Chapter Three
She had been expecting the man to bring her to a bar, so when they pulled up in front of his home she felt a strange feeling of apprehension roll through her. Moving out of the car as he did, she bit her lip and allowed him to lead her up to the door.
“I hope this is alright. As much as I enjoy bars, I do find that my favorite place to drink is in my own home,” he explained, taking her coat and hanging it up with a smile as he undid his tie with a relieved sigh.
“It’s perfectly alright,” she smiled shakily, moving with him into his sitting room and finding herself amazed at the full bar that he had set up there. “I still would like to know what you meant when you said I had seen a dog. There was very clearly no dog in that room when we opened it,” she reminded the man, accepting the glass of wine he handed to her with a frown.
“You are absolutely right to be confused, Clara.” Nate smiled, sipping his wine and humming softly. “You see, things are not always what they seem at first glance. When you saw the dog in the first time you peered in, what you failed to realize is that this dog was not a normal run of the mill dog. It was a wolf.”
“A wolf? That makes even less sense. There haven’t been wolves in this area in hundreds of years!” Clara pointed out, watching as the man moved around the room, taking note of his rich, musky scent that filled the air as he moved past her.
“You’re wrong on that account,” he said, sitting down across from her in one of the plush chairs and gesturing for her to join him. “You see, many years ago there were hundreds of wolves roaming through these forests, and the legends claim that when man started to hunt them and chase them from their land, they developed the ability to mimic the shape of mankind,” he explained, earning a frown from Clara.
It was obvious to her that the eccentric billionaire in front of her had lost his mind completely. Either that or he was mocking her for calling the guard on him and locking him in a storage room. Either way, she knew that she had no desire to remain in his home.
“I think I’ll stand.” Clara attempted to sound nonchalant in the way she spoke, hoping that she didn’t come off as ready to jump ship. She had heard one too many horror stories about men luring people into their homes and killing them when they got them alone. Maybe he thought she had seen something that would incriminate him. That would be just her luck.
“I understand your reluctance to accept the truth. Most people don’t.” Nate smiled, taking a sip from his wine and humming at the anxiety obvious in the woman’s stance. “Relax, Clara. I won’t hurt you, I promise. Honestly, I’m very interested in you, Clara. You’ve been rising up the ladder so quickly. I’d like to be able to get to know you a little more personally,” he assured her, tapping his fingers against his glass.
“I’d love to, honestly, I would, but maybe we could do it some other time? It’s very late.” She laughed nervously, her gaze flickering towards the door. She was so close, all she would need to do was run and he’d have to stand up to catch her. Why did she have to choose that day to wear heels?
“But if you leave, how on earth am I supposed to tell you about the dog you saw?” he asked, looking more amused than anything at her eagerness to sprint out of the building. Chuckling when she hesitated, obviously tempted to hear what he had to say, he hummed softly. “There was a dog, Clara,” he pointed out.
“Yes, I know. I’m not blind, I’m just apparently a bit stupid,” Clara grumbled, reluctantly sitting down across from Nate and eyeing him cautiously. “Are you going to tell me that you’re some sort of werewolf and that I should be careful because you’re dangerous and you might hurt me? Listen, I’ve read the books, and I wasn’t impressed. If this is some way to seduce me, you’re going to be horribly disappointed,” she pointed out bluntly earning a stunned look from Nate as he looked back at her.
“I-I didn’t mean to…” He seemed to struggle for a minute to comprehend what she had said, his eyes filling with mirth as he threw back his head and roared with laughed. Shaking his head, he ran his fingers through his hair and looked up at the woman.
“Can you blame a guy for wanting to play a little mysterious?” he asked, his soft eyes filling with amusement when she eyed him slowly. “Fair enough, no more games. You want me to get straight to the point? I’ll get straight to the point,” he mumbled, sliding his fingers through his tousled hair and standing.
“Like I said before, I appreciate your forwardness, but I’m really not looking for a relationship with my boss at this moment. I am attempting to rise through the ranks and the last thing I need are nasty rumors going around that you and I are dating,” she mumbled, moving to stand herself and hesitating when the man in front of her seemed to slowly shift in place. “Are you alright Mr…” She shut up with a screech as the man doubled over, sinking onto all fours while his body shifted slightly.
Instantly, as his body changed in front of her, his eyes went from chocolate brown to bright yellow. His skin shifted from tanned flesh into gray, nearly black fur. He was larger than a normal dog, but she recognized him almost immediately from the room.
He wasn’t lying. He was the dog.
Letting out a shriek as she fell backward into her chair, Clara scrambled away from the massive beast and whimpered when he trotted forward and let out a little playful growl. Her heart pounded in her chest. Looking up at the man with terrified eyes, she whimpered and immediately snapped her eyes closed when the wolf leaned in, growling menacingly in her ear.
“No, no, no…please don’t kill me!” she sobbed, covering her face with her hands. Just as she was about to scream in fear, she felt her breath hitch when his tongue lightly trailed over her cheek. The feeling not that of a dog’s, but instead like a man’s.
Trembling as she felt a hand slide up to rest on the side of her face, she slowly allowed her eyes to open and whimpered when she recognized Nate’s dark chocolate eyes staring back at her.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you so badly,” Nate whispered, his forehead resting against hers as her vision swam with fear. “Are you alright?” he whispered, trailing his fingers over her cheek.
Clara couldn’t find words. Her breath was still caught in her throat as she stared back at the man with huge eyes. Shuddering at the amused look on his face, she glared at him and her hand snaked out and slapped him across the face harshly.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded, scooting back as he looked startled and lifted a hand up to his stinging cheek. “You can’t just turn into a dog and expect me not to freak out!” she snapped, wiping at her still streaming eyes as he looked sheepishly back at her.
“Clara, I’m so sorry,” he grimaced, sitting down with a sigh and waiting for her to calm down a bit before speaking. “I normally wouldn’t have just shown you, but there’s something about you that makes me want to trust you.” He blushed, looking up at her with sad eyes when she continued to glare at him.
Sighing, Clara ran her shaking fingers through her tangled hair, closing her eyes a moment before looking back up at Nate.
“I’ll take that wine now,” Clara insisted, moving to her feet and slumping onto the couch with a groan. After everything she had been through that night, she was going to need more than a glass of wine to calm her nerves, but at least for now it didn’t look like he had any intentions of killing her.