<h4>Chapter 14: Chapter 14 My Eyes Locked on Her Name</h4>


    Author’s pov


    On the other side of the forest, a golf cart slowly drove through the fairway.


    "Xavier?" Cici called softly, snuggling up to him, and suddenly realized that something was wrong with his expression.


    He stared at the forest not far away, his eyes glued to the graceful figure - the white sleeveless top hugging her curves, and the ck short skirt swaying lightly with her steps. That silhouette looked like Cecilia.


    Cici followed his gaze, but only caught a glimpse of legs disappearing into the woods.


    "What are you looking at?" She pouted and tugged at his sleeves, "Xavier?"


    Xavier snapped back to reality, his eyes hidden in shadow, and whispered, "Nothing."


    He looked away and stared at the road ahead, but suspicion was already brewing in his eyes.


    Cecilia


    I continued following Sebastian, my heart pounding with each step. He stopped beside a tall oak tree and answered his phone, acknowledging my presence with just a brief nce over his shoulder.


    Realizing he needed privacy, I retreated to a small mushroom-shaped gazebo nearby. I rubbed my temples in frustration, mentally reying my disastrous performance. Once Sebastian finished his call, I gathered my courage and approached him again.


    "Alpha Sebastian clearly has excellent judgment," I said with forced lightness. "I clearly can’t even read the room properly. You’re right—I’m not suitable for the secretary position. I apologize for wasting your time."


    His eyebrow arched elegantly. "You followed me all the way here just to confirm that you’re unsuitable? That’s your big revtion?"


    I stood speechless,pletely thrown off by his sharp retort. I gave an awkwardugh. Since my chances were already ruined, there was no point in pretending anymore. "Obviously I followed you to try and change your mind. But between the terrible first impression I made and today’s total disaster, I clearly don’t meet your standards. I just wanted to end things without pissing you off further."


    Sebastian regarded me with cold detachment. "You think those are my reasons for rejecting you?"


    "Aren’t they?" I asked, genuinely confused.


    "You came dressed like this to interview for a position as my secretary," he said, leaning slightly forward, his voice lowering to a dangerous timbre. "If I were to ept you, wouldn’t it suggest I’m only interested in your appearance?" His eyes flickered over my outfit. "Even if I were that type of man, I wouldn’t be so obvious about it."


    My face turned bright red. The blush spread from my cheeks to the tips of my ears, burning with such intensity I thought I mightbust. His meaning was crystal clear—he thought I was trying to sleep my way into the position, and he found the attempt both transparent and distasteful.


    I couldn’t bring myself to exin that this wasn’t my chosen outfit. "Fair enough," I managed to say. "I should go. Goodbye."


    I didn’t wait for him to say anything. Spun around and walked away as fast as I could without losing dignity.


    The sting of rejection burned hotter than the zing sun overhead, making it hard to breathe.


    Once I was out of sight, I vaguely heard a familiar voice from a distance.


    "Where did Cecilia go?" It was Yvonne, her tone full of confusion.


    "She’s gone." Sebastian’s voice waspletely t, as if he was talking about the weather.


    "What? Why?" Yvonne was obviously stunned. "Alpha Sebastian, Cecilia is actually very capable-"


    I couldn’t make out the rest.


    I just kept my head down and walked quickly, as if I wanted to escape from that space where the air was thick with shame.


    No matter what Yvonne said now, it cannot change what he saw and assumed.


    Of course, it was impossible to erase the humiliation that was still gnawing at me.


    ...


    Back home, I immediately peeled off the borrowed outfit and changed into myfortable loungewear. I sat dejectedly in front of my vanity mirror, staring at my reflection.


    Without Xavier, without my position at Blood Moon Pack—was I truly nothing now?


    After feeling sorry for myself for an hour, I finally checked my phone, which I’d silenced during my disastrous meeting. The screen showed tons of missed calls—several from Xavier and many from Yvonne.


    Ipletely ignored Xavier’s calls and dialed Yvonne instead.


    "I’m so sorry for taking off," I said when she answered. "I wasn’t feeling well—low blood sugar. I had to leave quickly and totally forgot to tell you."


    Yvonne was silent for a few seconds. "...I’m the one who should apologize."


    "Don’t worry about it, really. I was just rolling the dice anyway," I reassured her. "You’ve already helped me tons, and I appreciate it."


    "Don’t beat yourself up. Listen, I exined the clothing situation to Sebastian, though he didn’t really react. I got his number from Jude—do you want to reach out to him directly?"


    After a moment’s consideration, I declined. "It’s cool. The Silver Peak Pack and I clearly weren’t meant to be."


    Hearing my resignation, Yvonne didn’t push further.


    After hanging up, I crawled into bed, my emotional exhaustion hitting me like a truck.


    Half-asleep, I heard the bedroom door open.


    "Mmm..." I rolled over, squinting to see Xavier standing by the bed, his expression ice-cold.


    I didn’t want to talk to him, so I turned away and pulled the covers over my head.


    "Have you been home sleeping all day? You didn’t step outside?" Xavier sat on the edge of the bed, his voice probing.


    I remained silent.


    "I saw someone who looked like you at the golf course today."


    My eyes snapped open beneath the covers.


    He was at the golf course too? How perfect. He and Cici had been unting their rtionship right in front of me, yet he had the audacity to question my whereabouts.


    I wanted to confront him—yes, I was there, so what?—but then I worried he might cause trouble for Yvonne. I kept silent instead.


    Xavier leaned down and pulled back a corner of the nket, his gaze falling on my bare neck, searching for any suspicious marks. Finding none, his expression softened slightly.


    Still, he persisted, needing verbal confirmation. "Did you go out today or not?"


    "No, I didn’t leave the house," I lied through gritted teeth. "I spent the afternoon cleaning the yard. I’m trying to sleep—please buzz off." I yanked the covers back over my head, disgusted by his closeness.


    Apparently satisfied with my answer, Xavier finally left me alone.


    Sebastian’s pov


    As night fell, I sat alone at the dining table in the penthouse. The windows zed with light, but the room was as quiet as ever. Liam poured me a ss of aged red wine as usual, his movements smooth and practiced.


    "Any updates on the headhunter?" I asked casually, gently swirling the wine ss with my fingertips, the wine creating a deep red whirlpool in the crystal ss.


    "Beta Sawyer just sent a new list," Liam replied. "Whenever you’re ready, you can take a look." He paused, and a meaningful light shed in his eyes. "I noticed that Miss Cecilia, the woman you saved in that car ident made the cut."


    I froze mid-motion. "Oh really?" I said casually, but Liam’s sharp eyes caught that I was anything but indifferent to that name.


    "Grab the tablet." I turned around and entered the study, he brought the device to me a few secondster. I opened the screen and clicked on the filespiled by Sawyer. I went through the candidates from previous rounds one by one - either too weak or too slick; either too kiss-ass or too greedy.


    What I need was a secretary who could back me up and handle everything for me. But more importantly, someone I could trust and who wouldn’t bore me to death.


    I was still not sure what to make of Cecilia Moore yet. Liam stood aside and said thoughtfully: "Even though Miss Moore isn’t that old, she has an impressive track record. It only took her four years to go from project specialist at Blood Moon Pack to project manager. She led most of their recent profitable projects, and tons ofpetitors in the industry tried to poach her, but struck out - because her partner is Alpha of Blood Moon, Alpha Xavier."


    He paused, his tone tinged with pity, "But I heard that he is now nning to hold a mating ceremony with the fourth daughter of Shadow Pack. Cecilia quit after finding out. Poor thing..."


    I went still.


    "Mate," Soren growled softly inside me.


    The sound was quiet, but it was like thunder coursing through my bones and blood. He was stirring. Not just alert or excited, but a...deep awakening.


    He remembered her.


    I recalled the faint scent on her skin - not typical human fragrance, not perfume or anything artificial. That was her natural essence.


    Remembering her appearance in a tight skirt this afternoon, my lower abdomen tightened involuntarily, and the feeling of arousal made me shift ufortably.


    I forced myself to suppress the instinctive impulse and continued to scroll through the information, but my attention had already shifted from her resume to her photos.


    In the document, she looked gentle and calm, with steady eyes,pletely different from the woman wearing that ridiculous outfit and acting flustered today.


    But I knew that was the real her.


    When the mask is stripped away, you see the most authentic version of a person.


    I shouldn’t care about this, let alone be affected. After all, she was human, and I, Silver Peak’s Alpha.


    But Soren didn’t care about any of that.


    He only knew that she belonged to us.


    "Interesting." I whispered, my eyes locked on her name.


    So this was how fate worked—alwaysing full circle.