Ethan;
"Bitch, you lying!!" Anu's excited voice screams into my ears from my phone's speaker, and I chuckle.
"I'm not joking, Aanu. It's a fucking palace. What the fuck am I supposed to do with this place? I could get lost in here, you know?? I've been scared of leaving my room cause I fear I might not find my way back." I explain as I stare at the open, walk-in closet that's filled with tons of corporate wear Zane told me belongs to me.
"Look at you, boo!! You got an eviction notice, and next thing you're staying at the white house!" Anu exclaims again, and I smile as I drop my gaze to the cotton pyjamas I've thrown on.
"I don't know, Anu… Everything just feels… weird, you know? Like… life isn't so kind that it just gives gift after gift to you." I note as my worry starts resurfacing, and I hear my best friend sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Baby, I know tons of people who are not half as good as you but have way better lives than we do. Life usually favours jerks. But when it decides to reward a person with a heart as pure as yours… We should be thankful." She speaks as I walk back to the king-sized bed in the room, and the bed sinks dramatically as I sit at its edge.
"Ethan, honey… What are you so scared of? This company has the money to throw around. Enjoy it." She tries to encourage, but I roll my eyes.
"I feel like a chicken being fattened for slaughter. I mean, I sent my acceptance mail on Saturday, and they insisted I move in today so I can start work tomorrow." I whisper honestly, and there's silence on her end for a few seconds.
"You were so sure before you sent that letter. I asked a hundred times if you were sure about this. What's going on now?" She questions, and I sigh as I run a hand down my face.
"I don't know. I'm just scared. I don't want to mess things up, you know? And I… I really hope this is just life being kind to me, and not playing some sick game on me." I confess, and she sighs again.
"Oh, my honeybun. I wish I could hug you right now. You'll be fine. I promise. And don't bother about anyone trying to hurt you. I may be a Beta, but I throw punches better than many Alphas." She replies, and I chuckle softly.
I fall silent when it dawns on me how strongly this beautiful soul has been standing behind me for years. She's like the sibling I never had. My emergency contact and biggest support.
How do I ever repay her?
"Thank you, Anu…" I whisper, and I can already picture that dismissive hand wave that comes before…
"Oh, please. What are besties for?" She says the exact words I expected of her, and I grin.
I yawn in exhaustion, and that's when I feel it. Mild dizziness.
"Is that exhaustion I hear?" Anu questions, and I chuckle lightly.
"Yeah… I guess. I should probably get to bed. I have to be at work early to get Alpha Aurelian his 5 am coffee." I say, trying to steady my voice so she doesn't hear something is wrong.
"Aww. Look at my baby working for that check!! You'll do amazing, boo. Let me leave you to sleep. Good night, precious." She says excitedly, and I barely get to croak out my goodnight to her before she ends the call.
I drop my phone on the bed, lean forward, and shut my eyes as I feel my pheromones slowly flood the room.
My second attack in three days.
This… this is bad.
I can feel the pain building already. Anu… isn't here to help. I… I need to find a way to ease this pain, otherwise I won't get much sleep… or even any.
I sluggishly pull myself off the bed as my vision crosses, and I stagger to the door.
I pull it open and try to remember the direct path Zane led me on to get here.
Fuck… Fuck, it hurts to move.
I nearly crumble, but I quickly catch myself and hold on to the walls.
I get to the spiralling stairs, and my throat runs dry.
My vision blurs and focuses, and I swallow painfully as I feel beads of sweat form across my forehead and back.
I just… I just need some water from the fridge… or maybe, by miracle, they have some electrolytes in there?
I painstakingly get myself down the stairs even though I'm fully groaning, grunting, and cursing under my breath.
I get to the living room, and the kitchen is right there… Right at the corner… but I can no longer move.
Pain flows like a mixture of torture and lava through my veins as I hold on tighter to the wall.
"Fuck…" I curse, and my vision begins to darken despite the darkness around.
Just as I begin to feel my body lose the fight against the pain… it starts to dissipate.
A scent I've never smelled before floods my nostrils, and as if obeying some kind of command, my body begins to relax… to ease the pain…
What… what is that?? Is this… someone's pheromones… soothing pheromones…
But… But whose??
Aren't I supposed to be home alone??
"Who's… who's there?" I call weakly into the dark, but I get no response.
Fear rises, but like a spark meeting water, it dies.
The pheromones wrapping around my senses don't even give me the chance to feel the pain anymore, talk more of fear.
"What are you… doing here??" I slur as all my motor abilities start relaxing.
I feel someone move behind me, but I'm too out of it to react in time.
A strong arm suddenly wraps around me from behind, and my heart skips a beat.
"Rest, Ethan. You're in pain." A man's voice whispers gently… but it wasn't a suggestion. It was a command.
Just then, my body gives out on me, and I feel myself falling to the floor. However, before I can hit the ground, the stranger catches me and scoops me into his arms.
Who… who is this??
*********
"Ugh…" I groan in annoyance as the sound of my phone ringing breaks through my sleep. I reluctantly reach towards the sound of it without opening my eyes, and I find it on the bed beside me, not too far away.
I squint my eyes open, and through my blurry vision, I see Anu's bright smile and caller ID. I accept her call and press it against my ear, and she doesn't even wait for me to speak before she goes off.
"It's either you no longer love me, or they're working you to the bones on your first day." She says, and my brows crease as I rub my eyes in exhaustion.
"Huh?" I question in bewilderment, and there's silence on her end for a second.
"Ethan?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you still in bed?" She questions, and I stretch like a cat as another yawn escapes me.
"Yeah—"
"IT'S EIGHT FUCKING A.M, BRO!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR BOSS'S 5 A.M COFFEE!?" She screams, and my eyes snap open.
I instantly shoot to a sitting position, and only then do I realise the entire room is fully bathed in sunlight.
"Ethan, don't tell me you slept in on your first day!" Anu panics, and when I pull the phone away to check the time, my heart dies in my chest.
8 am.
"SHIT!" I cuss as I try to rush off the bed, but my legs get stuck in the sheets, and I tumble off and crash to the ground.
"Ethan, are you okay?!" Anu's panicked voice calls, and I struggle to stand up, still holding on to the phone.
"No, I'm not! I'm going to get fucking fired on my first day!!" I reply in panic as I rush over to the walk-in closet and grab the first thing my hand touches.
"I haven't even had my bath!" I complain as I rush over to the bathroom.
"You're still thinking about bathing!? You're 3 hours late! Brush your teeth and throw on a suit. You can baptise yourself in perfume to hide the evidence, but you do not have the luxury of time for a bath this morning, Ethan!" Anu screams, and I hurriedly try to get paste on my toothbrush.
"Yeah. Yeah, I hear you!" I reply as I start speed brushing.
"How could you sleep in on your first day!? I thought you were a light sleeper!?" She questions, and I sigh.
"I don't know, Anu. I really don't." I whine, and I hear her sigh.
"Brush faster!" She urges, and I roll my eyes.
Any faster than this, and my teeth will fall out.
I spit out the paste and dash out of the bathroom.
I hurry out of my clothes and into the new ones with both Anu and me weaving panicked, colourful strings of curses in the process.
"I'm fucked. I'm so fucking fucked. I'm gonna get queried. I'm gonna lose my job on the first day." I cry to Anu as I sprint down the stairs.
"How do I even justify this?!"
"You dog died!" She replies instantly, and I nearly pause.
"Really!?" I deadpan.
"Okay… Want to switch the pet?"
"Anu! I'm serious!" I rage as I dash through the living room.
"I am serious too! Oh, I know! Grandma! Tell them you got news that your grandma had a relapse this morning. Everyone loves their grandma. That's bound to work!" She exclaims as I dash past the kitchen, but just as I make it past the kitchen, I skid to a stop.
"Why are you silent? I took it too far? I'm sorry. I didn't think before speaking. Nothing will happen to granny..." Anu continues to ramble, but my attention isn't on her.
I take slow, unsure steps backwards till I'm back in front of the kitchen, and I freeze when I see someone sitting in it, with a teacup in his hands, and a novel in the other.
"Ethan? Hello?! Talk to me. Should we tell them you almost got kidnapped on your way to work instead?" She questions, but I turn to ice when the man's silver eyes lift from the novel in his hand, up at me.
"Good morning, Mr. Ethan."