PlotlumeI cured Silas Marrow, the werewolf CEO with Rage Sickness.
I turned him from a rabid dog who used to tear at his own father's corpse into the polished tycoon who runs Wall Street in a tailored suit.
It took me ten whole years.
And he went from slipping a mate ring on my finger to marking another she-wolf in the top-floor executive office.
It took him only two years.
The night I caught him cornering the intern against the floor-to-ceiling window and biting into her scent gland, I didn't make a scene.
I just zoned out for a second.
The whiskey glass on the edge of the desk rattled as they bumped into it.
Then it finally shattered with a crack.
The intern clutched her bleeding neck and screamed, "Wendy, Silas lost control and bit me! He said your medicine smells too bitter!"
Silas yanked off his shirt to cover her and snapped, "Wendy, clean up the liquor on the floor. Stop bothering me with your doctor's rules!"
I looked down at the amber liquor splashed across my shoes.
So ten years of my devotion couldn't outlast one fresh heat.
I pulled out my lighter and burned the certificate that confirmed his Rage Sickness was cured, right there in my pocket.
1
The intern, Mia, clutched her bleeding scent gland and ran out of the executive office in tears.
Silas knelt on the broken glass, scratches all over his neck.
Blood soaked through the knees of his suit pants.
"Wendy, I swear, I'll fire her right now!"
"I've cut all ties with her. Tonight is the eve of the full moon, my wolf blood is restless, and she barged in without a blocker patch!"
He lifted his head, looked up at me, and raised his right hand to swear.
Two years ago, under the full moon, he had knelt just like this when he proposed.
Back then, he had sworn he would only ever choose me as his mate.
Now the top-floor office reeked of another she-wolf's sweet, cloying heat pheromones.
My stomach churned, and I stepped back.
"Silas, your bite is still bleeding on her scent gland. You call this an accident?"
"That was just a temporary mark! Wendy, you're my mate. You should know how hard it is for a male wolf to control himself around a she-wolf in heat!"
He raised his voice, blaming the cheating on instinct as if that settled it.
Just then, someone knocked on the office door.
A same-city courier walked in carrying a luxury temperature-controlled gift box.
"Is Mr. Silas Marrow here? Your rush order of premium cedar soothing oil has arrived. The note says it's for Miss Mia's scent gland."
The air froze.
I turned to stare at the man still kneeling on the floor, my throat dry.
"This is your accident? You ordered the aftercare oil before you bit her?"
Silas got to his feet, brushed the glass shards off his knees, and waved the courier out.
"Hand over your phone."
I held out my hand.
Silas's face dropped instantly, and he yanked at his tie, glaring at me.
"I told you I cut ties with her. Can't you stop making a scene? So I bought a bottle of oil. What's the big deal? I can't let her bleed and walk out of here embarrassing the company!"
"Not giving it to me? Fine. I'll take it myself."
I stepped forward, reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, and pulled out his phone.
Silas turned his head away and snorted, not stopping me.
I pressed the power button. The screen lit up.
I entered my birthday. The screen buzzed and flashed "Wrong passcode."
My fingers trembling, I typed in our bonding anniversary.
Wrong passcode again.
Tears splashed onto the screen without warning, blurring the red text.
"Stop trying. The passcode is 250906."
Silas folded his arms and rattled off a string of digits, clearly annoyed.
My fingers froze in midair. My blood ran cold.
"September sixth? That was the full moon last month. You told me you'd gone to the safe house out in the suburbs to ride out your Rage Sickness!"
"Why do you have such a good memory? Hurry up, look, then give it back!"
He urged me on.
I entered the numbers. The lock screen opened, and the pinned chat window popped up.
It was his conversation with Mia, with a photo of the two of them holding hands in front of the floor-to-ceiling window as the wallpaper.
Two minutes earlier, Mia had sent a message.
"Where are you going tonight, under the full moon? Want to come over to my place?"
One minute before I caught them, Silas had replied instantly.
"Come to our home. Wendy's on the night shift at the hospital, so it's quiet."
I was breathless, my finger swiping up the screen frantically.