She rolls her eyes and helps me take off the gloves. We are both wearing dark workout outfits, but that makes the difference between us all the more visible. Tonia is one head taller than me, and she shows a lot more muscles under her tan skin. Even if I did gain a few new pounds and can now last longer at training, I still feel like I’m lacking and weak. How am I supposed to defeat a grown man, an Alpha to boot?
“No, it will be enough. It’s all in the head, baby girl. What you need is to work on is your willpower, and to avoid being hurt.”
Here we go. Tonia and Nathaniel have this crazy theory that I have some Alpha potential, enough to be able to make Vincent submit. I know he is not the strongest Alpha around, but still, I’m just a teenage girl who’s only known how to take a hit before! I shake my head.
“Tonia, you overestimate me. I can only stand against Damian because he is my mate, not because I can actually dominate an Alpha!”
“Not only the Boss, Nora. Do you realize you’ve done it with any Alpha you’ve met? Even Liam! No one but his brothers can talk back to him like you did. Even I couldn’t, and my wolf is pretty strong! But we are wolves, and wolves stick to their ranks. I’m a Beta, and I tell you, you’re an Alpha down to the bone, and your wolf should never have submitted to that pathetic guy in the first place.”
I feel a growl inside. My wolf agrees with her. She never wants to submit again, and she’s quite angry about it. What, you’ve been hiding for years, and now you’re ready to go all claws out against Vincent? I sigh. The new mystery about my birth that unexpectedly arose since Nathaniel came has me thinking a lot, too. I remember my parents. I know I looked a lot like my dad, and he loved me lots. However, my mother was more distant, and we didn’t have much in common. They sometimes argued, even if I don’t remember what it was about. While thinking it over last night, I remembered something Alec said: “Whose fault is it that I am an orphan?”
What could he mean by that? We both lost our parents most tragically. I still remember that day vividly, but Moon Goddess, I wish I didn’t. I’ve already lost most of my childhood memories before that event due to the trauma... Because of that memory, I can’t remember meeting Damian, either.
I haven’t seen him since our kiss yesterday, but I understand he’s working. I quickly called him this morning to thank him for the job at Nathaniel’s restaurant and let him know I was feeling a lot better too. It felt great, being able to communicate simply with him, though I blushed the entirecall. He even said I should go out shopping with Tonia. I feel like they have something planned, but I don’t mind.
When we go back to the apartment, I take a well-deserved shower, as usual, and take my time dressing up for once, since we are going out. We’re now at the end of November, so I go for white pants, a cute-patterned sweater, and some brown leather heels. I’m still inspecting myself in the mirror, unsure about my choice when Tonia comes in. She is wearing her black leather pants and jacket, and a sexy white gym top with only one strap. She whistles when she sees me.
“Hello, baby girl,” she says with a playful smile. “Damn, I wish I was as thin as you, you look like some princess from a fairy tale! Oh, wait, you need accessories. Let me pick some for you.”
“I look like a child,” I sigh while putting on the earrings and bracelets she gives me.
I’ve always hated my thin and small build. Maybe it’s from malnutrition, but I’ve always been one of those petites, slender girls. I wish I had some more curves and muscles like Tonia. Damian looks so tall next to me! Thinking about his build makes me reminisce about the touch of his hands on me... I get a hot shiver. It still seems so unbelievable. Damian always treats me like I’m some precious flower, yet when I look in the mirror, all see is this horrendous scar on my face...
“Nora?”
Tonia is looking at me, worried. I unconsciously brought my finger to touch my scar, following the long red thread, running from my right eyebrow to my jaw.
“Sorry, I was thinking.”
“Your scar... You never talk about it. How did you get it?” She asks while sitting on my bed.
What do I say? An accident? It was not an accident... I bite my lip, trying to look for some explanation that won’t leave her too shocked. I really don’t want to get into the details, but I don’t want to lie to Tonia again, either.
“It was some sort of domestic incident, with a knife. When I was very young. But I don’t want to talk about it, Tonia, sorry.”
She nods, still frowning. I really don’t want to talk about this memory. Not now and not here. I put on a smile and grab a coat.
We head outside, with Bobo following us as usual. I’m starting to wonder if I will ever see him in his human form at all. The elevator takes us to an underground garage, and Tonia heads for a black SUV that looks brand new. Bobo jumps on the back seat while Tonia and I take the front ones, and she drives out.
I’m so happy to go outside again! I aim to open my window, but Tonia closes it as soon as I do.
“No, no, baby Girl. Too dangerous.”
I frown. Why can’t I open the window? It’s not like some sniper is after me! I pout, but I don’t want to argue with Tonia when we just barely exited the building. Now that I think about it, the car does seem to have tinted windows. They are not kidding about my security... It’s almost like I can see Damian’s shadow surrounding us.
“Tonia?”
“Hm?”
“What is Damian’s job exactly?”
She thinks for a while before answering me. She put on some aviator glasses and rock music on the stereo.She looks so cool while driving, I’m envious!
“Basically, a businessman. The Boss runs the Black Corporation along with his brother Nathaniel. He is the CEOand main shareholder, so he has to show up to meetings every now and then. He’s excellent, but he hates going to those and always says they don’t need him. He sends our brother, Neal, to replace him sometimes, but according to him, they all go crazy when the Boss is not there.”
“Is that why you always call him Boss?”
She laughs at my question and plays with her ring while waiting for the light to go green.
