Layla

I sigh as I type up the latest travel itinerary for my boss, Victoria Stansil. I can hear her chatting with someone in her office behind me. I’ve been running around like crazy all day, trying to wrap up loose ends before she leaves town. It’s a major week for ad sales, and I’ve been staying at work for at least two extra hours every night this week.

The computer screen in front of me blurs slightly. I rub my eyes and take another gulp of coffee. Only a couple more hours to go, I think. I can do this.

“Layla?” Victoria’s voice calls. “Do you have the latest itinerary for me?”

“Yep, give me one moment,” I reply. I quickly print out the itinerary and put it on top of the rest of Victoria’s travel documents, neatly stacked in a folder. I stand and rush into Victoria’s office.

I immediately freeze. Sitting across from Victoria, in a suit that probably costs more than anything I own, is Miles Miller. Perfect jawline, five-hundred-dollar haircut. And a disdain for almost everything and everyone around him.

Miles is a top executive here at LYCA-Corp, the billion-dollar company where we both work. He also happens to be my awful ex-boyfriend. Most of the time I’m able to avoid him, but every now and then, our paths inevitably cross. Like when he has a meeting with my boss.

I take a breath and look away from Miles. I glance outside Victoria’s corner office windows, and I’m startled to discover that it’s already dark outside. What’s worse, scattered raindrops have begun to fall, splattering against the glass in large, wet drops.

“Hey, Layla,” Miles drawls.

I ignore him, turning my attention to Victoria’s face instead.

But Miles continues. “Your boss has been calling you for a full minute. Maybe you could learn to be prompt? If you really value your job, you might want to try a little harder.”

My face burns with anger. Who the hell does he think he is? Everything in me longs to turn and glare at Miles. I want to yell at him, flip him off, throw the folder of papers I’m carrying into his face. But I focus on my breathing instead. I know getting into a fight with an upper-level executive isn’t a good idea. The job isn’t perfect, but I do want to keep it.

Yes, it’s demanding, and the hours can be long. But Victoria is a great boss, and she’s gone out of her way to mentor me. I enjoy the work. And it’s gratifying knowing I’m working for a company doing research on technology that can change people’s lives. The work they’ve done on medical treatments is groundbreaking. They even have a program that helps employees pay for higher education, for people like me who never got to finish college.

“Did you hear me?” Miles asks.

Victoria clears her throat. “Thank you, Miles. But if I thought Layla needed reprimanding, I would do it myself. I’m sure Layla was just gathering all the materials I need for my trip.” Victoria smiles warmly at me.

To my absolute delight, Miles’s face reddens, and he sinks into his seat a little. I wish I could stand up for myself around him. But both Victoria and I know to tread carefully around the nephew of the CEO.

Yeah, in addition to being my ex-boyfriend and a big-shot executive, Miles Miller is also a nepo baby. All he has to do is make one phone call to his uncle, and I’m out of here.

“We’re done for the day, Miles,” Victoria says. “You can go.”

Miles stands and turns around. When his back is to Victoria, he glares at me. He keeps glaring as he strides past me. I look away.

As soon as the door clicks shut behind him, Victoria sighs. “I’m sorry about Miles,” she says.

I shrug and shake my head. “It doesn’t matter,” I say. “It’s not like he’ll ever change.”

“But it’s not professional,” Victoria replies. She studies my face for a moment and then adds softly, “I’m aware that the two of you have history. He shouldn’t bring his personal feelings—whatever they may be—into his work at the office. Past personal relationship or not, he should be more respectful.”

I feel my face redden again, this time from embarrassment. “I can handle it,” I say. I mentally shake myself and hand Victoria the folder.

Victoria takes the travel documents from my hand and flips through them. “You’ve been here long enough today,” she says, glancing up at me. “I don’t need anything else tonight. You should head home.”

“Thank you,” I say, truly grateful.

It only takes me a few minutes to complete my end-of-the-day tasks. But by the time I’m ready to go, I’m one of the only people left in the building. I throw my purse over my shoulder and tuck my chair in.

“Have a good trip, Victoria!” I call out.

I turn to see her wave absentmindedly at me, her cell phone pressed to her ear. I mouth “Sorry” and wave again. She smiles and returns the wave.

By the time I get outside, the rain has picked up, and I can hear rumbles of thunder in the sky above me. Dammit, I think. I pull my light jacket more tightly around me, wishing I’d worn something thicker. And I really wish I’d brought an umbrella. I swipe the wet hair out of my eyes as I rush to catch the last bus.

But I’m still a block away when I see it pull away from the stop. I wave my arms hopelessly after it, but it doesn’t slow down. “Shit,” I sigh. I start the thirty-minute walk home, resigned to the cold and wet of the storm.

I’m still getting used to the commute. I used to work at LYCA-Corp’s old headquarters in Detroit before they moved operations here to Amesville, Michigan. Most of the time, I take the bus to get between work and my apartment, but the walk isn’t too bad.

At least it’s not too bad in the sunshine. It’s a completely different story at night, during a storm.

Suddenly the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I’m slowly filled with a creepy feeling that I’m being watched. Maybe it’s the darkness of the night, or the drama of the storm, but I feel like I’m not alone. I glance behind me.

There’s no one there.

I pick up my pace anyway. My kitten heels aren’t great for jogging through the rain, but suddenly I want to get home as soon as possible. I reach into my purse and pull out my pepper spray, just in case. Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but—

I hear footsteps behind me.

I don’t dare turn around, breaking into a run instead. I get about five steps away when suddenly I’m flung to the ground. My pepper spray and purse both fly across the sidewalk. A huge body is crushing me into the concrete—I can’t breathe, I can’t scream. I struggle against the weight above me, adrenaline coursing through my body. Whoever is attacking me is strong, but I finally manage to roll out from underneath them. My pepper spray is just a few feet away—I could probably grab it as I stand up to run. I’m scrambling toward it when I hear an animalistic growl behind me.

I turn and look over my shoulder, and what I see paralyzes me with fear. The figure before me is impossibly huge. Even from my position on my knees, it towers over me, blocking the light from the streetlamps above. I can’t make sense of what I’m seeing. As the figure shifts in front of me, parts become more visible. Patches of jet-black fur. A flash of gold in a haunting eye. A pack of powerful muscle shifting. The scrape of claws on cement. This thing is too big and too powerful to be human.

I can feel a threatening rumble, and I realize that the creature in front of me is still growling. The sound of it chills me to my core. It’s too loud, too unnatural, too wild. I want to run, but I’m frozen in place. With a loud snarl, the creature shifts its weight again, and this time I catch a glimpse of razor-sharp teeth, glistening in the darkness. They’re bigger than anything I’ve ever seen—too big to be real. They snap once in my direction, and I cower at the sound, falling backward, covering my face with my hands.

Suddenly the creature is on me again, snarling and clawing. It’s pushed me onto my back, and I’m helpless to escape. I push and scratch against the creature, feeling only raw power under thick fur.

A whiff of hot, humid air blasts my face. I open my eyes to see those teeth again, wet and enormous, inches away from my face. A scream tears out of my throat, but suddenly, I feel a searing pain in my neck, a warm wetness gushing down the front of my shirt.

And then everything goes black.