Chapter 4: Cole

I zone out as my father continues to discuss an ongoing contract dispute regarding some robots required for automation in our manufacturing unit for a new car model our designers have come up with. Apparently, the Germans are a bit reluctant to sign the contract as they do not trust our working methods. So here we are in the boardroom with our zoom meeting along with our five top designers trying to persuade the German company who is on a call with us. I am 'Forced' to attend these meetings since I am the owner's son. Rest all the members in the meeting are at least above the age of forty.

I have zero interest in automobiles. I would prefer having a telecom business or maybe even own an insurance company. But my father would literally snap my neck if I gave him any of these ideas. I don't understand why all the Higher Up members of the Pack are so orthodox in their beliefs. They hate change. Even with the pandemic, everything is moving online, but my father, well, he would prefer a face-to-face meeting. He had also got our private plane ready, but the government did not approve, which hurt his ego. I am very sure, in the next elections, he is going to remove the President.

I have no interest in taking over as the company's CEO, but since I am a part of the Elder Family, I have no choice in this matter. The whole of the Royal Pack gets benefited from high-end automobiles because of us. Since I am not interested in having kids after me, I feel that one of the other pack members will take over the business.

Suddenly my father growls, scaring almost everyone in the boardroom as they are all humans. I can feel his wolf fighting for control. I can hear his wolf's voice say, "I am not negotiating further. Take it or leave it, but beware that none of the USA's automobile companies will take up your contracts if you give up this opportunity. You will be in a huge debt." I can see his sinister smile, meaning that he has hit the mark.

This outburst and threat fluster the CEO of the German company. To diffuse the situation and to keep cordial relations, I take over. I say, "What are your demands?"The German CEO's eyes flicker to me, fear evident. He hesitates when he says, " We just want that the insurance cost of the transport be increased due to the entire pandemic situation." I look at my father and tell, "I think it's a reasonable demand." I look over to the German CEO. "But only by 10%. Take it or leave it." The CEO seems okay with the same, and we end up closing the deal.

I am very sure that my father will give me an earful of this later as he hates that I challenge his authority, especially in front of other people. But, I need to start demanding respect at this company. For that, I need to start stating my opinions and also making decisions. Once everyone leaves, my father switches on the soundproof wall, which makes the glass walls tinted, and no one can hear what's going on inside.

I remain calm as I can feel his wrath coming. His wolf takes over and says, "That was an interesting interruption." I look at him with a poker face, not showing any emotions, and say with confidence, "I didn't want to spoil the relations with the Germans. We are all aware that they have the best technology when it comes to automobiles. I was thinking about the company being its future CEO."

Once I take the company's name, his wolf gives control back to my father, as if that would calm him down. My father shouts, "NEVER AGAIN WILL YOU CHALLENGE ME IN FRONT OF THESE HUMANS. IF YOU DO SO, I WILL TAKE IT TO MEAN THAT YOU ARE CHALLENGING MY WOLF TO TAKE OVER THE POSITION OF THE HIGHER UP OF ELDER FAMILY. AND WE BOTH KNOW HOW THAT WILL END. SO KEEP YOUR STUPID SUGGESTIONS AND OPINIONS TO YOURSELF."

My wolf is scared to his core and says, " Please, Cole, don't say anything. You know what happened last time when we challenged him. I don't want a dose of that again." Hearing my wolf's fear, I say, "I didn't mean it as a challenge, Father. If we had lost the support of the Germans, our company would have suffered, and the Higher Ups would be upset. I was thinking of the bigger picture."

That somehow seems to calm my father down, and he says, " You caught me off guard, and I WILL NOT TOLERATE such behavior in the future. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. NOW TAKE YOUR FILTHY SCARED WOLF AND LEAVE BEFORE I TAKE YOU DOWN HERE ITSELF."

I stand up to leave. I hear my father take a deep breath. He has never been the one to show emotions, even anger. He feels that emotions make our wolves weak, and hence he hates my wolf because he is so emotional.

Before I leave, I hear my father say, " in the future if you have any proposals or ideas, share with me personally in my office, and upon my approval, open your mouth during meetings."

I hang my head and say, "I was trying to gain some respect as the future CEO, not just with the employees but also our clients. I do not want them to think that you failed in training me."

I guess I hit the nerve because my father had me pinned against the wall in a flash. He was choking me when his eyes were completely black. "YOU ARE A DAMN FAILURE, AND THAT IS NOT MY FAULT. I DO NOT KNOW WHY THE MOON GODDESS WOULD GIVE ME SUCH AN EMOTIONAL SON. YOU ARE THE MISTAKE, NOT ME. I NEVER MAKE MISTAKES. GET THAT?"

I whimper under him and struggle to say a choked Yes. My father leaves my neck, and I struggle for breath as I stagger to get up. I hurriedly try to leave the room, the keyword here being TRY.

My father says, "Your mother just mentioned through the link that tomorrow we have a lunch reservation for meeting a suitable girl. You better not disappoint me and be there on time."

I look at him with fear before says, "Tomorrow will not be possible as I am appearing as a guest speaker at Trident College to talk about Ethics at the workplace, at noon."

My father looks at me and sneers, "Why is Trident all you? Did they not find anyone else who would be better at the job?" I so want to go and rip his heart out, but I control myself and say, "Since I am an Oxford Alum, they want me to address their students." He shakes his head and says, "Fine, I will inform your mother, now leave me alone and do whatever you do here."

"Well, That went well," I tell Blake. I don't get a response from him, so I guess he is still slightly shaken up from all the choking. But even though he did choke me, I finally stood up for myself. It felt good doing so. I consider it a small victory.

All this gave me an adrenaline rush, so I get fidgety the entire day and leave the office at 6:00. Usually, I sit till 10:00 or 11:00, but today I wanted to celebrate my small victory. This victory was crucial to me.

I drive to Mount Pleasant to visit my all-time favorite restaurant, "Bistro Toulouse." As soon as I enter, Blake starts howling. "Down boy, what got you so excited?" The hostess asks me. "Would you like your usual table, sir?"

I smile at her and say, "Yes, but first, I am hitting the bar." She smiles back and says, "Of course, sir, please go ahead." The restaurant is empty since it's a Tuesday night apart from a few usuals. "Scotch, Neat," I tell the bartender.

He nods, already preparing my drink since he knows what I regularly have. Before I could allow my mind to drift to some thoughts, I hear a woman's voice and feel her hand on my shoulder "Cole?"

I turn and see a woman who might be slightly older than me, wearing a tight, blingy red dress with very high heels. Her brunette hair is long and glossy, giving her heart-shaped face a perfect outline. I say, "Yes. Do I know you?"

"Riley Hale. The Future Alpha of the Blood Pack and the CEO of Riley's Fashion."

I smirk at her arrogance. I guess she feels that if she shows her rank to me, she will get an invite to the Royal Pack. Boy, she is so wrong. I politely say, "Is that so? So, what is the Blood Pack's Alpha doing here all alone?"

The Blood Pack is known for its scandal that happened almost five years ago, where the Alpha woman had left the Alpha for a Human. Royal Pack's and Blood Pack's relations were very thick before this scandal came out in the open. Now it's plain sad to see this future Alpha here trying to repair the damage done by her mother. I am very sure that her father has put her up to it.

He has been harassing the higher-ups a lot, and they are even considering putting him down. She chooses to sit next to me, taking my silence as an invitation, and she slips her hand on my thigh, indicating her intentions. She leans into me and whispers, "Let me show you a good time."

Before I can react, I feel Blake surfacing and taking over. He swats her hand away and pulls her close, " Before I rip your heart out, get the fuck out of here. I will not sleep with you so that you get an opportunity to mend things with the Royal Pack. I will also be informing the Higher-ups about this, and mind you. Your pack will suffer the consequence of daring to do this."

Leaving her sitting on the stool looking like a lost pup, I take my last swing of Scotch and drive home. "Well, there goes dinner," Blake says. I turn left, entering the pack grounds, and reach a small cafe run by one of the pack members' mothers. I absolutely love her crab cakes. I enter, and she hustles to get me seated. She knows what I'll order, so she gets started on the preparation.

I open my phone and sift through the news. The aroma of hot crab cakes enters my nose, and my mouth starts watering. I smack my lips as soon as she places the dish in front of me and dig in. Once I am done with the fantastic dinner, I throw in a $50 tip and leave. I reach my abode. It's empty even though it's huge, just like my life.

The next day I reach the office early to get things done before leaving for Trident. The seminar will be starting at 2:00, and I hate being late. I wrap up the work and drive to the College. Unlike other pack members, I enjoy Public Speaking. It comes naturally to me. I used to participate in debate competitions, speeches, etc. when I was at Oxford. However, this would be the first time that I will talk about Business Ethics.

I don't plan on being very honest about it. I will talk about the textbook language. For the first time, I surprise myself by agreeing with my father, who once said, "Very few people practice Ethics while running a business, and yet at every B-school, all the students are forced to learn about it."

I reach Trident on time and start setting up things on my podium. It is a vast lecture hall with almost 1000 up seating spaces. Students have already started filling up the area within the first few rows. I notice that the first three rows are mostly girls who are giggling and swishing their hair to grab my attention. It seems like forever that I used to be a student myself, sitting in halls like this listening to businessmen.

After almost half an hour, one of the business professors introduces me, giving details about my background, and then welcomes me to start my lecture. Having been a student myself, I know that Ethics is a very dull and boring topic. So, I try to make it enjoyable by giving real-world examples, giving examples of companies who have recently found themselves in a soup due to ethical violations, etc.

The lecture is supposed to be for only 45 minutes, but at 2:30, I see the door to the hall open and someone walking in. The scent hits me like a ton of bricks. Blake loses all control and screams the word I have been dreading since I was a kid.

"MATE!!!" The word leaves me speechless, and I can not help but stare at her. My entire world has stopped. She has my entire attention. The rest of the world has faded away and is blurry. My mate is beautiful. She is wearing a pink summer dress which hugs her body perfectly.

It is taking immense energy and self-control and not pouncing on her and claiming her right here, right now. But she does not smell like a werewolf. Blake says, "Our mate is a human." That shocks me to the core. I am about to crumble. I know that I have to reject her. But fuck, she is beautiful.

I realized that I have been quiet for a good 3 minutes. So I say "Pardon" and take a gulp of water. I continue with my lecture with difficulty, her scent making me crazy and extremely hard. She takes out a pen and starts writing down what I am saying. The way she puts her pen in between her lips is so sensual. It's a normal action, but for me, it's so much more. Her eyes catch mine, and she smiles. I find myself doing the same.

I force myself to pay attention to the lecture. At 2:45, the professor comes up to the podium and asks if anyone has questions. Some people raise their hands, and I start answering the questions. Then my mate raises her hand, and my heart stops beating. I hear her angelic voice and fall deeper in love with her. Wait what?? Did I just say, Love??? Blake scoffs and says, "Of course we love our mate. She is beautiful with the most musical voice ever."

"Go ahead," I say. She asks me, "Why do companies today find it so hard to be ethical? And if someone in the company becomes a whistleblower, why are they treated like a traitor?"

I smile at her innocence and say, "Money is, unfortunately, a powerful driving force. It can make good people do bad things, like being unethical." She nods, satisfied with my answer, and the professor indicates the end of the lecture. Everyone begins leaving the room, and I hurry to catch up with my mate. I see that she is still packing her stuff.

I reach her at the door and hold the door for her. She blushes and says, "Thank you." She accidentally brushes her hand on mine, and I feel a jolt of electricity pass through me. I ask Blake, "Is this how every other male werewolf feels when they meet their mates?" He says,

"Yes." I reply, "Then why does no one in our pack believe in the concept of mates. I don't even know her, and still, I wish to spend my life with her. I love her already, and I will not reject her just because the pack says so."

I see her walking away and run behind her. "Are you in the business program here?" She replies, clearly shocked at my interest, "No. I'm actually getting my master's in Culinary Arts here. But I wanted to get away from home, and I saw the board, so I decided to attend."

I want to keep hearing her speak, so I ask, "So you want to start your own restaurant someday?" She nods and then excuses herself. Before I stop her again, she turns and says, "I am sorry for walking in late. It's just that my neighbor had some landlord issues. Have a good day. Bye."

I take her hand to stop her and say, "It was an informal event, no need to be sorry." I just can't get enough of her ocean blue eyes and those perfect pink lips. Her smile lights up the entire room, or at least my life. She blushes when she realizes I am staring at her and says, "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Weitzel" I take her hand and kiss it. I say, "Please call me Cole. Mr. makes me sound old. Please take my card in case you ever want ideas for your business. I will be happy to help."

She takes it and smiles. She thanks me and walks away. Blake wants me to hug her. But I need to know her first and get her to love me back. Plus, I need a plan to hide the fact that I have found my mate, or else she will be dead the very next moment.

I realize that I didn't even ask her name. So I shout, "Hey, what's your name?" She turns and laughs a little and says, "Skylar. Skylar Pints"

Blake has a goofy smile on his face. We even love her name.