The Hunter’s Mate

Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Lizzy’s Point of View

I resist the flinch of pain from the twisting knots in my stomach caused by the wolfsbane, as I feel two hazel eyes upon me.  I am watched everywhere I go, his eyes boring into me. I feel a surge of anger pulsate through my veins, my instinct to lash out at the would be attacker filling my mind.  Calming my mind, I look around for someone, anyone who will not irk me further, this is where I need Nathan, his light hearted banter amuses me, and on days like today they distract me from my wolf’s nature, but tonight I am on my own. Imprisoned in an opulent, over the top hotel suit full of the senior managers, all looking to impress Richard Knight, the big boss man. 

Their feeble efforts at engaging him in conversation, and constant compliments in an attempt to gain favour would normally amuse me, but tonight, the night after a full moon, they are increasingly annoying, doing little to supress my agitated mood.

I need to face him, head on, to show no sign of weakness, or hint of my true self, and this is going to be a mammoth undertaking of self control,  but I take a deep breath and head over to join arse lickers united, and let him see I am undaunted by his attempts to intimidate me, either as his employee, or as his mortal enemy.

 “Ms Black, how lovely of you to join us” his voice was cold, uninviting, and would send a shiver up the spine of any human, or low-ranking wolf, but to me, it just caused the anger in my blood to bubble further I must be cautious and measure my response.

“Mr Knight, thank you for the invite, I find myself quite enjoying this gathering of minds” I smile, holding his stare with one of my own.

The people around me, shifted uncomfortably, the tension and atmosphere evident even to the human race, such was its power.

“We were discussing the pro’s and cons of teaching young students VB rather than a more fitting language such as C# or PHP” Cameron Miller informed me, his slick back grey hair almost as greasy as his personality. He was the type of person, who would take the credit for the work of others, gaining his own promotion and keeping the talent in his team at a lower position so he could feed from their ideas and work them to further his own agenda. His presence set me on edge on a good day and tonight the feeling to rip his arms out of their sockets was very difficult to suppress.

“As a basic tool to teach the complete novice, it is adequate, as you all know once you have the basics learning a new language that works better in the real world of work is pretty simple for the truly talented” I said, with a small smile on my face, this man had very little if any real talent of his own my passive aggressive put down, helped to steady the building rage.

“Oh, I disagree, Lizzy…” he proceeded to give his reasoning, in a bid to make me look small in front of Mr Knight, but I tuned him out, he talked mainly from others knowledge base and not his own, so his ramblings, were to me, irrelevant.

“Mr Miller, I do believe I agree with Ms Knight, as a basic tool, it works adequately” Richard Knight said cutting him off mid sentence, his voice thick with annoyance, he was obviously as bored with his ramblings as I was, and he was not taken in by this man, who now was trying to unsuccessfully back track agreeing with his infamous employer. Pathetic, I could feel the growl formulating in my throat, I took a sip of my diet coke to calm the urge to release the sound that would send this i***t scurrying into a corner fearful for his life.

“Ms Black, I have some of the herbs you enjoyed earlier here for you, I had them made into tea especially for you” He smiled, the challenge evident in his eyes.

This was going to hurt, I would be three times over my normal daily dose, but I smiled as warmly as I could muster

“How considerate of you Mr Knight, I hope you are not plying me with delicious presents because I am the only female on the senior team” there was a sharp intake of breath around me, and I let out a small giggle, hoping he would rethink the offer, as it may now be deemed as inappropriate to his subordinates.

“Of course not, I am however more than happy to give small gifts to those who’s work is as outstanding as yours Ms Black, so please drink up”

Cameron the creep was staring at me now, and shifting from foot to foot, hoping I would further offend the big boss man.

“Of course, Mr Knight, or now we are exchanging gifts and compliments should I call you Richard?” I continue to hold his stare, and I note a hint of amusement behind his eyes, he is enjoying this.

“Lizzy, I would count it an honour” his voice lowered, and held an air of respect, maybe I was winning this little game of his, or maybe he was lulling me into a false sense of security.

I took the tea, and sipped, it was even stronger than the last batch, and I had to suppress the urge to spit it out everywhere, the nausea hit like a wave, but I managed to gulp it down and smile at him.  The cramping in my stomach, was increasing in its intensity, and very shortly I would need to get out of here because I knew the foaming would start quickly if I did not sick this up soon.

Creepy Cameron was now stating how much he loved herbal tea’s in a bid to gain favour, and I took the opportunity to reduce the amount of this poison I would have to suffer.

“You will love this then Cameron, please have a taste it really is delicious” I smiled, taking the opportunity to gulp some of the diet coke down to try and supress the fire that was formulating in my throat from the burn of the herb.

As creepy Cameron took the biggest mouth full, he gagged, and spat some of it out, causing Richard’s attention to focus on him, he was no wolf, I would sense that a mile away, he was just human, but obviously did not appreciate the bitter fowl tasting liquid. That gave me the opportunity I was waiting for to escape.

“I will get Cameron some water, he looks pale and sickly” I ventured, as the others surrounded him and Richards glare was firmly upon the man as he heaved again.

I took myself to the bathroom, and promptly aloud my body to regurgitate the putrid poison, if it burnt on the way down, it was worse on the way back up.  Finished, I cleaned my mouth, and headed to the kitchen area to find some water for Cameron, the perfect cover, and one I would be eternally grateful for.

As I made my way back Richard did not even acknowledge me, his focus was purely on Cameron, his thoughts that he was potentially a wolf clouding his mind, and I breathed a sigh of relief, and thought of another means of escape from this hell I was inflicting upon myself.

“Maybe I should escort Cameron home, do you think Richard?” maybe I could push my luck and shorten his name further to d**k! The thought tickled me and helped to sooth the anger that was still threatening to break.

“No Need, I will have someone remove him now Lizzy” Richard smiled warmly, obviously I have passed his test, the words remove him, played on my mind, as much as I do not like the creep, if Knight thought he was wolf, maybe he had planned a permanent removal for the man.  The thought caused a shudder to rush through me, as much as I disliked creepy Cameron, he did not deserve that fate.

“I am leaving now anyway, I want to be in early, we are nearly finished the program so need to get a good start on the testing tomorrow so it can be rolled out to the client sooner rather than later” I smiled then without waiting for an answer I took hold of Cameron’s arm and led him protesting he was “Fine” out of the suite, into the elevator, and straight into the back of my car!

“Really Lizzy, I am fine” he protested again as I bundled him in before anyone could stop us, and because nobody was around, I could let out some of the rage I was surprising

“No you not, you are far from fine, now get in the car you absolute imbecile“ I growled at him, and without another word he entered the back of my red Mazda looking like he was going to wet himself from the fear.