Rogue Spirit

The Job

Selena stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

Just one job tonight. She thought to herself. Just one, but it might give me a lead for another.

"One job doesn't pay the bills, Selena" Ayla answered.

"Be quiet" Selena muttered aloud and shifted her eyes away from the mirror.

For as long as she remembered Selena had suffered from schizophrenia. Although she considered herself lucky that she only had to struggle with the one voice invading her thoughts, she wished their relationship wasn't so complicated. Ayla was convinced that she was a wolf so she'd whimper, or growl, or whine as well as talk in response to situations. Selena had spent countless hours trying to convince Ayla that wolves can't speak and that therefore she must be human but this time was wasted. Ayla in turn had tried to convince Selena she is a werewolf. Selena had dismissed this idea as readily as Ayla had dismissed being human. Selena was real, schizophrenia was real. Ayla was not, and neither were werewolves.

Selena walked out of the bathroom into the small sleeping area of her studio apartment. The dress she had chosen for the night lay on her bed, along with her heels and clutch. With a sigh she began to dress herself.

"You know you don't need to do this." Ayla said. "You're more than capable of finding another job. Something during daylight hours perhaps?".

Selena ignored Ayla as she zipped the side of her satin dress. She enjoyed the feeling of the cool fabric on her smooth skin, and could feel a mild summer breeze come through the window and brush her bare shoulders.

"Do we even know what this guy looks like?" Ayla asked.

"Yes, but he's sending a car to pick me up, so I assume he will be receiving me before the dinner" Selena responded.

"Right... another boring dinner with another boring man." Ayla sighed. "You need to find your mate".

"There's no such thing as a mate." Selena replied curtly as she put on her stilettos.

Ayla was quiet but Selena could sense her disapproval. They had known each other for the entire 22 years of Selena's life, and while Selena knew Ayla wasn't real, she could often tell how Ayla felt.

"What do you think?" Selena asked in an attempt to distract Ayla. She looked at he reflection in the full length mirror on her wardrobe. Selena needed to focus on her work tonight, not on whatever was going on inside her head.

She could feel Ayla looking through her eyes. As she had every time before, Selena could swear she almost saw a flash of amber in her emerald green eyes when Ayla looked out. Selena saw herself through Ayla's eyes. A slim young woman, with long auburn hair in a formal updo, and a smattering of sweet freckles covered her nose and shoulders. Her dress was the same colour as her eyes, and her silver strappy stilettos accentuated her toned legs. A long silver necklace lay a delicate charm between her breasts.

"You look lovely." Ayla said softly. Selena smiled in response.

As she smiled, car lights temporarily lit up the living area as a car swung into the parking spaces outside her ground floor apartment.

"I still don't like that you gave out our address." Ayla said, immediately back in her bad mood.

"It was the only way this job was going to happen, and besides, it was only to the car company." Selena replied as she grabbed her clutch and headed to the door. "Now I need you to be quiet while I work". Ayla responded with silence.

Selena looked out the window as the town car moved quietly through the streets. Thoughts slipped into her mind about what it would be like to have a mate, someone you fall in love with at first sight. She dismissed them as they formed. Love at first sight is reserved for fairy tales, and most certainly not for women who are paid to entertain men.

"We're almost here, Miss Shaw" the driver informed Selena as he pulled in to the entrance to the resort. The charity dinner she was attending was being held in the largest of the resort's many function rooms. Selena had been here on several jobs previously, and was usually required to accompany her clients back to their rooms after the functions had finished. She hoped tonight was no different as this allowed her to charge a higher premium for her services. Her booking was open ended and because of this she had been unable to take any other jobs.

"Mr Lowell has advised me that he will be waiting for you in the foyer" the driver informed Selena as he opened her door. She thanked him and entered through the open doors. The foyer was bustling with people and she could see even more people through the entrance to the function room. Her eyes moved around the foyer to search for her client. She had been provided with a photo so she knew who to look for, and had spoken with him briefly over the phone to confirm details.

Selena sensed Ayla pacing uncomfortably.

Cut it out. She directed her thought at Ayla, who sat down but still appeared on edge.

Selena had always thought that Ayla must be a honed extension of her own thoughts and instincts. There had been situations in the past where Ayla had an awareness of danger before Selena had even had the thought cross her mind. The fact that Ayla appeared on edge made Selena uncomfortable and she decided she would terminate the booking if she noticed any red flags with her client.

Selena spotted him on the far side of the foyer with his back to her. He was finishing a conversation with an elderly gentleman and glimpsing toward the door. Selena thought he was either looking for her, or desperate to exit the conversation. As she walked through the crowd in the foyer she could feel Ayla impatiently pushing her way to the front of her mind.

That smell. Selena thought as she moved closer to her client. It smelled somehow like clean earth after a spring shower, as well as a warm home on a cold winter's night. Ayla must have smelled it too and whined eagerly in response. Selena dismissed the wolf and tried to ignore the intoxicating smell that grew stronger every step she took that brought her closer to her client.

"Well this must be your date now!" the older gentleman exclaimed jovially as Selena joined the two men. "What a beautiful woman! How did a man like you ever meet her, Ryker?"

"I saw her at the gym and knew I just had to ask her out" Selena's client said seamlessly. "I was just surprised she said yes". Selena smiled at the older gentleman who put out his hand. "Donald Shepherd" he said "Ryker does some work for me here and there".

"Lovely to meet you, Donald" Selena said as she shook his hand. "I'm Selena".

"The pleasure is all mine" said Donald, "but please excuse me, I think I'm being summoned. I hope to see you again later". An older woman dressed immaculately in a deep Burgundy dress with large diamond jewellery was waving at Donald from inside the function room. Selena assumed that must have been his wife, and smiled at Donald as he gave her a friendly nod before he walked away.

"Donald's company is one of tonight's sponsors." Ryker said from behind her. His words sounded like velvet and she could almost feel them softly stroke her ear as she heard them. Ayla whimpered with a shudder. "Shepherd Logistics, they handle most of the import export business in the country".

"I've heard of them" Selena replied as she turned around to face Ryker. "I think I've seen trucks..." Her sentence trailed off as she turned and saw him in person for the first time. Her eyes were level with his chest. She could see the toned muscles of his chest and arms through the contours of his black dress shirt. His sleeves were rolled partly up to reveal his smooth, tanned forearms, covered only in a thin scatter of dark hair. The scent she could smell on her way over now almost overwhelmed Selena. It must be Ryker. She had never smelled a cologne that had such depth before and it left her breathless.

"Yes, their trucks transport goods all over the country" Ryker responded. "It's no surprise you've seen them before". Selena had lost all track of the conversation they were having previously. Her eyes moved from his chest up to his face as he spoke. Ryker had a strong jaw and nose, a broad, smiling mouth with perfect teeth, and hair so dark it was almost black. He wore it long but it had been tied back in a low bun for the occasion.

The moment her eyes met Ryker's she felt a jolt of electricity go through her body and Ayla leapt forward in her mind.

"Mate!" she roared.

Selena watched Ryker's eyes flash from a pale blue to almost black as his face turned serious. He must have seen the amber flash in her eyes too as Ayla came forward, Selena thought.

Her body trembled as she felt a dampness spread between her legs. She couldn't break eye contact with Ryker and his eyes remained black as though the pupil had taken over completely.

Selena could feel Ayla running through her head as she howled. There was nothing else she could hear, nothing she could see except Ryker's dark eyes looking straight inside her mind, and reaching parts of her that she never knew existed.

Selena ripped her eyes away from his. She couldn't let him see what was inside her mind. He wouldn't understand that she heard things that weren't there without thinking she was insane. Any chance of rational thought was lost by the commotion Ayla caused in her mind, and so Selena ran. She broke through the crowd in the foyer and ran out of the doors into the warm summer night.