I couldn't handle it anymore.
"Get out of my way!" I'm sick of seeing you! I growled and pointed my finger at the door, losing my temper.
Hayley merely smiled like a poisonous snake and slithered around my office like she owned it. "What's wrong, Anastasia? The man you slept with didn't satisfy you because he wasn't strong enough? Or maybe not strong enough? She spoke with a mocking tone and her voice was full of poison. "Be careful how you talk to me." Tell the pack your little secret, and we'll see how long you stay on top.
My wolf was angry and her tail was lashing, but I didn't give her the satisfaction of reacting—not yet. I hit the intercom hard. "Grace, come to my office."
A few moments later, Grace came to the door, always loyal and on time. I pointed to Hayley and spoke in a voice like steel. "She's not my guest." Take her out of the building.
Hayley didn't move. "Who says I'm not?" I came to order a piece of jewelry. She crossed her arms and spoke in a way that made her sound like she still had authority here.
But suddenly my eyes got smaller. I saw something shining just below her collarbone around her neck. It was a necklace. Not just any necklace. My plan. My mark.
My heart raced. How in the world is she wearing that? That piece wasn't just a trinket. It was made with care, with feeling, and with the blood memories of my family. Someone either took it or she had a fake one.
"Get out before I lose what little control I have left," I said, striding toward her and barely holding back the anger that was building up inside me.
Her eyes turned dark with rage. She opened the door with a bang and growled, "I'm going right to your boss." I'll kick you out like the dog you are.
Grace looked with disbelief when Hayley rushed off. "Miss Tillman," she murmured frantically, "you can't let her make a complaint." If the council finds out about this—
"I know," I said quickly as I pushed past her and swung open my office door.
Hayley was already making a ruckus in the shared workstation, her voice loud and piercing. "Tell your Alpha I want to talk to him!" This designer just insulted a customer and kicked me out like I was nothing!
Everyone turned to see. My coworkers gazed, quiet as shadows. They were undoubtedly enjoying the drama, but they didn't know how angry I was inside.
I moved in, my voice low and cold. "Hayley, what do you want?"
Her lips twisted into something poisonous. "I want you to leave. Fired. Embarrassed. Just as you should.
That was all.
The anger that had been building for five years finally came out. The lies, the betrayal, and the way she left me broken and hurt all came pouring back. I didn't think. I didn't care.
I slapped her across the face without thinking, and my hand made a loud crack as it cut through the air.
She shrieked and fell back, hitting the ground with a cry. "Anastasia, I'm your client!"
People gasped in the room. I heard hearts pause and whispers grow. I didn't care. Let them see. Let them know what it's like when a wolf finally fights back.
My eyes went back to the chain around her neck. It wasn't hers; it never was. I crouched down and grabbed it without thinking, trying to pull it free.
"Don't touch it!" Hayley screamed and clawed at my hands, pushing her fingers into my skin. "It's mine!" "It's worth millions!"
"No, it's not," I said angrily. "You don't even know what this means."
We fought, and I could feel a snarl rising in my throat as she wouldn't let go. Our bodies were like two wild she-wolves fighting in a pit, with hair flying, nails scraping, and pride fighting with primordial wrath.
And then— "Anastasia, stop!"
That sound.
My muscles froze as I turned to look at the source.
Elliot.
He got out of the elevator like a storm in a suit, and his aura flared forth like lightning across the sky. Alpha presence. Main. Angry.
Hayley's eyes got big. Her voice stopped coming out.
Elliot got closer and grabbed my wrist before I could do anything. He pulled me away from Hayley. His grip was strong and commanding, but not mean.
"What the hell are you doing?" His voice was low but loud, and it shook my bones.
I could feel the guilt and the heat rising to my cheeks. The jewelry, the slap, and the rage. It all made me angry, but none of it mattered at the time. Not when he gave me the look that said I had crossed a line I couldn't cross.
I still didn't look away.
Because this wasn't just a small fight.
This was a battle. A time to pay.
And I wasn't going to be the first to bow.
When Elliot's voice came through the air, I froze.
Hayley also froze, and her head turned toward the voice like a startled fawn caught in a hunter's snare. From where I was standing, I could almost hear her heartbeat hammering, and the smell of panic, harsh and metallic, coming off of her in waves told me she hadn't expected him to show up. Not here. Not right now. And not with me standing right in front of her.
Elliot wasn't the only thing she was scared of. She was scared of being found out.
Elliot's tall body went toward her slowly and calmly, not tearing the truth out of her like I had hoped he would. My wolf's hair stood on end because it knew something was wrong. Then he knelt down in front of her and spoke softly, like a breeze across a cut. "Are you okay, Hayley?"
I blinked. What?
She didn't think twice. "Elliot, it hurts..." she cried, as her eyes filled with tears that sparkled in the bright lights. Her voice broke at just the appropriate times, and her body leaned against his as if she had done this scene a thousand times before. She coughed weakly and put a shaking hand over her throat, as if she had just barely escaped being strangled.
I had to squeeze my jaw so hard that it hurt.
What the hell did I just see?
I could feel the attention all around me. The tension that was crawling over my skin wasn't just mine; it was the same for every wolf in that hallway. But I didn't care about the murmurs or the gasps. I was looking at Elliot. About Hayley. He picked her up like she was made of glass and strode toward the elevator without looking at me once.
She was crying on his shirt, but I knew better. Behind that façade of hurt innocence, her eyes flickered my way with joy and victory.
That snake.
She believed I didn't know. That we both forgot about that night. And maybe she was right. Elliot might not have known who he had slept with. I did, though. And now as I saw them together, a twisted, dark part of me wished she would never tell him. Let her choke on that falsehood, one piece at a time.
"Carry me, Elliot," she whimpered, holding into his shoulder like he was her lifeline.
The doors of the elevator slid shut, taking him—and my breath—with them.
I stood there for a few seconds, unable to move. My ideas got all mixed up. My heart is wild and hurt. So, like a parasite, Hayley had gotten into Elliot's life. In five years, she went from my terrible history to his bed?
"What are you waiting for, Anastasia?" Alice's voice sounded from behind me, full of angry pleasure. "Get your stuff together and get out of here." You just hit the lover of President Presgrave. It's one thing to upset a client, but to go after the boss's woman? "You've got guts."
I didn't bother to answer. She wasn't worth the effort.
I went back to my office and shut the door behind me. This cut me off from the commotion, the chatter, and the smothering feeling of betrayal. I put my palm on my chest, as if it would help the pain that was pounding there. How could Elliot, my friend, gaze at her with such love?
Did his instincts go dull?
I couldn't get my head around it. Hayley was mean and manipulative. A wolf in silk. He couldn't genuinely want her, could he?
The only thing that made sense was that he didn't recall. He didn't remember that I was the woman from that night.
And she was sure of that.
In the meantime, Elliot sat stiffly on the couch in his office, and Hayley dabbed at her tears like she was on stage, getting as much out of the role as she could.
"She was in my class," she said, her voice shaking. "We've never gotten along well. I never thought she would make me feel so bad. I tried to talk to her in a calm way... I even backed off, but she just lost it. She slipped my necklace around my neck and pulled on it. I could not breathe. "Look at my neck."
She turned her head to the side to see the thin red line.
My mark.
Elliot's eyes narrowed as he saw it, and his face was hard to decipher. I could feel the tie between us break, like spider silk.
Hayley went on, "She lost her mother when she was young," as she wiped her nose with a tissue. "Her dad didn't raise her right either." I always tried to get what she was saying, you know? But this... this was too much.
Elliot got up from the couch with gloomy eyes. "I'll handle it." Someone will take you home with them.
Hayley got up slowly, like a hurt tiny bird, and picked up her things. But just before the assistant got there, she took one last shot.
"You won't be nice to her, will you?" Her voice was sweet but strong. "Someone like her shouldn't work with you, Elliot." She's... not safe.
She held on to his sleeve with her hand. And I could feel it, like claws running down my back.
The trap was ready.
And Elliot was going right into it.