The Billionaire Alpha’s Rejected Mate

Why Did It Have To Be You!

*Claire's POV*

Something was off. I could feel it.

Maybe it was the way Andrea stormed into the office. She stomped so angrily that I was afraid she would crack the floor open with her heel. Her face was contorted in a scowl, and she looked like she desperately wanted to yell at someone. The fact that she looked like she wanted nothing more than to murder someone was what made me uneasy. Or maybe it was the way she avoided meeting my gaze. But I could tell that something wasn't right, and I tried as much as I could to avoid saying anything. Whatever the problem was, it was her business and her business alone.

But something about the way she moved so angrily made me think that whatever was bothering her had something to do with me. I wasn’t quite sure what it could be, but she did seem like she wanted nothing more than to fling her desk aside and attack me with a knife she had been concealing this entire time.

"Is everything alright?" I asked, trying to sound cordial.

She looked up at me sharply, her eyes wild with rage and her lips set in a thin line. I was treading dangerous waters, and the way she looked up was a clear sign that I should have kept my mouth shut. But I didn’t, and now I was trapped in whatever madness was brewing in her life.

"Everything is just peachy," she replied in a sarcastic tone, drawing the files on her desk towards her. I could see the sneer on her lips as she looked at me, and it only made my blood boil even more. What the actual hell was wrong with her? She couldn't be mad at me just because I got the job without getting an interview. That seemed illogical.

Still, I had a feeling that it had something to do with that. So, I turned my attention to my computer where I searched for the company guidelines. I had noticed a file under that name earlier when I was just brushing through.

William walked past our office a few minutes afterwards, and even though I pretended not to notice him, I did see the agitated look in his eyes. He looked lost, and for a brief moment he hesitated as though he was about to come in. But then he walked past, his footsteps fading away quickly.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t want him to come in. Something about being in his presence made me feel like I was standing before royalty. He had this amazing ability to make me feel like I was someone special, just by the way he looked at me. I couldn’t remember the last time someone bothered to look at me that way. It was a nice change, and I felt bad when he simply walked away and didn’t even bother to glance in my direction. Had I done something wrong? Was he angry with me because of something Andrea told him?

I glanced over at her, but she was still sorting through her files and she looked like she had forgotten that I was even in the room with her. I held my breath as I tried not to think about him, focusing instead on what I was trying to do.

There were three hundred pages for me to sort through, and after an hour of reading every single page, my eyes were exhausted and my shoulders felt like they were beginning to cramp up. I really needed to pee as well, and as I stood up to go to the bathroom, Andrea suddenly looked up.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"The bathroom," I replied.

"Whatever it is you have to do in there, it can wait," she said. "It's time for my lunch break, and we can't both leave the office while Mr Compton is still in the building. You will have to wait for my break to be over before you can leave."

"It's only for a few minutes, Andrea," I said. "I really need to go."

"Rules are rules, Claire," she said. "I'm sure you will come to find that out very soon."

I had a sneaking suspicion that she had just made that rule up. How on earth could I be stopped from going to the bathroom? Did I accidentally get transported back to preschool? The rule made absolutely no sense to me.

She walked out of the office then, and I stood in the middle of the room with my blood boiling. I wished I could punch her in the face, and wipe the pathetic, smug look off her face. Who the hell did she think she was? Just because she was the senior assistant didn't mean that she could get away with doing whatever she wanted to me. I was still a human being with feelings, and she had no right to speak to me like that.

William Compton be damned, but I wasn't going to sit there and inconvenience myself to make someone else more comfortable. I stormed out of the office, and I didn't care what would happen even if he returned.

I asked for directions to the bathroom from one of the men standing near the exit, and he pointed me straight ahead. Barely able to contain myself, I hurried forward and soon arrived at the bathroom.

Five minutes; that was how long I was gone for. My heart was beating wildly the entire time, and I kept trying to convince myself that William was not done with his meeting by the time I was done. How cruel of the universe would it be if he happened to finish right when I decided to leave the office?

Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened. As soon as I walked into the office, my heart sank as I realised that he was standing by my desk, the desolate look still on his face. He looked up as I walked in, and I was taken aback by the blank expression on his face.

"I'm sorry," I apologised immediately. "I just needed to use the bathroom."

For a long pause, he didn't say anything. His eyes held a question which he wasn't ready to voice, and I felt awkward as we were standing alone. I hadn't really been alone in a room with him before, but the look on his face told me that this wasn't going to be a normal conversation.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"I would like to have a word with you in my office," he said. And without another word, he walked out. I didn't have time to stop and think about what could possibly be wrong as I followed him. As we walked towards his office, I could feel several people watching us, their confused and judgemental looks trailing every step I took. It was difficult to try and pretend that everything was fine.

It was normal for the boss to have a word with his new secretary in his office, wasn't it?

His office was way too big for just one man. In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, there's a huge modern dark-wood desk that six people could comfortably sit around and have a proper conversation. It matched the coffee table by the couch. Everything else was white, including the floors, the walls, and the ceiling. On the wall by the door was a collection of small paintings arranged together, four of them hung together to form a square. They were surprisingly detailed, a series of random, insignificant objects painted in such a way that they look like photographs. On their own, they would have looked out of sorts and ordinary. But together, they seemed to tie the room together.

Almost immediately, I felt small and insignificant once again. William walked around the desk and sat down, gesturing for me to do the same. I did as he asked, and when I sat down he steepled his fingers on the desk and watched me over the tip. I shrank under his gaze, terrified of what was to come. Could I really get fired for going to the bathroom? Surely that would be ridiculous. But then again, everyone loved talking about how strict he was. So there was the possibility that he could do that.

"Miss Monroe," he said, "might I ask why you applied for this job?"

That seemed like an odd question, and I furrowed my brows at it. But his gaze was unwavering, and I sensed that this was a serious issue now.

"Um, well I..."

I couldn't exactly say that I sent my CV in as a joke. That would not sit well with him. I tried to think of a decent reason, but for some reason my mind went completely blank. He was watching me carefully, his eyes blank and unmoving. Maybe that was what confused me, or maybe it was his scent which was driving me insane. He smelt like expensive cologne, and the smell was starting to get into my head. Either way, I just couldn't seem to get the right answer to his question.

"Miss Monroe, I asked you a question," he said. "I would like to know what your intentions were when you applied for this job."

"The experience?" I said quietly.

"This isn't a joke, Claire," he said, rising from his seat and turning to face the windows. His shoulders looked tense, and my horrible attempt at a joke had not gone down so well. He was furious now, and I had to think to a way to appease him.

"I'm sorry," I said. "That was idiotic of me."

"I don't know why I did it," he sighed, his voice almost incoherent. "I keep trying to figure out what's so different about you that would make me risk everything I stand for as a man. And yet, I can't find a decent answer to it. I cannot understand why I did it, and it's eating me up slowly."

"I-I don't understand."

He turned to look at me , and I gasped when I realised that his eyes were glowing. I almost sprang up from my seat, and the only thing which kept me in place was the confusion over what exactly was going on. His eyes had turned golden, and I could have sworn that they were blue since the last time I looked at him. It wasn’t even a full shade of gold, but they were shining so brightly, as if someone had flicked a switch on in his head.

"Why you?" he asked in a soft whisper. "Of all the women in the world, why did it have to be you, Claire? Am I being punished for some crime which I committed in the past? Is this meant to humble me, and show me that I have erred in my ways?"

I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but the sight of him in agony made me feel bad. I wanted to help him, but I didn't know how exactly I was supposed to do that if I didn't know exactly what was going on with him.

"You're the bane of my existence, Claire," he said. "I wish I could figure out why I'm drawn to you this way. But it's not that simple, and each moment feels like an eternity when I'm around you. I want to understand why you've gotten me to become this way. I need to understand why you have captivated me so, Claire. You've completely taken me captive, and I can't think straight with you around. How is it that a stranger could possible make me like this? How can one woman rob me of my senses and reduce me to a mere shadow of my former self?"

I was about to ask him what exactly was wrong with him when something frightening and impossible happened.

One moment he had been standing several feet away from me, and before I could even blink, he was suddenly standing right beside me, trapping me on the chair with both arms on either side of me. His eyes were glowing even more now, and a low growl was coming from him. My eyes widened in shock, and I jumped back in horror but he held me in place.

"H-how did you do that?" I asked, a million different thoughts spinning around in my head.

When I saw his fangs however, my scream died down in my throat.

“Don’t be scared,” he whispered. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

My legs had turned to jelly, and I felt like I was going to throw up. This couldn’t be happening. Surely I was dreaming, otherwise how could a man suddenly grow fangs right before my eyes? I had seen twilight enough times to know exactly what that meant. But to actually believe it was what I was incapable of. William was just an ordinary man. Surely that had to be the case, right?

Except it wasn’t. And I knew, in that very moment, that my life would never be the same again.

*