I finish my last bite of bagel and pick up my napkin, wiping both of my hands and my mouth. “That was delicious. Thank you for the meal,” I tell Tyler. He smiles happily. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Do you want to go home now or will you stay here?” I pause to think. I can’t trust him. He hasn't mistreated me yet, but I just can’t forget all those days I sat in the dungeon, waiting for him to come speak with me. I contemplate rejecting Tyler, but remember what my parents had told me when I was younger. “What is a mate?” I had asked my mom. “Your mate is the person you are meant to be with forever, your other half, your soulmate,” she told me. “You have the choice of accepting or rejecting your mate. However, be cautious about rejecting your mate because a rejection is permanent.” I nodded, not entirely understanding what she meant. “Your mother is right,” my dad joined in. “You should never reject your mate for their first couple of mistakes. Wait three time

Click. Clack. Click. Clack. The sound of my heels echoes down the hall as I approach my office. I pause at Jane’s desk and she glances up. “Good morning, Ms. Lozerno. We are all very happy that you have returned,” she greets me. “Thank you, Jane. Is there any news that I haven’t already been informed of?” I ask. “I do not have any updates, Ma’am. However, you did receive a delivery this morning,” Jane says. She turns to the side and bends down. When she straightens up, I see a bouquet of roses in her arms. The bouquet is rather large, but not too big. There look to be about two dozen roses. The rose petals are pink at the tip and fade into a lovely buttercup yellow at the center. I gently grasp the bouquet and admire it. “Do you know who sent it? Was there a note with it?” I ask Jane. “There is a card tucked along the side. I did not open it. The delivery person said it was for you,” she tells me. “Thank you. Could you bring me a vase to put these

“I see you took my advice,” Tyler comments with a smile. “Yeah. The shepherd’s pie sounds good and I can’t pass up potato skins.” Tyler chuckles, but then turns serious. “I know that our relationship did not start off well, so we never properly introduced ourselves to each other. I thought that we could get to know more about each other over dinner.” “That’s a good idea.” “Alright. I will start. My name is Tyler Renost and I have been the Alpha of the Moonfang pack for three years. I am also in charge of all of the major businesses run by the pack. My sister, Sofia, helps manage two of them. What about you?” Tyler asks. “My name is Arielle Lozerno. I am currently a rogue and the CEO of Techex. My favorite color is green and I like to read,” I reply. At this moment Alicia returns. “Here are your drinks. A Guinness for you, Sir, and a Coke for you, Ma’am,” she says as she hands us our drinks. “The food is being prepared right now and should be out in a

Several days pass while I complete the same routine. Wake up, eat, work, eat again, and sleep. My heart feels heavy and empty. I feel so betrayed. I trusted Tyler and he betrayed that trust as soon as he earned it. Rather than dwell on this, I push the feelings down and ignore them. Instead, I throw myself into my work. I spend long hours at the office and only return home to go to sleep. Tyler has not stopped trying to contact me during this time. The day after I found him kissing another she-wolf, I was handed a bouquet of hyacinths that he had sent to my office. Tyler has texted me several times each day and left me a couple of voicemails. I have not read any of the messages. I cannot bring myself to confirm that he doesn’t want me. I am typing up an email when I hear a knock on my office door. “Come in,” I call. The door swings open to reveal Claire. I glance up at her with a sad smile. “It’s nice to see you, Claire.” Claire returns my sad smile. “Oh, Dear. Why did

I wake up, but remain lying down with my eyes closed. I pull the blanket tighter around me and snuggle closer to a warm pillow. It takes a couple of moments, but I realize that the ‘pillow’ is actually Tyler. Unfortunately, I realize this after he has already patted me on the head. Blushing, I peek my head out of the blanket and glance up at him. He stares down at me with a grin. My face must be bright red with how hot it feels. I don’t usually act like this. Tyler chuckles and lifts a hand to tap his cheek with a finger. I tilt my head and scrunch my eyebrows together. Why is he tapping his cheek? After several moments Tyler must realize that I am confused about what he wants because he says, “Can I have a good morning kiss?” I freeze. Should I kiss him? I feel conflicted. On one hand, I want to kiss him, but on the other hand, I am not ready to take this relationship any further, physically, than a kiss. I don’t want him to misunderstand. A peck on the cheek shouldn’t mean