Alpha's One Night Bride

#Chapter 11 – The Art Studio

I stared at my computer nervously. I had Marian’s name typed in the “TO” section of my emails with a couple of attachments of my artwork. I don’t know what’s been keeping me from sending them to her. I know I’m more than capable of landing this job on my own. Jonathan’s offer of helping me get the job was tempting.

I met Marian briefly at our wedding; she was a beautiful woman. She’s married to Jonathan’s friend, Anderson, who was also one of Jonathan’s best-man. The memory of the wedding ceremony brought a sense of comfort to me as the events continued to play in my mind. 

It’s only been a week since the wedding; everything seemed to be moving so fast. I know Jonathan only wants what’s best for me, which is why he offered to speak with Marian on my behalf. Everybody in Sabrebite respected him and a lot of other packs valued him as well. Jonathan was the kind of guy that can make friends easily wherever he went.

I always admired that about him. 

I told Jonathan this was something I wanted to do on my own though. He, of course, respected my wishes and allowed me to speak to Marian on my own. The few times I’ve walked around the town, I would stumble upon her quaint art studio. I admired the paintings she would display on her windows. I wanted to be the one to paint those displays.  

Taking in a deep breath, I began to type out my message to Marian. 

Hello Marian, 

First and foremost, I just wanted to thank you for attending the wedding. Jonathan and I appreciated both your and Anderson’s presence. I’m not sure if Jonathan had told you, but I had gone to school for art. Painting has always been a passion of mine; it was something I shared with my mother before she passed away. I know you are running an art studio and I would love to be a part of that. I’ll attach a few of my samples and my resume; please feel free to reach out to me via this email so we can set aside some time to speak. 

Thanks 

Arina. 

I waited for several hours before I received a reply. 

Good morning Arina, 

I just went through your samples, and I must say that I’m very impressed with your work. How about you come by the art studio this afternoon and we can talk some more.

Best regards, 

Marian. 

Oh my god; she wants to see me. She actually wants to see me. 

…

My desk sat right outside Marian’s office. The art studio was a small, classy building just right outside the town’s circle. Only a few others worked there as artists; Marian hired me to be her assistant.

I didn’t mind being her assistant if it meant getting my foot in the door. She told me she saw potential in my work and to keep working on it. Art is in high demand, and she can never have too many artists. 

On weekends she hosts art shows at the studio. During the week goes to creating and selling the art. 

“She’s so young. I can’t believe she managed to get Alpha Jonathan’s attention,” one of the artists, Lucille, had said to the other, Mallory.

Both women were nice; they showed me around on my first day and set me up with a couple of projects. However, they liked to talk and most of the time they don’t think I can hear them. 

The art room isn’t far from my desk, and they always keep the door open a little bit to keep the fumes from piling up in the room. 

“She must be really good in bed,” Mallory chuckled.

“Arina!” I heard my name being called from Marian’s office. 

Her office was huge and overlooked the gardens of Sabrebite. In her office she kept her personal paintings hung neatly on her beige walls. My feet instantly sunk into the soft lilac-colored rug she kept in the center of her office. 

I found Marian to be beautiful in an intimidating kind of way. Her auburn hair reminded me of a slow-burning fire; she kept short in a pixy haircut. Her features were fair, but she enhanced them with a little makeup. Her lips were glossy and red like little cherries and her eyes were a piercing blue. 

She was typing something on her computer when I walked in.  

“I need you to run me a few errands. I’m absolutely swamped and can’t be bothered to leave my desk,” she said without looking at me. 

“Yeah of course,” I told her, excited to finally have an assignment to do. 

“Across town is the dry cleaners, are you familiar with the location?” Marian asked, still not looking at me. 

“Um. Yes,” I told her. 

“Good. I need you to pick up my dry cleaning. It was finished this morning, but I didn’t have any time to retrieve it myself. Then next to the dry cleaners is the bakery. Natalia has the best signature coffee; I need you to grab me a mocha latte, extra foam, skim milk.”  

I stood there a bit dumbfounded at her requests. 

I noticed that Marian was now looking at me; she almost looked annoyed that I was still standing there and not moving. 

“Is there an issue?” she c****d her perfectly trimmed eyebrow upward. 

“Uh… no. It’s just that…” I stammered awkwardly. “Dry cleaning and coffee? It wasn’t in my job agreement.” 

“You were hired to be my assistant; that was the job agreement. Out there, you might be Jonathan’s luna. But in here, you work for me,” she said, using her firm tone. 

“I understand that but…” I tried to say; I wasn’t sure why I was arguing with her. She kind of scared me a little. 

“If you have a problem with it, I can gladly find someone else to take over your job,” Marian cut in. 

“No,” I said softly. “It’s okay. I’ll do it.” 

…

(Jonathan)  

“Anderson?” Jonathan spoke through his mind to Anderson. 

“Hey man, what’s up?” Anderson’s voice roamed through Jonathan’s mind. 

“I just wanted to thank you for getting Arina that job. She was so excited when Marian hired her.” 

“Actually, I completely forgot to talk to Marian about Arina. When Arina sent that email with her art samples, Marian was impressed and told me she wanted to meet with her,” Anderson confessed. 

“She got in on her own?” Jonathan asked. 

He wasn’t shocked that she was able to do it on her own. He knew she could. But he also knew that Marian was one of the toughest critics and would need a little convincing to hire someone with little professional experience; especially someone as young as Arina. 

“That’s my wolf.” Jonathan chuckled. 

…

Arina looked so beautiful sitting at her desk; she seemed so perplexed and engrossed in the work she was doing. She kept her hair tied back in a low messy ponytail and she kept chewing on her bottom lip as she concentrated. 

She was sketching something Jonathan couldn’t quite see. 

As he walked into the studio, her eyes shifted and met his. They widened in surprise, but only for a moment. Soon she was standing and running towards him; her arms wrapping around his neck and pulling him into a tight embrace. 

“What are you doing here?” She asked as she pulled away. 

“I wanted to surprise you,” Jonathan told her. “I want to take you to lunch.” Arina glanced towards the door near her desk. Jonathan only assumed it had to be Marian’s office. “I’m sure Marian won’t mind if I take my luna to lunch,” Jonathan assured her with a chuckle in his voice. 

Jonathan took her to his favorite French restaurant in the center of town. It wasn’t too far from the art studio so he knew he could take her back on time. 

Even wearing scrubs with paint smudged on her, she still looked beautiful. However, he could tell that she felt awkward being in such a fancy restaurant and wearing her work clothing. She didn’t say anything about it though; she sat across from him at the table, eyeing the salad that was placed in front of her. 

“How are you adjusting?” He asked her thoughtfully. Her eyes shifted upward to meet his. Curiosity lingered in her eyes. 

“It’s a weird adjustment for sure. Everyone at the studio seems nice. But I think they feel threatened because of my age,” she admitted softly. Jonathan made a mental note to talk with Mallory and Lucille. The two wolves he knew quite well considering they’ve been part of the Sabrebite pack their entire lives. He also knew that they liked to gossip, and he didn’t want Arina to be on their gossiping radar. 

“What about in general?” Jonathan asked. 

“What do you mean?” Arina asked in return.

“Living in Sabrebite. I know it’s probably a weird adjustment,” Jonathan told her. Her cheeks turned light pink, making Jonathan worry.

“I’m not sure how to be a luna,” she said softly. “I want to be a good one, but…” her words trailed off. 

“There’s no rule book,” Jonathan assured her. “I just need you to be a good version of yourself, Arina.” A small smile played on her lips. 

“It’s just a lot of change,” she admitted. 

“I know. It’s a lot for me too. I wasn’t expecting to marry you so soon. I thought we’d still have time. I thought you’d still have time to grow a little more. But seeing you as hurt as you were and at the hands of your father; I knew I couldn’t let you go again. I knew I needed to protect you,” Jonathan told her. He reached across the table to touch her hand. She draped her fingers through his. “Arina, you’ve been my best friend since you were born. We grew up together. I hope you know you can trust me.”

“Of course, I do,” she said with no hesitation. “I trust you, Jonathan.”