Chapter 4

It wasn't a college scholarship or anything like that, but it was an invite to an interview as a cleaner at a company. Their pay was quite promising—600 bucks a month, and I only had to work on Saturdays.

I felt relieved, knowing that I could support Sandra around the house, now I just had to pass the interview.

“You've got good news?” Is it from college?” 

“No. It's from Vixen Couture.” I said, my voice still raspy with excitement. “I got invited for a cleaning job.”

“At least some good news for the week.” Sandra stood up, and cleared the mug from the table.

“Incase you see any of those fucking hot supermodels, try to put me on.”

“I'm going there to be a cleaner, not a model.” I rolled my eyes at her. She laughed it off, and returned to the chair by her sewing machine. I watched as she struggled with the seams of the top she was sewing. Even as she struggled, there was a smile on her face. I loved Sandra's company because of her positivity. She told me her stories of how she had been scammed by people posing as agents to recruit models. The crazy thing was how she laughed each time she told those stories, but to me, the experiences were all pathetic.

That evening, Sandra wore her uniform and left for her night shift in a hotel. I was alone at her home. I arranged my clothes in their place, and assured myself I would use this period to workout and become slimmer.

It had to start today. I squeezed my body into black top and loose pink trousers and headed outside. I stared at my reflection in the mirror. A short 22 year old with fat hands and bloated belly which bulged out of my trousers. I inhaled deeply. Perhaps if I'm committed to working out every evening, it may help me shed some weight.

All I wanted to do was to jog. I stepped outside and inhaled the fresh evening breeze. I plugged in my headphones and started jogging, slowly at first, before I increased my speed. The wind swooshed over my face, and my breathing got huskier as I increased my speed.

From a corner, I could see two wolves together. It was obvious that they were couples. I moved my gaze away, trying to stop myself from thinking about Adrian. When I reached a lane, I paused and placed my hand on my thighs, trying hard to catch my breath. The atmosphere was darker than when I came outside.

I did some limb stretches before resuming jogging.

“Hey fatty.” I heard a husky voice say from behind me. I refused to turn backwards to avoid having to confront the fool.

He walked closer to me and I could see a yellowish glint in his eyes, his teeth were also yellow.

“A rogue,” I whispered to myself.

“Just look at that ass jiggle,” He said, and this time I stopped and shot him a hard glare.

“Excuse you? Are some screws loose in your head?” I couldn't just let it slide, I needed to give him a warning.

His hand held mine, and I tried to twist away. “Leave me this instant,”

I couldn't wriggle free from his grip, and before I knew it, three more men emerged from the dark alley and surrounded me. All of them were rogues.

“You're so beautiful. So gorgeous.” He sneered, bringing his sharp teeth closer to my neck.

“Stop it.” I screamed. I couldn't let this fool harm me. “Joey, if you don't help me this time, I'm going to kill you.” I shouted at my wolf, who didn't respond as usual.

I could already feel his teeth rubbing against my skin, and the other rogues closed in on me. I shivered and screamed, not knowing what to do. There were four of them.

“Leave her.” A masculine voice commanded. The rogue who held me turned to face the man.

“She's my prey, not yours.” He snapped at the man.

“Release her immediately, or your life would be way worse than being a rogue. Do you prefer to die?”

I felt his grip on my hand falter, and his hand shivered slightly. Although he refused to release me, I could sense that he was scared. The man who challenged him was definitely an alpha.

“Now!” The man shouted. The rogue didn't contemplate further. He hissed and let go of my hand, running away with the rest of his men.

“Are you hurt?”

Those emerald eyes, thin sexy lips and shiny black hair, it looked like he was straight out of a magazine. His jawline was perfectly sculpted. I had to raise my head to look at his face. Damn. He was so tall.

He cleared his throat as if noticing that I was gawking him. A wave of embarrassment hit me.

“I was asking if you're hurt?”

“I'm fine. Thank you so much,”

He nodded his head. “You need to be more careful. This city has a lot of rogues, and it seems so hard to control them.”

Control? He was definitely an alpha.

“Thank you once again.”

His baritone voice rang gently as he made a slight hum in acknowledgment. He offered to escort me to the main road, where I could easily navigate my way home. I couldn't resist, because I was already scared of treading the path alone. He didn't spare me another glance as we walked towards the road, neither did he say anything. I wondered if my presence was discomforting. If he felt irritated walking with someone so fat.

He dropped me off, and I thanked him one last time before leaving. As I entered the apartment, I thought of the stranger again. Why did he interest me so much? Was it because no one had ever stood up for me when I was being bullied or was it just his Greek god features that drew me in.

I could swear I had seen his face elsewhere, but where?