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Hazel
33Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtj1hqDeF5
It’s already been two hours since my lunch break, and I can’t stop thinking about that strange encounter: that tall guy, his expression, blue eyes, those kissable lips. I can’t believe I am fantasizing about a crazy stranger I met on the street. What is wrong with me? Have I gone too long without dating, and I am having a hormonal breakdown? He was very handsome, though, gorgeous and muscular. I wonder how it would feel to run my hands down his broad chest, comb my hand through his dark, silky hair, and bring him down for a kiss. I sigh, lost in my romantic fantasies, when I hear a loud cough behind me. Turning around, I see my boss glaring at me standing.
“Hazel, more working, less daydreaming. The design is not going to make itself. You are already behind; the client will not save you with another prorogue. You are walking on thin ice, young lady.”
I immediately feel miffed and bored at Mr. Jones’ reprimand. He’s like an old annoying grampa spoiling my fun. But he is my boss, so instead of bringing my sass on, I cave and mumble an apology and a promise that I will work harder. He seems satisfied with it and lets me be.
As soon as he is out of sight, my mind returns to what happened at lunch, replaying the events once, twice, thrice, on a loop.
How awesome would it be to find this drool-worthy male to spend my life with? A real soulmate. I feel a pang inside me at the word soulmate. And my mind, on its own accord, returns to today’s lunchtime events. It’s like I have no control over it, like I am possessed. The replay stops at him, calling me “Mate.”
Right, he kept using the word “mate”.
Suddenly, I feel like I am stricken by a bolt of lightning.
Use the word mate + ask me to smell him + a tall, muscular body. I connect the dots, and bam. He is a werewolf! And he thinks I am his soulmate!
How stupid I am not to have understood the situation earlier. Why would he think I am his mate? Werewolves can only be mated to werewolves, not to humans. I guess he is as crazy as he seems. I feel relieved that I have kept our encounter short. I wouldn’t say I like werewolves. They are aggressive, war-oriented, and stuck in the Middle Ages in their ways and their treatment of women. I always steer clear of the areas where werewolves mingle because I don’t want to have anything to do with them.
It is not long since werewolves have come out in the open, probably when I was a kid. Before, they only existed in the shadows and horror or romantic fantasy novels. At some point, they decided they did not want to hide anymore, and they established alliances and treaties with human countries to find a balance between both species. The fact that many werewolves are wealthy and powerful probably helped their cause, and humans were more than willing to accept them in return for huge sums, lands, and military backup.
Plus, werewolves tend to stick to themselves, so human governments did not see them as too much of a bother. They mainly live in packs in the countryside and abide by their own laws. They listen to their Alpha, who is like the pack's most ferocious and blood-thirsty wolf; that’s why everyone fears and obeys him.
Some live in human cities too but are a minority. With their need of turning in to huge scary wolves every turn of the way, and the need of running in wolf form, it gets pretty inconvenient living in a crowded human environment.
Also, many humans don’t like werewolves, so they are not readily accepted in human communities. After all, they are scary with their enhanced strength, speed, sight, sense of smell, hearing and healing abilities, sharp claws, and God knows what else. Add their distinctive bad temper and innate aggressiveness to the lot, and you get a hazardous mix.
However, there are those humans, especially females, who are attracted to werewolves and hunt them down every chance they get in the hope of a one-night fling. Call it an attraction for danger or the fact that male weres are famous for being quite savage in bed. I honestly don’t share their interest. I honestly don’t share their interest. My hope is to find a caring, loving, sweet partner, who will treat me like a princess and take care of all my needs. Good looks and crazy sex are not on the top of my list.
“Hazel, come here, please!” I hear my boss calling me, drawing me out of my thoughts. What now? I stand up and go to his office, stopping at his desk.
“We have a meeting for a new project in ten minutes. The client requested you specifically for the interior design. It’s a huge project, a luxurious apartment complex in the city centre. I don’t understand why they would request you for such an important job, but what the client wants, the client gets. Meeting room Ochre.”
Thank you for respecting and valuing my job, you jerk! Three years wasted working like a mule for a company that does not recognize my talent. Mph! Of course, I didn’t have the guts to say it to his face, so I grabbed my laptop and followed along.
My jaw drops when I glimpse who’s waiting for me in the meeting room.
ns 18.68.41.175da2
