Chapter Five
While Asha let the woman lead her down the hall and away from Hunter, she kept looking over her shoulder, witnessing Hunter slumped against the wall, muttering to himself and shaking his head.
When the woman rounded the corner and started down another corridor, Asha turned to her. “What was that all about? Was he about to change?”
“I would say battling a change.” The other woman glanced at her. She was about five-feet-six, taller than Asha, and wore her brown hair pulled away from her face, displaying pretty, light-green eyes. “He doesn’t want to.”
“Why not?” Asha frowned. “Was he going to hurt me?” She should’ve known better than to growl back at a Wolf-Shifter. They weren’t as dangerous as Vampires, but predators just the same. She’d lost control, which ultimately, in the world she was immersed in, could’ve meant her death. She wouldn’t have displayed that kind of dominance around Clarissa. Clarissa would’ve taken off her head where she stood.
The woman’s mouth rose into a smile. “Hurt you? Um…no.”
Asha went quiet as they made their way past a couple walking in the opposite direction. The couple smiled and greeted the woman and the woman greeted them back.
“Is changing on premises not allowed?” Asha asked, after they were out of earshot of the other couple.
“It’s allowed and encouraged, but this is a business, and while most of the employees are Wolf-Shifters, they prefer to do all their shifting outdoors where they have plenty of space to run free. One could hardly get any work done shifting at their desk.”
“Most? Do you mean everyone here isn’t a Shifter?” Asha had just assumed that since Dark Wolf Enterprises was a Shifter-owned company that everyone was a wolf.
The woman extended her hand to Asha. “Trudy Farkas, human. I’m mated to Kristof. And Lajos, the Head of Security is mated to my best friend, Meisha, who’s also human. There are a handful of other humans here. They aren’t mated to the Shifters, but are friends of the family.”
Asha’s mouth dropped open. She couldn’t believe her ears. A human mated to a Wolf-Shifter? Paranormals stuck with their own kind—that was what she’d learned over these years.
She shook Trudy’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Asha, but I prefer Ash. Also human.”
Trudy released her hand. “Ash, I like it.”
Ash lifted a shoulder. “It’s pretty mundane.”
Trudy looked at her slyly. “Trudy is short for Gertrude. I would’ve preferred a mundane name growing up.”
Without meaning to, Ash twitched her nose in distaste. When she caught what she’d done, she said, “Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”
Trudy had a contagious smile and Ash found herself following suit. “Think nothing of it. I win in the ugly name department.”
Trudy led Ash through the main lobby where a receptionist sat and people were coming in and out of the front doors to another corridor. “Can I ask you a question?” she asked.
“Sure.” Ash braced herself for the question that she already knew was coming.
“How did you end up working for the Vampires? I didn’t even know that they existed until a few months ago when one kidnapped me. He had planned to torture and drain me dry. He wasn’t very…nice.”
Ash let out a hard breath. First Hunter and now Trudy.
Ash had gone on plenty of jobs with Clarissa and no one had ever questioned her relationship with the Vampires before, and Ash had never felt the need to explain why she chose to be with them. She understood their reputation, and most of it was based on truth, but it was seen as an honor to be chosen as a protégé. Yeah, it wasn’t easy catering to a four-hundred-plus-year-old woman with the strength of ten elephants and the fickleness of a cat, but a lot of humans had jobs that they hated and they still went to work every day for the health insurance alone. In Ash’s case, her retirement benefit was power, strength, independence and longevity.
Ash crossed her arms over her chest and put more space between her and Trudy. “You can think what you want, but why I’m with them is my business, not yours.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend. I know that not all Vampires are the same, just like all humans aren’t the same. I was just curious is all.”
Ash pressed her lips closed.
When she didn’t answer her, Trudy continued to talk. “A lot of humans don’t find themselves involved in the paranormal world. Like, for me, I was hired by Kristof to audit the accounts. Long story short, Kristof’s wolf imprinted on me and here I am.” She shrugged on the last sentence.
Ash pulled her eyebrows together. “What does that mean, ‘His wolf imprinted’?”
“Um, in order for a Wolf-Shifter to claim a life-mate, both the man and wolf must have a…connection, I think is the best word, to their partner. But it’s the wolf who does the imprinting, binding all three souls together.”
“The wolf, man and mate.”
Trudy nodded. “Correct.”
They didn’t talk as Trudy led her down another corridor. It was quieter in this part of the building and it looked to be abandoned. Paintings and family portraits hung on the walls, and the plants in large pots lining the hall were well taken care of, but they didn’t pass anyone else or hear the hustle and bustle of a thriving work place as she did in the other parts of the building.
Trudy stopped in front of a closed door. She was just about to knock when Ash tugged on her sleeve.
“Um, Clarissa found me eleven years ago.” Ash lifted a shoulder. “Well, saved me would be the more appropriate word, and took me under her wing.”
Trudy gave her a thoughtful nod. Ash could only imagine what the other woman was thinking—that Vampires were vicious, self-centered, egotistical, uncaring, cold, ruthless and didn’t care for anyone but themselves, and Trudy would’ve been right. But for some reason on that night Clarissa had not only spared her, but had taken care of her like only a mother would’ve.
“Where did she find you? If I might ask?”
“I was living in a junk yard. The latest foster home wasn’t working out and I thought living on my own was a better option than going to the girls group home.” Although she wasn’t sure why she was having diarrhea of the mouth and spilling her guts, Ash continued, “I have no misguided fairy tales about what Clarissa and the others are and what they can do. I’ve witnessed…things…first-hand.” She lifted her chin. “But I’ve made a choice and I’m seeing it through. One day…my life will be different.”
Trudy gave her a warm smile. “Sorry for prying. You were right, it wasn’t any of my business. I’m sure there’s people out there who are wondering what I’m doing with a Wolf-Shifter.”
“It’s okay. You were curious, just like I was curious about your circumstances here.”
Trudy reached out and slipped her hand into Ash’s. Ash flinched from the touch then quickly tried to recover by fighting against the urge to pull away. She’d learned long ago that touches often came with pain, either emotionally or physically.
“Let me know if you need anything during your stay. Maybe on one of these days when you arrive earlier than your employers, you and I can have a late lunch or coffee?”
Ash tried to push the fact that Trudy was touching her aside. She’d never had a friend before. Not a real one. A long time ago, at one of the foster homes, she had thought she’d been making friends with one of the other girls, but that had ended when Ash had been moved. For that very reason, there was no purpose in making friends with Trudy, either.
She plastered a half-smile on her face. “Thank you. That would be wonderful.”
After giving her hand a squeeze, Trudy let go and knocked on the door. Ash immediately stuck her hand under her armpit.
She was just trying to be nice, Ash kept telling herself. The good thing about being with the Vampires was that they rarely touched her. If she were never touched again, Ash would be happy.
“Come in,” came a loud voice from the other side.
Trudy opened the door, revealing a large spacious office. But what caught Ash’s attention was the man sitting on the opposite side of the impressive desk. If she hadn’t known that Andras Farkas was the Alpha, she would’ve guessed it immediately. His dark, piercing eyes settled on her and she felt the power behind them. Andras was a handsome man with olive-toned skin. She could almost imagine the wolf within. It would look like the man, strong and powerful.
I shouldn’t look him directly in the eyes.
She dropped her gaze to the floor.
This will make for an awkward conversation.
She moved to focus on his right ear.
Better.
Where had those random thoughts come from?
“Hello, Ms.…?”
“Just Asha. Ash is fine.”
Ash ignored the questioning raise of his eyebrow. She’d long ago foregone her last name. She didn’t need an attachment to the father she’d never known or the mother who preferred drugs and men over her own daughter. One day, when she officially joined Clarissa’s clan, she would have a last name to give her, but that day wasn’t today.
“Ohh, one name like Madonna or Cher.”
Ash turned toward the speaker. A woman who she hadn’t noticed at first was lounging in a chaise positioned by a bookcase on the opposite side of the office.
“Hey, Katalin,” Trudy said to the woman. “This is Ash, she’s working with the Vam—”
“Vampires!” The other woman smiled broadly and bounced up from her seat and came over to greet Ash. She looked so much like Andras. Ash could clearly see the resemblance. “I want to meet them, but Andras won’t let me. I don’t know why. I can take care of myself.”
“Katalin, enough,” came Andras’ deep voice. “Don’t you have my dry cleaning to pick up?”
Katalin rolled her eyes. “Of course I have dry cleaning to pick up. And then I have your errands to run. Then groceries to buy. And while I’m at it, I might as well feed your horses.”
“Kat,” Andras said again, this time as a low warning.
Katalin turned around and saluted him. “Yes, sir. I’ll leave now, sir.”
Ash stepped to the side so that Katalin could walk by.
“It was nice meeting you,” she said on her way out.
“Nice meeting you too,” Ash said.
When Andras waved her in, Ash crossed the distance and handed him the sealed manila business envelope. She kept her focus on his ear. Why can’t I look him in the eyes? Weird.
“I’m sorry about that. Katalin can be high-strung and a pain sometimes.”
Asha nodded toward the doorway. “Is she human?”
Andras shook his head. “No, Shifter. More pointedly, my younger sister.”
Andras turned the envelope over and paused when he saw the blood seal on the back. It was stamped with Clarissa’s house emblem. He brought the envelope to his nose and sniffed. When his eyes settled knowingly on hers she instinctively pulled her sleeve over her wrist.
A number of emotions passed across Andras’ face—confusion, pity, anger and disgust.
Ash knew that whatever Clarissa felt for her wasn’t love. Not entirely.
Clarissa saw a prodigy in her and, for whatever reason, had decided not to kill her when she had come upon her that night so long ago. Clarissa hadn’t lied to her—she had told Ash exactly what she was and had given Ash the choice to join her family or stay in the junked-out hearse that she’d been living in.
It had been an obvious choice. With Clarissa, she could have power, prestige, money, a roof over her head and, most importantly, protection. All the things Ash had always dreamed about. Everyone here may have looked down on her for who she’d chosen to align herself with and they may have thought she was being used and possibly abused, but what they didn’t and couldn’t understand was that she had found something in this clan she’d been missing in her life.
A family.
And it was the closest she’d ever come to having one.
Hunter, Trudy and the man before her would never understand that.