Chapter 16 That's More Like My Woman

Colin's perspective:

Expecting those troublemakers from before, I signaled her to stay in her room while I answered the door. Instead, it was an anxious Jerry standing outside.

"Colin, I heard you beat someone up..." Before I could finish, he caught sight of the blood on me, and couldn't help but gasp with shock. "My God, it's true!"

"They're just some hoodlums," I said lightly, brushing the dust off my clothes. "Besides, they didn't get beat up that badly. They're not going to die."

"Not that bad?" Jerry pulled him aside and whispered, "Did you set your dog on them? I saw animal bites all over their bodies."

I remained expressionless, albeit with a slight furrowing of my brows. This was the mess they had gotten themselves into; they shouldn't have dared to harass my wife. What's the difference between a male wolf that can't protect his mate and trash?

"And what about the one whose leg you broke?" Jerry was almost frantic. "Do you have any idea who his father is...?"

"Who his dad is has nothing to do with me."

"They're definitely going to take revenge on you!"

I took off my shirt, threw the bloodied garment aside, and began to change into a clean one. I knew those guys came from powerful families - a village head's son, a town mayor's nephew.

They were all throwing their weight around, and causing trouble in several villages, with the little power their families had. I had been looking for an excuse to deal with this group, and once night fell, I would clean up these hoodlums for good, making sure they'd never speak again.

“Why don't you take your wife and leave for a while?" Jerry suggested. "Find somewhere to lie low? These people are not to be trifled with; don't confront them directly!”

Jerry had a point. Although I wasn't afraid of them coming back for more trouble, I still thought that moving out of the village, was a good idea.

When I shifted earlier, into my wolf form, to handle the men who came to attack my wife, it had meant the village wasn’t safe for me anymore. My identity could be exposed at any time.

After much thought, I decided it would be best, to move to New Jersey, where the Rock pack runs a chain of real estate, hotels, and companies.

Claire’s perspective:

A few days later, I moved to New Jersey with Colin. When he had discussed moving, I was somewhat puzzled. However, his reason was the development opportunities and job prospects, so I didn't pursue the matter further.

Besides, being in the city and closer to the hospital made it more convenient for me to take care of my mother. We rented a small house, and while it wasn't big, I cleaned it from top to bottom. I even bought new curtains and bedding.

An apple green checkered tablecloth was spread on the dining table, and a glass vase on the windowsill held a few sprigs of lilac.

Colin looked at our new home and smiled slightly. "This will be our home from now on."

"That's right." A warmth flooded my heart as I remembered something. "Oh yes, Vivian helped me get a job in sales at the same company where she's working. I can start tomorrow."

"That soon?" Colin seemed surprised. "Did the company go public? What's their annual sales volume? Who's in charge?"

His barrage of questions left me a little taken aback. I hadn't inquired that much into it. After all, I was just a low-level salesperson earning commissions. It wasn't like I had any say over who ran the place.

"I'll... ask them gradually once I start working."

However, on my first day at work, I never imagined that my supervisors would be people I knew, Peter and Sarah. Peter was my senior in college and had once pursued me passionately, but I had always turned him down unequivocally.

For one thing, my mother was still ill and had her hands full taking care of the Henderson family.
But I also found that, Peter was too calculating, always eager to curry favor in the student council, which didn't sit well with me.

As for Sarah, she only accepted Peter’s advances after he failed to win me over. It was because of that, Sarah always harbored resentment towards me, and as luck would have it, we were to cross paths at the company.

That morning’s meeting was excruciatingly uncomfortable. I could feel Peter's suggestive glances circling me, while Sarah’s hostile gaze pierced me, like sharp knives. So once the meeting ended, without waiting for Peter to speak with me, I courteously smiled, quickly made an excuse, and left the conference room.

Just before I left, I overheard Sarah’s angry voice from inside: "What's your problem? Couldn’t take your eyes off that little temptress, could you?"

Her questions caused my heart to race. At lunch, I shared the incident with Vivian, who was taken aback as well. She hadn’t expected such a coincidence. In such a large company, it just had to be those two I encountered.

“Now that you’ve crossed paths, be cautious moving forward,” Vivian whispered. “Claire, I’m not in the sales department anymore so I can’t speak up for you. Sarah’s uncle is a major shareholder of the company... she’s used to throwing her weight around.”

“She won’t go easy on you; we both know that. You’ll need to be careful!” She warned me.

“Don’t worry,” I chuckled lightly, “As long as I don’t make any mistakes, Sarah won't have any reason to manipulate me.”

But that very afternoon, Sarah deliberately assigned me a task: “There’s a meeting later, and here’s the list of attendees. They’re all important clients of our company, so prepare well.”

I nodded. The list had about a dozen people. Though the meeting was small-scale, I aimed to make it exquisite to satisfy the clients.

“One more thing, watch out for Ms. Scott from the Carter Group,” Sarah smirked, “She’s a successful woman, who is strong in everything. But you need to know that she is allergic to peanuts. Be absolutely sure that the pastries you prepare for her are peanut-free.”

“Got it. I'll remember that.” With the list in hand, I confidently headed out.

Though I was a newcomer on my first day, I handled my duties methodically and took care of every detail personally, quickly ensuring the venue was perfectly arranged.

All the participants arrived, and everything was in order. I stood aside, breathing a sigh of relief, but just then, a scream pierced the air.