Jenna listened in silence, her mouth hanging open in surprise. When Anna had finished relating her experience, Jenna put her hand on her shoulder and said very seriously.
"Don't repeat this experience to anyone else. If the other women know... It'll be hard to protect you."
"Wasn't it like that with them?"
Jenna wondered how much she could reveal to Anna. She knew that Adam had been looking for a reason to kill her, ever since she'd figured out how to block him from hearing her words, and she couldn't understand how, having found a good reason, he'd still let her go free. It was very suspicious, and she feared his true intentions. But she needed to be honest with Anna.
"They report that there is no more satisfying orgasm, and that no man is capable of surpassing it, but he doesn't use gentleness. He's always very violent."
"I don't think Genevieve would mind..."
"Genevieve can't be trusted. Not when it comes to the boss. She loves him."
"She knows he married me, and she doesn't seem upset about it."
"Because she believes he married you just to stop his father from marrying you."
"But... That hasn't changed."
Jenna looked at her thoughtfully.
"I thought the same as Genevieve and the boss, until you told me about what happened between you."
"Have you changed your mind?"
Jenna stared into the void. Adam was in love for the first time in his life, and no one had noticed, not even himself. But she couldn't talk about it with Anna, because everything that happened from now on would be unpredictable. They were walking down a path that had never been trodden before and there could be good or bad surprises.
"Anna, I'm going out to buy your school supplies and..."
"Adam said he would allow me to attend college..."
"I believe he said that, but I understand why he decided differently after what you just told me. He's confused and... and he won't allow you to go back to school... now that he's initiated you into the pleasures of sex."
"I don't understand. What does that mean that you're telling me?"
Jenna stood up.
"It means that you won't have much time to study. A teacher at home will be able to interrupt the lesson, when Adam so wishes, and then pick up where he left off."
Anna understood and felt her cheeks burn.
"He'll want me at his disposal..."
"Yes. You'll need that healing oil bath every day. Humans aren't really suited to a werewolf's virility."
"Could it kill me?"
"It could be very painful for you. It's probably going to be..."
"I didn't feel any pain."
Jenna stared at her in bewilderment.
"That's impossible, Anna."
"I didn't feel any burning, any pain. Nothing."
"But... He's an Alpha and even werewolf women can't have sex with him often without feeling pain..."
"So you're more fragile than you think."
Jenna stared at her intently for a few more seconds before walking away.
Anna made herself comfortable where she was. Her fate was uncertain and she no longer felt like unraveling its mysteries. She was afraid of what she would discover next. She didn't feel that any of it was real. Time passed and Jenna didn't return.
The men came to pick her up, and as she left the salon, Anna realized that it was already dark.
She took a deep breath and got into the car. The men, or werewolves, stared at her as if, just at that moment, they realized that she existed. She understood. Anna hadn't recognized herself in the reflection in the mirror either.
...
The elegant, modern restaurant was on the second floor. The barrier in place of the wall was made of glass and the wooden tables had unique shapes and the symbol of a wolf in front of a howling moon, as well as its pendant, engraved on all of them and even on the menu, as she noticed when she approached a table with a single red rose on top of a velvet case of the same color. Anna understood that this place belonged to the werewolves. The man in the black suit moved the chair aside for her to sit down, and she did so absent-mindedly. There was no one else in the restaurant and that bothered her. Anna could smell the food being made, and she heard her stomach rumbling. She picked up the menu and looked at it. Even though she knew this place wasn't for humans, the items listed made her shiver, and she dropped the menu as if she had touched something dirty.
Anna felt a hand on her shoulder, and seconds later a warm breath on her neck.
"You didn't like anything on the menu?" Adam asked sarcastically and Anna didn't turn to look at him.
"It's not that surprising, is it?"
Adam turned around and sat in front of her. Anna couldn't help but admire his elegance in that tailored Italian suit. He stared at her lustfully.
"You're perfect."
Anna ignored him and pointed to the case on the table with her chin.
"Is that for me? It's missing the bracelet to mark your ownership... What's next? Hot iron?"
Adam smiled and leaning over the table, picked up the rose and handed it to Anna, who immediately dropped it on the table. He kept smiling and took the velvet box, opened it and showed it to her.
Anna lowered her gaze to the object. It was a ring. And it didn't have a wolf in front of a moon, it had a huge diamond. She turned her gaze to Adam.
"Nice."
"Yes, it is." Adam said and, closing the box, threw it at Anna, and the friendly smile had disappeared from her face. "The old saying goes that you shouldn't give pearls to pigs, and in my case, you shouldn't give diamonds to bitches. I'll remember that in the future."
Anna stared at him angrily, but simply let the ring fall to the floor without saying anything.
Adam was visibly agitated and she had nowhere to run. She looked at the glass barrier. What if it broke with her body and...