Pregnant After One Night With The Lycan By Kellie Brown
Chapter 13 He Picks Me Up From Work
Lily’s POV:
“Well, that was an unexpected twist,” Brandon says, sitting back into the leather armchair.
I walk around the lounge room at the back of the auction house like a lion pacing in a cage.
“I’m sorry, is this supposed to be amusing? We had a deal!” I hiss at him. The whole point of paying Brandon was for him to get close to Tanya. How did that scrawny little nobody end up arm in arm with Marco?
Brandon examines his hands, absently picking at the dirt under his fingernails.
“The situation changed,” he mumbles. “It’s not personal, Lily; it’s just business. You know how auctions work, right? The prize goes to the highest bidder. You paid me well, but Alina paid me better.”
“If you betray me-” I start, but he cuts me off and moves swiftly towards me before I can muster a threat.
“Careful, little lady. I wouldn’t want you to break a nail. Nobility is such a delicate thing,” he whispers, his breath tickling my ear and making angry heat rise to my cheeks. “If I betray you, there’s nothing you can do about it. Or have you forgotten, Lily? I know your dirty little secret.”
He gives me a lazy smirk and turns away. As Brandon leaves, I reach for a teacup on the counter. I fling it in his direction, and it smashes against the door seconds after he closes it behind him. Porcelain shards litter the floor as I take a few steadying breaths. I straighten my back and brush off my gown, plastering a polite smile on my lips.
I walk out of the lounge, looking elegant and unbothered. There’s work to be done, and I still have a part to play.
Tanya’s POV:
For as long as I can remember, my life has been dull, dreary, and difficult. But ever since I met Marco, my world turned upside down. In all my life, I’ve never had someone waiting for me to come home.
But when I step inside the townhouse, my husband stands in a doorway observing me. He’s casually leaning against the frame, those blue eyes scanning me with an unreadable expression.
“It’s getting late,” he says plainly. “Go to your room and try to get some rest. There’s somewhere I want to take you tomorrow.”
“Where are we going?” I ask timidly.
“Eau de Lune Perfume Company. Lily’s family owns it, so I was able to pull some strings and get you a job there.”
My heart skips a beat. Eau de Lune Parfumerie is the most reputable perfume company in the kingdom. It’s been a dream of mine to go, but I’ve always been an omega, the weak and unworthy surrogate daughter of a minor Alpha. I’ve never been important or wealthy enough to go near that place.
“Really? They would be willing to let me work there?” “They wouldn’t be willing to refuse me. You start tomorrow.”
The next day, I arrive at the parfumerie wearing a black, satin blouse and caramel-colored trousers that accentuate my slender figure and make me look long and graceful. The maid who works at the townhouse laid out the professional-looking outfit for me the night before. Somehow, I actually look like I belong in this elegant, extraordinary place.
Well, almost.
It’s hard to feel like I fit in when I can’t escape the whispers about the second prince and his new wife. All the employees are buzzing with the gossip of Marco’s scandalous marriage with a strange she-wolf so shortly after breaking up with Lily.
Luckily for me, no one seems to know what the mysterious new wife looks like or even what her name is. It’s an effort not to blush while some of my co-workers swoon over the prince and mourn his lack of availability. I can’t imagine what they would say if they knew I’m the reason he’s off the marriage market.
The tall, brown-haired girl showing me around the building leads me through a set of glass double doors. She seems outrageously offended that she’s been degraded as my tour guide.
“Miss Lily will see you now,” she snaps at me, not hiding her resentment at having to babysit the new girl.
Marco warned me that I’d be reporting to Lily. Her family owns the company, so she basically runs the parfumerie. It’s a little unnerving to know I’ll work for my new husband’s ex-girlfriend and future sister-in-law. But this is an amazing opportunity, and I’m determined to make the best of it.
Lily surveys me from behind her enormous desk, and my skin prickles uncomfortably under her scrutiny. Behind her, Lily’s friend, Ayana, makes no effort to conceal her contempt towards me. Finally, Lily crosses her arms over her chest and offers me a sweet smile.
“Well? How is your first day going so far? Is everything to your liking? You’re very lucky, you know. Pauline is one of our low-level managers,” Lilly says, nodding towards a snobbish, brown-haired girl. “She has to take time out of her extremely busy day to show you around.” Pauline nods and bares her teeth at me in a smile that’s more feline than friendly. I muster a polite nod.
“In fact, now that you two know each other, why don’t you spend the rest of the day training her? We wouldn’t want Tanya getting lost or confused on her first day on the job, right Pauline?”
Lily, Pauline, and Ayana exchange an amused smirk between the three of them, and I struggle to ignore the feeling of foreboding that fills me.
As Pauline leads me to a warehouse, she prattles on about the company’s success and status, boasting that all employees graduated from prestigious universities.
“Of course,” she says. “As our newest employee, I’m sure you know all about our rigorous and selective hiring process. Tell me, where did you study? Ivy league? International?”
I bite my lip and lower my gaze slightly. The truth is, I’d gotten a scholarship to a local college. It was nothing fancy, but it was the best I could do with the resources available.
“Not exactly,” I mumble. “I was in a small pack outside the capital, so I went to school there.”
The disdain is so plain on her face that it makes me want to turn away and hide.
“Well then, you must be very special if they hired you, right?” Pauline says sarcastically.
She takes a vial off the shelf with a smug little pout.
“Here. We’re developing a new scent using raw materials. This is a sample of the distillate we’re using, and we need more. There’s another bottle of it here, but it’s an old formula, and there was some confusion with the labels, so it’s not clearly marked. You’ll have to look for it very carefully and bring it to my office once you’re done.”
Pauline drops the vial into my hands and turns on her heel, walking away swiftly before I can protest.
The warehouse is ma*s*sive. There are rows and rows of shelves full of flasks and droppers, wooden crates, copper pots, and glass canisters. My heartbeat quickens as panic starts to rise. It would take me over three days working without sleep or rest to go through all the boxes and find the right bottle.
Focus. I can do this.
I open the little vial and take a deep, slow breath. The scent is light and floral, with accords of hibiscus and honeysuckle.
If I try to read through every mismatched label and faded formula to find the right sample, I’ll never find it. The sight of the cluttered warehouse is too overwhelming; I need to focus my senses. I close my eyes and run my hands along the nearest shelf, letting instinct take over. I’m hit with over a dozen different smells, an array of citrus, herbs, spices, resins, woods, and sweets.
Every scent tells a story. This is what I do. Working here is my dream. Marco got me through the door, and now it’s up to me to prove I belong here. I won’t let him down.
I make my way through the different containers, inhaling deeply until I’m lightheaded and dizzy. The raw sample in my hand has hints of apple blossom and wild berries mixed with something warm and earthy. Sandalwood and amber are hidden beneath the more pungent floral notes.
There. The black bottle in my hands matches the scent perfectly. This is the one. I’m sure of it.
I know that it shouldn’t, but a small part of me enjoys the look of disbelief on Pauline’s face when I appear in her office with the distillate.
Maybe I do belong here, after all.
The rest of the day goes by in a blur. I work at the parfumerie for several hours, sniffing, boiling, and bottling until my head hurts slightly. But I’m proud of what I accomplished today, and I actually enjoyed every exhausting minute of it.
The sound of a woman screaming wipes the content smile off my lips.
Several female employees gather at one of the large windows. Many are gasping and whispering among themselves.
“What’s going on?” I mumble, approaching them with uncertainty.
“It’s the second prince! Prince Marco is here!”
My breath catches in my throat as I manage to peek out the window at what everyone is staring at.
Marco is parked outside the main entrance, standing with his hands in his pockets, leaning lazily against the car door. He looks unimpressed, but even with his sunglasses on, I can feel his gaze scanning the crowd gawking at him through the window.
His eyes land on me.