Recrudescence

Sonia parked the car and Vincent walked her to the elevator. He pressed the button and turned to her, a polite smile on his face. " Go to the third floor. You’ll find someone waiting for you. They've been informed of your arrival." With that, he left.

On the third floor, a lanky man welcomed her and introduced himself as Johnny. After sniffing the air, of course.

Was I supposed to sniff them back or something?

He showed her to the IT room. The issue they had wasn't big. Just a glitch in the current version of the software. It was easy to fix, but it would happen again.

They don't have to know that though. She hoped her team found a solution for it soon.

After one hour, their system was working and she was heading to her car. She was re-listing in her head her to-do's for when she arrives home. After all, her dad was right, they were good people. One could forget that they were different.

Her mind kept going back to the chocolate cake she left in the fridge. She had made it yesterday and saved the last slice for tonight because she knew after this long day she would need a treat to send her into a sugar coma.

It was a successful day, but all this stress left her so unsettled. Tonight, she would definitely need her sleeping pills. She didn't use them every night though, just days like this.

The elevator came quickly. She entered and turned to press the button. She was startled out of her skin when she locked eyes with the strangest pair of eyes. They were completely white with a small black dot in the middle. She felt like her soul left her body for a second. A smile brightened the stranger's face. She couldn't blame him though. She would have laughed if she was in his place.

She pressed the button. Her eyes remained glued to the ghostly eyes until the doors of the elevator closed. Only then she did loosen the hand clutching her chest.

That should be the reason why my soul didn't leave me completely, she chuckled.

Not fully recovered from her near death experience, she heard the familiar ding of the elevator announcing that she reached her destination. However, when the doors opened, she wasn't met with the dim underground. A lobby met her eyes.

Groaning, she went to press the button again when an unfamiliar female voice attracted her attention.

"Miss, can we have five minutes of your time please?" A beautiful brown woman, with green eyes, asked her politely.

"What's the matter? Should I go back to the third floor?" Sonia said, frowning. She was sure everything worked fine.

"No, no. Come with me please. The alpha requested your presence."

"The alpha? Should I be worried?" she said nervously.

Why won’t this day end?

"Don't worry, you’re not in trouble. Maybe he wanted to thank you for coming despite the short notice and fixing the problem," she said reassuringly, but it did nothing to calm Sonia's nerves.

Why would the alpha ask for me? It didn't make sense that the leader thanked every person that came to his territory to fix something.

She was led to a meeting room, where a long table was placed in the middle with several chairs. On her right was a glass wall, allowing the room to bask in the sunset. The few plants in the corners of the room reminded her of her home. She smiled. Soon I would be home.

The sound of the door opening behind her made her turn curiously to find eight men entering the room two at a time.

Like bodyguards, they stood one man at every corner, and two stood at the sides of the door. Then finally came in the white eyed man with two others trailed after him. Her eyebrow rose involuntary at this unnecessary display of power. An entrance worthy of a mafia boss, she thought to herself.

Oddly, she wasn't intimidated by that. She grew up around bodyguards. She had been carried on their shoulders when she was a child and often stuck crowns of flowers in their hair. She smiled fondly at the memory. She knew that behind their cold façade, they were just regular people.

He stood in front of her. Up close, she could see that his eyes weren't white. Rather, the palest blue that could be mistaken as white from a distance. Now that she was closer, she could even see the finest darker blue strokes decorating his irises like an expensive diamond.

She couldn't tear her eyes away from his. She didn't want to. For once today, she could lose herself in something that was not her thoughts and the voices in her head.

He spoke at last, "I am pleased to finally meet you." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Please have a seat!"

She pulled from his overwhelming stare to sit at the end of the table, which didn't go unnoticed by the amused look in his eyes.

"Can I offer you something to drink, Sonia?"

She hoped all this would end soon. She fidgeted with the satin floral scarf tied around the hand of her bag in a sophisticated bow. "Just water, please."

He motioned to one of his men who brought a glass of water like a professional waiter. What a waste of potential, she thought. A small giggle left her lips before she could stop it. She snuck a glance at the ghostly eyes to find them narrowed at her. Blushing, she coughed awkwardly, whispering a small apology before she gulped from her cup, trying to drown her embarrassment.

He said, after a moment of silence, "The pack and I want to thank you and your company for your services."

Oh! So, he really did want to thank me! She thought, relieved but partly surprised.

"It's our job, sir. Nothing to be thanked for," She said, smiling politely, and started to stand up. "If you excuse me, it's getting dark and I have a long drive—"

"You are my mate, Sonia," he said, looking at her intensely.

She froze, her hand midway to her bag. Her eyes snapped to him, shock and fear lacing her gaze. She didn't say a word for the longest moment. She was confused. Of course, she knew what the word mate means coming from a werewolf, but she couldn't bring herself to believe this was happening to her! All she wanted was to go back to her home and eat that chocolate cake.

I can't be his mate! How can I! I'm not looking for a relationship. I don't even have a pet!

She didn't want this. She looked at the door behind him. Her only escape. Maybe I can talk him out of it. It is not likely, but I can try. She sat back, trying hard to breath normally.

He said carefully, "A mate is—"

"I know what a mate is!" she snapped. Sonia sighed, feeling her chest heavy. His calculating eyes had not left her. It added to her nervousness.

"You see I’m a human, and humans don't have mates."

"We, werewolves, do," he said challengingly, "And you are mine. I can prove it to you." He reached to touch her, but she pulled away quickly before their hands meet.

How can I convince a werewolf to give up what he considers as his soulmate? I should’ve googled that yesterday instead of getting distracted by the pictures of cute little werewolf puppies, she thought regretfully.

She sat tall and said, "We should discuss this. So sit, Mr. Alpha who didn't bother to tell me his name, but found it appropriate to claim me as his."

Amusement danced in his eyes when he sat, facing her.

"My name is Omar. So what is there to discuss, mate?"

"Listen, as I said, I'm not fit for this. I don't want to be a werewolf’s mate to begin with, and you are an Alpha. I can't be a Luna. You can choose another mate. Like real wolves."

"Like real wolves?"

"Yes, wolves, not werewolves. The alpha male mates with the alpha female who proved herself to be the strongest female in the pack. That's not me. I’m not a wolf. I’m not a dominant person."

"Oh, trust me, you’re dominant without even trying. You have a strong presence. You make my wolves bow to you naturally."

She didn't know what to think of this or what to say.

"Listen I really need to leave, so tell me your terms. I don't want this. How can we solve the mate problem?"

"The mate bond is not a problem," he said defensively. "There is nothing to solve here. You are my mate and I want you to be my Luna. I can give you all the time you need to accept the idea and adapt to your new position."

"That will not happen."

"You don't have a choice."

This dog. Why can't he see reason!

"I'll let you know that I did my homework before coming here. I know that I can reject you right now. I’m trying to be civil because I know how important mates are for your kind and how much damage a rejection can cause you."

She breathed deeply trying to calm her nerves then she proceeded, "So, I won't reject you, but I will give you a period of time to look for a suitable Luna. Then you can reject me and mark her. I am a human that should not affect me."

He was silent for a moment. His eyes never leaving her as if he was deep in thought. Then a look of resolve appeared in his eyes when he said, "No."

Two simple letters stole the air from her lungs. Even the faceless people around her didn't provide any comfort anymore. She sipped nervously on her water. I need a way out. I have to go back to my normal life... to my plants... to my work.

"I am sorry. I can't do this. I need to go home," she said, her head starting to spin. Her breathing became shallow.

"We will meet again, mate," he promised firmly.

She stood from her chair, but felt lightheaded. What's happening to me? She tried to reach the door, but collapsed.

The last thing she saw was a pair of the palest blue eyes looking at her, and the last thought that crossed her mind was, he drugged me!