Scent of A Rogue

Chapter 10 - Ordinary Guy

Gideon

It was so close. I was so close to losing my f*****g control.

As Riva slept, I went back to the living room and sat on the couch, where I almost gave in to the pull. She should be fine soon. I didn’t know how these heats worked because I only had Suzanne, who was promised to me since we were children. However, I knew it wouldn’t take long, and she would be back to normal.

I wanted to make sure that there would be no other wolves sniffing her scent. Some lived among humans in the city, with packs or alone – as rogues. So, I stayed the night. I couldn’t sleep. I watched television on mute, read magazines, and even mapped out my plans for the morning. I used the pen and paper Riva had on her coffee table, seemingly on the ready for times like this.

What I really wanted to map out was the identity of the woman beyond the partition. She healed well, but she also didn’t shift. She went on an almost uncontrollable heat like an Omega but behaved more like an Alpha.

Riva was a bundle of contradictions. Perhaps I could chalk it down to her being a witch. I knew that I wouldn’t take advantage of someone I bit and still saved my life. It was wrong. Even Cato seemed to murmur his agreement. Perhaps we would get along. Maybe I should have stopped the suppressants a long time ago. Then, the wolf would have listed everything wrong about serving Hotchkiss and my father.

“She will be fine soon. Riva.”“Is she a wolf, Cato?”“She smells like one, but she isn’t like you. Not entirely.”“I thought that you would push me towards her. After all, you are my animal side.”“I’m your higher plane, Gideon,” he said proudly.

He sounded thoughtful, like my college Philosophy professor. It reminded me of how I scraped through college, more focused on my life with Suzanne and my duties as an Alpha. I thought it would last forever, that I would be ruling my pack. Money was pouring. The drugs took away most of the doubt.

After Suzanne died, I went through a slow and agonizing withdrawal.

“What’s going on, Gideon?” my dad had asked.

“I need to stop this. All of this.”

An ordinary dad should be proud of what I was trying to do. Instead, he had looked pissed and suspicious.

“What are you trying to do? Are you planning to leave?” my father had demanded an answer.

That was around a year ago, a couple of months after Suzanne’s death.

“No. I just need a clear head.”

“Are you still taking your suppressants?”

“Yes. I am. Don’t worry about those. I know I need those. But the rest of it has to go.”

Suzanne had never taken any of the drugs. It would kill her, she said, and she was right. She had tried to get me off them but didn’t have much of a voice against our fathers and the rest of the pack. Hotchkiss had us all under his control: drugged and dumbed down so that we wouldn’t rebel.

All the nonsense had left me with only a life of crime as my job experience. I could almost imagine the conversation.

“What would your qualifications be, Mr. Sloan?”

“I am great at distribution and management.”

“Do you have any references?”

“Sure. You can call your mayor and some wolves.”

Seriously, though, a college degree in management somehow prepared me for the business end. However, a twenty-eight-year-old with no proper references and a shady background would not do too well in job hunting.

“There are ways, Gideon.”“What ways? I’m f*****g doomed."“I know you brought all your papers. Do you have Suzanne’s hospitalization records?”“Do you mean -?”“Yes. You have been a caring husband for a long time. You came from a family that can afford to have you stay home with your wife. You are willing to take a starter job with the rest of the fresh-faced twenty-one-year-olds. Then, you prove yourself.”

Then, we were quiet. Cato seemed more like an ancient forefather stuck in my head than a wolf. He sounded more like the man I would have become if not for my father’s controlling thumb. Perhaps he was more of a ghost than a wolf. My ghost.

As the first rays of the sun made their way through the apartment, slowly erasing the darkness, I scribbled a note for Riva: “Left in the morning. Will look for a job.” Then, I made sure I left everything in order. I took a peek at her through her partition. She seemed to be peacefully asleep, still under her black blanket.

After checking that she was okay, I left her apartment, making sure I locked the front door.

“Hey,” the guy I saw from yesterday greeted me.

“Hey.”

He looked at me strangely, and I guessed I could understand why. I was leaving Riva’s apartment in the morning. I might need to know who the guy was and help Riva do some damage control. I wasn’t familiar with this kind of thing. I thought that I would die loving Suzanne.

“Are you a friend of Riva’s?”

“He’s a nosy guy, Gideon. Careful.”

“Yes, from the suburbs. She’s helping me assimilate to city living. I’m Gideon,” I offered my hand.

The man looked to be almost my height, maybe around six feet three. He had light brown hair and a muscular build. Perhaps he was interested in Riva. I assessed him even more closely.

“Nice meeting you. My name’s Doug. I’m Stan’s cousin.”

“Stan?” I echoed. Should I know the guy?

“I guess Riva doesn’t talk about her past. Stan was her boyfriend. He used to live here with her.”

“Oh.”

“I feel a little jealousy there.”“I don’t know her enough to be jealous.”“Not all women had to be introduced to you in kindergarten, Gideon.”“Hush.”

Cato had to hush, or else this guy Doug might send for someone to bring me to a mental health facility.

Something else was going on. I felt like a different voice was stirring in my brain.

“Riva is awake – or just about to.”“Then, I need to go.”

“Anyway, nice meeting you, Gideon. It’s good to know that a friend is looking out for Riva.”

“It’s the opposite, really, Doug. She’s looking out for me.”

Doug created a sense of unease within me. There was something about him. Perhaps it was the snide, malicious look he had upon seeing me going out of Riva’s apartment. If Stan was Riva’s ex, I didn’t really have anything to be guilty about. I had nothing to be guilty about. I also did not take advantage of the witch.

When I walked away, I tried my best to disguise my limp.

***

“So, you have not worked all these years?” the interviewer asked, uncertainty in her voice.

She was a woman just about my age, wearing thick-rimmed glasses. Her brown curly hair was in a bun, though some tendrils managed to escape. She looked a little stressed. Home for U seemed like a bustling place, with people looking harried and in a rush.

“No. I’ve only worked for my father. So, nothing had been formalized. No records or anything like that,” I said as calmly as I could.

“We don’t have any business management posts or any kind of management posts at the moment.”

“It’s okay. I saw that you need some interns or maybe even some sellers. Marketers. As you can see in my papers, I also finished an online course in digital marketing. I could do that for you.”

As an Alpha, I was used to getting my way. The pack members bowed down to my needs. I only had my father and Hotchkiss to answer to. The money was overflowing, and the lifestyle was fast and easy. Who would have known I would end up here, almost begging to be let in?

I could huff and puff, but the petite woman in front of me could not give me what I wanted if her bosses wouldn’t allow her to. The structure would remain airtight against intruders and unqualified applicants.

“Are you sure you want to be cooped up in a room in front of a computer?”

She was eyeing my biceps, straining against the fabric of my dress shirt. At least I shaved for the occasion and wore a face I hoped was trustworthy enough. I smiled at her, showing my teeth.

“What big teeth you have. The better to eat you with,” Cato droned in my head.

The interviewer smiled back. Oh, but it worked. Perhaps I should have turned on the charm several minutes ago.

“I like working with computers. You don’t have to worry about that. I have extraordinary focus.”

I also knew how being inside an office could expose me less to possible pack members searching for me. Before heading to the real estate office, I had bought a cheap phone. Minimal minutes. Who would I call, anyway? I needed to stay on budget since I was not sure if I would get a job.

“Mr. Sloan, I will be frank with you. We need interns and a digital marketing officer. It would look strange for you to work with the young ones. You can have the marketing job. I will just have to make a call.”

Too easy. What if it was too easy? Was there a problem?

She made a call. After she told whoever was on the other end that I was gunning for the digital marketing job, the rest of the conversation had her nodding and saying, “Yes, sir.” I would like to tell her that the only one who could see her nods was me, but it looked like I was close to getting the job. So, I behaved.

As soon as she hung up, she smiled at me. Broad smile, all whitened teeth.

“Who’s the big bad wolf now?” growled Cato.

“Our boss, Mr. Spencer, said that you can have the job. You can start tomorrow.”

People must not want that job at all.

“I thought it would take longer for you to make a decision.”

“Normally, yes, but the former marketing officer had -well. He-,” she hesitated, the smile completely wiped off her face.

“What happened?”

“Mr. Ross was murdered about a week ago. The officer before him was also murdered months ago.”

“Nobody wanted this job,” I declared.

“I’m not supposed to tell you this. You stayed mostly in the suburbs. So, I thought that -.”

‘I wouldn’t have heard about it.”

“Yes.”

“Well, bring it on. Tell your boss I need a quick raise for even considering this job.”

“I will make some negotiations for you, Mr. Sloan.”

I shook my head in disbelief. It seemed that the interviewer looked me up and down, not because she was attracted to my body. More likely, she wanted to see if I could take care of myself. I hoped she wouldn’t watch me too closely when I walked away. If she saw my limp, she might just change her mind.

But what kind of frigging luck did I have? I got a job, but I could smell illegal activity even before I had even stepped inside the digital marketing officer’s cubicle or office or whatever. Something was off.

“We’re lucky today, Gideon?”“How is that f*****g lucky?”“You got a job. You won’t be thrown out in the streets.”“Okay. Small blessings.”“And that company just made your job a little more interesting.”“You’re right. I like it. I like interesting.”***

The most interesting sight was still Riva Albrecht. As I walked down the hall toward my room, I saw her step out of the elevator. A man followed her. Doug. I had reached the end of the hall, but I stopped walking.

Riva turned around, looking annoyed.

“What is it, Doug?” she hissed.

“You should be careful who you associate with.”

I saw the witch’s nose flared. Either she was really spitting mad, or she could smell me.

“Stan and I are over and done with.”

“You know I’m not concerned about you and Stan, Riva,” Doug said, closing the gap between them. They were too close for my comfort.

“Step away or else -.”

“Or else what?” Doug asked, voice low. He was probably going for seductive, but he was just a creep. I wanted to throw him through one of the building’s glass panels.

I started walking towards them, measuring my steps. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t reveal my limp. I stood there, inches from them, not saying a word. Both of them felt my presence and turned toward me. I had to stop myself from growling at the sight of Doug’s face.

“I can handle this,” she said.

To my surprise, I saw that her mouth had never opened. She saw the expression on my face, realizing what had happened.

“You can hear me.”“Yes. Just tell me if you need some help with this douche over here.”“I can handle him.”“I know you can, but I want to handle him.”

“Are you dating this guy, Riva?’ Doug asked, half-laughing. “He’s not your type. You don’t go for the hulking, brainless type.”

“Look who’s talking,” jeered Cato.

“Well, damn. I might not be the perfect student, but I went to college, almost high all the time, and passed all my classes with flying colors.”

There was chaotic laughing in my head. Not only was I supposedly dumb, but I was also insane.

“I’m just joking, Gideon. You are a smart guy.”

“It’s really none of your business, Doug. I’m no longer dating Stan, and I’m not dating you.”

“Well, you made yourself clear,” sneered Doug.

He walked away, but he made sure he gave me another glance. It was like a threat. I was not afraid of him. I was more afraid of what I could do to him.

“Got a job,” I announced, as soon as the other man was out of earshot.

Riva was surprised at the abrupt change in topic and that I talked to her using my voice.

“Congrats! I got my old job, by the way.”

“We are too lucky.”

I wondered if it was a stroke of luck I could trust.

“I’m going home now, Riva. Remember, if you need me, just call on me.”

“Right. Room 933.”

“You know how else you could call me.”

She nodded. She was probably freaked out that we could sometimes access each other's thoughts.

“I sold my car.”

“What?”

“Your wolves have seen it.”

“So, you took a cab?”

“Yes. I might have to look for a new one this weekend.”

“Good luck with that, Riva,” I said. “I’m heading back to my apartment.”

She opened her mouth as if she was about to say something. Then, she closed it. Dealing with Riva had become increasingly frustrating. Again, I walked away from her as quickly as possible. She could take care of herself.

I ignored Cato’s soft growls.