11 Chapter 11


    Damien’s POV 1


    The private jet touched down at Silver Moon Harbor International two hours ahead of schedule, but I’d been restless for the entire flight, unable to focus on any of the documents spread across my mahogany desk. Something about tomorrow’s dinner arrangements-and more specifically, the woman who’d managed them-had upied far too much of my mental bandwidth over the past twenty-four


    hours.


    It was ridiculous. I was a powerful Alpha whomanded respect from wolves across three territories, yet here I was,pletely distracted by a voice I’d heard exactly twice over the phone.


    I couldn’t stop thinking about those two conversations. The way her voice had trembled with barely controlled fury when she’d called my request unreasonable. Most assistants either cowered in terror or quit via email after their first encounter with my temper. But Seraphina Knight had done neither. She’d pushed back, challenged me.


    “You’re thinking about her again,” Alex observed with what sounded suspiciously like amusement.


    I ignored him, but my wolf wasn’t wrong. I was thinking about her. Far more than was appropriate for an employer contemting an


    employee he’d never even met.


    “Maybe she’s already gone,” I found myself thinking as the car pulled up to Nightshadow Industries, and the possibility sent an


    unexpected spike of panic through my chest. “Maybe the reality of working for me finally sank in and she decided to cut her losses.”


    What the hell was wrong with me? I was practically eager to meet a woman whose only qualification so far was that she hadn’t run away


    screaming.


    As I strode through the marble lobby, employees immediately straightened to attention, offering respectful nods and murmured


    greetings. But as I approached the executive floor, something unexpected caught my attention.


    The door to my outer office was slightly ajar, and through the gap, I could see a figure bent over what appeared to be scattered papers


    on the floor. The woman was on her hands and knees, reaching under a desk, and the position offered a spectacr view of long, shapely


    legs encased in silk stockings, a perfect curve of hip and thigh, and the tantalizing glimpse of delicatece underwear beneath a hiked-


    up emerald dress.


    My steps slowed involuntarily. The woman’s movements were graceful despite her awkward position, and something about the elegant


    line of her back, the way her dark hair hade slightly loose from its updo, sent an unexpected jolt of attraction straight through me.


    I cleared my throat softly, not wanting to startle her but unable to ignore the professional impropriety of the situation-or the way my


    body was reacting to the enticing view. Heat pooled low in my belly, and I had to adjust my stance slightly as my pants grew


    ufortably tight.


    She frozepletely, her entire body going rigid, and I could practically feel her mortification radiating through the air like waves of


    heat.


    She scrambled to her feet with impressive speed. The movement was fluid and graceful despite her obvious panic, and I caught a sh of


    long, silk-d legs before she yanked her dress back into ce and spun to face me. The sight of her flushed face, those wide, apologetic


    eyes, and the way her chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths did absolutely nothing to ease the tightness in my pants.


    The woman standing before me wasn’t just beautiful-she was breathtaking in a way that hit me like a physical blow. Her face was a


    perfect oval framed by waves of dark hair, her skin luminous and smooth as cream. But it was her eyes that nearly brought me to my


    knees.


    Brilliant emerald green, framed by thickshes, they sparkled with intelligence and spirit even as they widened with what appeared to be


    shock. Those eyes… there was something familiar about them, something that made my wolf pace restlessly in my mind.


    “MATE!” Alex’s voice exploded in my consciousness with such force that I actually took an involuntary step forward. “MATE!”


    The scent hit me then-vani and jasmine with an underlying sweetness that was uniquely hers. It wrapped around me like silk ribbons,


    making my head spin and my wolf howl with recognition and desperate need.


    “Miss Knight, I presume?” I managed to say, though my voice came out rougher than intended.


    She opened her mouth but no sound emerged. Her green eyes were wide with what looked like panic, and I could see her pulse


    fluttering rapidly at the base of her throat. The air between us crackled with electricity, thick with an attraction so intense it was almost


    suffocating.


    Before either of us could recover from the moment, familiar footsteps echoed down the hallway, followed by Lucas’s cheerful voice.


    “Damien! I saw your car pull up-you’re back early!” He rounded the corner at his usual energetic pace, then stopped short when he


    spotted the woman standing frozen by my desk. “Well, hello there.”


    Lucas’s eyes immediately began traveling appreciatively over Seraphina’s form, taking in the way the emerald dress hugged every curve,


    the flush on her cheeks, the elegant line of her neck. I could practically see his interest spike, and my wolf snarled in fury.


    “I don’t believe we’ve met,” Lucas continued, moving forward with his most charming smile. “I’m Lucas, Beta of this pack and Damien’s


    right-hand man.” He extended his hand toward her. “And you must be the mysterious new assistant I’ve been hearing so much about.”


    The sight of him reaching for her hand sent a bolt of pure rage through my system. My vision actually tinted red around the edges, and I


    had to clench my fists to keep from physically pulling him away from her.


    “I… yes, I’m Seraphina Knight,” she managed to stammer, her voice barely above a whisper as she reluctantly ced her hand in his.


    “Seraphina,” Lucas repeated, and the way he said her name-like he was tasting something delicious-made me want to rip his throat out.


    “Beautiful name for a beautiful woman. Tell me, are you free for dinner tonight? I know this amazing little ce downtown-”


    “Lucas.” My voice cut through his flirtation like a de, sharp enough to make both of them jump. “Don’t you have somewhere else to


    be?”


    He turned to look at me with raised eyebrows, clearly picking up on the dangerous undercurrent in my tone. “Actually, I was hoping to


    discuss the Pack alliance with you, but I suppose that can wait.” His smile widened as he turned back to Seraphina,pletely ignoring


    my obvious displeasure. “So what do you say? Dinner?”


    I watched Seraphina’s face cycle through confusion, embarrassment, and something that looked almost like fear. She nced between


    Lucas and me, clearly at aplete loss for words.


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    That’s when I stepped forward, close enough that my presence would be unmistakably territorial. “I believe Miss Knight has more important things to worry about than your social calendar, Lucas. Like exining why she’s apparently been reorganizing my filing


    system on the floor.”


    Seraphina’s eyes widened at my tone, and I saw her shoulders square defensively. “I’m sorry, Mr. Nightshadow. I identally knocked


    over some files and was just-”


    Before she could finish her exnation, a sickeningly familiar voice rang out from the hallway.


    “Brother! I heard from my husband Gabriel that you’re hosting some fancy dinner party tonight, and you didn’t even think to invite us?”


    Valerie burst through the office doorway like a pink tornado, her bleached blonde hair bouncing as she practically skipped toward us.


    “How could you possibly-” She stopped short when she noticed the back of Seraphina, her artificially enhanced lips curving into a cruel


    smile. “Oh, well well. What do we have here?”


    I watched Seraphina’s entire body go rigid at the mention of Gabriel’s name, her face draining of color so quickly I was genuinely


    concerned she might faint.


    “Let me guess,” Valerie continued, circling around Seraphina like a predator sizing up prey. “Another desperate little assistant trying to


    w her way up the corporatedder by batting her eyshes at the big bad Alpha?” She deliberately bumped into Seraphina’s shoulder


    as she passed. “How long do you think this one willst before she runs away crying? A week? Two days?”


    “Valerie.” My voice carried enough menace to make several nearby employees visible through the doorway take strategic steps backward.


    But she was far from finished. “You know, Gabriel has been telling you for months that I’d make a perfect assistant. I’m family, after all,


    and I certainly wouldn’t spend my first day crawling around on the floor in inappropriate dresses, shing my underwear at anyone who


    walks by.”


    “GET OUT!” I roared, my Alpha authority flooding the room with such force that every wolf present. “GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW,


    VALERIE!”