Revocation (The Canyon Wolves) (4 page)

“Goodnight,
Axel.”

Chapter
4

Harper
had slept like the dead. After waking up from an amazingly restful night of rest,
she stretched luxuriously. Axel had already been up, and he had left a note on
his pillow. It read: ‘Cooking up a meal fit for a queen’.

She
grinned while climbing out of bed. Harper couldn’t resist fixing her hair and
adding some mascara before padding softly down the hallway. She followed her
nose into the kitchen and peeked her head around the wall.

Axel
heard her and turned, smiling. “Morning, beauty.”

She
blushed at his greeting. “Good morning.”

“Hungry?”

“I’m
completely starving. I don’t remember feeling this hungry when I was a teen,”
Harper admitted, taking a seat on one of the bar stools.

“Part
of being a werewolf,” he shrugged, popping a piece of bacon into his perfectly
formed mouth.

“You
don’t sound too inconvenienced.”

“I
enjoy a good meal.” He winked at her before taking two plates out of the
cabinet and filling them with food. Pancakes, bacon, fruit, and eggs were piled
high, making Harper’s mouth water.

He gave
her a steaming plate before taking a seat. Harper daintily picked at her food
because she was nervous about eating in front of him. She knew it was silly; they
had obviously known each other for a while, but it was like a first date. Her
stomach was aflutter and she felt tense for no reason.

“Harper,”
Axel accused.

She
laughed, forgetting that he knew how she was feeling.

“I’m
sorry, but you make me nervous sometimes. This whole scenario is so clichéd,
you know. I get amnesia, wake up, have a handsome boyfriend, and live in a
beautiful house. The only problem is that losing your memories isn’t half as
amazing as it’s portrayed in books and movies. Well, the books and movies that
I can remember. It’s actually extremely frustrating.” Harper bit her lip, aware
that she was rambling.

“I
know. You’ll get your memories back.” He sounded so sure.

It
was time for Harper to know how she had lost her memories, so she asked, “What
exactly happened that night? How did I hurt my head?”

Axel
sighed and glanced out the kitchen window, choosing his words carefully. “You
were out shopping with Gabby when you told her you were going off by yourself
to buy some earrings. I was taking care of a pack argument,” he said, looking
at her unfathomably before continuing, “when you were dragged into a vehicle.”

Harper
was shocked. Why had anyone wanted to abduct her?

“How
did I end up in the hospital?” she whispered.

“You
were taken to a warehouse and had escaped. Conner and I found you by the side
of the road, unconscious.”

“Why?
Why would anyone want to take me?"

“We
don’t know, Harper, and it’s driving me crazy.”

They
both fell silent, and then Harper whispered, “Was I raped?”

“No.”
Axel’s tone told her it was the end of the discussion.

They
finished their breakfast in silence, and as Axel was placing the plates in the
dishwasher Harper asked, “Do I have a job?”

“Yes,
actually.” His smile was smug, so she knew something about her job was
entertaining.

“What’s
so funny?” Axel kept looking smug, so she asked a question that would wipe that
haughtiness off his face. “I must be a stripper. No, no, a prostitute. I’m sure
I’d be pretty good at it, if you ask me.”

Her
planned worked, she noticed with amusement. Axel’s wolf growled in warning
through the bond. Jealous much?

“No.
You work for me, actually.”

“I
what?
There was absolutely no way I would ever have agreed to work for you. You have
got
to be kidding.” Harper was in shock. Where had her backbone been?

“What’s
so terrible about working for your alpha? There are excellent job benefits.” He
winked at her as payback for the prostitute comment, and she blushed.

“What,
do you own your own company? Is that why this house is so nice? And here I’ve
been thinking that maybe I had done something worthy with my life. I’m nothing
but an office-wife,” she muttered.

“But
a very sexy office-wife,” Axel murmured, dragging her chair closer.

He
planted a kiss on her cheek and she said, “You know what they say about
sleeping with the boss…”

“That
it gets you promoted?”

“Not
exactly.” She giggled.

She
thought at herself,
Hold it together, Harper!

Please
don’t,
Axel’s voice invaded her
mind.

Stop
eavesdropping on my thoughts!

They
are so intriguing, I just can’t help myself.
He planted a kiss on her neck.

Harper
cleared her throat and leapt off the chair.

“When
does work start?” she blurted.

Her
sudden movement seemed to amuse him. “I figured we’d take today off, since it’s
your first time out of the hospital.”

“No,
I feel fine. Besides, I want to see where I work.”

“If
you insist, Harper. We can leave in an hour,” he sounded a little bit
disappointed, and she couldn’t guess why.

Axel
was probably looking forward to spending a whole day alone with her. Well,
there would be plenty of time in the future to spend together. Right now, she
was eager to learn about her job.

Harper
returned to her bedroom and picked out a cute cream skirt and blue matching
top. She was shocked too see her closet filled with designer clothing, shoes,
and bags, not that she was complaining.

Harper
paused before entering the bathroom. Was she finally ready to look at her
reflection? Who would she find in the mirror?

She
stepped inside and took a cautious glance. Her face was thinner, her brows
arched dramatically.
I turned out quite nicely,
Harper thought. She was
no longer a gangly teen with awkward limbs; she was a grown woman.

Harper
skipped joyfully down the hallway and into the foyer. She may look like a
woman, but she could still act like a kid. Axel shook his head when she arrived
and opened the door. Spring was hadn’t yet arrived, so there was still an early
morning bite to the air. He had already started the car and for that she was
extremely grateful; her skirt wasn’t made for cool weather.

“What’s
my title, Axel?” she asked enthusiastically as soon as he put the vehicle into
drive.

Harper
could imagine herself being the Head of Media, Vice President, Financial
Director… Wait a minute, what about college? She had been planning on attending
the local college and majoring in business.

Axel
hesitated before answering.

Uhoh,
Harper thought.
That’s never a
good thing.

He
finally said, “Secretary.”

“Excuse
me?” Did she hear him correctly? “I’m your secretary? That’s adding insult to
injury. Not that being a secretary is bad; it’s just that you’re my boyfriend
and
my boss.” She swallowed. The words ‘my boss’ left a bad taste in her mouth.
“What happened to college? I was going to study business.”

“Well,
I happened. After we met you decided you didn’t need to go to college because
you were happy to let me support us.”

Harper
laughed. He
had
to be joking. Either that or her body had been swapped
with someone else, because she would have never settled for letting her husband
make all the money. At the very least, she would have tried to start an online
business at home, or a blog, or
something.

She
took a deep breath. "Wow, okay, my plans changed. Are you sure that's my only
job? I'm not making money anywhere else?"

“Harper,
your current position in the company is highly respectable. There’s no reason
to be ashamed.”

“Yeah,
but I didn’t get the position through hard work and studies. I got it because
my boyfriend runs the company,” she complained.

It
really wasn’t his fault. She had been the one to accept the job and not go to
college, after all. It was just hard to imagine making that decision without a
better reason.

“Okay,
I’m sorry. So, what does the company do?”

“We
produce and ship luxury vehicles.”

Harper
whistled. They must be raking in the cash.

“So
when was it founded?”

“My
father started the business about forty years ago and I simply took over after
he was too old to work.” Axel sounded sad, and Harper wanted to know whether or
not his parents were still alive, but she was too afraid to ask.

She
thought about her current career while gazing at the changed town. There were
the old shops and old houses, but occasionally a new structure appeared that
reminded her of all the lost memories.

Axel
turned into a large parking lot in front of a building. The tower stuck out
oddly in this small town, and her stomach twisted with nerves. She had to
relive the ‘first day on the job’ feeling.

It’ll
be fine,
Axel soothed.
I’ll be by
your side the whole time.

His
words reassured her, even though they shouldn’t have.

Okay,
Harper thought back as she calmed
her fears.

Axel
parked in his designated spot and opened the door for her. She took a deep
breath before walking inside.

The
foyer was massive, and it even had a small fountain in the middle. Golden
elevators waited at the back next to a pair of shiny escalators. High windows
lit up the room with natural light, and it was all beautiful.

“Wow,”
Harper breathed.

Axel
took her hand and led her inside the elevator, nodding to the woman sitting at
the front desk. It was surprisingly busy for such a small town, and a few
people caught Harper’s eyes and smiled at her. She smiled back, having no idea
who they were.

The
elevator doors slid shut, and she sighed in relief.

Doing
great, baby,
he said.

Maybe
I should have stayed home today.

Say
the word and we’ll leave.

Harper
wanted to take him up on the offer, but she needed to grow some balls.

No,
I can do this,
she replied firmly.

I
know you can
.

The
elevator dinged as the doors opened. Axel and Harper had arrived on the 7
^th
floor, the very top.

While
they stepped out and began walking down the endless hallway, he said,
Since Conner
is my beta, he is in charge while I’m busy.

Her
wolf internally growled when he mentioned Conner, but Harper ignored her.
What
are you usually doing?

Mostly
making the pack behave. They get rowdy during the winter.

Oh,
Harper thought.

There
were office doors lining the hall, but they passed all of them until coming
upon the last one at the end. Axel help open the glass door for her, and she
squeezed passed him. His office was spacious and had a gorgeous view of the
town.

She
perched on one of the two leather seats across the desk. Axel strode over and
sat down at the master chair, spreading his arms and grinning with pure masculine
pride.

Harper
rolled her eyes.
You’re such a man,
she thought at him, not sure whether
or not it was meant as a compliment.

Just
you wait,
Axel whispered in her
head, making her blush.

“So
where is my office? Don’t I get a comfy seat too?” Harper asked with feigned
haughtiness.

“It’s
right here,” Axel said, patting his thigh.

Harper
gasped and tried to spit out a reply, but after that didn’t work she gave up and
glared instead. Wolf, however, was amused by her mate’s cleverness. Someone
knocked on the door, forcing her infuriating boyfriend out of his seat.

“Jeffery,”
Axel said, opening the door.

Jeffery
was a cute man with a medium build. He was shifting from foot to foot and
wringing his hands in front of him. His nerves might have been due to Axel
towering over him or the fact that he was in the presence of his alpha.
Jeffery’s unease in front of Axel made Wolf oddly proud.

The
poor man glanced at me with surprise. “Harper, I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah,
me too.” Harper smiled at him kindly, and an idea formed in her head.

Jeffery
began talking about the yearly earnings and taxes, but she tuned him out in
order to focus on her revenge. Ah yes, Axel would learn not to mess with her. Harper’s
mate could feel her deviousness through the bond, and he shot her a curious
glance.