Chapter 3 Behind the Iron Mask

DAVE

I showed my badge at the front desk of Aurora Luxe Holdings. The receptionist barely looked at me before picking up the phone, her tone brisk. "Mr. Callahan? Ms. Stevens can see you now. Follow me."

I followed her down a long hallway made of glass and steel. Everything here looked expensive. Very clean and quiet. The kind of place where nothing ever went wrong.

She stopped in front of a large office and opened the door.

Meredith Stevens was behind her desk, papers spread neatly in front of her. She didn't rush or look surprised. She just lifted her eyes slowly.

Damn... she really does command the room. Calm and Sharp.

"Detective Callahan," she said, already going back to her work. "Please sit. I'm a bit busy, but I can spare a few minutes."

Of course she is.

Big CEO. Important woman. And here I am, the nosy detective asking questions.

"I apologize for taking some of your time, Ms. Stevens," I said, sliding into the chair across from her. "I just have a few routine questions regarding last night."

She nodded, still flipping through documents, "It's fine. Go ahead."

I opened my notebook. "A witness... uh... saw you leaving the vacant building last night. I just need a few questions about what you saw while exiting."

She didn't even pause.

"I exited through the construction side and went straight to my car. I didn't see anything."

I kept my voice even. "We just need to confirm if you saw anyone run into the vacant lot, specifically anyone who might have been injured. The attacker used a knife.

For a split second-just one-something changed.

Her breathing hitched. Barely.

If I blinked, I would've missed it.

"Injured?" she repeated. "No. When I left, police and paramedics were already arriving."

I watched her closely. Another detail caught me-a subtle movement of her hand adjusting an earring, and the faintest flare of her nose... Okay, seriously, is she nervous or am I imagining things?

I closed my notebook. "I see. That's all we need for now, Ms. Stevens. We might be in touch if anything else comes up."

She stood immediately. A clear signal.

"Of course, Detective. My assistant has my contact details."

I left the office, her assistant guiding me back to the elevator. Meredith Stevens never once looked rushed, never once lost control.

But something wasn't right.

She was too composed and alert.

Like someone who was waiting for the ground to crack beneath her feet.

Probably nothing, I told myself.

Probably just a woman who didn't want cops in her space.

Still... I couldn't shake the feeling.

MEREDITH

I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, trying not to collapse. My side felt like someone was pressing a hot knife into it. Every step from the elevator to my apartment had felt endless.

I'd smiled at the guard like nothing was wrong.

I dropped my bag on the floor and headed straight for the cabinet where I kept my first-aid kit. Alcohol, bandages, ointments. All normal stuff. But next to them were small jars of herbs and pastes my parents had taught me. Things that worked better on me than anything a hospital could offer.

I peeled off my shirt slowly. The stab wound was worse than I expected. Dark, swollen, angry. Bruises spread across my ribs and back. Some from him. Some from me shifting and hitting a wall. Every mark reminded me of what I really was-and how close I'd come to danger last night.

I stared at myself in the mirror.

So close.

I'd handled it last night.

Moving around all day made it worse.

I pressed a cloth to the wound and bit down hard. The taste of blood filled my mouth.

I couldn't go to the hospital to get this treated because hospitals come with questions like,

How did this happen?

Why didn't you call 911?

Why are there bite marks? What scratched you?

Too many questions I couldn't answer.

So I did what I always did. I handled it myself.

Alcohol first. Herbs next. Then I heated a small blade over a candle and sealed the deepest cut.

The pain nearly dropped me to my knees.

If anyone saw this, they'd call me crazy.

My parents called it survival.

"You must learn to take care of yourself," they used to say.

"No one can ever know what you are."

As I worked on the wound, memories crept in.

I was born a werewolf.

I just didn't know it at first.

My parents, Martin and Nicole Stevens, had left their pack before I was born. Tired of fighting, the rules, most especially the violence. They wanted a peaceful and calm life. They wanted me safe.

They also wanted me normal. That part failed

Most importantly, because of the prophecy. it said I would grow into an alpha. Powerful. Someone who would face battles, make sacrifices, and maybe destroy myself along the way. My parents didn't want that for me. They wanted a normal life. Far from destiny that could ruin me or others.

We moved a lot. Never stayed in one place for too long.

When I was nine, a boy tried to take my lunch. I didn't mean to hurt him. I really didn't.

I broke his wrist anyway.

We moved the next morning.

When I was twelve, a full moon came. I shifted completely for the first time. No warning or control. I woke up as a wolf. Terrified, shaking, and confused. My parents locked me in a room either to keep me safe, or others safe from me.

That was when they told me the truth.

My parents helped me control it, by breathing. Keeping focus and self discipline. Also Herbs. The same things I was using now, bleeding into my sink.

School became my escape. I tried not to make friends or attend parties. Just books and goals.

I earned a scholarship to Yale. Business and behavioral psychology. Top of my class. Analyst at Aurora Luxe Holdings at twenty-two. Director at twenty-six. Saved the company from disaster at thirty. CEO at thirty-two.

They called me The Iron Goddess.

If only they knew how much effort it took not to fall apart..

Inside, I hated it. I hated the wolf, the strength, instincts and responsibilities. I didn't want to be a hero. Didn't want to be an alpha. Just wanted to live quietly, Work, Mind my own life.

I just wanted peace.

But last night... I couldn't leave that girl in the alley. Not even when I tried. The wolf wouldn't let me.

I wrapped the wound tight and breathed slowly through the pain.

Then Detective Callahan crossed my mind. His questions. this morning. The witness. The vacant building.

They're getting too close.

I let myself feel tired. Truly tired.

Tired of hiding.

Tired of pretending.

Tired of being strong every single second.

Tomorrow, I would put the mask back on.

I'll go back to being Meredith Stevens, the calm, polished CEO everyone respected and feared.

Tomorrow, I'll pretend.Because if anyone ever finds out the truth...

Everything will fall apart.