Eleanor:

I frowned as my bedroom’s door opened, knowing that it was Elton, my fiancé, who was coming in.

He didn’t bother knocking on the door, he never did anyway.

He walked toward me, not bothering to say a word before he grabbed me by my neck from the back, noticing that I didn’t bother turning to face him. It wasn’t like he would want me to, if anything, he might end up bending me on my dresser, taking me as he desired.

He grinded against me, making me feel him through my dress, and I closed my eyes, anticipating what was to come.

“Not today, neonata.” He whispered, his voice sending shivers down my spine. “I am keeping the best for tomorrow when you are officially my wife and I get to mark and take you the way that I desire.” 

He squeezed my neck, leaving a bruise, before removing his hand and kissing the area. I had to fight back flinching, knowing that it gave him what he wanted. He wanted me to weaken and crumble, and that was not something that I wanted to give to him.

“I came to give you this,” he said, taking a step back, silently telling me to turn around and face him. I did as told and looked up at him, my eyes meeting his, despite knowing that it was not something that he liked. He raised an eyebrow at my behavior but didn’t bother commenting, something that was not like him, as he opened a box to reveal an emerald necklace. “An early wedding gift.”

I didn’t say a word as I kept my eyes on the stone. This marriage itself was going to be the death of me, and it was something that he knew, and that was something that I couldn’t allow. I turned around, not bothering to wait for his command, and looked at him through the mirror as he put the thing around my neck. 

“I don’t like your attitude today,” he said, tightening the necklace around my neck, knowing that the diamonds would be leaving their cuts and marks. They would be healing before the wedding, it was something that he was confident about, and whether or not they did, makeup was always used to cover my cuts and bruises, at least, when he wanted them to be. There were times where he refused to have me covering them, wanting to show off his strength the way that he did. “But I will excuse you for being nervous. You know, it is your big day tomorrow.” 

He loosened the necklace around my neck, and I couldn’t help but shudder as the diamonds were pulled out of my torn skin. My neck bled, but I didn’t move or respond as he clasped the necklace around it. 

He looked at me through the mirror, and I looked down at the dresser, avoiding his eyes. This was as far as I could go with challenging him. Considering that he chose to comment, I knew that one wrong move would end up costing me a lot more than I could afford, and had no one to fend for me; therefore, I knew to be quiet and obedient if I wanted the night to pass. 

“You understood your lesson well, good girl.” He said, his voice above a whisper before he lowered his hand to my thigh, digging his fingers on it, causing me to wince. “This bruise would be teaching you not to think of challenging me again, and I think you don’t need me to remind you of what would happen when you do.”

I kept my eyes on the dresser, fighting back the urge of talking back or giving in to my wolf who was begging me to stop challenging him. Me challenging him was the one thing that kept me going. It reminded me that I was, despite everything that was going on, a free soul who still wanted to fight. And that was something that I was not going to let him deprive me of.

He walked toward the door, not bothering to wait for me to respond, knowing that I wouldn't. He opened the door just as I looked up at my own reflection. I put my hand on the jewel, and he let out an amused chuckle.

“Get some rest, little one. You will have enough time to admire the necklace tomorrow. But I do believe that you could use all the rest that you can get.” He said, his tone mocking, making my chest burn. “Not that it would make much of a difference anyway.”

He walked out and slammed the door shut behind him. I glared at the door for a few seconds before ripping the necklace from around my neck and slamming it on the dresser. 

My heart raced against my chest, and I shook my head at my fate. This was not something that I wanted for myself, giving in to the man was not something that I wanted. 

I looked at the window, knowing that it was my only chance. If I was to marry the man, then I was going to deem my life a prisoner to the man who wanted nothing more than to hurt me, and that was something that I didn’t want to live through. 

“You can find someone else to toy with, Elton.” I whispered to myself as I tied my hair in a bun, reminding myself of the struggles that I have been through up to this moment. Six years of my life have been given to the man, and in these six years, all I have seen were tears and pain.

I walked toward the window and slowly opened it. The tree that my mother and I had planted years ago before she passed away was now two stories high, its branch reaching over my window. It was the one thing that she was able to give me, the one plant that could mask my scent. 

I pulled a few leaves off and rubbed my neck and wrist with them before holding my dress up, knowing that it was my one chance. “I won’t end up with your same fate, mama. I promised you that I wouldn’t, and I am going to fight to fulfill that promise.”

I looked down at the floor, knowing that it was my one chance. Cowering was not going to get me anywhere. And therefore, I did the one thing that I could think of.

I jumped…

Killian:

“My apologies for my delay, Killian, I was checking on my fiancé.” Elton said, entering his office where my beta and second hand, Vladimir, and I were sitting. My chest ached as a heavy feeling settled in my chest at his scent; however, I kept my expression monotonous as I  raised an eyebrow at the man.

“Alpha Killian.” I corrected, glaring at the man who looked down at his desk, avoiding my eyes for a second. 

He was in my territory, and for him to be alive should be blessing enough for him, he knew that for fact. “I called you here for the two of us to negotiate. As you are well aware, I am the future Alpha and Capo dei Capi of the Bernardi family, and I have chosen to leave Rome and settle here just as you did with Moscow.”

“I did not leave Moscow, my territory extends towards it. However, for you to think that you can come to my territory and negotiate calls for guts. I need to point out, Capo, that I, as an Alpha and Pakhan, do not share my territories.” I said, glaring at the man who frowned. 

“Our conflicts have gone for years, and for that, I came to be the one to end them. Think about it, we can work together rather than against one another.” He said, looking at my untouched glass. Vladimir chuckled and shook his head at the man. The last thing that I was going to do was work with a prick like himself. 

“I suggest that you settle for the business deal that we made and take the money that I gave you for and get the fuck out of here after your wedding. You are lucky enough that I have agreed for you to hold it here, another man would have killed you, Elton.” I said, getting up from my chair. Vladimir followed and taking our stance, so did Elton.

“Alpha, you know that we can find a middle line to this. You…”

“I do believe that you should be well aware that there is no middle line between the two of us, and there never will be.” I said, not bothering to face the man. Vladimir walked beside me and I nodded at him to check on the girls inside the car, wanting to know if they had settled. To say the least, they were to be hired for jobs that they were suitable for. 

“The drinks have arrived at the Estate, Liana just called to inform me.” Vladimir said, and I nodded. My eyes were hard as the pack members stood by the door, waiting for us to leave. Elton walked two steps behind us, not bothering to say a word. He knew that he had failed to get what he wanted, and that was something that I knew he didn’t like. To say the least, he was worried about how things were going to go from there.

“Their drinks are the only thing that we can benefit from, that something that I will not deny.” I said, watching as two maids opened the door for us. 

Elton stood in front of the two of us and nodded in respect, he knew not to cross his limits right now. My men who had his house surrounded would end up killing him and his entire pack in seconds by a simple order from me, and that was something that he wouldn’t want to risk.

“It is a shame that we couldn’t find a way to negotiate in a way that would benefit the two of us. I truly did believe that we could have…”

“You can spare yourself and me your sugar coated conversations.” I said, stopping him. “I will show myself out.”

Vladimir and I walked out the door without bothering to wait for the man to say a word, not that I didn’t hear him cursing under his breath, but I didn’t expect any less. The man was here on behalf of his family, and he was going to have a hard time explaining things to them when they questioned him tomorrow at the ‘wedding’. 

Vladimir and I got inside the car before he smirked as Ilya started the car and drove off. 

“You were kinder than I thought that you would be.” He stated and I shook my head as I pulled out a cigarette. “The man was able to pass the afternoon without getting shot, that is something that I didn’t expect from you.”

“He is getting married tomorrow, to say the least, the woman would be the one to suffer on her wedding night if he is injured. We can consider it as a wedding gift.” I said, and he laughed. I looked at the road as we drove through their house’s garden, knowing for fact that both my parents would be waiting for our arrival when we got home. 

The two of them would want to know what happened between me and the enemy of the family. To say the least, I knew that mom would want to ensure that he was going to leave, only then would she be able to settle.

“We are going to need to assure mom and Maria when we arrive. You know that both of them have been worried since they heard of his presence.” Vladimir said, and I nodded. 

“Lena knew to trust me about him leaving. I believe that it was mom who was worried about me shooting the bastard. But then again, she wouldn’t be too surprised if I did, I just know that she didn’t want me getting into more trouble than necessary for now.” I said, and Vladimir chuckled. He knew for fact that both our mothers were more than just a little concerned about this. It was just the simple fact that Aunt Lena, his mom, was far more collected than mine was. 

I looked out the window and frowned at the sight of a girl trying to fight Alexander, one of my men, not wanting to get inside the van. However, he glared at her and she was quick to submit and get inside the car without saying a word. 

“At least they would both get a night’s rest now that he’s leaving.” Vladimir shrugged, breaking my attention from the window and I nodded. “So, what are we going to do from here?”

I shook my head in response, knowing that the two of us still had a lot to do. However, at the moment, I couldn’t help but find myself thinking of the woman who was fighting Alexander earlier. How she had calmed down almost instantly as if relieved. Whatever it was, I knew that I needed to find out.

“First, we go home. We decide where things are going afterwards…”

Eleanor:

I frowned as I got up, my leg aching as I scraped it with twigs and sticks that were on the floor. A few pebbles dug themselves in my leg, cutting my skin, making me bleed. But that was the least of my concerns, I knew that I needed to get out of here. 

I pulled a few sharp rocks, knowing that they would only slow me down as I tried running. My heart raced at the sight of my blood pouring, and I couldn’t help but fear anyone seeing me right now. That was the last thing that I needed, and I knew that one wrong move could and would be fatal. Knowing Elton, I knew that he wouldn’t miss a chance to make me pay for ‘disobeying’ him, and that was not something that I wanted to deal with. I had to either leave or die, there was no in between on this one. 

I got up from the ground, ignoring the ache in my leg before looking at the place that my mother died in long ago. The fact that this was the first time I’ve been here since her death and was leaving the way that I was made my chest ache. Coming here itself was surreal to me, therefore, leaving was even more painful to me.

However, knowing that it was what she would have wanted me to do, knowing her, she wouldn’t have wanted me to be enslaved in the dark fate that Elton would decide for me. The man has made me suffer enough, and the last thing that I wanted was to bound myself to him to torment me as he pleased until I took my last breath. 

I ran toward one of the back gates, knowing that it wouldn’t be guarded. To say the least, most of them were locked and the keys must have either been hidden or were lost. I frowned at a clench that hit my chest faster than I thought that it would. It wasn’t one that I understood, but nevertheless, I didn’t have time to look back at it. I knew that wasting it wasn’t going to be in my favor, and the faster I got out of here, the better. It was only a matter of time before my absence was known, and that wasn’t something that I wanted to deal with.

I ran through the garden, my legs aching with each step that I took. But I didn’t stop, I kept going.

It wasn’t until a hand was wrapped around my arm, taking me off guard, that I stopped. My heart raced and I tried to fight his grip, but he wouldn’t even bother looking at me as he dragged me through the field, making my body shake as I tried squirming from his grip, wanting him to let me go.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going, maid?” He asked, his thick Russian accent, making me frown in confusion. I looked at the man who was standing beside a car. His eyes met mine but I couldn’t help but find myself freezing as I processed his words. I tried pulling my arm away from his grasp; however, the man tightened his grip, stopping me from doing so. I flinched as he brushed against a bruise that was still healing. And I couldn’t help but notice that despite the firmness of it, he was making sure not to hurt me.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, and he chuckled, shaking his head. His eyes studied my expression for a few seconds before he shook his head at me. The scar on his face terrified me more than I knew that it should as I came to realize that he was a lot more dangerous than he might be letting out.

“I am not in the mood for games, get inside the fucking car, we’re heading out,” he said, and I frowned. I went to fight his grip again. But noticing the fact that the pack members were watching the cars leaving, I didn’t even know that we had guests, my room’s walls were soundproof, no one could hear what was happening inside and I couldn’t hear what happened out of it. Elton made sure to design it that way, making sure that regardless of the fact that I was a wolf, it made no difference. 

I knew that this was my best and only option. The man slowly nodded at the car and I looked down at my feet, avoiding his eyes before getting inside the car by the three girls who were in it. I didn’t know who they were, and thankfully, neither did they. 

My heart raced against my ribcage as they closed the door, and I couldn’t help but let out a breath that I didn’t realize that I was holding as I saw the car driving out of the house without being stopped by anyone. I smiled before I could stop myself, and the girl who sat in front of me frowned. 

“What is there to be smiling about? We are going to work for the Russian Pakhan, and you’re here smiling?” She asked, her tone hard with anger and distaste. I looked down at my lap, avoiding her eyes before frowning as I processed what she was saying.

“Who are you talking about?” I asked, shaking my head in question. My tone was lower in comparison, and she shook her head at me.

“You really don’t know, do you?” She asked, frowning at me. I frowned at her expression and shook my head in response. The other girls looked at me as if I grew a second head, and I couldn’t help but find myself shying back as I found myself cornered about something that they seemed to think that I had to know.

“Enough talking.” The man said, glaring at us through the rear mirror. He looked at me, studying my expression carefully before I looked down at my lap, avoiding his eyes. My leg was still bleeding, but I was thankful for the fact that no one had noticed it until now. “Good, at least the Italians knew to train you enough to listen to orders.” 

“I’m sorry, but can I ask where you’re taking us?” I said, daring to question the man who frowned at me. The girls looked at me as if I had grown a second head, but I had no other options, if I didn’t ask, then I wouldn’t know, and that wasn’t something that I wanted to deal with.

The man looked at me through the rear mirror for a few seconds, and I couldn’t help but feel small under his intense gaze. His dark eyes held a sense of dominance and power that were threatening to me. 

“The Ivanov Estate,” he said, his tone cold, making my heart drop at the mention of the last name of the family that was in conflict with the family for years now. “You now work for the Alpha of Alphas, Alpha Killian Ivanov…”

Killian:

“So, I take it that he is leaving?” Dad asked, and I shrugged my shoulders. I didn’t trust that he would be leaving as easily as he said that he would.

“As an initial, yes,” I said, and dad raised an eyebrow. “He might end up trying to find a different way to negotiate. He knows that he can’t afford failing, and seeing as he won’t be getting what he and his other inmates wanted him to do. I know that he might classify that as a failure on his account.” 

“And what do you plan on doing?” Mom asked, shaking her head in question. I put both my hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them. She smiled and shook her head at me, knowing that I wasn’t the type to like her getting worried. If anything, her being part of such discussions was not something that I liked, but I knew that I couldn’t do anything about it. She would be in the place that she wanted to be at, and as her son, I was to respect her decision regardless of what it was.

“We are going to wait for what happens, but I am not going to allow him to stay. You know that they have been enemies for years now, and the last thing that I am going to do is make an enemy think that I would be willing to work with him or to ‘share’ a territory.” I said, assuring mom who nodded. She put her right hand on mine, tapping it twice for me to remove my hands and I nodded. “You rest assured, mama, I won’t be doing anything that would harm the pack or the family. The Bernardi would be put in place, if I allowed them to stay, it is because the pack is benefitting, for now. But they will be leaving after the wedding.”

“Who is the fucker marrying anyway? Last I checked, he was never one to announce his relationship with anyone.” Dad asked, and I shook my head.

“I didn’t bother asking about it. You know that it is the least of my concerns who he marries or is with to begin with. The woman is here, but he didn’t introduce her to me, and he didn’t need to.” I said, and dad nodded. The last thing that I needed was to find myself interfering with the Bernardi women. Anyone of that family can be manipulative as far as I was concerned, and the last thing that I needed was for one of us to have a weakness that could end up being fatal. I didn’t repeat mistakes that happened in the past. If anything, I learn from them.

“As long as he leaves without causing us a fuss, he could marry a mouse for all we care. I just don’t want roaming around you, nor do I want you associating with him. The drinks that you bought are enough, and the girls that were sent here are to be trained before leaving the house.” Mom said, and I chuckled. I knew that she would be mentioning it. I was thankful that she was open to allowing them inside the house to begin with. I actually feared her saying something about it when she saw the car pulling over. Thankfully, she didn’t speak, but her expression said more than she needed to anyway.

“Don’t worry, mama, I will find their right positions and they will be out of the house soon enough.” I said, and she nodded. I smiled at her and looked at dad who got up from his chair, clearly hearing Vladimir who was outside. The two of us were still heading to one of my clubs as it had its opening, and I needed to check for the positions that I wanted the girls to fill. It was one of the main reasons why I needed them trained within the week to fill the slots by next week, and judging by the fact that they came from the Capo’s place, I knew that they would be. I just needed to ensure that they were loyal. Otherwise, we were going to be having a problem.

“The girls have settled and are speaking to Liana and getting the instructions that are needed right now. Mom is already calling the doctors to arrange that they get them checked, and then we will be able to start working with them.” Vladimir said, and I nodded in response. Mom smiled and got up from the chair. Dad wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his chest, wanting her to be more assured that things would be under control. The last thing that we wanted was for her to be worried about where things were going to go.

“Well, I guess that we will leave you two to tend to what you have to do.” Mom said, and I smiled before walking up to her. Dad unwrapped his arm from around her as I cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

“We will be back within a few hours. We might be a little late, but I don’t want you worrying, okay?” I said, my voice softening before she nodded. I smiled and nodded at dad who wrapped his arm around mom and pulled her out of the door. 

We both waited for a few seconds before Vladimir turned his attention to me. I wasn’t stupid, I knew that something was wrong or at least, that something happened. He just didn’t speak so as not to disturb mom who I knew would grow nervous if something happened. “One of the girls is missing.”

“Which one?” I asked, frowning in confusion. He shook his head and I raised an eyebrow.

“I am not sure. Alexander said that he brought five girls over. There are only four. The girls were questioned, but neither one of them knew who the girl even was. One of them says that she was bleeding.” He said, and I nodded, pinching the bridge of my nose. This was the last thing that we needed right now, but then again, I knew not to expect any less from the Italians.

“Find the woman and bring her to me.” I said, glaring at the wall ahead of me. “Also, I don’t want anyone finding out about this. The last thing that we need right now is for a problem to occur, and IF Elton thinks that this would be a method for us to agree to working with him, then he was in for a surprise that he wasn’t going to like.” 

“Also, I want all the girls in my office when we are back from the club.” I said, walking out of the office, knowing that Vladimir would follow once he’s given the proper orders to what I asked. 

“Let’s see what we have to deal with this time…”

Eleanor:

My heart raced against my ribcage as the car came to a stop inside the Estate.

I knew that I needed to find my way out of here. 

IF the Alpha found out of my presence, then I would either be sent back to Elton or I was going to get killed. At this point, him killing me was going to be a lot easier for me, but the idea of him sending me back to Elton worried me more than I could let out.

The man wouldn’t let me live for a second and I knew that he would have realized that I was gone by now. The man wasn’t the type to just leave me alone throughout the whole day, and if not him, one of the maids that he had checked on me on an hourly basis would have reported to him that I was now missing.

“Out of the car.” The man with the Russian accent said. My heart raced against my ribcage, and I took a deep breath before walking out of the car. My knees ached as I got up, but despite that, I was sure to hold my stance as I stood straight. 

Thankfully, no one commented about the smell of blood. I doubted that it would last for long though, I was just thankful for the fact that the leaves of the tree were masking my scent enough for them not to notice anything. Otherwise, things would have gotten a lot more complicated. 

“Liana, these girls are to be checked, cleaned and trained. Alpha Killian would give you further instructions on what he wants them to do later.” The man said, nodding at a woman who walked out of the house to get us. 

The woman looked at us, her eyes studying our expressions for a second before she nodded in response at the man. He walked back toward the car, not bothering to say a word.

“Come inside,” the woman said, and I looked down at my feet, not wanting to attract any attention to myself. I needed to find a way to slip from their gazes and for that to happen, I needed to be extremely calm and quiet. 

We walked into the house in silence, and I couldn’t help but feel an ache in my chest. It was the same one that I felt at home before leaving. Whatever it was, I knew not to bother as I found a hall to slip through. The house was crowded and busy, but knowing to keep my head down, I walked through the hall without saying a word.

The hall led to a staircase and an empty hallway that seemed to have a path of its own. 

My hands shook, and I went to walk through the hall, not wanting to take the stairs in fear of the state of my knees. However, my heart dropped as I heard footsteps and a man and woman talking. My hands shook and I quickly rushed toward the staircase, knowing that it was my only solution.

“You know that I don’t like this, my love.” The woman said, her tone gentle as she spoke. 

“I know, but Killian has to be the one to decide what happens from here. We know that he’s working on kicking the family out, and we know that this ‘treaty’ thing won’t be lasting for more than a day or two. The Bernardi family is not one to be trusted; however, your son is also smart in letting them stay until the wedding ends. To say the least, we would know our enemies…”

I didn’t bother listening to what they were saying as I quickly slipped into the hall. It seemed to be a secluded area, leading to a floor or an apartment within the mansion. The scent within the walls caught my wolf’s attention, making her grow curious despite this being against her natural, careful, and somewhat isolated demeanor. 

My heart raced against my ribcage as I heard a man’s voice behind me. And closing my eyes, I quickly slipped through one of the doors, it was the only one open, revealing a bedroom.

“I want to know when you’ve found her, and I want her brought to me first.” I heard a man say, making my heart drop. My wolf perked at his voice, and I couldn’t help but frown as my heart raced.

I looked around, scanning my surroundings before hearing the steps coming closer.

My hands shook, and I couldn’t help but feel my wolf grow more nervous than she already was. She whimpered in fear, and I cursed under my breath before everything stilled for a second. 

“Fuck…” I whispered before getting inside the closet. It was either the closet or under the bed, and judging by the fact that I couldn’t touch my knees let alone add any weight on them, I knew that the closet was a lot better.

I slipped behind the dress suit jackets, gripping on two, hiding behind them as I heard the room’s door close. My heart raced and my wolf nearly whimpered out loud before I bit my bottom lip, forcing myself to stay very quiet. I took slow breaths, trying to calm my racing heartbeat and shaking hands. 

Everything stilled for a few seconds and had it not been the strong intoxicating scent which was in the bedroom, I could swear that the room was empty. 

The bedroom’s door opened and closed, however, I forced myself to stay very quiet as I tried to focus on my own breathing and racing heart, isolating all sounds that surrounded me.

However, the moment of peace didn’t last for long as the closet’s door opened and a hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me out. I screamed before I could stop myself and my emerald green eyes met silver-blue ones. 

“Well, it seems like I have found the missing Italian.” He said, glaring at me. His voice deep with anger and rage. My wolf whimpered in both fear and pain, and he frowned before shaking his head and letting out a low growl. “Who the fuck are you? And what the fucking hell are you doing here?”

Killian:

I glared at the woman as I held her to face me.

Her heart raced against her chest, and she shook her head as she tried pushing me away.

The smell of blood filled my nostrils, and I frowned as I looked down at her body to find that her legs had blood on them. 

“I fucking suggest that you start talking before I make you regret…” my wolf perked at the sound of her whimper, and I couldn’t help the low growl that escaped my chest before I could stop it. “Who are you? And I suggest that you answer me now.”

“I am sorry, I left…” She said, trying to find the right response to give me. “I had to hide, they would have sent me back if they found out that I was injured, and that isn’t something that I wanted.”

“What is your name?” I asked, and she gulped. She stayed quiet for a few seconds and I growled in warning. “I asked a fucking question.” 

“Eleanor,” she said, and I raised an eyebrow at the woman and she gulped. “Eleanor De Luca.” 

I let her go and watched as she nearly lost her balance. I frowned and wrapped my hand around her waist, stopping her before shaking my head in question. “What are you doing in my bedroom, Eleanor De Luca?” 

“I am sorry, I didn’t want to be sent back.” She said, looking down at her feet. I could tell that she was avoiding my eyes as she tried to make up a proper story. But I waited, all secrets came out eventually, I was just curious about the lie that she was going to give me. “This is an opportunity that I didn’t think that I would be getting and the last thing that I wanted to do was get sent back to Italy. I know that it might seem off, but the fact that I could come to the States…”

“As a maid?” I asked, stopping her. She nodded in response before looking at me, this time, her eyes meeting mine. I frowned at the feeling that I got in my chest as my wolf grew confused, and I could tell that she froze for a second, trying to process something before she snapped herself out of her momentary daze.

“It is a lot better than being somewhere that you don’t like.” She said as she took a deep breath. I nodded and chose to stay quiet for a minute as I looked down at her bleeding knee. I could tell that she was masking her scent, and that alone told me that she was hiding something; however, I was going to leave her to think that I was buying whatever story she was giving me, for now, at least.

“I see.” I said, looking at the woman whose eyes dropped to the ground. I took a step toward her and put my finger under her chin. I raised her head and made her look at me, my touch gentle against her skin. The last thing that I wanted to do was hurt a woman, especially when I knew that I was ten times stronger than she would ever be.

I couldn’t help but find it harder for me not to flinch as I felt a spark course through my body as I touched the woman. However, I was sure not to react to it as I kept my eyes on hers. But judging by how she was looking at me, I knew that she might have felt the same spark. That fact alone was enough to make me frown, but I chose not to react to it. 

“Considering the fact that you are looking for a job and that you ‘want’ to do this.” I said, looking around my room. “You are going to be in charge of taking care of my things. To say the least, you are going to be the one to clean up my suite, your room will be the one in front of mine. I will have it set up for you by tomorrow, and you will start working immediately.”

“What?” She asked, frowning in confusion as she tried processing my words. I smirked at the woman and took a step back before walking to my closet to get myself my jacket. It was the reason why I was here in the first place. 

“Go and have them get your knees checked and cleaned. You are going to get a uniform and will take the instructions that need to be done for you to start working for me.” I said, turning to face the woman. I could tell that she wanted to ask what I meant; therefore, I chose to give her a glare as I looked her dead in the eye. “In other words, you are going to be my personal maid.”

“Alpha…”

“Go and find your way outside this hall. They will be looking for you, you will tell them that I found you and hired you as my personal maid and they can come to me for further instructions on what I want for your training.” I said, stopping her. She froze for a second before I nodded at her to leave. Her eyes dropped to the ground before she took a step back without saying a word. 

I shook my head at the woman before taking my jacket off and putting the new one on. My mind went back to the spark that I felt, making me frown in confusion before shaking my head once more as I walked out. 

Vladimir raised an eyebrow at me, waiting for what I had to tell him, silently letting me know that he saw the woman walking out of the room.

“Eleanor De Luca.” I said, looking at the woman as I saw her speaking to Liana who looked at me. I nodded, letting her know that she was clear before I looked at Vladimir. “I want to know everything that you can find about the woman.”

Vladimir looked at her for a second before nodding as the two of us walked out of the house. Her masked scent stuck in my head, making me frown before we got inside the car.

Let’s see what you’re hiding, malyshka…