Anastasia stood on the rooftop of VOSS Pharmaceuticals, her eyes still locked on Isabella as she got into the cab, that same intoxicating scent lingered in the air, messing with her head, she squinted and focused harder, she used her wolf vision to scan straight through Isabella's bag, down to her ID card, It was faint, but clear enough, she saw written on the ID card "Isabella Faulkner"
Anastasia repeated the name in her head, trying to figure out where she had heard it before, but nothing came up, the name meant nothing to her, and that made her even more annoyed she wasn't used to not knowing things, especially about people who could possibly get in her way.
She climbed down from the roof, not saying a word to anyone, she walked out of the building without making a sound, her driver opened the door and she slid into the backseat quietly, the ride home was silent, she didn't talk or touch her phone, just stared out the window the entire way, her jaw clenched as her mind spiraled.
Why did Rafael pay so much attention to some random girl? Why was he laughing during the interview, and why the hell was he looking at her like that? Anastasia had been waiting years to be Luna, to be his wife, She had done everything, She was smart, powerful and loyal, She comes from a strong bloodline and was even chosen by his mother Thalia, her uncle and other members of the board to be his wife; she earned that spot and now this… human? Wolf? Whatever Isabella was… was ruining everything!
Halfway home, she grabbed her phone and called Thalia, Isabella's mum, her voice was cold but respectful,
"Do you know an Isabella Faulkner?" she asked,
Thalia paused for a second, then answered in a calm voice, "No my dear, Should I?"
Anastasia rolled her eyes, holding back the scream building in her throat "She was at the interviews today, Rafael was acting strange, he couldn't stop looking at her."
There was silence on the other end, thalia finally sighed, "I'll look into it, but I've never heard the name before."
Anastasia ended the call after saying goodbye,
She immediately commanded her driver to turn the car around and he obeyed and drove straight to her uncle's house, he was one of the council members of the night bane pack and also a shareholder at voss pharmaceuticals, one of the main people who pushed Rafael to take Anastasia as his Luna, he had power, Influence and he was in cahoots with Rafael`s mother.
She walked into his house in anger, throwing her purse on the couch,
"She's ruining everything," she said through clenched teeth,
"Who?" her uncle asked calmly, already pouring himself a drink,
"this girl, Isabella Faulkner, Rafael couldn't take his eyes off her today, I don't know who she is or where she came from, but something's off."
Her uncle didn't look surprised, he just took a sip from his glass, then nodded,
"If she's that much of a problem, we'll find out who she really is and `handle` it," he said, "I'll send my men, they'll follow her, dig into her past, her present, everything...you need not worry"
Anastasia gave him a sharp smile, "Good, I want to know every little thing, I want her gone before she becomes a problem."
Her uncle raised his glass, "Consider it done."
And just like that, things were set in motion,
Isabella had no idea someone was already watching her and they were coming for her.
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Rafael walked back into his office with Niko right behind him, both of them were quiet at first but Niko couldn't hold it in anymore, he stopped by the door, closed it behind them, and turned to face Rafael,
"What was that back there brother?" he asked, raising his brows,
"What?" Rafael replied casually as he sat down, pouring himself a drink like nothing just happened,
"You asked the girl what she did last night, Rafael," Niko said, arms folded, "You were clearly messing with her and it wasn't even subtle."
Rafael looked up, half amused, half annoyed, "And what exactly is your issue with that?"
"I just want to know what your intentions are," Niko said, walking closer, "You don't usually react to anyone, but with her, you couldn't stop looking, you smirked, you laughed, you were so obvious."
Rafael paused, then tilted his head slightly, "Wait… was it that obvious?"
Niko blinked at him like he was crazy, "Rafael… anyone with eyes and a brain could tell."
Rafael leaned back in his chair and whispered under his breath, "Shit…"
Niko looked at him confused, "What?"
"If everyone could tell, then that means Anastasia definitely noticed," Rafael muttered, rubbing his forehead,
Niko nodded slowly, "Yeah… probably."
Rafael stood up suddenly and started pacing, "If Anastasia was bold enough to dig up my past and mentioned my father just to see how I'd react, imagine what she could do to someone who didn't even try but still got my attention."
Niko ran a hand through his hair, "So what do we do?"
Rafael stopped pacing and looked straight at him, his eyes sharp and serious, "I guess… it's time to bring in my new bride."
Niko stiffened, the words caught him off guard, "Wait… what?"
Rafael didn't repeat himself,
Niko stepped forward, his face unreadable, "Rafael, if we bring in Isabella now… are you sure your intentions are true?"
Rafael turned around slowly, his brows furrowed, "What do you mean?"
Niko looked him dead in the eye, "I mean… is this about protecting her, or is this about claiming her?"
Rafael didn't answer right away, because deep down, even he wasn't fully sure.
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Niko didn't move for a while, he just stood there looking at Rafael like he was trying to read his soul, then finally, he asked quietly, "Do you love that girl?"
Rafael's jaw tensed slightly, his eyes twitched, but he quickly hid it behind a cold laugh, "I need a woman I can trust, someone I can control, someone who'll sit beside me and keep the council quiet," he said in a sharp and calculated tone, "Isabella's uncle owes me a fortune, Niko, I'm only collecting what I'm owed."
Niko didn't blink,
"And besides," Rafael added, "keeping her close will protect her from Anastasia, Anastasia won't touch her if she thinks she's mine."
Niko stepped forward slowly, now face to face, eye to eye, no space left between them, "You know you must not fall in love with her, brother… because if you do… the blood oath—"
"Nikolai," Rafael cut him off in a low and calm voice, "I am very conscious of the blood oath curse and I'm not stupid enough to fall in love with any woman, not ever again"
There was silence again,
"I assure you," Rafael added, "this is just business"
Niko nodded slowly, the tension in his jaw relaxing just a bit, "Good…we cannot let an innocent girl die"
"Agreed," Rafael said as they both reached out and shook hands,
Then Rafael turned around, walked over to his desk again, and with the same calm tone, he said, "Make preparations…you will go to the Faulkner residence… Tuesday… 5pm… and get my bride."
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Rafael and Niko got into the car and it was really quiet the whole drive home,
when they finally got to rafael's Foyer it was dark and quiet like always, Rafael got out of the car and just went straight upstairs to his home office,
he walked slowly to the drawer in the corner of the room opened it and pulled out a small black box, he opened the box and placed something inside, it was Isabella's panties from the night of the "one night stand"