I was in the printer room, waiting for my papers to finish printing. I rubbed my chest over my heart, feeling my bond tightening then relaxing. I felt like I was being pulled, but I did my best to ignore it.
"Ren!" A voice behind me said, making me jump. I turned to see who it was.
"Jeez, Kara. You scared me." I grabbed several pages, tapping them on the edge of the printer to get them all in line.
"I've been looking for you everywhere!" She moved next to me.
"Are you that ready for lunch?" I grabbed the last few pages.
"I've got some things to tell you. Are you ready?"
"Let me put these on my desk and then we can go." I replied.She followed me to my desk where I put the papers down and grabbed my bag. We went to the bottom floor where the cafeteria was. I grabbed a salad and a juice then found a seat. I began assembling my salad, shaking the container to get the dressing all over it. "Alright. What were you dying to tell me?"
"Okay, so." She shifted in her seat. "Word is that the owner of the company is back from his travels."
"That's your juicy news?" I raised an eyebrow, opening my container. "Isn't he a wolf?"
"He is and I heard he is FINE." She replied. "A lot of females are afraid of him because he's so powerful, but they're always talking about how hot he is."
"Maybe you can convince him to marry you." I joked, taking a bite.
"You think he would make a human his Luna?" Her eyes became wide.
"It's possible, but he would get some hate for it." I shrugged.
"I can still dream." She leaned back in her seat. "Oh, we have to give a presentation to him in three days."
"The one we've been working on with Laura, Janis, Drew, and Paul?" I frowned slightly.
"Yeah, that one."
"Oh, easy. We've been working on it all week."
"That's true."
Over the next three days, the pull of the bond got stronger. It almost felt like I was feeling someone else's emotions because I was so close. I got ready for work like normal and went with Kara. The presentation wasn't until right before lunch so I had time to do work. The whole day, my chest was bothering me and I didn't know why. I did as much work as possible until about 15 minutes before the presentation.
"Wow, you're such a workaholic." Kara said, leaning against the wall of my cubicle.
"No, I'm just doing my work." I replied, typing while looking at the screen.
"You haven't taken a break at all today." She stated.
"Lunch is in, like, an hour. I'll take a break then."
"No, you won't. When you get in this mood, you work through lunch." She chuckled. "Come on! You're about to meet the boss! Get excited!" I sighed, closing my laptop.
"Fine. We have like… five minutes before we need to go to the office." I turned and looked at her. "What do you want to do?"
"Let's talk about your future love life. With Josh gone, you need someone to warm your bed." She crossed her arms.
"No." I chuckled. "I think I'm done with relationships for now."
"Aw! Why? He was one guy! Don't let it ruin everything."
"I'll date eventually. For now, I'm focusing on me." I dusted off my skirt.
"Fine. I won't fight you on it."
"Kara! We're heading in!" Paul called.
"Alright! Come on, Ren." She left my cubicle and I grabbed my laptop, following her. We walked to the office, Paul holding the door. "But, really, you should consider it. It could be…." Everything seemed to slow down as we entered the office. I looked to the left side of the room, at the front of the room. There stood two tall men. One with red, curly hair, the other with his back to us. He was very muscular, wearing black slacks and shoes, and a white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The red haired one said something to him, his green eyes on me. When he faced me, our eyes connected and something inside of me snapped into place. I stopped walking, scanning the man's face. He wore a black tie, upping his attractiveness. I stared into his miss-matched eyes, one as dark as the night sky while the other was as white as a piece of paper, and I suddenly realized who it was. Fear filled me as my past came rushing back.
"Ren?" Kara asked. Both men stared at me and I forced myself to smile. Shit, shit! They found me!
"I… uh… forgot my laptop." I said quickly, turning and leaving the office.
"Forgot your- Ren!" Kara yelled after me. I threw my laptop on my desk on the way to the bathroom where I locked myself in. I began to hyperventilate as I pressed my back to the door. Shit. Shit! My boss is Kai! I wheezed, clawing at my chest as if it would allow me to breathe. No, no. This can't be. No, I can't breathe. I placed a hand to my forehead, all of the memories playing in my head. There was a knock on the door.
"Occupied!" I nearly shouted. My phone chimed and I pulled it out.
Kara: What was that? Are you okay?
My fingers typed quickly.
Me: 911. Bathroom. Now.
Kara: On my way.
I dropped my phone, grabbing at my throat. My lungs ached and tears flooded my eyes. A few minutes passed before there was a knock.
"Ren? It's Kara." I stood, opened the door, pulled her in, and locked the door back. "Ren? You're having a panic attack." I nodded, putting my hands on my knees.
"Breathe with me." She took a deep breath. I followed her breathing, slowly calming down. I inhaled shakily then exhaled. "Okay. Now, tell me. What has you all freaked out?" I slid down the door to the floor.
"You can trust me, Ren. I will take what you say to the grave." She told me. I looked up at her.
"I've been lying to you." I sniffled, tears coming to my eyes.
"Okay? What about?" She sat in front of me. The bathrooms were kept impeccably clean, so we didn't have to worry about getting dirty.
"Well…. I'm a wolf." I started. "And… I ran away from my wedding." I searched her face while she thought.
"Wait… when?"
"Almost two years ago." I hugged my legs to my chest. Realization slowly entered her face.
"Oh my god! You're the Luna!"
"Shh!" I hissed. "No one can know. Please, Kara." She took a deep breath.
"Why did you run away?" She nearly whispered. "Is the Alpha King horrible? Wait…. Our boss is the Alpha King! Your husband!"
"I didn't get the chance to see how he was…. I was afraid that he was cruel like my father, brothers, and Julie." Tears began to fall from my eyes.
"Do you think he recognized you?" She took one of my hands.
"I don't know. I felt this… thing when he looked at me. Like our bond solidified." I sniffed.
"Bond?"
"When a wolf finds their mate, destined or chosen, their unison begins with a kiss. Acceptance creates a kind of bond that ties you together." I explained. "I thought he was giving up on finding me because it weakened, but a few days ago it got strong. Like he was close."
"When we looked at each other, it was like it snapped into place." I wiped my eyes.
"That's a good thing, right?" She studied me. "Maybe you can just go back to him."
"No!" I cried. "I can't go back to that life!"
"Okay, okay. Breathe, Ren." She rubbed my hand. "Come on. We're going home and you're gonna tell me EVERYTHING. Okay?" I nodded and she pulled me to my feet.
"Ready?" She wrapped an arm around my waist. I nodded again and she opened the door. We stepped out and began to walk to my desk so that I could grab my things.
"Excuse me." A deep voice said behind us. A shiver ran up my spine as Kara turned.
"Oh, hi! I'm Kara. I apologize for running out of the presentation." Kara spoke in her polite voice.
"Is she alright?" He questioned. My back was still to him so that he couldn't see my face. My heart twinged at his voice, wanting to go to him while my brain screamed no.
"She…um…. She's not feeling well. She ate something bad." Kara lied. I gagged in response, but not because I was sick. The thought of going back to my old life made me nauseous. "I was just about to take her home…. If that's alright." There was a pause.
"Yes. Take her home." He spoke. Something in his voice made me feel bad. "I hope you feel better. I lifted a hand, acknowledging him. Kara put and arm around my waist, leading me the rest of the way to my desk. I grabbed my things quickly while she grabbed hers. The Alpha King watched us the whole time from the office's glass wall as we left.