FIVE

Noah stared aimlessly at the city lights outside his window, twirling his glass in his hands. His mind was in deep thought and it was mostly because he had found his mate. He waited for her to show up ever since he reached adulthood, and now that she's within his reach.

Thinking about their first meeting, Noah couldn't ignore the strong urge that clawed inside him. He wanted to possess his mate. He wanted to claim her. 

He immediately felt the pull between them when they first met but he disregarded it at first, thinking it was probably nothing. But oh how wrong he was...

When Noah got close to her, he instantly got a hint of her scent. And there and then, he instantly knew who she was to him. 

She was his fated mate.

"Lara Louis…" Noah murmured her name on his lips, savouring the feel of saying it. He couldn't stop thinking of her, especially her eyes. His made had expressive reddish brown eyes and it was hidden underneath a pair of glasses. Which was cute... 

He knew they were fake though. She clearly had good eyesight. But as to why she was wearing the specs. He didn't know... 

The reason behind it didn't matter to him though. She was his mate. And she was perfect to him no matter what. But strangely, unlike any other human, his mate felt somewhat... different. Noah couldn't pinpoint it out, but there's this aura around her that makes her seem... inhumanely graceful.

And her gestures, the way she acted seemed elegant and feminine without effort or training in them as if it's just how she was born to be. 

When she approached him, it was hard for Noah not to notice those things about her. She acted awkward, of course, but her elegance was all... natural.

And the way her eyes gleamed every time she spoke. Yes... The way she gracefully moves... Lara doesn't realize it yet, but every time she bit her lip, every glance she makes, and every action she makes was innocent... yet sensual. And they were all tempting him to pounce on her. Good thing he didn't or else he would have scared her away.

"Lara Louis..." he murmured her name again, remembering her beautiful face in his thoughts. He couldn't pull his eyes away the moment he laid his eyes on her. Even if he wasn't fully listening to her words, he couldn't stop watching her.

Sighing, Noah suddenly felt anxious for the sun to rise. Everything was still dark and he wanted to see her again.

"Yoo-hoo! Anybody home?" Stefani's sing-song voice penetrated his thoughts of his mate, popping it like a bubble, much to his displeasure.

She was walking into his living room looking like she owned the place instead of him. Her dark eyes shone with constant mischief. 

"Your douche-ness?" She looked around, casually waving a red folder in her hand and immediately smiled when she saw him looking outside his window, again. "There you are!" 

Stefani knew it was his favourite pastime, watching the twinkling lights acting high and mighty just standing there. 

Stefani inwardly rolled her eyes at that thought. Men can be overdramatic sometimes...

She frowned. "Why is it so dark in here?" She complained and stopped, noticing a bottle of whisky on center table and an unused glass beside it. 

"Did you even have dinner?" she asked and was immediately greeted by silence. Huh. So, he's ignoring her now. "I've got the file you asked for..." 

"Where?" She smirked. Of course, that got his attention. Typical Noah...

Stefani pulled the folder away from his grasp when he attempted to take it away from her and gave him a 'no-no' move with her index finger. "Uh-ah, tell me why you wanted these papers first. Why are you investigating her?"

Noah looked at his childhood friend with annoyance. So, she read it. Why didn't he hire a normal secretary again? 

"Steffi, give me the folder." His tone was authoritative but Steffi just stared at his face with narrowed eyes. She was not intimidated by him at all. One of the reasons she is THE SECRETARY.

Noah may be born to be an alpha, but Stefani has always been a special case... 

He couldn't frighten her or even force her to bow down to him at all. Even when he acts all crazy and unreasonable, she still wouldn't be fazed, like an unmoving mountain, she was firm.

Maybe that's why they have been friends ever since they were pups. Even when he's acting all cranky and bossy without a reason, she's the only wolf in the pack who wouldn't bow down to him. 

Suddenly, Stefani gasped when she realised something. 

"Oh, my Gods! She's your mate, isn't she?" 

Noah gave her a sarcastic look. "Congratulations. Now, give me the file." 

Stefani sneered. "Sheesh! So, grumpy." She tossed the folder at him and he caught it effortlessly.

Steffi made herself scarce, leaving him to his business and poured herself a glass of whisky without asking for permission.

After taking a sip, she sat on the L-shaped sofa and spoke. "I still can't believe she's your mate though." She said, utterly amazed by the situation. "I mean, she's so demure and sweet and your..." Steff looked at her best friend from head to toe. "You."

Noah ignored her words and continued reading.

"Think about it. We were talking about her today and now she's here, in the flesh. I mean, wow." She widely grinned and slapped Noah in the back. "Congratulations, your highness. You're a married man."

Noah glared at her for slapping his back but he didn't scold her. He was in a good mood, and he didn't want it to be ruined by her brusque behaviour. "Not yet." He paused. "We're not married yet."

Stefani took a sip of her whiskey and smiled, tilting her head she spoke. "Well, technically, yes, you guys haven't done the whole ritual thingy and the claiming, but still." She looked at her childhood friend with a genuine smile on her face. "Finding your mate is like finding your other half. It's as close to marriage as you'll ever get."

Noah nodded. Well, she's not entirely correct, but she's right on some points.

"So, what are you going to do? Even though she's kind of peculiar, she's still human. You've got to take things slow with her, or else she'll run and reject you." 

Her words immediately pulled Noah out of his trance. "Reject me?" He said, bewildered because that didn't cross his mind at all. He considered the thought that she'll run away. But he never thought that she'll actually reject him.

Seeing her friend's darkened expression, Steffi shrugged. "It's a possibility, you know."

"No. She will not reject me." 

Stefani gave him a pointed look. "You don't know that..."

"She will not deny me my right to claim her as mine." He said in finality. 

"So arrogant..." Steffi rolled her eyes. She's still a bit sceptical about that though. "How can you be so sure?" 

Noah paused. A sudden hesitation in his actions. "I just know." He responded vaguely, but it was enough to address Steffi's worries a little bit. 

Noah has always been true to his instincts. He follows it, trusts it, and it has never failed him once. Stefani would've still questioned his unproven theory if it weren't for that.

"Very well, Your Highness. Since you're so certain she won't reject you then I'm not going to ask you anymore." Stefani dropped her head back and closed her eyes resting for a bit. "So, what's the plan?" She asked. 

Noah placed the folder down at the center table. He already finished reading everything and now he knows some basic information about her; like her address and her phone number. 

Although, some of the information in the folder raised some questions in his mind, placed them at the back of his mind, for now. He has a lot of time to get to know his jumpy little mate. He just has to take things one step at a time. "For now, I'll keep her by my side starting tomorrow."

Steffi drank and spluttered her drink when she misunderstood what he said. "K-Keep her?" She coughed. "H-How? Like a pet?"

Noah looked at her disturbed by her reaction. "What kind of person do you think I am?"

Steffi raised her hands in apology. "Sorry, okay. That was the first thing that came to my mind so I unconsciously said it out loud." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, what are you actually trying to say here? Because seriously, Noah, you know this is your only chance at true love and if you blow it, I'm going to ignore you for the rest of your life! Especially now that I like your mate so very much, I think we're going to be best friends by the way, and if you hurt her-" She paused, threatening him with a slicing-the-throat gesture that Noah knows too well what it meant.

He sighed. "Don't worry. It's not what you think it is."

"Then what?"

A smile spread across his lips and a mischievous idea gleamed in his eyes as he spoke. "Still interested in training your replacement?" He asked and Stefani immediately realized what he was getting at.

She grinned. "Oh, this is going to be fun..."

***

The next day...

"You what?"

Lara closed her eyes and covered her ears when Rachel yelled at her face in shock. 

She told her friend about what happened inside the CEO's office yesterday, and now, Rachel is gaping at her in disbelief. She didn't even notice spilling her Starbucks on her desk which Lara immediately cleaned up with tissue since her friend didn't seem to be functional at the moment.

"I know it sounds crazy, it doesn't even sound real to my ears but the CEO really told me that he's going to transfer me to a different department," Lara repeated and Rachel blinked.

"What?"

"What."

Rachel frowned "I wasn't shocked about your transfer, Lara, the CEO can do whatever he wants with us, he's the boss. But the fact that you met the gorgeous CEO, face to face, on your first day- I mean, what the hell, Lara! I'm jealous!"

"Huh?" Okay... Now, Lara was the one blinking in confusion. She didn't expect that reaction from her friend at all. Maybe she was assuming too much. "So, you're not upset?"

Rachel looked at her. "Of course, I'm not! Well, I'm disappointed that you'll be transferred and we can only see each other at lunch but..." She looked at Lara like she was seeing her for the first time. "Seriously, did that really happen yesterday? You're not pranking me, right?" She asked, suspiciously waiting for the moment that Lara would break into a wide grin and says. "It's a prank!" but nothing happened. Lara remained stoned-faced.

"Do you think I would lie to you about this?"