The Were CEO’s Secret

Chapter Forty-One – Worried.

Nathan watched Stephanie from the corner of his eyes. He glanced at the road again when she looked towards him but she glanced to the back.

“You guys should stop bickering over the television, please.” She pleaded. Her mother held Lacy’s hands and let Macy control the TV.

“He had another car? What other car do he have?” Stephanie said, absentmindedly.

Nathan stared at her, worriedly. What was eating her up that she was thinking out loud? He entered the gate to her estate.

“Thank you, darling!” Mrs. Ernest interjected as she came down from the car. It was a Toyota. Nathan only used it for personal shopping as it easily blended with normal cars.

Stephanie was lost in thoughts and sat there. Nathan didn’t mind. Her younger sisters eyes were still on the television behind him.

Then an idea clicked into his head. “Hey, Macy and Lacy. Do you guys wanna go to the park? We’d have lots of ice-cream and hotdogs!”All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

One of the girls, he didn’t know who, stood in the car. ‘Yes, yes. I wanna go.” Her twin concurred. “Let’s go now please.”

Stephanie jolted and snapped her head at him. “Where are you taking them to?”

“A park. To have fun and eat hotdogs. And they really want to go.” Nathan replied.

Mrs. Ernest came out from the house with a questioning look. “Nathan, you can come in. Why are we still here?”

“Mom, please, please. Mr. Nathan wants to take us to a park. Can we go?” Lacy made puppy dog eyes. “Stephanie would come with us.”

Stephanie frowned. Who said she’d come? Nathan shrugged, like it wasn’t his plan all along. He smirked when the mother agreed.

“You tricky bunny. I know what you’re doing!” Stephanie sighed.

“What am I doing?” Nathan started his car again, he gazed at Stephanie with innocent eyes. She shook her head and pointed at the road. “Just drive.” She went back to her sunken state.

Nathan couldn’t decipher what her problem was. The first thing she had asked him, when he arrived, was if ‘the man’ he saw was Johnson.

It wasn’t so he answered in the negative. She was releived for a moment then began worrying again, saying Johnson was here with a new motive against her.

He carefully explained that Johnson agreed to let her be and fight pack to pack but it didn’t ease her and she’d been quiet all through.

Keon whimpered. “She worries a lot. Are you sure our secret with her doesn’t worry her too?”

Nathan glanced at again. She was lost in thoughts or she could have heard her sisters bickering over who’d swing who first at the park.

They reached the park. Nathan bought hotdogs and handed to the girls, letting them free to play around, keeping them at eyesight.

Stephanie just sat calmly at a bench. “This place is really crowded, imagine if a child goes missing here.” She muttered.

Nathan sat besides her. “Stephanie, is something wrong with you?”

She looked into his eyes. They were still brownish yellow, she didn’t know why she felt they should be blue. Blue would fit him though.

She looked away. “Nothing is wrong with me.”

Should she begin telling him how her father just rose up after five years of coma and someone came to haunt her joy? Certainly not.

“You don’t look like nothing is wrong with you.” Nathan frowned, moving away from her. She smiled.

Well, even she couldn’t fathom her mood. It was anxiety. She looked around the happy families playing with their kids, she smiled wider.

Nathan noticed her smile, and shifted closer to her again. “I guess you mood is better now.”

She shrugged. “Do you have friends though? Like people you play and goof around with?”

Nathan pressed his lips together, tilting his head. Didn’t he have friends? Not many came to his head when he thought of it.

“Oh, wait, your skin allergy didn’t you let you mingle much, right?” Stephanie pouted. She heard Nathan heave a sigh and nod.

“But I have friends. You know J-twins? The Influencers?”

Stephanie chuckled. “You mean Drug Lords. They were investigated last month thoroughly for drug sales. FBI found nothing still.”

Nathan shrugged. How could the FBI find anything? The second in command there was dating Jasper, nothing would ever leak.

“They are still my friends. They’re from my pack so I grew up with them.”

Stephanie nodded. “And Cole. He ate from your plate the other day. I guess you both are close?”

Nathan scrutinized Stephanie. Why the question about his friends? Was she trying to know him more or trying to distract herself from thinking?

“Yeah, we’re close. We were closer. But… his father died so he became busy with being Beta. He’s closer to my sister now.”

Stephanie had no more questions, she nodded. “Being Beta made you guys farther. Sad.”

“Not only that. Cole couldn’t find his mate when he turned eighteen. It’s a wolf thing. Till now, he couldn’t find her. And it eats him sometimes.”

Stephanie’s eyes dimmed. “Oh.” She heard of the mate bond werewolves had. To her, it was really beautiful to have a mate meant for you.

“He’d be feeling like he lost her when he hasn’t found her yet, right?” She sniffed.

Nathan wasn’t sure why her countenance suddenly changed but he agreed. “Right. But he’d find her, in a new situation.”

Stephanie watched for her sisters and saw them talking with some kids. She heaved a sigh. “Your type of creatures, do they have mates too?”

Keon began pacing around. “Why, Nathan! You shouldn’t have brought up Cole’s mate. You knew she’d ask about yours after this.”

Nathan ignored his complaints. “Yes, we do. I’m a were creature so of course. It’s called Soulmate or Soul-Pair. But ‘Mate’ goes.”

“Oh.” Stephanie rubbed her hands. “And you, have you found yours? Or do you wait till a particular age?”

Nathan inclined his eyes to hear her tone. If she had a hesitant but curious, then it was possible she was in love with him.

Keon scoffed at his hopes. “I’d tell you when she love us. Stop cornering her. Stop cornering you, someday you’d say a wrong thing!”

Nathan was a bit disappointed. Her tone had only curiosity and not very strong one. Just like she was asking to just know.

He sighed. “I found mine when I was at the orphanage. But the moment I did, the owner caught me, and that’s why I got the scar.”

Stephanie became alert. “She nearly killed you cos you saw your mate?” she was offended.

“Actually, when I saw my mate, my eye color had changed.” He looked at her and shrugged. “Then she knew I was something supernatural and wanted to kill me.”

Stephanie calmed her nerves. It was still wrong but she could have done something if she found out surprisingly that there was a were with her.

Keon spoke. “Stop talking. You’d say something wrong soon.”

Nathan ignored him and added another detail. “The owner literally dressed me up like a girl to kill me, to avoid me meeting other kids.”

Stephanie whirled her head to him. “Dressed you like a girl… to kill you? That’s to give you this scar?” she pointed at it.

Nathan didn’t understand her different emotions. He nodded. “Yes, this scar.”

Stephanie jumped from the chair, hands in her mouth. What was happening? Dressed like a girl? And was given a scar?

The girl in her dreams. Then he was the girl in her dreams. It was clearer now, they weren’t connected, they were the same person.

Nathan stood up with her. What did she say wrong? Boys cosplayed as girls from time to time. It wasn’t a crime to dress like a girl. Especially if his case was for murder.

“How then am I seeing you in my dreams?” a tear rolled down Stephanie’s eyes.

Nathan panicked. “What do you mean? Could you please not cry? I don’t understand you.”