Dedicated to Dreamzangel21 for the constant support and encouragement! Love ya hun!

This chapter is unedited so please excuse the grammatical errors
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Suzzanah's POV

My heart hurt and my eyes burned with unshed tears. I had sworn to myself that I would never let myself become that poor little helpless child who was burdened by her powerlessness and inabilities and despite that, I had ended up right there in that hopeless corner again, and it hurt so much!

I grimaced and looked at the ground wishing it would swallow me up as I waited for Mr. Penson to fire me and tell me to get out, just like the CEO had done.

"Your apology serves no purpose Ms. Winters," he said and I flinched, "Especially not when you haven't done anything wrong"

My head shot up so fast that it took my eyes a few seconds to fixate on Mr. Penson's frame. Mr. Talon, who had been looking extremely pale and even a little bit constipated all this time suddenly, looked astounded, his eyes widening in anticipation and something else, which looked a lot like hope.

"What happened today was but a mere slip", Mr. Penson continued as I found it hard to believe the words he was saying, "It had nothing whatsoever to do with your work ethic, your efficiency or your capabilities."

A slow smile brimming with hope and gratitude started stretching across my face as he continued.

"All it told me is that I must remember to keep you sufficiently hydrated at all times"

Immediately a heavy blush painted my cheeks like a wine stain, but it didn't keep my smile from getting bigger and more genuine.

"I have high expectations of you Ms. Winters", Mr. Penson said smiling at me, "now you can either stand there apologizing to me about 'could have beens' or you can prove yourself by doing your best at work here from here on forward, to me as well as the CEO"

At the mention of the CEO my heart fluttered but that feeling was over powered by the over whelming sense of gratefulness that I was feeling for the two people with me in this room.

"Can I count on you to do that Ms. Winters?" Mr. Penson asked with a warm smile.

I couldn't believe it! He was giving me another chance! My heart swelled and elation flowed interlaced with my blood through my entire body. I felt like I was soaring above the white clouds ready to grace the seventh heaven!

I pushed back the tears of gratitude and nodded vigorously, "Yes sir!"

"Good", Mr. Penson smiled warmly at me and I felt my respect and adoration for this man grow tenfold, "With that having been said, you can take the rest of the day off"

My eyes widened and confusion replaced my euphoria, but before I could protest he added, "That's an order by the way. Go change into something dry and rest up. From tomorrow you'll be working very hard. Here", he handed me a pen drive, "I have saved some important files in this drive. Have a look at them in your room. They have details regarding the paperwork we will be doing with our current clients. I'm assuming you have a laptop?"

Still feeling bad about leaving early on my first day, I replied to him by nodding at first but promptly added, "Yes Sir", when from the corner of my eye I saw Mr. Talon giving me his classic mentor-like glare.

Mr. Penson smiled at me before looking towards Mr. Talon, "Talon, the Vice president wanted to have a word with you"

Mr. Talon visibly stiffened and I immediately felt guilty that he would probably be yelled at because of me. I opened my mouth to speak on his behalf but Mr. Penson cut me off, "Not to worry, he just wants to talk about work. Nothing that happened within the CEO's office will be mentioned again. That applies to the both of you as well. Go on Mr. Talon"

"Ah! Yes sir!" he said before briefly glancing at me. I smiled at him whole heartedly and he gave me his own narrow eyed, crinkly nosed and tight lipped smile. I immediately decided that it was his best look- absolutely adorable!

"You do know your way back to the staff quarters don't you?" Mr. Penson asked me once Mr. Talon had left.

Oh? So I'm going to be walking back?!

"Uh, I think so", I said trying very hard to remember. I had come in the staff bus this morning but I had paid close attention to the route through the trees. The staff quarters were a bit far away from the office, but it was still a walkable distance. "I'll manage"

"If you take the route through the forest it's much closer" He walked to the window and pointed to a barely visible stony route that led into the forest.

"No need to worry. It's safe"

What if I get lost?

"It's an easy enough path. Just go straight", he told me.

And where exactly is straight? I wondered as I stared warily at the haphazard path that was leading into the trees.

"See you tomorrow Ms. Winters", Mr. Penson said and was about to walk out when I stopped him.

"Thank you so much for everything Sir", I told him, "I'll work very hard. I won't let you down again"

A strange amused smile crossed his face and he replied softly, "Again? Oh but you haven't let me down at all Ms. Winters; on the contrary, I'm quite pleased with how things turned out"

What?

"Be safe", he said before briskly turning and walking out the door, the mysterious smile never leaving his face.

I stared after him for a while before shaking my head.

This place is just so weird; I don't get it at all. But I do like it!

I smiled and quickly gathered my things. That's when I noticed that all this time I had still been wearing the CEO's jacket. It was so comfortable I forgot all about it.

I blushed when I remembered how the CEO had put it on me himself and blushed even more when I remembered how he had told me to get out immediately after.

I shrugged off the jacket and immediately felt a sense of loss when the cool air assaulted my moist dress shirt making me shiver.

I draped the expensive jacket on my forearm, took my handbag and left my room deciding to give the jacket to Mr. Talon tomorrow. For now I wanted to get out of these wet clothes.

I reached the elevator and stepped into it still staring at the jacket. So much had happened today. That entire conversation inside the CEO's office had seemed so bizarre.

What had Master Cole meant when he had said she is important and that the kingdom needs her?

Who was she? It had seemed like they had all been referring to me when they spoke about that mystery girl whom the CEO needed, I blushed, and yet it couldn't have been about me, there was no way! After all, I had only met them all today and they spoke about that girl as though they had been expecting her for a while!

I, Zuerien Kai Royale, the Alpha Supreme, reject you, Suzzanah Winters as my-

What was it he was going to say? And why did it pain me so much that I couldn't bear to hear it through to the end? And what does Alpha Supreme mean?

So many unanswered questions, it was giving me a headache especially since I was naturally a curious person, and these didn't seem like questions I would be getting answers to anytime soon.

I was so preoccupied with my thoughts about the day that I didn't even realize when the elevator reached the ground floor.

I walked out and immediately found Cindy, the receptionist, standing at the reception area. I smiled at her and she smiled back, and even though it looked forced I was still happy that she returned the gesture.

I walked out of the building. The weather was pleasant, cool and cloudy. I was looking forward to the walk. I took my time strolling towards the hardly visible path through the woods that Mr. Penson had pointed out to me.

Once I reached it I stared at the poorly demarcated stone studded path leading into the trees wondering whether to go that way or the long way that we had come by in the bus this morning.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood

And sorry I could not travel both"

Lines from the poem 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost flashed in my mind as I stood there wondering which route to take.

"And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth"

As the lines from the beautiful poem came back to me, I smiled enthusiastically and having made my decision, I walked onto the narrow, grassy path leading into the forest; it was what I felt like doing after all.

As I walked, the path twisted and turned very often but I enjoyed the view and the fresh air. I inhaled deeply as I walked, looking out for the dorm of the staff quarters.

I walked and walked and walked and walked some more till all my refreshment and enthusiasm were exhausted and a slow steady stream of panic had started flowing into my system.

Where the heck am I?

I walked over a stump and next to another tall tree identical to the one opposite to me.

I swear I just crossed this tree two minutes ago

I looked around and called out for anyone around but of course apart from a few birds chirping and squirrels chittering, I got no reply.

I face palmed. This is the result of getting carried away with ones feelings! Ugh!

I dug around my handbag and found my phone but alas there was no signal in it for me to call someone for help.

I pulled at my hair and mentally screamed at myself.

What the heck am I supposed to do now?

I looked at the tall thick tree in front of me.

Should I climb it and see if I can find the staff quarters?

As of now, it was my best chance. I looked down at my pencil skirt and groaned. This was going to be really hard.

I kicked off my heels and put my handbag on the ground. I folded the CEO's jacket carefully and placed it on my bag.

I pulled the pencil skirt up to expose my thighs and secured it there using a safety pin. No one was around to see my temporary lapse of shame. And even if someone was there, the delight of finally having someone to ask for directions would over power the embarrassment of being seen in compromising attire...I hoped.

I turned to the thick tree trunk and prepared to climb. I held onto the irregular bark with my hands and mounted one leg onto the trunk. Once secure I pulled myself higher and mounted my other leg onto the trunk also.

My climbing skills were really rusty and I was desperately praying that I wouldn't become the girl who fell from a tree and broke her neck.

I climbed higher, the tight skirt hindering my movements. I was about to continue when the silence of the woods was interrupted by the sound many wings flapping as a flock of birds suddenly took off into the sky.

Was an earthquake coming?

I stayed still for a while before hitting my head against the thick bark at my stupidity and continued up. But yet again I was interrupted, this time, by the sound of crunching leaves.

Someone was coming!

I immediately looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary. I gulped.

Someone...or something?

My heart rate sped up and I started to sweat profusely as I frantically looked around for any animal, big or small. To my great relief and perturbation, I still saw nothing.

Keep going, I told myself, the faster you locate the staff quarters, the quicker you'll be able to get out of here.

But in my state of sudden panic my palms and soles had become sweaty and the minute I tried to climb higher I lost my footing and started to fall.

I tried to grab onto a branch but my fingers only came in contact with leaves and air. An inaudible scream escaped my lips as I tumbled to the forest floor, landing with a heavy thud.

Pain shot through my right ankle and palms and I gritted my teeth in an attempt to bear it. Slowly the pain dulled, only to return again with a vengeance.

Groaning, I pushed myself up from the ground. My palms were chapped and bleeding but not too badly. My head was alright and to quite an extent, so was my torso. The main source of pain was my right ankle and calf.

Slowly I twisted my right leg to see a long cut running down the length of my calf which was bleeding heavily. My ankle was throbbing and slightly bruised, a swelling forming around it slowly.

Tears filled my eyes as the pain intensified. I waited for it to dull again before holding onto the wooden tree trunk and attempting to pull myself to my feet.

Immense pain shot through my leg and I fell back onto the rough muddy ground.

What was I going to do now? I couldn't even stand, let alone walk!

But I didn't get time to think about my injuries when a deep growl sounded from behind me.

My body went stiff and my heart hammered against my chest as my eyes widened in panic and fear. Yet another growl sounded and my breathing became labored.

Please be a dog, please be a dog, please just be a DOG!

I slowly turned my head to look at where the growling was coming from. The minute my eyes found the source, all blood drained from my face and my breath caught in my chest.

About four meters away from me stood a humongous animal, at least six feet tall and long, probably more. Thick shiny rich black fur covered its strong frame. Its claws were enormous against the ground. Its muscles were sturdy and powerful. Its mouth was drawn back in a snarl revealing razor sharp teeth.

But its eyes were what caught my eye, deep chocolate brown eyes that almost looked intelligent, almost looked familiar, almost looked human. They stared down at me with an intensity so great that I thought I would faint right there.

The minute I set eyes on this creature, I knew I was dead. And I would have much preferred to be the girl who fell from a tree and broke her neck than the girl who was eaten by a...a...a WOLF!

Trembling and terrified, I pressed my back into the trunk of the tree, my exposed legs facing the colossal beast, which was bad because he could probably smell the blood. Almost as if on cue, the beast's eyes zeroed in on my right leg which was bleeding onto the muddy forest ground.

For a minute the beasts eyes seemed to widen, an expression almost too human crossing its animalistic face. A split second after that a thunderous growl erupted from its mouth making me scream at the top of my lungs and flail around desperately trying to get away from it.

My heart nearly stopped when it started to make its way towards me, one strong step after another.

I screamed again and tried to get up only to fall onto the stony ground and cry out in pain. That elicited another loud growl from the beast that stood just about a meter away from me now.

My heart felt like it was going to burst, my lungs burned and my body ached everywhere. My vision blurred as the pain intensified only to clear and zero in on the beast's body.

My eyes widened when I finally noticed it. A thin golden streak ran down the left side of the large wolf's body gleaming majestically between its dark fur.

I had seen this wolf before! It was the same wolf that was on the Royale Industry's logo!

The minute I realized it, the wolf was upon me, staring deep into my eyes with its own soft brown ones, its enormous frame covering my entire body. I trembled against the ground, feeling nothing but pure and unadulterated terror.

As my vision blurred yet again, I knew that even if I passed out now, it would only be to awaken, within just a few seconds, to an excruciating unfathomable pain as the beast ripped me to pieces, limb by limb.

And against my will I found my senses being dulled, a slow paralysis possessing my body, a little from the pain, a little from the panic, and a little from the perception that this wasn't the first time I had looked into those dark chocolaty brown eyes!

~

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

~

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A/N

And FINISHED! Hello again! This chapter was my apology for being away for so long.

The lovely extract I added in this chapter was from one of my all time favorite poems - The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. If you haven't read it already, do have a look, it a beautiful piece of work!

So how did you like this chapter? The fun is just getting started.

Please do vote and comment if you like this story! It would mean the world to me!

Thank you so much to all those who are reading, you guys are the best!

Until next time

All my love

Angel