

***

Susan walked beside Maki and Tatiana, trying to appear calm, but she felt as if every step brought her closer to the abyss. Her hands trembled slightly as she held the clipboard against her chest, like a fragile shield against the truth that insisted on imposing itself.

“Okay…” Maki said, giving her a sideways look. “Shall we talk about the sexy elephant in the room?”

“Maki!” Susan widened her eyes, blushing immediately.

Tatiana let out a laugh.

“Two elephants, actually. One with ice eyes and another with amber eyes… And both with faces that look like they want to devour you alive.”

“I don’t want to talk about this!” Susan whispered, covering her face with her hand. “This isn’t happening. It’s all in your heads.”

“Oh, really?” Maki raised an eyebrow. “Then why did the most feared CEO in Russia look at you like you were dessert? And why did his cousin call you ‘little redhead’ right in front of the CEO’s wife?”

“That was just… a provocation!” she tried to argue, but her voice came out weak, unconvincing.

Tatiana placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

“Girl… You’re going to be at the reception. Next to Dmitry Rurik. That’s not nothing. It’s like… sitting beside the throne, with the king. And I heard how he spoke. It wasn’t an invitation. It was an order. And a very possessive one.”

Susan felt her stomach churn once again. She lowered her eyes, finally admitting:

“I’m nervous. For real. This isn’t just anxiety. It’s fear. I’ve never been to an event like this. Businessmen, press, Lycans, political alliances… And now this. He chose me. Why? Among so many beautiful, confident, experienced women…”

She already knew the answer. The blood in her veins was screaming, Dmitry’s desire for her was instinctive, uncontrollable. It was an announced catastrophe, and now she couldn’t simply say no.

“Because you’re beautiful, Susan,” Maki said, in that tone of a friend always trying to lift the mood. “Smart, sensitive, competent. And you have that quiet charm that drives men crazy. You don’t see it, but they feel it.”

“Lycans feel it even more,” Tatiana added, with no idea of the weight of those words.

That was exactly the problem.

They feel it. They feel the scent, the energy, the blood. Dmitry felt it. And if he discovered the truth… If he found out who she really was…

She would be the perfect prey. A descendant of Morrigan, wrapped in a cloak of natural seduction, a curse surrounded by Lycans in their purest form.

“I don’t even know what to wear!” she said, trying to divert from the panic boiling inside her. “I don’t have anything suitable for an event like that. There’ll be press, red carpet, photographers… And his wife stabbing me with her eyes.”

“Then tomorrow we’ll fix that,” Maki decreed. “No blazers, no ‘I’m just technical support.’ We’re going to turn you into a CEO’s woman.”

“Maki!” Susan looked around, tense. “Keep your voice down! Do you want someone to hear?”

“I want you not to embarrass yourself,” Maki retorted with a mocking smile.

Tatiana joined in the fun.

“Black. Something that hugs your body and says ‘yes, I’m a threat without even trying.’ And if Natalia wants to suffer, let her. Everyone knows Dmitry hasn’t looked at her like that in a long time.”

Susan covered her face with her hands. She wanted to pretend this was just another conversation between friends. But inside, her mind was screaming.

She couldn’t go to that event.

She had decided that this morning, still breathless from the dream with Dmitry. The image of those icy eyes, the feeling of his body over her… inside her.

If he found out…

“And Sasha?” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “You saw the way he looked at me too, right?”

She commented, feeling a shiver run down her neck, but it wasn’t a good one.

“We saw,” Maki said, crossing her arms. “He’s a delicious danger. If Dmitry is the ice king, Sasha is provocative fire. And both want to taste you, Susan. This is turning into a territorial war that smells like testosterone.”

“And you’re worried about the dress,” Tatiana laughed. “We’re about to see Rurik Motors become the stage for a dispute between Lycans… Because of you!”

Susan stopped walking and looked at the two of them. She wanted to tell them. She wanted to say it wasn’t just flirting or sexual tension. That it was more. Much more.

But she couldn’t. It was too dangerous.

“Do you think this is going to cause problems?”

“I don’t know if it’ll cause problems…” Tatiana replied, with a mischievous smile. “But it’ll make history. And we’ll be right here to watch it all.”

Maki winked.

“But first, let’s sort out that dress. New heels. Hair, makeup… A look that makes the CEO freeze. Literally.”

Susan let out a nervous laugh and raised her hands in surrender.

“Fine. Help me. Please. I don’t want to look like an amateur next to him. I want…”

She hesitated. She wanted to run. She wanted to disappear. But what came out was:

“I want to make an impact.”

The three of them looked at each other like a team about to face a suicide mission.

“Friday…” Maki murmured. “The night Rurik Motors will shake for two reasons: the new convertible…”

“And the CEO’s new woman,” Tatiana finished, with a knowing smile.

Susan tried to smile. But deep down… she could only think of one thing:

If Dmitry discovered who she really was, no beautiful dress or desire would save her.