I feel safe... Something warm is surrounding me. Damian's familiar, reassuring smell. My wolf and his, sleeping soundly next to each other. Black and white, completing each other perfectly. This is where I belong.

I breathe in deeply. Suddenly, a cold chill runs down my spine. I'm... scared. I can't sense my wolf anymore. Where is Damian? I can't feel him anymore! And there is this dark, frightening shadow coming closer. It reeks of blood. Of sweat. A memory that scares me. I want to run away, but I can't move. I don't feel my legs; I don't feel my wolf!

"Nora, Nora! Wake up, Nora!"

I suddenly open my eyes.

Damian is facing me, on the bed. He's holding my trembling hands, looking worried. What was I...? A nightmare? I'm on his bed, in his room. The sun is rising outside. I catch my breath, coming back to my senses, slowly. Damian puts his hand on my cheek. "Are you okay?" He asks

"Yeah... Sorry, I think I just had a nightmare..."

What was it about? I'm forgetting already. I can vaguely remember a chill and something that made me panic. Gosh, this was so intense... I sigh.

Damian leans to kiss my forehead, caressing my cheek. "You're okay, Nora. Sorry, you were asleep so deeply, I went to take a shower before waking you up."

Now that I notice it, his hair is dripping, and he is wearing a new pair of dark jeans. He is still half-naked though, with a bath towel around his shoulders, and I can see the black crescent moon tattoo on his neck in full. He smells like mint-scented shampoo. I smile. "I like a clean boyfriend," I say while giving him a quick kiss.

"Noted, princess."

"Can I borrow your shower if you're done?"

"Sure. I'll try to replace you something clean to put on."

I go to his bathroom, cleansing the remnants of my nightmare away. I can't remember what was scaring me so much in that dream... But maybe that's for the better. I realize I just spent the night sleeping with Damian, and blush at the idea. I felt so great into his arms, I could get used to it. If only I could overcome my fears. I'm all right as long as it's kissing and hugging, but whenever we go past that, I just can't do it; I'm frightened. Moon Goddess, I wish I could get rid of these feelings... Damian is already more than patient with me, and even my wolf is going crazy about it now. What is wrong with me?

I finally get out of the shower, and I have no choice but to roll a large towel around me. When I go back to the bedroom, I replace a plain grey t-shirt Damian left for me on the bed.

"Sorry, that's the best I could replace. I can ask-"

Damian stops, staring at me in my bath towel, and my bare legs underneath. I didn't realize he would still be in the room! He averts his gaze immediately, and I get all red, grasping the situation. "Moon Goddess, you really are not making it easy, Nora."

"Sorry... Can you give me a minute?" I mumble, deeply embarrassed.

He exits the room with a sigh, and I run to my clothes. How bold can I be?! So stupid, Nora! You're the one making him wait, and now you walk around half-naked in his bedroom! What kind of t*****e is this?! Moon Goddess, I really need to be more self-conscious around Damian from now on...

I quickly put on my underwear and denim skirt from yesterday, with the new t-shirt. It's obviously oversized, but I remember seeing how Elena wore stuff like this, tucking it in her skirt and all. Once I'm ready, it does look all right in the mirror. I dry my hair quickly, leaving my curls to take a natural shape, and replace my earrings. When Damian comes back, I'm busy texting Bobo. He is now wearing his usual black shirt and a dark tie.

"Sorry about earlier..." I mumble, still embarrassed.

"Well, I can't say I didn't like what I saw."

He approaches me with a smile, putting his arms around my waist, and leans a quick kiss on my lips. Well, at least I know he likes my body...

"Let's go get breakfast, I still think I need to feed you a bit more."

"Do you have a kitchen here?"

I don't remember seeing one yesterday while I was exploring his place. He shakes his head, proving me right. "No, we are going to the Company cafeteria. It's probably not as good as Nate's restaurant, but it should be pretty decent."

He takes my hand, and we exit his apartment. This time the windows are all open, and the whole place certainly looks better than yesterday, in the sunlight. To our surprise, Neal is waiting for us at the entrance of Damian's office. He greets us quickly. "You look better, Boss. Hello, Nora."

"Thanks, Neal. What are you doing here?" Asks Damian.

He sighs. I haven't seen Neal often... He is wearing a dark suit like Damian's today, and he looks so much like Bobo, except for his shaved head and beard, that this combination seems a bit odd to me. I notice he is wearing a wedding ring. So, the oldest Mura sibling is already married... I wonder if Bobo is an uncle?

"Your job. We canceled yesterday's meetings, but seeing how your lady came yesterday night, I figured you would come back to work today. We have a lot to catch up on, and a board meeting in two hours."

He hands a large and thick red folder to Damian, but my mate frowns.

"I just got up, and I intend to have breakfast with Nora. Can't it wait a bit longer?"

But seeing Neal's unhappy expression, it doesn't seem like those matters can wait... I sigh and decide to take the folder from his hand and give it to Damian. Both men look at me with confused expressions. "You can review this over breakfast, okay? I already feel bad enough that you skipped work yesterday because of me," I explain.

A large, satisfied smile appears on Neal's face, the first time I've seen one, actually. "Now I know why my sister and brother love you so much, Nora. On behalf of the other employees and mine, thank you."

He makes it sound like he didn't really like me before... But well, I guess he didn't have many occasions to form his own opinion. Now, at least, he seems really satisfied. Damian, however, is quite unhappy. He takes the folder but growls at Neal when we walk past him toward the elevator.

"I didn't think you would side with Neal on that one..." He sighs as the elevator goes down.

"I had to. We probably made things difficult for him yesterday... And you are a CEO, Damian; even I can understand that you have big responsibilities."

"My girlfriend is my top responsibility for now. And Neal can do well by himself..."

I kiss him on the cheek to try making him drop that grouchy face. He may complain, but truth is, he has already opened the folder to check its contents. I take a look, too, but it's full of detailed reports, numbers, and graphics that I can't understand at all. "How is your company doing?" I ask casually.

"Not bad, despite the Sapphire Moon Clan embargo..."

Oh right... In this twenty-first century, werewolf Clans fight with their fists but also with business deals. The Black Corporation is related mainly to the Blood Moon Clan; thus, what happens to one always impacts the other.

I keep thinking about it over breakfast. As Damian said, it's quite decent for a Company cafeteria, but empty at this time of the day. Which is good, because my outfit is still a bit too casual here, especially when I'm eating facing Damian. My mate, imposing in his dark suit, frowning and focused on his files. I don't dare to speak, but his hand is on mine for the whole breakfast, and that's enough for me.

Now I finally feel like we are a couple. Last night's discussion was really an eye-opener for me. I want to stand as an equal next to Damian, not just his scared and weak mate. The vision of Alexandra King is still engraved in my mind. She wasn't just introduced as his fiancée; she was radiating by herself, a strong presence anyone could feel. I want to be the same.

"Nora?"

I raise my head, realizing I got lost in my thoughts and he noticed it. Damian is done eating and looks at me with a worried expression.

"You were frowning. What's wrong?"

I shake my head and smile at him. "Nothing, I'm good. Can we go? Bobo will be downstairs anytime, and I'm pretty sure Neal will have found a whole bunch of other folders to keep you busy with...."

He gets up and comes to hug me, kissing me passionately once again. Am I getting used to this? I don't feel as shy as before while moving my lips against his... I still get butterflies running wild through my whole body every time we do, though. When we part, he sighs. "I don't want to go to work... I missed you so much this weekend."

"You have to, Damian, and me, too. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"You're more reasonable than me. Okay. Stay with Bobo."

I roll my eyes. "Did you forget the whole part about me being able to take care of myself?"

"You may be able to fight, my Love, but you still can't drive! So that gives me an excuse to keep your bodyguard close," he laughs.

A few minutes later, I get in the car, still sulking. Bobo laughs when I tell him the reason. "So, I got promoted from your bodyguard to the driver?"

"It's not funny, Bobo!"

"It's okay, Nora. Even the Boss rarely walks alone; it's too dangerous. He's just looking out for you. And it gives me an excuse to stay with you, isn't it great?"

If you think about it that way, he could be right... I do like having Bobo close, so I can't really complain. He drives into the city, but I get lost in my thoughts once again while we are on the highway.

"Bobo, what were you doing before you were appointed as my... bodyguard?"

"Some errand boy for the Black Corp, mostly. Neal often made me deliver important papers from one place to another, even when I was in high school; confidential documents. They just gave me names and locations. I liked it, too. I only had to fight an ambush once in a while, and I got a good paycheck for really flexible hours. My brother was a bit bossy, though."

"You sound like you were some corporate spy!"

He laughs. "Aren't I a bit too noticeable for that? More like a bodyguard for secret paperwork! I like being your bodyguard much better," he says with a wink.

I smile, pleased by the little compliment. It's good to know my coming didn't change Bobo's life too much. I would have felt bad if they had me resign from some other job just to be my bodyguard. Now that I think about it, Bobo should still be quite aware of the Black Corporation's whereabouts...

"Bobo, that engagement with the Gold Moon Clan girl... It would be quite profitable for Damian's company, right?"

He gives me a surprised look and stops at a red light. I can tell he's looking for the right words to answer. After a while, the car starts moving again.

"The King Family owns most of the Gold Financial establishments of Silver City; that's the reason their Clan is doing so well. The only other Clans in the same field are the Pearl Moon and the Sapphire Moon. The Black Corporation is mostly in techs and telecoms." "The kind of field that requires lots of money and transactions..."

Bobo nods.

So, of course being allied with the Gold Financial would be incredibly beneficial for them... I feel a bit depressed now. That Alexandra King really has everything that would make her the perfect wife. A strong Clan backing her, the looks, the power... "Bobo, could you give me a crash course about this kind of things? What the other Clans specialize in, what are the big companies they are represented with, and such?"

"Sure, but why?"

"I just feel like it's high time I knew about these things..."

Even if Damian and I are together from now on, I can't keep walking around totally clueless about my surroundings. It's not all about fighting with my fists, I get that now. It may not be my primary field, but I still ought to know the basics. And maybe this way I will finally be able to replace a solution on how to help the Brothers from now on.

Bobo parks in front of the restaurant, and hands me a bag. "As you asked, I brought you some clothes. I took what I could replace in your wardrobe, hope that will be okay."

I check the content, but what Bobo choose seems perfect for work.

"Thank you, Bobo. I'll just use the restaurant's changing room."

"And you also have mail."

Mail? But I've never received any mail before. I don't even know my own address! But as I check the envelope Bobo hands me, it's indeed my name on it... I don't recognize the handwriting. either. For a second, I thought it might be Liam, but he would have texted me, and this handwriting is obviously a female's. It doesn't seem to be Elena's.

I open it.

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