Lina's POV
I stared at him.
He stared back.
The tail swished once behind his thigh like it had a mind of its own, then froze when he realized I was still looking.
My brain short-circuited.
"Wolf," I said out loud, because apparently my mouth had decided we were done with the whole "pretend to be professional" thing. "You're a fucking werewolf."
Kael's eyes went huge. The green glow I thought I imagined two seconds ago flared bright, then died fast, like someone yanked the plug. His ears pointed, furred, definitely not human flattened against his dark hair.
"Shut the door," he snapped, voice low and rough.
I didn't move. "No."
"Lina." My name came out half growl. "Shut the damn door."
I kicked it closed with my heel. The click sounded way too loud.
He took one step back, hands up like I was the dangerous one. "You weren't supposed to see that."
"Yeah, well, you weren't supposed to grow a tail in the middle of threatening my entire career, but here we are."
His jaw flexed. Sweat slid down the side of his face even though the office was freezing. He looked…scared. Actually scared. The same guy who'd just told me he'd blackball me from the industry was sweating because I saw some fur.
I crossed my arms. "Start talking, CEO. What the hell are you?"
He swallowed hard. "Not here."
"Excuse me?"
"Not. Here." He glanced at the glass wall behind me. People walked past with coffee cups, laughing about something on someone's phone. None of them looked in. Yet. "If security cams catch this…"
He didn't finish. I could fill in the rest: lab, cage, government, dead. I'd seen enough movies.
I rubbed my temple. "So what, you want me to just forget I saw a Disney princess moment in real life?"
His eyes narrowed. "I want you to stop screaming."
"I'm not screaming."
"You're one octave away."
I opened my mouth, closed it. Okay, fair.
He took a slow breath, shoulders rising and falling like he was trying to calm a panicked dog. Which, irony noted, he kind of was.
"Sit," he said.
"I'm not a golden retriever."
"Lina."
I sat. Mostly because my legs were shaking and the chair was right there.
He stayed standing, hands gripping the edge of his desk so hard I heard wood creak. The tail was still out, tucked close to his leg now like it was trying to hide.
"I'm not a werewolf," he said finally.
"Cool, cool. So the ears and tail are just a fashion choice."
He shot me a look that could've frozen lava. "I'm a born wolf. Not bitten. Different rules."
"Uh-huh. And one of those rules is 'growl at interns and then accidentally go full Teen Wolf when they accidentally kiss you'?"
His face went red. Actually red. I didn't know billionaires could blush.
"That…" He stopped. Started again. "Strong emotion makes it harder to hold the glamour. Anger. Fear." He paused. "Other things."
Other things. Right. The kiss. My stomach flipped.
I leaned forward. "So that night at the club. When I…"
"Yes," he cut in, fast, like ripping off a bandage. "I felt it start. That's why I left the second you fell asleep and later returned but was quite sleepy. You woke up before I could get out clean."
I barked out a laugh that sounded too loud. "That's why you took the two hundred bucks and let me leave ? You were scared your ears would pop out mid-cuddle?"
He didn't answer. Just looked at the floor.
Something cold slid down my spine. "Kael. How old were you when you learned to hide it?"
He met my eyes. "Five."
Jesus.
I sat back. The anger was still there, bubbling, but it had company now.
He kept talking, voice flat. "My family's old. Money keeps people quiet. NDAs. Private schools. A lot of threats." He laughed once. "Turns out threats work pretty well when you can rip a throat out if they don't."
I raised an eyebrow. "You ever actually ripped a throat out?"
"No." Pause. "My dad did. Once. When I was eight. Guy talked too much."
I swallowed. Okay. New mental category: do not fuck with the Wu family Christmas card list.
He watched me carefully, like he was waiting for me to bolt. Or scream. Or pull out my phone and start recording.
I did none of those things.
Instead I said, "So all the overtime. The impossible deadlines. That was you being an asshole…or you testing if I'd crack and quit before I saw something I shouldn't?"
He didn't deny it.
I laughed again, shorter this time. "You're scared of me."
"I'm cautious," he corrected.
"Same thing."
His nostrils flared. The tail flicked once in annoyance.
I stood up. He tensed, whole body going rigid.
"Relax," I said. "I'm not running to Page Six with 'CEO grows tail when horny.' I'm not that suicidal."
He exhaled through his nose. "Then what do you want?"
The question hung there.
I thought about the last six weeks. The 2 a.m. emails.
I stepped closer. He didn't back up, but his hands clenched on the desk.
"I want," I said slowly, "to not be your personal punching bag anymore. I want normal human workloads. I want you to stop acting like I owe you something because we hooked up one drunk night. And I want you to stop threatening my career every time I push back."
He stared at me for a long beat.
"That's it?" he asked finally.
"That's it."
"No money? No promotion you didn't earn?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not extorting you, furry. I just want to do my job without needing therapy and an IV drip."
His mouth twitched. Almost a smile. "You're … i mean… insane?."
"Takes one to know one."
The tail had stopped moving entirely. His ears were still out, but lower now, less on alert.
I pointed at them. "Those gonna go back in, or are we doing casual Friday with the wolf look?"
He closed his eyes. Took a slow breath. When he opened them again, the green glow was gone. The ears slid down, melted, whatever the hell they did, until it was just his normal dark hair. The tail followed a second later, vanishing like someone pulled it through a trapdoor.
He looked exhausted.
"Better?" he asked.
"Marginally less likely to get us both on the news."
He rubbed a hand over his face. "This doesn't leave this room."
"Duh."
"I'm serious, Lina. If anyone…"
"I get it," I cut in. "Dissection. Government. Your dad rips my throat out. Message received."
He flinched at that last one.
I sighed. "Look. I'm not your enemy. I'm just the idiot who accidentally saw your secret. I don't want anything from you except to be left alone at work. Can we do that?"
He studied me for a long time.
"You're really not scared of me," he said, like he couldn't believe it.
"I'm terrified," I corrected. "But I'm also pissed off, and right now pissed off is winning."
Another almost-smile.
Then his phone buzzed on the desk. He glanced at it, face going tight.
"Board wants me in five," he muttered.
"Go be important," I said. "I'll…go pretend none of this happened."
I turned to leave.
"Lina."
I looked back.
He was staring at the floor again. "The workloads. I'll fix it. Today."
I blinked. "Just like that?"
"Just like that."
I nodded once, reached for the door.
"And Lina?"
"Yeah?"
He met my eyes. "Next time you kiss me, maybe don't fall on me first."
My face burned. "There won't be a next time."
He shrugged, already turning away. "We'll see."
I walked out before I could say something stupid. Like maybe.
The second the door shut behind me, I leaned against the wall and let out the breath I'd been holding for ten minutes.
Tessa was at her desk, eyebrows raised. "Well? Did he fire you or fuck you?"
"Neither," I croaked.
She squinted. "You okay? You look like you saw a ghost."
I laughed. It came out shaky. "Something like that."
She tilted her head. "Want to raid the good snacks early?"
"God, yes."
As we walked to the kitchen, I could feel his eyes on my back through the glass. I didn't look.
Haha but If this motherfucker Kael thought I was just going to forgive him like that and forget about all this, he was dead beat wrong. I was going to make him pay and I'll do it well.