Lillian's POV

While standing in front of one of the tallest and biggest skyscrapers in the city, I couldn’t help but feel amazed. With the brilliant 8 am sun shining intensely and reflecting against the Apex, it looked like a magical castle except with glass as walls. It was tall, enormous and openly screamed wealth.

With the inscription "WILLIAM ZEE FASHION INDUSTRY" right in the center of the building, a surge of pride washed over me.

I was going to be working here!

The country's largest fashion industry, home to beautiful and well-known models. It was an empire in itself.

I couldn't stop the wave of excitement that engulfed me as I thanked my sister in my mind. She works here and had secured a last-minute job for me.

"Hey!" A loud voice hollered from inside the building, and I recognized the older man from my interview a week ago.

"Why are you just standing there? Aren't you one of the new interns? Get your damn ass inside!" He yelled. And I quickly came out of my daze, excitingly running towards the building.

"Go straight. Follow that line and you'll see a door. Your fellow interns are in there, the president wants to meet each one of you." He pointed towards a direction right in front of what I suppose was a lounge area.

I nodded in appreciation, rushing down the corridors while admiring each office I passed in my way. The interior of the building was even more exquisite than the outside.

With glass doors, sparkling chandeliers hanging from very high ceilings, and beautiful works of arts hanging on sterile white walls. The entire place was beautiful.

I found the door, took a deep breath, and opened it. My gaze dropped on four other boys in the room, all seated on individual chairs, each with eyes fixed only on me.

I immediately recognized them from the interview and realized that I had been the only girl who must have been selected.

I had no doubt that my sister might have put in a good word for me, hence, I was selected.

I ignored their stares, but mainly because it was shyly and rushed inside, closing the door slightly, and taking the nearest seat to me.

I hadn’t settled in my seat when the door burst open again to reveal a young woman with bright red hair, a frown on her lips, and blue eyes that shot menacing glances at everyone before resting on me.

I shifted uncomfortably under the attention before she spoke in a fierce voice. "Rule number one. Never be late," she said, stepping in and slamming the door shut, causing me to jitter on my seat.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, and I saw her nod before glancing at the other guys. I almost heaved a sigh of relief.

"Yes, as I was saying, the CEO of our company, Mr. Zed Williams, will personally come to see you. I would advise you to act normally but bravely at the same time. Don't make any rookie mistakes like speaking when not spoken to." She said, crossing her arms with all seriousness.

"Mr. Zed hates that." Her blue eyes spun my way once again.

Why is she looking at me that way? Did I do something wrong again? I wondered, taking my eyes to the ground this time, not wanting to feel her piercing gaze.

"What's your name?" She pointed a question at me, unfolding her arms to stare at me accusingly.

"Me?" I asked in response, pointing to myself and acting obliviously like I always do.

"Yes. You," she rolled her eyes annoyed.

"It's Lillian, ma’am," I responded, nearly jumping up out of fear to answer her.

"Lillian what?" She asked again, louder this time, and I couldn't prevent myself from rising abruptly. I could feel the four other gazes piercing through me as anxiety filled my veins.

"Lillian Williams." I watched as she pulled out a file that she had dropped on the table upon entering. She furrowed her brows as she flipped through it before sighing, letting it drop, and then looking at me, this time softly.

"Alright Lillian, personally, I advise you to sit in the back and assert yourself. Don't act as you did before or you might end up getting expelled," she counselled, and I nodded vigorously before taking my seat, heaving a relieved breath.

"Okay, I'm leaving now. Stay here until the boss arrives, you can't leave this place," her stern voice echoed, and I saw the guys nodding from the corner of my eye.

"I'm leaving now," she added, snatching her file before stepping out of the room, slamming the door shut once more.

I turned my head onto the table, feeling lighter when she left. I wiped my sweaty palms against my dress, placing my hand on my chest to soothe my pounding heart.

This was the moment when my inner wolf would try to calm me down, but all that was left was simply my own mind constantly reminding me how klutzy and weak I was. And how I didn't deserve anything good.

And not just I thought so. No. My sister was a constant reminder of everything I was not. She had the beauty, brains, perfect figure, dazzling smile, smooth skin.

And though I could accept that she was way better than me, what I couldn't accept was the constant reminder that I was the one who killed our mother.

While I hadn't taken a knife or a gun against my mother, she died giving birth to me. And my sister, born from the same mother but not the same father, reminded me of it every time we quarreled.

I remember I used to get angry at her when she accused me of that, but after some time, seeing how far she had gotten in modelling and securing a bright future for herself, I realized maybe I was the one with problems.

The klutz that everyone called me. The one who got rejected in all companies I applied. The one who didn't go to college. The ugly one.

And after giving in to her, she finally announced that she had secured me a job at the same company she was working at. Even though it wasn't my dream job, I was still grateful to her.

"Lillian." I heard a male voice call my name. I lifted my head to look at the guy sitting in front of me. His blonde hair swept back from his face revealed bright green eyes. He had a dimple on his cheeks while he smiled at me. He was handsome. I couldn't deny it.

"Hey." I heard him snap his fingers to draw my attention back to him.

"Yes." I shook my head, snapping out of my daze. I hadn't realized I had been admiring his eyes while a blush stained my cheeks.

He laughed as I and the other guys wanted to sink into the ground.

"Your phone is ringing", he shook his head amused and I realized my phone was ringing loudly in my bag.

I immediately took it out to see it was my sister calling. I picked it up and placed it on my left ear.

"Lillian, are you there yet?" Her impatient voice rang out.

"I'm at the company but-" I started to say, but as always, she never let me speak.

"Ask about the wardrobe. Come now." She ordered before abruptly ending the call.

My mind lit up with the warning the redhead woman had said, about not leaving until the CEO arrives. I already upset her once and I couldn't disobey this time.

I sighed deeply, taking my phone to dial my sister, but it went straight to voicemail. I groaned and confusion overtook me.

What should I do? Should I hurry over and tell her that I wasn't supposed to leave?

Let's hope the CEO hadn't arrived by then.

I glanced at the time and it was 8:17 am. I should be back here by 8:30. It's fine. And as quick as a fox.

I got up, slinging my bag over my shoulders as I made my way to the door, when a voice called to me.

"Are you going somewhere?" I turned to look at the blonde guy who had been speaking to me earlier, his eyes filled with concern."I'll be back," I replied tiredly before leaving.

I ran towards a worker dressed in a corporate suit. He stopped to stare at me, taking a glance at my large coat and worn out shoes.

"What's this?" he questioned, his voice imbued with a hint of disgust.

"Please, where is the changing room?" I asked, trying to sound as polite as possible, ignoring the look he threw back at me.

It seemed like everyone had an attitude problem at the company. I said nothing until he spoke again.

"Fifth floor." He walked away without waiting for a thank you. I hurried to the elevator, narrowly missing a woman walking a husky.

I reached the changing room completely amazed by the vast amount of clothes hung on different hangers, everyone seemed busy as they moved around the large room.

My eyes fixed on one of the models who was already dressed. She was in a long silver dress, her blonde hair perfectly combed and cascading in waves over her shoulders. She was posing with a camera shutter in front of her.

The moment her gaze met mine, I blushed and went in search of my sister. Maybe I wasn't supposed to be looking. I wasn't sure, but I didn't stick around to find out.

I found my sister at the opposite end of the room, in a perfect red dress that clung to her like a second skin. Her curves were accentuated as she admired herself in the mirror, her hair pulled back, revealing her soft pale skin. Her hazel eyes found mine immediately and she turned towards me. A frown forming on her bright red lips.

"You're late." She walked while crossing her arms in front of her chest, slightly raising her chest.

"I'm sorry, Stella. But I came to tell you that we were asked to stay and wait for the CEO because he's going to see us before we start anything," I told her, casting a brief glance at a model who passed by me, followed closely by a makeup artist.

"The CEO won't come to work today." Stella rolled her eyes, ignoring me as she grabbed my hand and led me to a pile of clothes on a large sofa.

"I need you to organize these dresses. Color by color, texture by texture," she orders and I open my mouth to speak but she beats me to it.

"You're nothing more than an assistant here. This is your job. You're here to help us get dressed. And that includes arranging our clothes. Today is your first day, you must work without complaining, come on. Go to work," she snapped her fingers before walking away to talk to another model who just arrived.

I sigh before starting to work. She said the CEO eventually won't come to work today, so I better just do it and come back afterwards.

"Stella, don't tell me that 'thing' is your sister?" I heard a voice ask and I turned to see the model I was looking at before, watching me as she spoke to my sister.

"Sadly, my mom adopted her out of pity before she died." I heard Stella yawn as if she were bored.

"What a relief. You are so beautiful while she looks like a lizard." I heard her laugh.

"Come on, Betty. Why call her a lizard in her presence? You should have said it behind her back." I heard my sister feign sadness before laughing.

"Oh please. What can she do to me? She's an intern, I can easily fire her," said Betty, joining Stella in laughter.

But I didn't turn to look at them as I continued arranging the dresses, my sight was becoming blurred as I felt tears pooling around.

"It's okay, Lillian. You're not a lizard. You're many things, but not a lizard, just ignore them, ignore them," a voice whispered in my head.

Many times when I was sad or depressed, there was that tiny voice cheering me up. And sadly, I knew it wasn't my wolf.After finishing tidying up the dress, I looked around only to find my sister and her model friend had left, probably for a photo shoot. Having nothing else to do, I left the room, in no hurry as my sister had mentioned that the CEO wouldn't be coming.

I walked past a coffee machine and decided to grab a cup. The warm mug in my hand somewhat soothed me as I began making my way back to the office where I was asked to wait.

I opened the door only to bump into a massive figure in front of me, the coffee slipped from my hands, splattering against the crisp black suit as I lost my balance, landing on my butt.

A strong, dangerous, and powerful aura overwhelmed me, forcing me to submit as the figure slowly turned towards me. I looked up to find a tall man with black hair and cold gray eyes, my heart sank as fear coursed through my veins at the realization of who I had bumped into.

The Werewolf King. The Alpha King, more importantly, The CEO of the Fashion Industry, William Zee.

Mr. Zed Williams. Oh, I'm screwed.