CHAPTER 4: Revealed

CHARLES

I woke up from the nightmare again, my head covered in sweat, my sheets twisted around my legs. I looked at the clock, it was now three o'clock in the morning.

I closed my eyes again but all I could see was the pool of red blood. Kathleen’s parents were lying there, and Kathleen's horrified face. The same images that appeared in my dreams over and over again, uninterrupted, for four years.

Despite my efforts I still couldn't remember what had happened that day. I'd tried to find Kathleen, but she had disappeared from the face of the earth it seemed. I also tried to talk to my inner wolf, but as time went on, my wolf became quiet until he no longer spoke to me at all, I could still feel him though, and he grew weaker and weaker.

I couldn't sleep, so I simply got up and walked towards my study. The papers were still on my desk, and I glanced at them, this was what our company so desperately needed. I had to win this project. I would, too, because all my potential rivals had been taken care of by me in advance. I just need to wait until Friday for the announcement, then everything would be settled. 

I was inwardly looking forward to the banquet.The only way I could get support and power from the pack was to win and take over this project. Then, I  would finally be  able to find out the truth about what really happened that day.

***

Friday night, I walked up the stairs of the banquet venue, Cynthia next to me. I was confident I had succeeded in winning the project, and I was anticipating hearing my name announced, had my speech planned and everything.

To my surprise, it wasn't my name announced at all, but another, Stacey Hillman. 

I frowned to myself, leaning back in my seat. I'd never heard of the woman. I looked over at my assistant, who didn't seem to be anticipating this result.

The crowd was whispering, confused. Had no one heard of this..Stacey?

It wasn't until the doors opened, the attention of the room turning toward the stairs, and presumably Stacey Hillman, whose identity was revealed to me as she stepped up the first set of stairs.

Shock nearly rocked me back.

Kathleen?! Hell no, it couldn’t be her….

She was wearing a golden dress, draped softly over one shoulder. The glimmering fabric shifting in the spotlights directed at the stage. She slowly walked past me, tangles of her scent hitting my senses like a drug. Addicting.

My wolf perked up. For the first time in four years, alert.

"It’s her!" He cried.

The urge was so strong that I was nearly overwhelmed by the desire to rush forward. My muscles strained with the effort it took to keep from leaping for her. 

But she totally ignored me and walked by. As if I didn’t exist. She reached the stage and walked across it with a smile. 

This was not the Kathleen I had met before.

I was sure that she knew I was there, but she didn't react.

I didn't care about the ceremony at the banquet. The only thing in my mind was the desperate need to find her. 

By the end of the ceremony, my wolf could wait no longer.

I got up, and, without a second thought, made my way through the crowd, leaving Cynthia behind. I caught sight of Kathleen again, slipping out the doors, away from the banquet, away from me. So I gave chase. 

When I caught up with her in the corridor, I tentatively called out her name.

"Kathleen."

She turned. There was no emotion on her face, just cold neutrality. She smiled lightly and said to me, 

"Hello, sir. I'm Stacey, from Med-Research Incorporate."

I hesitated, suddenly unsure. No, this was Kathleen? Wasn’t it?  How could she be so similar to Kathleen?

I shook my head. "No, I know you,” I tried to sound confident. “Kathleen, about all those years ago..."

Kathleen sneered, she looked cold and distant, and didn't react.

"Don't hit on me in such a clichéd way. If you want to talk, you can meet me here."

She approached me slowly, her scent enticing, muddling my mind. She handed me something, her delicate fingers brushing my palm, sending spindles of fire through my body, driving my wolf to insanity. Then she turned from me and walked away.

I looked down to the palm of my hand. She'd left me a keycard. The Four Seasons, suit 1021.