Dominic had stayed overnight in the office. Despite the sudden turn of events the previous night, he was in a surprisingly good mood. He took out his handphone and called home.
"Hey Pearl..."
"You work too hard Dominic," she said with a yawn. "Why are you calling me at five am in the bloody morning?"
"I'm sorry sis. Could you pass me a fresh set of clothes? Just get one of the Delta or Epsilon wolves to pass it to me when they come in for work."
"Ya ya... shoo now or I'll come over and scratch you," she snapped as she disconnected the call.
Dominic was really in a good mood for he didn't even snap back at his sister; in fact he apologized for disturbing her so early in the morning. He made himself a cup of black coffee and stood by his full length window and looked down at the street. Morning street vendors had already come in to take their spot on the pavements. He saw the newspaper boy too, dropping off various newspapers and magazines to the offices along the street.
Dominic wasn't sure how long he had been staring out the window for when he turned, he saw his Alpha sitting on his desk. He hadn't even sensed him!
"Good morning, Dominic..." he said with an amused glint in his eyes. "I see you're working hard as ever?"
"Naturally... so what brings you here Eian?" he asked, trying to change the topic. He knew his Alpha could smell the scent of sex in the air.
"A very sleepy but annoyed pregnant lady came to my door this morning and told me you needed some clothes. She's a very sweet little thing, your sister. She's worried about you, you know..."
"Why that little... I specifically told her just to pass to one of the..." Dominic didn't finish his sentence for Eian had cut him off fiercely.
"They are not your servants Dominic." Eian was smiling but Dominic could sense the slight hint of annoyance in his voice. "Some choose to be at the bottom because they like to be followers. It doesn't mean they are useless nor have a lesser capability than you or even me."
"That's ridiculous! You're an Alpha!"
"Yes, an Alpha... whose status can be challenged. Am I right, Beta?" he said quietly with a glint in his eye. Dominic swallowed. Did his Alpha know about the urging of the other wolves for him to challenge Eian?
"I apologize, Alpha..." he said with his head bowed. Eian simply looked at him then gave a small laugh.
"I am very honoured by your loyalty to me Dominic." Eian got up from the desk and patted Dominic's shoulder. As he was at the door, he suddenly turned and said, "Dominic... try not to terrorize our new female director too much... She has a lovely scent, I admit, but work is work." Then he left.
For a fraction of a second, Dominic felt his anger rising. Did his Alpha say that Sydney had a lovely scent? How dare he?
However, at the sight of his clothes on the desk, his anger dissipated. Sydney was nobody to him; just a woman... just a woman whom he's going to enjoy playing with. That's all...
Meanwhile, Eian was sitting at the director's lobby watching Fiona trying to swallow a beef sandwich. It was a cruel thing to do, he admits- trying to force a Vampire to eat normal food. But after the previous day's incident, the thought that she'd drown herself unnecessarily out of guilt made him ache with sadness. He saw that she didn't complain nor made any attempt to throw away her food but continued pushing it into her mouth; evidently doing it for his sake. The only reason why he had brought her along this morning was because he was afraid she might wander off and attack another human or worst, a werewolf.
A minute later, she was vomiting into the pantry sink. Eian had to lift her up for she could barely reach the tap to clean herself off.
"I'm sorry my little one," he said with a sigh as he wiped away the water from her face. She looked so sad sitting there on the countertop.
"I broke a rule," she said, "I was so scared you'd be angry and punish me."
"I'm not going to punish you, Fiona... what you did to yourself yesterday made me very scared and worried," he said as he brushed her hair away from her face.
"Uh... I'm sorry, but may I know who are you and what you're doing here?" said someone from the pantry door. Eian didn't need to turn to know who it was. He could tell from her scent.
"Hello, Miss Sandilands... it is nice to finally meet you," he said as he gathered Fiona into his arms and turned to face her. The shock on her face was evident as she stared into his intense green eyes before turning her head to the white haired girl in his arms.
"I apologize if I scared you... My name is Keiran MacFarlane but most of the staff here call me Eian with an 'E'." He gave her a sweet smile as he walked pass her. "Have a good day, Miss Sandilands."
Sydney was too shocked to say anything but she managed to turn to see him enter the lift. She had never seen a man so handsome in her life before. He had the most amazing eyes she had ever seen and there was a strange calmness about him. And that child! Was she his? She couldn't help but to stare at him as he walked towards the lift.
***
"Eian?" murmured Fiona as she pressed her face on his shoulder. He was still carrying her, like she was a baby as they walked to the car.
"Yes?"
"Why do you have two names?"
Eian gave a hearty laugh as he patted her back. "Well, I guess it's kinda like a nickname 'cause many people keep mistaking me for a girl with the name Keiran."
"But you're not a girl!" she protested, suddenly full of energy.
"Well, that's right little princess. But it's the perfect name for someone like me... do you know why?"
Fiona was staring at him now, her eyes full of wonder as she shook her head vigorously.
"Well... you see, Keiran means black, just like my hair. I was the only one in my family with black hair. My parents and sister all had blonde hair. I guess, I'm kinda like special," he said with a laugh but Fiona had caught the slight hint of sadness in his voice.
"You're very special... like me," she said with a smile. "Did you lose your family too?"
Her sudden question surprised him. Had she actually remembered about her family too?
"Yes my dear... do... do you remember anything about your family?" he asked carefully.
"I... I don't really remember... but I know I am not your family," she said with a sad voice. Because... because I am not a wolf! I... I am a bad Vampire!" she sobbed the last word and buried her face at his shoulder again.
"Shh... you're not a bad girl my precious... you just need to learn how to control your urges. I'm going to take you somewhere special today okay? What do you think?" His words seemed to cheer her up a little so she nodded.
***
It was almost lunch time so when Dominic entered the cafeteria, he was not surprised to see some staff had already booked seats. Since he was in a pleasant mood, he did not take offense that they had skived off work ten minutes before lunchtime. As he approached a group of female staff, his ears suddenly pricked at the mention of Sydney's name.
