Freed by the Alpha

5

The sun rose over the snow-capped mountains, spreading an ice blue and purple hue across the wooded countryside. A fog surrounded the large manor, settling low around the windows. While the fire blazed in the rustic bedroom, giving some warmth to the chilly bedroom, perspiration trickled from the inside of the windows and dropped on the dark wooden floor of the master suite. Small candles also contributed to the illumination of the space. These tiny details were put by the maids of the house for the calm wake of the master of the manor, releasing their delicious vanilla aroma throughout the chamber.

With a start, Arella awoke. The night had not been kind to her. She'd been tossing and turning all night, scarcely getting any rest. Her sadness and anxiety from the night seemed to have spilled over into her sleep, since her dreams had been so terrible and she hadn't been able to find a comfortable place in her bed. Now, the king-sized bed she slept in felt empty and chilly to her. There was no way the fates could have permitted her to be married to a slave wolf. No way, no how. There was an error somewhere. There was a mistake somewhere.

This morning, she dragged through her daily ritual, opting for another tight ponytail that swung from the top of her head. Her slender fingers slipped another structured long-sleeve pencil dress down her body, this time with nude stockings to bring off the full brightness of the white dress. Then, to cap it all off, a simple gold watch. Of course, she chose to cover her deep skin with the appropriate amount of foundation, followed by eye makeup and lashes, and finally the right sparkle of lip gloss. The morning light was nearly completely in the sky by the time she finished, the blue hue transforming into a warm sunrise.

It was time to go. Arella closed her door behind her and tiptoed down the stairs so as not to disturb her guest or the rest of the home. It took her approximately an hour to get to work after saying farewell to the guards stationed outside the mansion, parking her car in the parking garage and taking the glass elevators to the top of the building. The view from the elevator was breathtaking. From within the compartment, you could see the whole metropolis, including the great buildings, and see the city come to life in front of your eyes. It was the temporary reprieve she had before the ding of the elevator.

"Good Morning Ms. Falcon." The whole office floor turned to greet her as she said her good morning greetings to everyone else too.

Her heels tapped the marble floors as she went about the office, catching up on mail, grabbing a cup of coffee, and planning the day's meetings. Pretty soon she had been swept into her busy life. And by the time she could take her lunch break, it was nearly 3:00pm, and she was neck deep in papers on her desk and phone calls she needed to respond to.

Work was considerably more difficult today for some reason. It seemed as though she had been unmotivated since the start of her day. She was on her fourth cup of coffee of the day, and nothing could divert her attention from the droning of work meetings and business calls. Every few minutes, her thoughts would wander to the stranger in her house. Later that morning, she received a message from Elle in which the maid said that he was safe and had been stitched up the night before, and shared his name as well.

Mischa.

Arella sounded the name out loud. It was different. That reminded her that she needed to see Marcus when she returned to the office. Last night, she had completely forgotten to mind link him with the night's events, since her panic attack had left her body heavy with fatigue. She had been so busy after she returned to the office that she had forgotten to check in with her Beta.

"So you didn't see me today. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

She was shocked to discover Marcus lying against her doorway when she looked up. When she realized it was him, she let out a long sigh. She just knew the impending talk was only about to drain the remainder of her energy out of her body.