Vince woke up very early to get to his office before most of his people arrived. His day was now fully planned, with a few bonus surprises coming in. Not for him,

though. Christmas was just a few days away, and he needed to make sure that his mate and the babies were comfortable, safe, and happy.

The final touches to his newly renovated office were finally finished. But that was not why he was staying outside.

V was waiting eagerly and impatiently for his mate to arrive.

Of course, he was trying to hide the fact by talking to Myron as if they had many pending matters for the day. In truth, he was getting a play-by-play commentary from his Executive Assistant about what he was currently watching on his security monitor grids.

"Sir, she's just coming out of the elevator. Oh, she stopped. A sigh, and then kept walking."

"How angry does she look?"

"She looks tired, hair on her face like yesterday but no bun.

Not really angry, looks more like… defeated."

"Not so good. Now tell me something business-related so Elena can hear, but not too obvious so that she doesn't know we're faking it."

Myron cleared his throat and got ready for an award-winning performance…

The Grammys this time!

"So, the balance is on the first folder, and the papers for Mr. Dalavi are on the third. The meeting will be at their conference hall right after lunch, as you requested. The new contracts are all ready to be signed, and the deeds are in the second folder. Everything has been arranged there too, for whenever you're ready to check."

"Excellent, Myron. Perfect. I knew I could count on you for that."

V's wide smile contrasted with his secretary's very dark mood, but he had great reasons to be happy. Besides Myron's high-quality performance, he also delivered the news that V was so anxiously waiting for just this morning, complete with the necessary papers.

Vince immediately opened the second folder and signed the papers, leaving them for Myron to finish the details on their latest business acquisitions and the company's Christmas awardees.

Then Vince took the other two folders, and slowly turned, focused on the next part of the plan.

Control yourself V, this part is going to be slightly more complicated.

Roth, please…. you're not helping.

His executive secretary saw him turning as she stepped out of the elevator. She immediately darted to her desk, doing her own dramatic acting of looking for a certain invisible but important item on the floor. She almost hoped that when he turned, he would ignore her completely.

"Good morning, Miss Camden. I believe we need to check some of the to-dos for the day. When you have a minute, please come to my office," he stated without waiting for her to look his way. Then, just like that, he went into his office and closed the heavy doors behind him.

Silence. A very awkward one…

"Good morning, Siel," Myron greeted. He was trying to hide the smile on his face that showed up when he saw his Alpha and - fingers crossed - future Luna's amusing interaction.

A blush now reddened her cheeks as she slowly sat down from her crouched position behind her desk. She dumped her bag to the side, smoothed out her hair, fixed up her blazer, then smoothed out her skirt. Finally, she cleared her throat and acknowledged her colleague.

"Good morning to you too, Myron."

Another long silence…

"I believe our CEO needs you, Siel," he said, still holding the smile in place while looking at the miserable woman, still behind the desk and staring at nothing in particular.

"Yes. I believe so too," Siel said with another sigh.

"Then, you can go ahead," he softly but firmly insisted. It was evident that she didn't want to go. She wasn't even sure what to tell him. As she looked for her notepad, she remembered the weird call she received from her ex not long after he left her house the previous night.

"Hey, Siel, you know what, I was thinking… I've been bad enough for you, and maybe you should try to take the opportunities life is giving you… maybe you should give V's offer some thought."

"What the… What are you saying now? After you beat me up because I went out with him and promising to help me so I can look for another job, you're telling me that I should give him a chance?"

"Yeah, I know what I did was wrong. That's why I think you deserve another chance, babe, with someone else. I can't make you happy, but maybe he can. Anyway, not my place anymore to tell you. Just saying because I've always known what is best for you, remember? So, think about it, ok?"

And the call ended just like that.

Of course, she didn't sleep much after that call. True, she did want to get back with V. She wasn't sure why but from the first time she saw him, she was already attracted to him as she had never been with anyone before. Come to think of it, she had been so easily drawn in by his care, warmth, and affection…

But then, there's the misunderstandings… all that drama… and trouble …. the check at the bar… the offer to BUY me… and my twins…

"Miss Siel," Myron tried once more to get her attention. "Could you please give this envelope to him? I'm supposed to hand it to him now but since you're going in… I mean, you are going to go inside his office eventually, right?"

"Who's office?"

"Mr. Riegel's… I hope you don't mind…"

Damn it… where is my brain?

"Yes, V… I mean, Sir… YES! I mean, NO! No, I don't mind, Myron… Sorry, I don't think I'm myself this morning," Siel blustered, quickly getting up from her desk and taking the white legal-sized envelope from her co-worker's desk.

Finally, she knocked on her boss' door and was instructed to go in…

"You're not yourself... and he hasn't even started yet…" Myron mumbled, now smiling full force, wishing he could take a video of what will happen next.

* * *

A set of heavy knocks resounded inside the Beta's room at the pack hospital.

Aaron was already dressed in the dark blue suit that Di left for him to wear before going to work. Now he had the confidence to face the man on the other side of the door.

Well, more like the Gamma that was on the other side of the door.

"Good morning, Beta. Is my sister around?" Ma'Heron asked as soon as Aaron opened the door.

"Good morning too, Gamma, and no, she left for work really early to avoid the rush hour."

"Good. You and I have a mission. I'm not talking to you about your MATE until we've dealt with this."

Aaron sighed and looked severely at his bro, "M, please. I really don't want to fight over this…"

"Yes, I know. Complete this mission with me, and we'll talk like civilized men. Deal?"

"Fair enough. So, what am I supposed to do?"

"We'll talk about it in the car. Come, our chauffeur is waiting."

* * *

"Good morning, Sir. I hope I haven't kept you waiting," she said as coldly as she could.

"Oh, you haven't, Miss Camden. Please, take a seat," V said with a smile. Despite the animated tone, he was still focused on his papers, giving off an indifferent feel.

  Miss Camden? What the…

"Uh, Sir? I believe there's a topic that we need to talk about right now…"

"And what is that about, Miss Camden?"

V had to play his part well. After all, she was the one who asked him to treat her in a professional manner. His answer and tone, however, felt like a stab to his Executive Secretary's chest. Him not calling her Elena was exactly what she requested. But it was now hurting her deeply, without him being aware of it…

Siel wondered why this was the case. She also wondered why she found it so hard to speak.

It's probably because of this ache in my chest. But I did ask him to be like this with me, right? What the hell, Siel. Make up your mind!

It may have been her silence, but finally, V's beautiful dark blue eyes left the papers that he was studying on his desk and instantly held her gaze. She tried to read him, intently studying his deep stare while she was standing around a couple of feet away from his desk. Then she felt her cheeks automatically redden but she couldn't look away.

"Ummm… I… Sir… what happened yesterday… at the bar… with my ex…" she stuttered.

"Yes?"

"Well… I was… uhhh…"

V shook his head, his small smile still in place as he rose from his executive chair. He walked over to the front of his desk, never breaking eye contact with her as if he was approaching prey.

He stopped to lean on the front of his table, while his muscular arms held onto his tabletop's ledge. Now, he was looking directly at Siel, as he stood right in front of her, waiting for her to continue her speech…

  -insert cricket sounds here-

The sight of him always left her speechless. He was perfect. From what little she had felt from him, she kept wanting more. And if she was going to be completely honest with herself, she needed him to hold her in his strong arms once again so she would feel that everything would be fine once more.

"I'm… Uhmmm… J-just wanted…" she stuttered again, trying to get a hold of her thoughts and failing. In defeat, she lowered her head and looked at the notepad she was holding against her skirt. He followed her line of sight, then found an item of interest that was in her possession.

"Oh, there it is!" he exclaimed as if he had a light bulb moment. He suddenly reached out to her with one hand, seemingly about to grasp her fingers…

Siel still tried to get the words she needed to lecture him about what happened the day before but was still miserably unsuccessful. Then she felt the familiar tickle that she would usually feel when he touched her…

Reality hit, and she saw him leaning towards her, his eyes fixed on something that she seemed to be holding.

What the heck is he doing? Siel thought as she jumped back a little from him and then automatically covered her chest with her notepad and the other item in her hand.

His soft voice and smile filled the space of her shocked silence, "I'm sorry, may I have that envelope? I think that's for me."

"Oh… This… Y…yes, of course… Yes, sir. Myron gave it to me… for you," she said in a trance-like voice, her mind trying hard to get back to reality.

V kept looking at her with an amused but curious expression.

"Did I startle you, Miss Camden? I apologize."

Can you stop calling me Miss Camden? It feels like a stab to the heart every time you say that instead of Elena!

"No, sir. I just… didn't expect that you'd… get this close… just for your envelope," she tried to say unfeelingly.

"My apologies, MISS CAMDEN, but that happens to contain an item of great importance, and I was eager to get it. Now, you said you wanted to talk to me?" he stated, returning to his half-seated position at the front of his desk.

  "I'm sorry, but… I'm not sure how to… start, Sir…"

"To be honest, I wanted to talk to you too," he interrupted in a matter-of-fact tone while tossing the envelope onto his desk behind him. "Since you asked me to talk only about business matters at the office, I've been doing my best to fulfill your wishes these past few minutes."

At this point, he tried hard to shift to a more serious look, and he felt that he was failing. His plan was risky because everything he was going to do next could be mistaken for overstepping his bounds once again, but he had to keep trying. After all, everything he has done since he met his mate had been for her. For this intelligent, desirable, and wondrous female in front of him…

The only person in the world who deserved his full effort and attention.

"So, if I understood correctly Ms. Camden, during business hours, we would talk only about work, right?"

"Y-yes, Sir," stuttered Siel, feeling her heart twisting again.

"Alright, I'll offer you another deal. We follow what you asked me to do. We keep it professional during office hours then I offer you my lunch hour for more personal matters. You can tell me whatever you want to say about the misunderstanding yesterday. And yes, I call that a misunderstanding with good reason. Then we shift back to work mode after lunch. Is that an acceptable proposal for you?"

Wait… I can't possibly… Come on Siel! If you're gonna be angry at him then you should say everything you plan to tell him right now! Are you seriously thinking about what your controller ex said? Don't tell me you're going to go back with Mr. Perfect Guy just because Mr. Asshole told you so?

Siel kept fighting with her thoughts, but she was too tired. The emotional trauma of the last few days, the beatings, the check, the insufficient sleep… all these were fogging up her thoughts. Even as she was about to answer, her eyes closed, and everything went black.

"Damn it! Elena!"

He held on to her as she fell directly into his arms. He managed to lift her limp body against his torso with his right arm while he hit the intercom button with his left palm, 

"Myron! Call Alexia immediately!"

V then carried her like a baby to his brand-new overstuffed leather couch and laid her down on it. He sat beside her and held her hand, hoping that she wasn't suffering from some severe sickness.

  Goddess, not when I'm about to win her back… please…

* * *

"GODDAMN IT, MA'HERON WHY THIS?! WHY NOW?! Are you really so against me that you will endanger MY RELA-

TIONSHIP with YOUR SISTER in the guise of A MISSION?!"

"Please don't think too highly of yourself. This is like any other mission you've ever had to do since you became Beta of this pack, and I don't see why you're overly dramatizing it."

"Because I've ALREADY. FOUND. MY. MATE! And that changes EVERYTHING!"

"Does it? I still need to see proof of that, by the way. This seems the perfect way for you to prove yourself, not just to me, but Di."

Aaron bit his lower lip hard to control the furious words that he still wanted to rage at the Gamma. He knew the man had a point, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that he was being pushed into a corner. What's worse, he really could lose his mate if he made one wrong move with this mission.

After telling us why she left the packhouse, I'm damned sure that Di will hate us if we mess up, Aaron. Please. For the love of the Goddess, don't agree to this, whined the wolf in the Beta's head.

And you know what will happen if I don't accept the mission, right Onyx? The Gamma AND the Alpha will have my head. And I'll never gain Ma'Heron's approval…

You're not sure about that yet, Aaron!

I'm not risking it Onyx! After finally finding her? No, I can't… Would you?

The sudden silence in his head was enough for Aaron to finally decide…

"Alright, just don't expect me to do things the way I used to, M. Otherwise, count me out!"

"Not my call what you do. Just as long as you get your targets to agree with your request then it's all good, and you'll win my support," stated the Gamma in his typical toneless voice and expressionless look.

They both stayed silent even after they went down from their ride. They still didn't say a word as they started walking up the pathway of an ancient but still magnificent suburban villa.

Soon the Gamma went back to the car, waiting for the Beta to finish his task, hopefully with favorable results.