Trial of Fates

Chapter 10

"Okay, my contact is human and doesn't know about our world so he didn't tell Duvall you're a beast bound. You'll have to do that introduction yourself. He just said he had someone who was interested in being a bodyguard."

"Is the suit really necessary?" Natania complains, tugging at the stiff collar.

"It's a job interview, would you rather wear a dress?" Gretchen pipes in.

Natania scowls. It's not like he was going to reject her "application" because of what she wore, it's what she is that is supposed to capture his attention.

"Besides," Vincent adds, "You can't just waltz in there and shift, you have to actually separate him from the mundane.

"Fine," Natania grumbles. "But I'm not going to try to seduce him."

"I would never ask you to do that." Gretchen pats Natania's arm. "You'll do fine."

Natania waves her off with a sigh, "I'll be back later I guess." She had previously opted to walk to the location of the interview so there wouldn't be a license plate to track back to Gretchen or Vincent. The blood bound had created a fake ID that named her Avery Syrus. Now it was just up to her to remember to respond to the name.

It doesn't take long to reach the Duvall building. The design is more plain than she was expecting but the bodyguards give away that it is the right location.

Natania tries to look confident as she walks up to one of the two doormen. They both straighten up at her approach and give off an aura of distrust.

"Hi!" Natania says with fake cheer, "I'm Avery, I have an interview with Mr.Duvall in..." she glances at her watch, "ten minutes. Could you let me inside?" She digs her fake ID out of her purse and hands it to the guard that isn't flipping through a clipboard.

"Twentieth floor," the clipboard man says, opening the door. The other grunts and hands back the ID.

"Thanks!" Natania scurries inside, hearing the door slam behind her.

She doesn't take much notice of the interior of the building, she's too focused on getting to the right place and not screwing it up.

She had never actually had an interview before. Being a pureblood wolf she was never expected to go out into the human world to work to support the pack and after running away she had just hunted for herself and avoided the city until she met Vincent.

Natania shoves her way to the elevator, uncomfortably close to the other occupants. There are too many people and not one of them pays attention to the rest. There's something wrong in this space, but she can't tell what it is. Like a subvocal noise that leaves her on edge but everyone else is trapped in their own world. Natania feels sweat start to gather in her palms and shoves her way out of the elevator four floors early. She takes great gulps of air before moving onto the stairwell. A glance at her watch tells her she's late. Natania grimaces but keeps walking. On the twentieth floor she rolls out her shoulders and straightens her suit, plastering a smile on her face. The door opens easily at her touch and she's inside a waiting room. A lady looks up from a pile of paperwork and frowns at Natania. "Avery?" The woman scowls when Natania nods, "you're late."

"Sorry," Natania puts whatever charm she has into her words, "traffic, you know?" She doesn't have much Charisma, but the receptionist blinks like she's in a daze and waves Natania to a door on her right.

"He's in there."

Something really isn't right here, Natania thinks as she nudges open the door.

Duvall is sitting at his desk, a guard on each side. He raises his head as Natania enters, giving her a displeased look. "Avery, I presume? You're late." His voice is deep and unfriendly.