Chapter Four: Little Second Chance Mate.

Rico’s mind drifted to this morning while he was getting dressed for work, Max, his wolf purred happily and endlessly which got him suspicious.

“What are you up to, Max?”

“Just leave this damn penthouse!” Max replied irritated.

“We still have breakfast to–”

“WHO CARES?!” Max snapped at him.

As the president and owner of Sean Corporation, he preferred living in the penthouse of Sean Corporation’s HQ and this decision had saved him a lot of stress more than once. The stress of plying the busy Lagos roads daily was cumbersome enough not to add to the stress of working and that was the reason he had a staff-quarters built for all his employees who had no apartment in the Island. Sean Cooperation boasted of three locations off company’s ground in the Island and the fatherest was an hour drive to the HQ.

Rico strolled lazily into his office and headed straight to the window to pull the curtains. He had a lot of work to do, however the view outside was captivating and irresistible and he smiled to himself knowing he had built it. Oh…it wasn’t entirely him. His Beta, Tara who took the guise of the Vice President of the company, his Gamma, Brad was his chauffeur and his Delta, Cynthia became his housekeeper.

All the Kalala who chose to exile themselves rather than endure torture or pledge loyalty to Derek had been in close contact. They had to stay close to each other for efficient communication plus the other Guardians were a call away. Avery, became a model, her beauty and style helped her become a belle in the modeling and fashion circus. Her fan base was huge and she easily slipped through with no one suspecting. Newton was a renowned lawyer and activist, advocating for the less privilege, he owned his own legal firm plus he was the legal adviser to Sean Corporation. Matin devled into the automobile industry, his automobile manufacturing plant now account for two-third of automobiles manufactured in Nigeria. Sameer had ventured into the military and risen through the ranks to become Head of Defense two years ago. Axel joined the Police and was decorated as the Chief of Police just last year. Damien delved into medicine and research, he was a renowned doctor, chemist, physicist and pharmacist. All the Kalala who chose to leave Tsauno were catered for, he made sure of that plus they were all empowered by getting jobs in the various sectors of the country as they dispersed to find their Alpha, Demitrey's pup. 

He laughed at the irony of life, the human government were busy hunting all attuned while ignorant of the knowledge that many of the influential people in the country especially security, defense, economics and politics were attuned, the very breed they hunted. Rico sighed and sat on his leather chair behind his desk, turning on his computer, he waited for it to boot and clicked on the E-mail icon. As much as he loved his job, sorting his mails was a terrible job. After an hour of sorting them he couldn’t agree more that it was stressful work, he sighed knowing this was one of the many reasons he needed an assistant urgently. His last one was human, she’d resigned ceremoniously through a text message during her maternity leave, when he called to confirm it; her excuse was her husband didn’t want her working anymore. He had to let her off because it wasn’t in his power to force her to stay.

He paused stunned for moments when the scent hit him, he had known Max was up to mischief this morning but hadn’t suspected the reason but he knew better now. Fresh hand-picked lilies from a garden and chocolate and as much as he resisted, he wanted to be close to it and bask in it. Which meant only one thing…MATE! A mate was the last thing he needed. Not with the chaos beguiling Tsauno. 

He had been devastated for the past twenty-one years when he lost his first and chosen mate, Gloria and still is and not to mention he made a promise to her dying soul. He checked the time on his phone. It was past 5PM. He turned off the computer and left the office with his heart on his paws. He wasn’t supposed to be here, in this boardroom and for this interview, Tara could handle it…by the moon she handled things like this perfectly but…boy oh boy, he couldn’t stay back. His legs found their way to the boardroom where the scent was strongest without his permission, he inhaled deeply and greedily. The scent of his true mate was a soothing balm to all his frayed nerves from inside. His hands itched to cup her face and to memorize every little detail despite her back was to him. He noticed her stubbornness…she refused to look at him. He wanted to see her face and he couldn’t resist now that he’s in the same room with her. Using his werewolf speed, he closed the distance between them and sat on the chair opposite her. He peered into the file Tara handed him fighting for dominance with Max, they had to know every detail there was about her…scratch that, he wanted her name only.

He finally lifted his head and smiled at her nervousness when their eyes met. Her eyes, they danced with fire, a cool, beautiful, consuming fire and he wanted to be submerged in that fire. Her eyes were beautiful and blue which was kind of odd because Nigerians never had blue eyes except they wore contact lenses. On closer observation, it didn’t look like she had contact lens on which meant she had a congenital defect or she was a mixed breed…probably Caucasian. She was probably a little above five feet, she was an epitome of beauty…well, she was his mate so he would always see her beautiful side. 

Her black thick hair was plaited in broad loose knots and pinned atop her head asymmetrically and where the braids ended, the thick loose ends of hair fanned out with sharp edges framing her face. She had an aura of confidence, dominance and authority. If she had been a wolf, she’d be an Alpha female and she’d indeed make a great leader but she wasn’t one, though she’d make a great Luna for him. Her face was a lovely oval, her chin slightly pointed, her ears were petite and beautiful. Her sleek brown skin would give him something to adore for a long time. Her mouth was pure perfection…plump and lush and her neck where his mark would adorn pulsed invitingly…his mark which would announce her to the world as his. Her body wasn’t exactly that of a models’ but it was perfect and petite. She looked like a beautiful painting of one of the famous painters, Brown Peres.

“Mate!” Max yelled possessively in his head.

“Max, if she is our mate, I’ll reject her!” Rico declared. He had a mission and a mate was out of question for him now.

“Why?” Max growled furious.

“She is twenty-one, a pup!”

“But she is our mate.” Max protested with a pained whimper.

“I’d rather remain single.”

“Then let me hold her.” Max pleaded, defeated.

“Not going to happen, anytime soon.”

Max growled angrily. “Don’t you dare chase her off! She’s human and fragile.” Max noted.

“But–”

“Rico, you always have a but.” Max countered, irritated.

“She oozes human scent.” Rico observed.

“What’s the but?” Max asked snorting.

“There’s something else, a faint scent and an aura…uhm…wolf!” Rico exclaimed.

“You’re imagining things, all I know is that she’s my mate and I want to be with her.” Max informed him blandly and continued humming.

It was a rare pleasure having a second-chance mate who happens to be a true mate after losing one when the first was chosen. He’d thought of his chosen mate every passing day, wishing he’d done more to protect her. His promise to her kept him pushing on when he was lost…urged him on and made him whom he was today.

Staring into his true mate’s eyes, he searched her mind, humans were open books to read and as an Alpha by blood and a Guardian of his clan, he was blessed with the potential to search the heart and minds of humans and those inferior in rank, he sometimes saw the past too. He resorted to that habit whenever he was unsure of how to deal with a person…all he got was images of her playing as a child which was rather unusual.

Max wanted nothing but to claim her as theirs and he wouldn’t blame Max; they had both been lonely for a long time. Despite his self-control that’s his exact wish and he was conflicted.

“Tiana,” He began breaking the silence,“You have no experience in this–” 

“Yes, my parents feel my leaving the house daily with full knowledge that I work is a threat to family and national security.” 

Rico narrowed his eyes in surprise at her bluntness, he threw his head back and laughed really hard.

Tara arched a brow at him confused, Rico had never laughed in the past twenty-one years, always somber and by the moon it felt good to hear him laugh again. He’d always smiled, those that never quite reached his heart. She was there all through their epic fall back home, Derek had spared all the Tigiti from torture hoping to buy their loyalty but he failed because when faced with the choice of leaving home, she alongside the rest chose to fight for justice and preferring to the Rico.

“Are you always this honest?” Rico demanded, stifling his laughter. 

“It’s not about honesty sir, it’s the truth.” Tiana replied calmly, while on the inside, she was mashed potatoes and jelly just hearing his voice.

“You’re hired then.” Rico announced, his answer surprising him.

“What?” Tiana blinked floored at how easy she was hired despite how under qualified she was.

“Rico you can not do that, she is not qualified–”

Rico turned to his Beta, interrupting her calmly,“She can learn Tara, I like her.”

Tara shrugged her shoulders and he turned his attention to his mate,“As my secretary or assistant, you don’t have a specific time for resuming, but you’re expected to show up daily by 7:30 AM, odd hours of the day and sometimes spend nights at the office and my apartment. Do you accept it?”

“Yes sir.” Tiana blurted without thinking, she’d accept anything he offered as long as she got to see him daily.

“Please do call me Rico.” He smiled at her.

“Okay.” Tiana replied smiling.

“Thank you…” He glanced at his wristwatch then back at her. “Tara here, is the VP of this Corporation, she’ll hand you your employment letter, official car, accommodation, a pass key to my apartment and Identity Card, She will also show you to my office after that.” 

“Erm…where’s your apartment please?” Tiana asked, nervous while observing Tara punching her tablet.

Tara set to work immediately, Her Rico could be adamant at times, well that’s why he’s a formidable leader and the reason she respected him so much, she mused typing a bunch of messages into her tablet.

Rico looked at Tiana and without breaking his gaze titled his head up, she followed his gaze and her face turned into a confused frown. Rico chuckled and answered,“I meant up, the penthouse.”

“Oh!” She smiled, “I’m sorry.”

Rico stood and offered her his hand,“Welcome to my team, Tiana Mante.”

Tiana took the offered hand as she rose to her feet, her smile disappeared when their palms made contact and she quickly yanked her hand away at the sensation. Rico smiled at her, he knew the reason for her reaction, he had never felt it before only heard how it felt. He felt the jolt of electricity that coursed through his core too.

“I’ll be in my office.” He announced, composing himself, he had to leave…now that they've met, it would be almost impossible to let her out of his sight.

Tiana took a quick tour to the moon when Tara handed her her identity card, she was now the assistant to the great and famous billionaire, Enrique Sean. He had even demanded they relate on a first name basis when Tara had taken her to his office after giving her a tour of the company’s HQ. He’d led her to her cubicle by himself, it was in the lobby of his office floor, well only his office occupied the floor and it was just outside his office enabling any of his assistants easy access to his office.

After they exchanged a few pleasantries, Tara led her to the parking lot where her official car was waiting for her. Tara smiled at the pup’s ecstasy, Rico just handed her a job she wasn’t qualified for on a platter of gold. Though she had her qualms about employing a pup with zero experience, she knew he saw the best in her because he had always been a good judge of character from first acquaintances. Despite her reluctance about the pup’s employment she still admired the positive and confident aura the pup exuded. She handed the keys to the pup and motioned to the blue Sedan.

Tiana took the keys from her with a polite smile and entered the car, she opened the passenger’s door to let Tara in and buckled up.

“Can you drive?” Tara asked calmly, with the air of a mother.

“Yes ma’am.” She replied. She’d taken a-year long course on driving when she turned nineteen and had her license everywhere she went. 

“The name is Tara, please.”

“Okay…Tara.” She grinned, revving the engine and drove out of the HQ.

Tiana paid attention to the many turns while taking directions from Tara because she didn’t want to get lost on her way back. She observed Tara wasn’t a huge talker…well, she shouldn’t be expecting talks from Tara, her beauty made up for it. The drive was almost an hour, she was convinced it’d be shorter if she’d driven at a normal pace.

The apartment was a-three bedroom sited at Captain’s Street, she thought hard of what she could do with the extra space. The neighbourhood was calm which meant it was a-mind-your-business-corner. She watched Tara retrieve a set of keys from her bag and opened the door.

“Welcome to your official apartment.” Tara told her, ushering her in.

“Thank you.”

“It is a half-hour drive from the HQ…I made you drive slowly so you will not get lost on your return journey.” Tara informed her and led the way to give her a brief tour of the ultra-modern apartment.

“You can redecorate if you wish.” Tara informed her after the tour.

“I can?” Tiana questioned in disbelief.

“That of course would be from your pocket.” Tara said laughing, realising why Rico insisted they hired her, the pup’s naivety was contagious. Tara handed her the house keys then bade her goodbyes.

Tiana locked the front door and headed straight for her car, a satisfied grin crept to her face as she opened the car's door.

“Girl, this is bae!” She hooted in her head

“Yass! Go Girl, Go!” Luna Bella screamed excitedly in her head. She turned on the ignition, stepped on the gas pedal and zoomed off onto the beautiful asphalt road, she had to announce this to her family.