Mr. Moonstone ushers me into his office as soon as his meeting ends. He's sent everyone else back to their duties and yelled at them for being nosy. He doesn't treat me any better, of course, but at least I have nothing left to lose.
"You had so much potential, he repeats, disappointed. "I still can't believe you were capable of such an atrocity. Are you absolutely sure my son didn't recognize you?"
"Very sure, sir, I agree. "That night was a complete mistake."
"Or something planned." Her eyes narrow accusingly. "Don't think I underestimate you because you're human; on the contrary, i know how capable some of you are."
"I didn't do it on purpose, Mr. Moonstone, I interrupt, not raising my voice. "Do you think I'd seek my own death?"
My boss-or maybe I should say, my ex-boss is lost in thought, weighing my words.
"You're too good at wheedling, but I believe you," he says slowly, as if he regrets telling me this. "I know you're smart enough to know that a better future awaited you if you hadn't
done this stupid thing. Now, however, you're going to die if you don't get that thing out of your head."
"I will" I lie to him.
-Yes, but you won't be able to come back. Leif would notice your scent, that lingers for a long time.
"Really?" I raise both eyebrows, as if that fact mattered to me.
Of course I know that if I decided to do that and came back, the scent of her puppy would linger on me for several months, even years.
"Yes, yes, says Mr. Moonstone, standing with some difficulty due to his weight. "You have to go very far away, without leaving a trace of yourself. Do you understand me?"
-I'll return to my lands, sir. There, perhaps not.
"No, nothing like that, he shakes his head, causing a sharp pain in my stomach. "I'll send you somewhere I deem appropriate to make sure you actually finish this.
My body begins to shake with fear, but I struggle to control myself. I can't, under any
circumstances, let it be known that I don't intend to do what he tells me. So I simply feigning the coldness he expects of me.
"I'm sorry things ended this way," he murmurs, scanning me. "You had so much potentia
I bite my cheeks to keep from blurting out nonsense. I know "potential" doesn't mean m office skills. I was hoping he'd do more, something like what happened with his son.
Thank goodness his wife is controlling and that never happened.
'I'm sorry too," I reply stoically, ignoring my tachycardia.
"Why is your pulse so fast?" he asks.
-Because I'm going to undergo a procedure that I don't know if I'll come out alive from.
My immediate response makes him smile. It sounds so believable that even I'm surprised. Where is my humanity? Have I spent so much time in the werewolf world that I've already lost it?
-You're leaving right now, so I hope you already have your suitcase packed.
Yeah I know..
"Wait a minute, Efrain," Mrs. Moonstone says, entering the office with her haughty gait. To avoid meeting her gaze, I focus on her red slippers, "Ill be the one to take care of this.. child."
Her contemptuous tone doesn't bother me at all. I'm too scared to care about it. If she takes me, I'm sure a much worse fate awaits me.
"Why?" Her husband frowns. "You clearly said you didn't want to hear anything from her again."
"And I don't want you to hear anything about her again," the woman replies, letting out an ironic laugh that chills my blood. "Do you think I don't know you'll run away to see her?"
"You're paranoid, Silvia," he says angrily, slamming one of his fat fists on the desk. "You
cant. You continue to take care of the preparations for the ceremony. I'll take care of Raisa and make sure she fulfills her responsibilities.
I prepare to speak, but the woman's gaze silences me. It's cold and hard as steel, almost like Leif's, capable of making even the bravest person tremble. How will I survive without seeing those clear gray eyes? I know every one of their glances; they.ve been my obsession since the first day I saw them, hoping that one day they'd look into mine.
I never succeeded, not even that night when she kept them closed the whole time. I still have after-effects from that, plus the pregnancy, but none of that matters because I was happy. And I'll be happier if I can escape the Moonstones clutches and my baby survives.
"Let's go now, Silvia orders, squeezing my arm. "The car is outside."
From one of his trench coat pockets, he takes a small bottle of perfume and sprays it on me, making me cough. Since it doesn't smell like anything, I realize it's a concealer.
"We have half an hour before it wears off," he murmurs as he drags me hurriedly.