Chapter 9: Chapter 9
I straightened my tie and checked my watch. 9:58 AM. Perfect timing.
Sophie would be sitting in that conference room right now, probably nursing a coffee and trying not to panic. My wolf had been restless all morning, practically vibrating with anticipation.
*Mate. Ours. Finally.*
"Patience," I murmured, adjusting my cuff links. "Good things come to those who wait."
And I’d been waiting for months. Watching Sophie Turner from afar, learning her patterns, her strengths, her dreams. Creating the perfect position for her at Knight Industries. Setting the stage for everything that would follow.
Finding her in that bar two nights ago? Pure luck. But having her here, in my territory, working for my company? That was strategy.
My assistant knocked on the door to the small conference room where I’d been reviewing my notes.
"They’re ready for you, Mr. Knight."
"Thank you, Sarah." I stood, smoothing my jacket. "And Sarah? Hold all my calls after the orientation. I’ll need the rest of the morning to be clear."
She nodded, already making notes on her tablet. Twenty years of working for Knight Industries had taught her not to ask questions when I used that tone.
The walk to Conference Room C felt longer than usual. My wolf pushed forward, eager to see Sophie again. To scent her, to confirm what we both already knew.
She was ours. Had been from the moment I’d walked into that bar and caught her scent.
The door opened, and there she was.
Front row, center seat. Exactly where Victoria had been instructed to place her. Sophie’s dark hair was pulled back in a professional bun, her suit immaculate despite her obvious rush this morning. But I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers gripped her coffee cup like a lifeline.
My wolf rumbled with satisfaction. *Beautiful. Strong. Ours.*
Our eyes met across the room. Sophie’s face went pale, then flushed pink. The scent of her panic and something else – recognition, desire – hit me like a physical blow.
Perfect.
"Good morning, everyone." I stepped to the podium, never breaking eye contact with Sophie. "Welcome to Knight Industries."
The next twenty minutes were torture. I delivered my standard orientation speech while my wolf prowled beneath my skin, demanding I claim what was mine. Sophie sat frozen in her chair, her scent growing more complex by the minute.
Confusion. Arousal. Fear. And underneath it all, the sweet smell of a mate bond trying to form.
"Knight Industries isn’t just a company," I continued, letting a hint of my wolf’s power creep into my voice. "We’re a family. We take care of our own."
Sophie’s pupils dilated. Her wolf was responding, whether she wanted it to or not.
"We believe in loyalty." My eyes found hers again. "In commitment. In never abandoning those who are ours."
A few other wolves in the room shifted uncomfortably. They could sense the undercurrents, the territorial display happening right in front of them.
I introduced the department heads one by one, using it as an excuse to move closer to Sophie’s seat. Her scent grew stronger – vanilla and lightning and something uniquely her that made my mouth water.
"Victoria Blackwood heads our Strategic Operations division," I said, standing directly behind Sophie’s chair. "She’ll be working closely with our new Strategic Operations Manager."
Sophie’s heartbeat was so loud, I was surprised the humans couldn’t hear it.
I finished the orientation fifteen minutes early, dismissing the group with practiced efficiency. Bodies filed out, chattering about their new positions and department assignments.
Sophie didn’t move.
"Ms. Turner." I kept my voice level professional. "A word in my office, please."
She finally looked up at me, those incredible eyes wide with something between fear and defiance. "Mr. Knight, I think there’s been some kind of mistake—"
"No mistake." I gestured toward the door. "After you."
The walk to my office was silent except for the clicking of Sophie’s heels on marble. I could feel her tension, her wolf’s confusion. She wanted to run. But she also wanted to stay, to submit to the power rolling off me in waves.
The elevator ride was even worse. Confined space, her scent surrounding me, the heat of her body just inches away. My wolf demanded I pin her against the wall, claim her mouth, make her mine completely.
Instead, I hit the button for the executive floor and counted to ten.
"This is insane," Sophie whispered, more to herself than to me.
"Is it?" I glanced at her reflection in the polished steel doors. "You applied for a job. You got it. Seems pretty straightforward to me."
"You know what I mean."
"Do I?"
The doors opened before she could answer. Sarah looked up from her desk, taking in Sophie’s flushed face and tense posture with one calculating glance.
"You have a meeting in 10 minutes," she said to me, not missing a beat.
"Reschedule it." I guided Sophie toward my office with a hand on her lower back. "I’ll be busy for a while."
My office was my sanctuary. Floor-to-ceiling windows, dark wood, leather furniture that had been in my family for generations. The scent of my territory, my power, saturated every surface.
Sophie stepped inside and stopped, her head tilting slightly. Her wolf was reading the room, cataloging the territorial markers I’d left embedded in the very walls.
"Impressive," she said, but there was no admiration in her voice. Only wariness.
I closed the door behind us and engaged the privacy lock. The soft click made Sophie stiffen.
"Please, sit." I gestured to the chair across from my desk.
"I’d rather stand."
Of course, she would. Sophie Turner didn’t back down from a challenge. It was one of the things that had caught my attention in the first place.
I moved to the windows, putting space between us. The city sprawled out below, but I was more interested in Sophie’s reflection in the glass.
"You have questions," I said.
"A few."
"Such as?"
"Did you plan this? The job, the bar, all of it?"
I turned to face her. "The job, yes. I’ve been tracking your career for months. You’re exactly what Knight Industries needs."
"That’s not what I asked."
"The bar was a coincidence." Mostly true. I’d been having her followed for weeks, learning her patterns. But finding her there that night, broken and beautiful and needing someone... that had been luck. "Though I’m not complaining about the outcome."
Her cheeks flushed. "This is a conflict of interest. I can’t work here."
"Why not?"
"Because we..." She gestured helplessly between us. "Because of what happened."
"What happened was two adults making a choice." I stepped closer, watching her pulse jump. "Unless you’re telling me you regret it."
"That’s not the point."
"Isn’t it?" Another step. "You ran, Sophie. Left without a word, without explanation. Was I that forgettable?"
Her scent spiked with something that definitely wasn’t regret. "Christian—"
"Mr. Knight," I corrected, even as my wolf snarled at the formal distance. "In this office, I’m Mr. Knight."
"Fine. Mr. Knight." She lifted her chin, meeting my eyes with that fire I remembered. "This won’t work. Whatever this is, it can’t happen. I need this job, and you need—"
"What do I need, Sophie?"
The question seemed to catch her off guard. She stared at me, lips parted, and I could see her wolf pressing against her control.
"I don’t know," she whispered.
"I do." I reached her chair, my hands gripping the back of it. "I need a Strategic Operations Manager who isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. Someone who sees opportunities where others see obstacles."
"And that’s all?"
"Professionally? Yes."
"And personally?"
The question hung between us like a challenge. I could give her the safe answer, the one that would let us both pretend that night had been meaningless. Or I could tell her the truth.
"Personally?" I leaned down, bringing my face level with hers. "Personally, I’ve never met anyone who made my wolf sing the way you do."
Her breath caught. "Christian—"
"Mr. Knight," I corrected again, but gently this time. "We’re going to have to learn to separate business from pleasure, Sophie. Can you do that?"
She nodded, but her wolf was practically purring at my proximity.
"Good." I straightened, putting professional distance between us again. "Your first assignment is—"
A knock at the door interrupted me. Sarah’s voice came through the intercom.
"Mr. Knight? Ms. Whitmore is here to see you."
Vanessa. Perfect timing, as always.
I saw Sophie’s nostrils flare as she caught an unfamiliar scent through the door. Her wolf didn’t like it.
"Send her in," I said, not taking my eyes off Sophie.
Sophie turned around, understanding the dismissal. But as she moved toward the door, I spoke again.
"Hold on, Miss Turner." My voice carried all the authority of an Alpha giving a command.
