5. An unexpected call

My new secretary enters my office with a stack of papers. A newspaper and a magazine are part of the stack. Then she quietly leaves after giving me my coffee.

I have only worked with her for a few days. But she’s honestly the best. She does her work efficiently.

Arrives on time and she doesn’t gossip. Which suits me fine.

I pick up the magazine needing a distraction. I’ve been cooped up in the office. Trying to catch up on work. The only time I leave is when I have to go get a shower and a change of clothes. Also when I’m visiting Mason.

The front page is about me. I don’t know whether to be angry at them or thankful. Thankful because they’re spreading the message. I’m no longer a doormat to be stepped on.

‘Lauren Smith is back and she’s colder than the Antarctica’ it reads.

Below the headlines there’s a picture of me slapping the guard. It then goes on to talk about what happened that day.

Someone probably sold the story and the image. The person was getting fired. Once I found out who the fuck it was.

“They have no idea just how cold our heart has become” Blue say.

I chuckle at that because it was the damn truth. Our heart has become so cold. It would probably freeze anyone who tries to get near it.

But isn’t that what happens when you’re crushed? You either remain broken or you rise. I didn’t want to remain broken. I didn’t want to continue slowly dying from the pain and heartbreak. I didn’t like the woman I had become.

So I froze my heart. Freezing the pain and hurt deep inside. Where I no longer had to feel it.

Pain changes you and it changed me. I was a naïve fool. Wore my heart on my sleeves for people who didn’t deserve it. Gave all my fucking best.

In the end I was used and then discarded. The same people turned on me and broke me. I wasn’t going to allow that to ever happen again. So I had to kill the old me.

“I need a run” Blue sighs. The wistfulness clear in her voice.

“I know, I’ll find something soon”

Given I was a lone wolf and packless. It was hard for me to run freely. Most lands are territories. Those that are not are owned by humans. Humans who like hunting.

I was looking into getting a house. One with a really big backyard for us to run. One that was also secluded. Where I didn’t have to worry about neighbors seeing a wolf in my compound.

There’s a knock on my door. I tell the person to come in. The moment they do I wish they would drop dead.

“What do you want?” I ask annoyed.

Darren stands in my office looking unsure.

He answers calmly. “I came to see how you’re doing”

I stare at him in disbelief. What was with him and Miranda thinking that we were sort of best friends?

“And why the hell would you do that?”

“We may have gotten a separation but I still care for you. I would have loved for us to remain friends”

This time I laugh. A full belly laugh. While Blue snickers in my head.

He looks so innocently confused. As if he can’t understand why the hell I was laughing.

“Were you my friend when you called me a cunt?” I growl at him.

He goes to say something but I interrupt him. My voice going cold. “Did you care for me when you kicked me out of my daughter’s party? Or when you had your claws digging into my neck? Or when you cheated on me?”

He doesn’t answer me. Just stares as if he can’t find the right words. Like he can’t figure out where the woman he knew disappeared to.

Something passes in his eyes. Too quick for me to read it. It doesn’t matter anyway.

“Just leave” I say after a moment.

I was done with him. Done with his bullshit.

“Lauren…” he goes to say but I again interrupt him.

“Get the fuck out Darren. You told me to get out of yours and I did. Now I demand the same damn thing. We no longer mean anything to each other and it will remain that way. Now leave before I call the cops on you” I yell. My claws digging into my palms.

This is what I do. When I feel so angry. So out of control. Like in the next minute I could murder someone. The pain grounds me. Anchors me from seeing red.

I know what was happening to me. It was so obvious. The anger I felt constantly and being out of control. The need for blood. How I'm always a second away from snapping.

These were some of the symptoms of going feral. This is what they had reduced me to. Having to claw my own palm so I don’t lose myself.

“What happened to you?” he asks, his voice soft and concerned. As if he just couldn't understand.

What a fucking bastard.

I sigh. “You did, you and Miranda happened…Now leave, before I do something I won’t regret”

He gives me one more look. “This isn’t over” he says before leaving.

When he does I sag into my seat. Staring blankly at the wall.

I don’t know how long I stared, when my phone rang. Interrupting my trance.

“I honestly didn’t think you had it in you” A deep voice says. It was so husky it sent tingles down my spine.

“Who is this?” I already knew who it was. But I decided to play dumb. Inorder to hide my shock.

“You know who it is Red. Playing dumb doesn’t suit you”

Fuck! I had been caught. How embarrassing.

“What can I do for you Mr. Ashford?” I finally ask.

I had no idea why he was calling. But I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious. There was just something about him that drew me in.

Nobody knows what happened between him and Miranda. All we know is that he was the one to file for a separation.

“Just Sebastian” he says in a bossy way. Making me roll my eyes.

“What can I do for you Sebastian?”

“It’s more about what we can do for each other” He states. As if it were obvious.

This has me really intrigued. Blue even pipes at that. Dying to know what he’s on about. I honestly didn’t see what we could do for each other.

I was also doubtful I wanted to be entangled with such a powerhouse. The vibes he gave off that last time. Were both intriguing and terrifying.

Curiosity won the best of me though.

“I’m listening”

Just when I thought he was going to lay it down for me. He does the unexpected. Something that was so alpha male and so annoying.

He says in a raspy voice. “Meet me at Rosevelt tomorrow at two. I have a preposition for you” right before he hangs up.