The scary incident of the last time still haunted her. She had constant nightmares where she was falling from a skyscraper, and a truck racing madly towards her.

She looked at the despicable man she had married, the one whose favorite pastime was tormenting her. She hated that he could still steal her breath without trying.

He lounged behind his massive desk like it was his throne. The dim light from the window caught the edges of his sharp jawline, throwing shadows across his perfectly sculpted face.

His lips curved, not into a smile but something that said he knew exactly what he was doing to her.

God, she hated him.

And hated even more that a part of her still burned.

“Where are you gonna throw me this time around?.” She asked him in a low menacing voice. She was scared of him, but she was not going to make it obvious.

“I don't answer to your kind.” He brushed her question aside.

Ariel scoffed in disbelief. “You hate humans but you have a cocky lawyer as your best friend.”

“Who says he's human?.” Axel replied indifferently. Ariel's eyes widened in surprise. If Dean was not human, then what in the world was he?

“You asked me to keep a ten feet distance, why do you suddenly wish to work with me?.”

“I'm answerable to no one.” He replied dismissively as he threw a pile of paperwork at her. They scattered all over the floor in different directions.

“Cross-check these records for recurring time frames and bring them back in an hour or I'll feed you to the wolves.”

Trembling, Ariel bent to pick the papers on the floor.

She knew he meant every word he said. She stood up hurriedly to leave the office and begin her task when he called her back.

“Not so fast.” He said.

She halts on her stride. “Get me coffee before you begin.” He commanded.

Ariel glanced at his table, there was clearly an unfinished cup of coffee on it.

“You have an hour to do all I asked.”

His eyebrows shot up and gave her a questioning kind of look, as to what she was still doing here.

She walked out quickly.

Dropping the pile of papers on her desk, she ran to get his coffee.

She made the first one and ran back almost immediately.

“Too hot.” He snapped.

She ran to make another one, hoping it'd appeal to his sensory nerves.

“Too cold.”

She ran to make another one.

“You have an hour to get those paperwork.” He reminded her.

“How can I do that when every coffee I make is bad?.”

She protests in frustration.

“Too bland.” He criticized the coffee she had just served him. Ariel was frustrated. For Axel, it was a delightful sight.

Ariel tried again, he was about to reject the seventh coffee when his tyranny got to her head.

“Make it yourself.” She snapped and walked out on him.

He managed to conceal his surprise, wondering where her new found boldness had come from.

Ariel sank in her desk and buried her head in her computer. Her legs were aching from the constant back and forth.

Axel breezed past her desk shortly after. “Follow me.” He said as he strolled to the board room.

Ariel obediently shot up to her feet and walked behind him carefully.

Gazing occasionally to see if he'd turn his head.

It was time for a meeting, his new business partner had come to Pepa.

Axel had his reservations about his new business partner.

He knew he was a werewolf, and he had a pack.

But he did not like the atmosphere around him.

He had met with Mr Croft at the bar a few days ago.

He was trying to gather information on his company, and Mr Croft was more than delighted to share.

The question was, what did he need it for if he had no motive?.

Members of the board all rose when they saw Axel, including Jaques.

His eyes were hooked on Ariel, the girl who had stolen his heart at the club.

The earth was indeed a small place.

A happy grin tugged his lips.

“Lewis Jaques.” He introduced himself to Axel, extending his hand for a handshake.

“Axel Wilbury.” Axel replied. They all sat and the meeting commenced.

But Jaques could not focus.

He sat across the long boardroom table, eyes subtly fixed on Ariel who was standing beside Axel.

Her quiet poise seemed to command more attention than she intended. He watched her in fascination.

Axel didn’t miss it. From the head of the table, he caught the look, sharp and unmistakable. The look humans had in their eyes when they desired something. His expression didn’t change, but his fingers stilled against his pen. His eyes flicked briefly to Ariel, then back to the man watching her.

The next moment, his voice cut clean through the room.

“What do you have to say, Mr. Lewis?”

The smile vanished. The room shifted.

Jaques realized the proposal briefing was over. He had lost focus all through.

“It's fine.” He replied indifferently. But his eyes never left Ariel, not even for a second.

After the meeting, Jaques stands, buttoning his blazer as he prepares to leave.

But instead of heading for the door, he turns to Ariel with a charming, professional smile.

“Miss…” He pauses, subtly inviting her to state her name.

“Ariel,” she replies cautiously.

He says as he hands it to her, deliberately ignoring the quiet storm brewing in Axel’s eyes.

There’s a beat of stunned silence in the boardroom.

He reaches into his inner pocket and pulls out a sleek business card.

“I’d like to have a word with you.”

“You can discuss what you want to right now,” Axel interrupts coldly, his voice slicing through the tension like steel.

Jaques turned his head slowly, his every move deliberate, with a calm smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“It’s private,” he replied, voice low but firm.

The air thickened.

Ariel hesitates, but takes the card with trembling fingers.

“Thank you,” she says, unsure what else to do.

Axel doesn’t speak. But his gaze sharpens, and the veins in his clenched jaw throb with silent fury.

Axel and Jaques studied each other like two predators forced into the same cage each calculating, each waiting for the other to make the first fatal move.

It lasted only seconds. But in that time, a dominance contest had ensued.

It was clear, neither of them had partnered for money, their partnership was a silent power struggle.

Axel was furious, not only had Ariel defied his orders earlier.

She was accommodating his business partner’s romantic overtures.

Jaques left the board room in triumph, she was as good as his. He could not shake off the feeling she could probably be his mate.