Chapter 58

Aria

“Tracy will be taking over Arthur’s responsibilities,” Darren said, resulting in a soft ripple of murmurs from the team. “I trust you will find her more than capable.”

Tracy. I recalled the others mentioning that name before when Arthur had first been fired, but I never expected her to be so… poised. Elegant.

She was stunningly beautiful, with dark brown hair that fell in soft waves down her shoulders, inky black eyes, and a delicate yet mature face. She was tall and slender, too, and was dressed impeccably in a tailored pantsuit with an expensive watch on her wrist.

All of these things made me instinctively straighten my posture and look down at my own clothes—suddenly aware of every wrinkle and stray hair in the fabric. She was doubtlessly a werewolf, and if she was anything like Arthur, she would hate me—the sole human in this place. My current state certainly wouldn’t help any.

If I had known she would be coming today, I would have made more of an effort. I tried to silently convey that through a meaningful glance at Darren, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking at her.

“I see lots of familiar faces,” Tracy said, no doubt recognizing many from her pack, before those black eyes finally landed on me. “And some new ones.”

Her gaze settled steadily on me as she said this. I stiffened, but… she smiled at me. Sweetly. Openly. So much so that I felt oddly shy beneath her stare, my cheeks reddening and my heart pounding a little.

If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that I had a bit of a girl crush on her already. And judging from the way the others were looking at her, I knew I wasn’t the only one.

Even Darren hadn’t ripped his gaze away from her, and although his face was impassive, I couldn’t help but wonder how he felt about her. If he found her beautiful, I couldn’t exactly blame him. She seemed like the perfect picture of a potential werewolf wife.

And yet, somehow, the poor guy wound up mated to me.

“Whatever you need,” she said softly, and I got the sense that she was speaking more to me than anyone else, “I’m here for you. Let’s all be open with one another.”

With that, the meeting was called to an end. I wanted to pull Darren aside and ask a multitude of questions, but he was already fully engaged with Tracy. They both brushed past me as they left and made their way up to Darren’s office, chatting familiarly as they went.

“They grew up together,” a familiar voice suddenly said from behind me. I turned to see Liam standing there, coffee cup in hand. He jerked his chin toward Darren’s office window, where the light had just come on. I could see Tracy laughing about something, her head thrown back.

“I see,” I said tightly, understanding their closeness a little better now. But when I glanced back at Liam, he looked a little tense. “Something wrong?”

Liam just shook his head, although I could tell that there was something he wasn’t telling me. “Nope,” he said, then brushed past without another word. I watched him go, chewing my lip, but ultimately shrugged it off as one of those weird Liam moments and returned to my desk.

The day crawled by, and I couldn’t stop watching Tracy. She was highly intelligent, possessing so much raw poise and grace that she could have been royalty herself. Whenever anyone brought a matter to her attention, she would drop whatever she was doing to help them, giving them her full and undivided attention.

And not once did she give me the cold shoulder simply for being human. In fact, she seemed to be even kinder toward me.

I finally overheard someone mention that she had a master’s degree. Just completed it, apparently. I shifted in my chair, not sure how to feel. I hadn’t even set foot on a college campus before, and here she was with multiple degrees, probably every certification that Darren could ever want from an employee, and years of experience.

Once again, Lily’s question from earlier burned a hot path through my mind: “Is that why you hired her? Because she’s your mate?”

“There were multiple factors, Lily.”

Such a calm and practiced response. So much so that it was even a little suspicious. If he had the means to hire someone as qualified as Tracy, then why me? Why take me on full-time—the human girl with no degree?

And as for Lily, she still hadn’t said a word to me—not more than what was necessary, at least. I couldn’t help but wonder if she was thinking the same thing, although I didn’t push. She was likely still processing what she had learned and would come around in a day or two. I tried not to take it to heart.

Finally, when I was packing up for the day, I felt a presence behind me. I turned to find Tracy standing there with a polite smile on her face.

“Aria,” she greeted, holding her hand out toward me. “I realized we didn’t get a chance to talk much today. I just wanted to say I’m really looking forward to working with you.”

“Oh, uh, same here,” I said as I shook her hand, instantly hating my useless stammering. “Welcome to the team.”

She studied me for a moment as we shook hands. Thankfully, if she noticed my flustered state, she didn’t bring it up. “So, Mr. Avarise mentioned you’ve been a strong asset to the team. I didn’t catch where you studied?”

I felt a rush of heat spread across my face, but it had nothing to do with the praise from Darren. Normally, I had no problem telling the truth about my lack of degree, but right now, in front of this dreamboat of a woman…

Part of me wanted to make up some lie or another, but I knew that would just come to bite me in the ass. And although I considered skirting the question, I actually found myself… relaxing around her.

Her eyes were so soft, her smile so genuine. She wouldn’t judge me like so many others, right?

And besides, she had said that she wanted us all to be open with one another. Maybe being candid about this would make a good first impression.

“Oh… I haven’t actually gone to college yet,” I said. “Just… figuring things out as I go, really.” I forced a laugh, hoping it didn’t sound as awkward as it felt. “I guess Mr. Avarise was kind enough to take a chance on me, despite my background.”

Tracy’s eyes widened ever so slightly, but she quickly covered her surprise. “I see. You seem very capable, though. I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“Thank you,” I replied, glancing away as I felt my cheeks flush even more. Of course she was as sweet as candy about it, unlike so many others throughout my life. “I’ve always wanted to get my degree… I just haven’t had the chance.” I shrugged. “Maybe someday.”

She nodded, looking thoughtful. I couldn’t tell what was on her mind, but she didn’t seem to be judging.

“Well,” she finally said after a few moments, her smile widening just a bit, “I’m sure it will happen for you when the time is right. Sometimes, all you need is the right opportunity.”

Before I could add anything else, a small voice called out from across the room.

“Mommy!”

I looked over, startled, and saw Lucas running toward me. He was already dressed in his coat and boots, prepared to go outside—albeit a bit haphazardly, as if he had gotten dressed himself, his hat askew on his head. “Mommy, can we play tonight? Pleeease?”

I gave him a smile and adjusted his hat. “Of course, Lucas. Just give me a couple minutes, okay?”

Lucas beamed and nodded, then ran off again, leaving me standing there. When I turned back to Tracy, I found her watching me with a raised eyebrow. My cheeks instantly heated as I realized the implications: here I was, a human woman with no degree, being called ‘Mommy’ by a kid who was the spitting image of the Alpha’s son.

And sure enough, my fears became reality.

“Sorry, did he just call you… Mommy?” she asked, almost laughing.