Aurora changing their destiny

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

Aurora

Everest wanted me to go to bed early last night, so I wouldn’t be tired for work this morning. He walked me home and left me after saying night. I am glad I followed his advice, but I am not looking forward to the long day ahead of me. I am working on a new case, which means longer hours and a lot more work. How can I tell Everest about this? I am going to be working longer hours for the next month. The whole point of me being here is for us to get to know each other, but that is going to be difficult with work as well. I cannot turn this case down, I accepted it over a year ago. It has taken a year to get to court, and now we have a start date. All this is happening! This could not have waited six months. A knock on the door startles me. Oh, s**t, I am going to be late! Opening the door, Everest stands with a big smile and box in his hand.

“Good morning, beautiful, you look breathtaking. I love this black dress. Sorry, I brought you breakfast. I asked the cook what you have been ordering, so I have Avocados on Toast with Ricotta. I also have your banana smoothie waiting for you in the car.” Could he make himself look any more desperate? Oh well, I would not have had time for breakfast, so I will leave off this once and be grateful he cares enough to bring me breakfast. Everest is really trying. I need to try harder.

“Thank you. I was not expecting this, and the car?”

“No need to thank me. Can’t a man buy his mate’s breakfast? My car, I thought because I will not see you all day, I could drive you to work?”

“Well, I guess if you’re going to miss me that much, you can drive me to work.” I grab my bag and coat, closing the door to the house I am staying in. I take the box of food from Everest with a smile. “Lead the way.”

Everest returns his smile, wrapping his arm around my waist and placing a kiss on the side of my head. We make our way to the car, getting the attention of the wolves as we pass them. A smile spreads across my lips. I need to get out of here. Walking faster, away from Everest’s, taking a deep breath. This is too much!!

I reach the car, where Everest’s father is standing by the passenger door. I cannot catch a break around here.

“There you are. For a girl who wants to work, you do like to cut it fine. You will be late at this rate. Now, son, I am trusting you to drive, Aurora, straight to work and straight home. I do not want you in the city alone. Do not speak. Aurora, Everest will pick you up tonight. Please let him know if you are going to be late.”

“Father, I am not a pup anymore. I can look after myself. The city is not as bad as you think it is. Aurora has been telling me all about it.”

“Enough! I do not care what you think of the human world! Aurora is blinded by their kindness. They are the monsters in this world, not us! Now, I do not want to hear another word on the matter.” Everest nods to his father. I am not risking him shouting at me the way he just did. Mr. Price is our alpha. For now, therefore, we must do as we are told.

“Sorry, Sir, but why do you despise humans so much?” Why don’t I know what is good for me? Mr. Price straightens his back, making himself taller, towering over me. Oh, s**t! Without transforming, he growls, deep and loud. I gulp, my body lowers on its own accord.

“Father, enough! I will not stand by and let you dominate my fiancé.” What is he doing? Everest pushes me behind him, taking control of the situation in all the wrong ways.

“No, stop.” Everest ignores my calls. His mind is clouded with anger. This is the problem with male wolves. Dominance clouds their judgement. The others in the pack watch as we draw their attention, their whispers surround us.

“Everest is challenging the alpha?”

“Looks that way to me.”

“Why would he be so stupid? He is taking over soon!”

Why did I question Mr. Price? f**k, I need to do something. They cannot fight! Everest does not deserve this.

“Why did this happen to us? You and Aurora’s family thought you knew best, matching us up together like the old times! Have us married within six months of knowing each other. Father, you think you know what is right for our pack when you are still leading us like our ancestors did. The day of the ceremony, you told our people that Aurora would lead us into a new era, telling them to accept her when you still have not accepted her. I will not let you hurt her anymore.”

The growls coming from Everest, has everybody on edge, feeling his anger in the air around us! Mr Price cannot find out how I feel. No one can discover I am rejecting Everest. Especially if he is going to defend me like this. I need them and everyone else to listen to me. I need to push my limit, growling the loudest I have before. With that, I transform into my wolf. Oh, no. The wolves around me transform as well, throwing their head to the sky howling. They think I am a threat.

“Enough!” I call into their minds. They all stop and look at me as they wait for me to continue. “What is wrong with you all? This is not how we live. We do not challenge our alphas, Everest. My family would have never tried to dominate a wolf in public. My father would punish us in a way that was not embarrassing. Mr Price, you talk about changes. Are you open to the changes I bring? From what I see, you are not willing to open your heart or mind to any. I cannot marry your son and become queen of you and your pack if you are not willing to listen to me. The humans are not like they were, they do not believe in us anymore. We are mythical creatures to them if that. The humans talk about werewolves more than wolf shifters. We are unknown to them. They are no harm to us if we keep it that way.”

“How do you plan to keep us safe when you have no control over your transformation? Aurora, you ask us to trust you, but you alone could put us all in danger. I am not sure that I can trust you to work in the human world anymore.” No, he cannot take my job away from me. It is the only thing I have, the only part of me that makes me feel alive is my job! How can I marry into this family, into this pack, when they are trying to control me? Everest must feel the panic spreading through me, my heartbeats faster by the second.

“Father, you will not control Aurora. Her job is her life, and if it means her returning home to keep it, then she will.”

“What is going on here? Why are you all in wolf form?” Ms Price comes out her front door to find everyone crowding us, and clearly confused by the situation. She can block us out like I used to.

“Mother, father, is trying to stop Aurora from going to work.”

“Darling, come inside. We need to talk.”

I cannot listen to any more of this, they will not stop me from living my life. I went behind my pack's back to get this job. They will not change me or stop me! I will not let that happen again! Jumping over the car,running past Everest and his father. I run faster than I have before, heading straight for the city. They will not risk being seen by the humans to come after me. But that doesn’t stop Everest shouting after me. I cannot risk him stopping me. I push harder, and harder until I leave him and his pack behind!

Reaching the border of the forest, panting as I try to catch my breath, my lungs burning. Taking a slow, deep breath, trying to relax my mind, I need to shift back which I hate doing so publicly. A stick snaps behind me, jumping back twisting in the air. I land on the ground with a thud. Grinding my teeth together and growling. For f**k, sake!

“What are you doing here? Go home, Everest.”

“Aurora, I am so sorry about my father. I will have a word with him. I will make him see if you are right. You cannot run off like that. It is not safe running around in this form; you know this. Please, do not run from me. I want to be that person you run to. I want to be your shoulder. We can be friends, Aurora.” Everest is right about one thing: if I am caught like this, I will put our entire kind at risk. We have adapted to look like normal wolves, but we are slightly bigger. My head is a mess. I want to go to work. Why can’t I do that?

“Sorry, I could not stand there anymore. I am late for work; I need to go! I will not let your family stop me from working, and I really dislike your father. Everest, I will gladly become a lone wolf to live the life I want. I told my family the same thing and they managed to work with me which was a shock because I expected them to shun me from the pack. But they didn’t and I will not let your father or your pack do anything that stops me being me!”

“No! I will not let that happen. You are my mate, and I will not see you alone. I do not want to change a single thing about you Aurora, you being you is what I love. You are not scared or ashamed to be yourself, I never want that to change.” Eversts shocks me every time I talk to him, which I should be used to by now. I always expect him to fight me or be against me, as that is what I am used to. But he always tries so hard to be nice, understanding, and willing. It throws me off!

“Let me go to work, please. That is all I want to do, it's the only thing I truly love doing.” Everest sighs, changing from wolf to human. He looks torn. Pacing back and forth, running his hand through his hair. I know it hurts him hearing how much work brings me peace and not him, but I'm the different wolf, the freak, runt, weirdo, the queen who is set to fail in everyone's eyes! He should not expect anything differently from me.

“Fine! You can go to work, I promised I wouldn't stop you from working when you brought the news to us before the handover ceremony, but. Do not go home after work. Shifting back to my human, I look deep into his eyes. Everest is fighting so hard he does not know what to do anymore, and that is my fault. I have brought this pain upon him. “Go to the cabin, I will meet you there tonight.” Everest walks over to me, placing his hands on my arms. Looking into my eyes, his eyes grow a little wider. His gaze dances over my face, from my eyes to my lips, as I watch him closely. Everest notices. He clears his throat and drops his hands to his side. “Have a good day at work. I am sorry you are going to get into trouble. Try not to lose control. I will see you later.”

“I have been collaborating with humans for three years. I have my control down to a fine heart with them. Just stubborn male wolves seem to unhinge my control” Everest smiles, as he squints his eyes at me, he knows i am right. Bending down, he places a kiss on the top of my head. Closing my eyes, the butterflies float in my stomach, I try to push them away, but there is no hope. I will not lose myself, I cannot lose myself to him! Everest wraps me in his arms. His smell has me leaning into him. We can be friends, but nothing more!

“I know, it is ok. Now go change the world, baby.” With that, Everest lets me go without a second glance. He turns, leaving me alone at the edge of the city.

The walk from the forest to the city takes another two hours. My human body is much slower than my wolf.

I reach the city, jumping in a taxi around the corner, heading for work. Only three hours late! Not what you want on your first day back after a week's holiday. The taxi pulls up outside Raynes’ law firm. Work will be hell now. Ms Rayne is going to be pissed because I am late!

I enter the building, wasting no time walking toward the escalators. As I hit the button on the wall, a loud voice echoes around the lobby, followed by the sound of heels clicking on the marble floor.

“Aurora, what time do you call this? My office now!”

“Yes, Mrs. Rayne, I am so sorry.” Karen spins on her heels, walking off to the reception desk, having a go at Muhammad. The poor man never gets a break from her s**t.

Ms Karen, Rayne’s office. I have read the sign over and over for the past twenty minutes. I get into trouble for being late to work,, and then she has me sit outside her office for twenty minutes. Now wasting even more time. The sound of heels clicking on the floor jolts me. Sitting up straight, Ms Rayne turns the corner.

“Aurora, I forgot I asked you here. Just like you forgot what time you start work. Let us get this over with, shall we?” Following Karen into her office, taking the seat across from her. She is acting like I am late every day. This is the first time in three years!!

“Ms Rayne, can I start by apologising for being late? I had car trouble.”

“Enough! I do not care why you were late, Aurora. The point is, you were, and we are now behind schedule. Mr. Silver is arriving tomorrow morning. Did you sort out the paperwork for your meeting with your client? I need the paperwork for our meeting with Mr Silver. I needed that at half nine this morning when you were supposed to bring it to me. The company is counting on you and you alone to win this case. Even if I'm not sure you can anymore. Aurora, you have disappointed me today, I am taking you off this assignment.” No, she cannot do that. I worked hard for this case. I need Mr Silver’s help in the court case. She knows I cannot win without him!

“Please, Ms Rayne, Karen, I am sorry. I have worked too hard to lose this. Everything I have done has led to this moment, this case. Please, give me one more chance. Like you just said, the company is counting on me.”

“How can I trust you to turn up on time for the meeting tomorrow? I trusted you to be here at nine o’clock this morning, but you did not get here until twelve o’clock.” I need Karen to listen to me! This cannot be the reason I lose my job. The pack will love it if I lose my job.

“Ms Rayne, I will do whatever you want to keep this case. Please, do not let this one mistake turn your head. I have worked non-stop for this case for years. You know I am good at my job. I have proved that to everyone else in this company.” Ms Rayne sits back in her chair, a wicked smirk on her face. She is enjoying watching me beg. Tapping her red lips with her manicured fingers, thinking of a way to make my life hell.

“You, will do anything I want? I will give you one last chance. If you cannot get Mr Silver to help you or upset him, you will be out of the job quicker than you got it. Do I make myself clear?”

“Thank you, thank you, Ms Rayne. I promise you will not regret this. Yes, I understand what is at stake.”

“Aurora, I want the paperwork for the meeting on my desk an hour ago.” I finished the paperwork last week. I just need to print it off my laptop and staple the pages together. Heading for the door, Ms Rayne clears her throat. She is not done.

“Oh, and Aurora, to make up for today, I am sending you back with Mr. Silver. You will spend a week in New York going over his case files. Do not forget anything. You will not be able to return in time.” Turning back to face my b***h of a boss, who is sitting with a bright smile on her rosy, red lips. This must be a joke. Why is she smiling like that? This is not a joke for me! I cannot go to New York.

“Excuse me? I thought you assigned Aliya for that role. I appreciate the offer, but I cannot go to New York.”

“That was the plan, but now I am changing my mind. You will not complain if you want to stay working on this case and go to court. Mr Silver does not want to collaborate with the assistant. He wants the woman working the case. Do you expect me to tell him no? He is here to help you, Aurora, no one else.”

“Of course, Ms Rayne. Thank you for the opportunity. I will arrange for it now.”

Sitting at my desk, I stare at the words on my laptop screen. I have read this sentence four times now. I cannot think straight! She cannot just decide to send me halfway across the world to prove myself. I have proven myself in every way I can. Karen said I was the best lawyer in the company. “Why does she give me a tough time?” Sipping away at my black coffee. How am I going to tell Everest I am going away for a week!? He is not going to be happy and I do not blame him to be honest. I just hope his father allows me to leave. The door to my office files opens, causing me to jump, spilling the coffee on the paperwork I just finished stapling.

“Do you know how to knock? What do you want!” I wave the papers around, trying to dry them. They are ruined! I am going to have to print them out again.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to come in so fast. Muhammad has a man at the front desk asking for you. He is claiming to be your fiancé. A Mr. Everest Price?” Why is this the worst day ever? What does he want now? I am surprised his father let him come here.

“Yes, let him up, please.”

“Is he your fiancé? Damn, he is a looker. I will send him your way.”

“Thank you, Bilal. Oh, if you see Karen on your way, tell her I will be with her soon.”

“Of course, darling.” He does not know how to manage humans. They can be vulgar. I cannot have him risking our kind or my job. A small knock hits the hardwood door.

“Come in.” The door opens, and Everest pokes his head through it. He closes the door behind him, walking in with a smile on his face. Everest smiles more, laughing at me as he gets closer. Do I look funny? “Wow, I did not think you could get any more… amazing. Seeing you behind that desk suits you.”

“Everest, what are you doing here?” Getting up from the chair, walking towards him, watching his eyes roam all over my body. Reaching behind him, switching the locks on the door, he gulps. his Adam's apple bobs up and down. I cannot help smiling, coughing, he takes a deep breath, running his hand through his hair.

“I brought you your car. I did not want you walking home tonight.” Why does he keep being so nice? I cannot take him being so nice and caring. If only my heart wanted him. Everything would be perfect.

“Thank you. You did not have to do that. I can manage getting home without the car.”

“No, you mean you can risk our kind by transforming.”

“Shut up! You cannot talk about that here. I need to get back to work. My boss is pissed at me for being three hours late today.” Everest closes the gap between us. Standing toe to toe, he looks down at me, throwing my train of thoughts off! “I’m sorry, baby, everything just feels off today, like something bad is about to happen, but I'm not sure what it is or when it will happen.” I hate it when he calls me baby! He truly feels a connection with me that I do not, and I wish he didn’t! I know that sounds selfish, but his feelings for me are only going to hurt him in the end.

“I know what you mean. I sense that as well, but this is a new stage for you, just coming into the city is a shock for your wolf, things will feel off for a while. But I really need you to go now. I have so much work to catch up on, and if I do not get on with it I will end up being here half the night.”

“I want to kiss you so much, Aurora, but I will not, at least not yet. I know you do not feel the same way about me. Meet me at the cabin later.” Placing a kiss on my head, he leaves me standing here, fighting my feelings.