The New CEO
Mirella
The screen on my computer is too bright for the dark morning. I set the settings to the lowest option, but it still feels like a spotlight is pointed directly at my face. My wolf’s senses are always just beneath the surface, and now even more so since I haven’t shifted into my wolf form in months. She claws at the edges of my mind, desperate to get out. The distraction is overwhelming—and worse, it hurts. She deserves so much more than I can give her.
It’s too early for the rest of my colleagues to arrive, so I make my way to the little sanctuary I’ve built across from my workstation. I took it upon myself to fill the office with plants and flowers. My employer owns the entire floor—about twenty-five thousand square feet—meaning that, aside from a few private offices, it’s an open floor plan. The ceiling is so high they could probably split it into two stories, but that wouldn’t give the illusion of a well-oiled machine. And that’s exactly what we are—turning struggling businesses into thriving enterprises. Sometimes, all it takes is a cash injection. Other times, we buy a part or the whole company, transforming it into something profitable.
Feeling the soil between my fingers, I water three of the forty plants and flowers. The earthy scent soothes my wolf, giving her a little room to breathe inside this concrete box. The floor-to-ceiling windows let in plenty of natural light during the day, which helps my plants. I might have gone overboard with forty, but no one stopped me.
Some might think I’m just trying to soften the cold granite floors and glass walls with a feminine, ‘flowery’ touch. Let them think that. I need this. Shifters need nature around them. That’s why my whole family—and most of my pack members—are farmers, landscapers, or have jobs that keep them close to nature. Looking out over the city, I think about what has become of me. This wasn’t the path I wanted. It’s just that…
A ping from my workstation pulls me back, cutting off thoughts of home. Sitting down, I read the first email of the day. It demands an immediate response, which helps me forget the time. I hear my colleagues arriving, but I don’t register who’s who until I catch a glimpse of a bouncing afro in my peripheral vision.
“Good morning, Denise.”
She smiles, her usual bright, infectious grin. Now, my plants aren’t the only things lighting up the office.
“Mirella, don’t be so formal.” She pushes the plant on my desk aside and hops up onto it. I’m not surprised—she does this almost every morning.
“It’s my job to greet people formally.” I push away from my desk and stretch my arms above my head.
“I’m your friend, so you don’t have to.” Her gaze flickers to my hands, then probably to the dark circles under my blue eyes. “How long have you been here? Please tell me you didn’t start before seven.”
I keep my mouth shut. She knows I started at six.
She doesn’t dwell on it but adds, “Are you going home early? You can’t keep working this much overtime.”
“Last time I checked, you weren’t HR or in the finance department, so don’t tell me what to do.”
She sighs, and I hate that she’s right.
“And besides,” I add quickly, “our new boss starts today. I want to make a good impression.”
Denise rolls her eyes. “You always make a good impression. You’re always here and never home. Don’t you have a hobby?”
Her words cut deep. I want a freaking hobby. I want to be normal. But she has no idea about the world that exists beneath her reality. Shifters walking among humans, blending into society. My village in the woods isn’t just a house in a community—it’s a place in a werewolf pack. A place I avoid if I can help it.
I type away at the last email I hadn’t gotten to, ignoring her. Denise sees the wall I’m rebuilding between us and sighs.
“I’m worried about you, Ella. I hope one day you wake up and find your passion.”
I glance away from my screen and meet her warm brown eyes. “I hope so too.”
She reaches over, gives my hand a gentle squeeze, then leaves.
The whole building hums with anticipation for our new CEO. Communication with our New York office is always a weak link—we weren’t given a time for his arrival, no idea how long he’ll stay, and no specifics about his plans. The rumor mill is working at full speed.
My wolf keeps her antics up.
Okay, my darling, you can sniff the plants in a couple of minutes. Let me just check this proposal.
She’s a good girl and lets me work a little longer. It’s nearly noon when I finally give myself a break.
Walking over to my green haven, I discreetly sniff the plants. In the meantime, I rotate the sun-loving ones a quarter turn clockwise. A perfect excuse to linger.
The tension in my body dials back from a hundred to a ninety-five. Still high, but at least I can breathe. My wolf can hold on for a couple more hours, though the restless energy simmering beneath my skin warns me not to push my next break too far.
On my knees, I turn the last plant, my fingers brushing over its leaves, grounding myself in the familiar scent of damp earth. The routine should calm me, but a sudden prickle at the back of my neck sets every instinct on edge.
I freeze.
Not out of fear, but awareness.
A shifter just entered the building.
A shifter. Here. In the concrete business world. It’s rare.
His presence is unmistakable—a heavy, potent energy pressing against my senses, a silent force that sends a shiver down my spine.
I am about to turn around when a deep voice cuts through the silence.
“I didn’t expect this.”
His voice drips with something I’ve never experienced before. Something every shifter my age should have already faced. But I never have.
What should I do? What’s the protocol?
In wolf form, it’s simple. Instinctual. Here, surrounded by humans, I have no idea how to act.
I know how I want to act.
Roll onto my back and bare my belly or making myself as small as possible. Submit.
I can’t do that. He won’t expect that.
Slowly, I turn, still on my knees, afraid to look up. He wears a navy suit, high-end kind.
I must have taken too long to respond because the next thing I see is a hand, reaching to pull me up.
My wolf goes berserk. She wants to do so much, yet she’s stuck.
I accept his hand, and in the span of a heartbeat, he has me standing.
His presence is overwhelming—dominant, commanding, dripping with power.
I’ve never felt anything like it.
He is an Alpha.
