Two days later, as he leads me into his building, I close my eyes briefly to recall what he said last night.

“I have to protect a certain reputation while I’m at work,” he said, “and it might make you a bit uncomfortable. I have an image as a genius playboy with a thing for well-endowed women.” I glanced down at my average chest before raising an eyebrow at him. He smirked. “The best thing for you to do would be to dress as the absolute opposite of what the public believes is my type. Wear something serious and overly modest, like a business suit with pants instead of a skirt. Button the shirt up to the collar and keep your blazer fully secured. Your goal is to look like anything other than arm candy.

True to his suggestion, I’m now wearing a men’s business suit that’s been cut and tailored to fit my curves. My hair is tied into a completely unstylish bun; my heels are exactly two inches high and come to sharp points. Completely unappealing. I’m even carrying a small notebook and pen in one arm.

The elevator ride to his office is quiet. His assistant is waiting at the top. The moment he sees me, he glares. I lift an eyebrow. As I step past, I murmur to him quietly, “If I had been about four millennia younger, you might have overpowered me just then.”

Tylerin sits down at his desk and smiles. “This room doesn’t feel nearly so large and empty now that there are three desks here! Sadly, yours is somewhat small, but I hope it’s satisfactory.” His assistant, already pale from my comment, goes wide-eyed at his boss’ subservience.

I nod. “It’s fine. I would’ve worked on the floor, honestly, you didn’t have to bring in a new desk.”

Finally his assistant can’t stand it anymore. “Who are you?! You resist my control, you tease me about your age, and you disrespect my boss’ efforts on your behalf, even after he shows you deference! Do you even know who you just--”

Tyler cuts him off. “Alexi, stop now. I owe her a great deal. Besides, you tried to control her? Why would you do such a thing?”

The assistant, apparently Alexi, “This is the first time you’ve brought in a woman that wasn’t either desk candy or a fellow CEO. Who is this woman? I wanted to know. What do you mean, you owe her?”

I cut in. “I’m the girl he turned eight and a half millennia ago. The rest doesn’t matter.” I turn to Tyler. “What do you want me to do? I can look into the financial records if you want, I recall you telling Zakin that you think you have an embezzling problem but can’t find the source.”

“Ah, that’s an excellent idea. Alexi, will you please bring her the records?”

Alexi swallows. “S-sure. But can I at least have your name?” He asks, directing his words at me.

I look up at him. Realizing he’s nervous, I smile gently. “Shona Shadowmoon.”

I hadn’t thought his eyes could get any wider, but somehow they do. It’s not a formal clan name; rather, it’s a combination of two. It’s something hybrids do frequently if those around them are aware of their status. Most clans won’t accept hybrids, though, so most hide in one clan or the other and use that name instead.

Every clan name is compound with two parts: one identifies what kind of Hidden they are, and the other indicates which clan of that race. For instance, the forest elves have the Greenleaf, Brownleaf, Blueleaf and Redleaf clans, among others. On the other hand, the vampires are all assembled under one name - Shadowfang.

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Hybrids who have been exiled are not permitted to use formal clan names, so they often combine two clan names as their last name. For example, mine is Shadowmoon, a combination of the vampires’ name and that of my birth clan, Mooncat. There are also many who simply refer to themselves as Clanless and take on the last names of normals in order to blend in.

Suddenly, I’m startled out of my thoughts by Alexi dropping a box of files on my desk. “I would offer to help, but I have my own work to do. Sorry,” he says, sounding genuine. I tilt my head in confusion and he leans forward. “Your last name. I’m in the clan, so I use Shadowfang, but my mother was a Bloodwolf.” He steps away. “Good luck with the files.”

I watch after him with an amused smirk. Who’d’ve thought that revealing my mixed nature actually won me more respect than hiding it would’ve? Certainly not me.

Just as I’m starting to find my rhythm with the files, the door to Tylerin’s office opens loudly. “Hey, Ty!” It’s a group of guys that I vaguely remember Zakin telling me were young playboy CEOs. They crowd into the room and he welcomes them with open arms. I glare a little bit, and Alexi appears to be vaguely annoyed by the noise level.

I step over to Tyler to give him my report, but one of the guys suddenly notices me. He gasps. “Ooh, look! Ty’s got himself a new woman!”

“No way!” “She’s not his type at all.” “She’s even got a desk this time!”

Tylerin clears his throat and they all turn to look at him. “She’s not here as desk candy, guys. She’s my new business advisor. Her current project is attempting to figure out who’s embezzling money from my company.”

One of them snorts. “You don’t bring girls that aren’t desk candy. I know you.” He reaches for me.

My eyes flash. In a split second, he goes from relaxed and reaching for my butt to tensed up and gasping in pain. I have him pinned to the wall with one arm twisted up behind his back. Looking around, I can see the others staring at me in shock, even Tyler. My voice comes out as a hiss as I hold back a shift. “Don’t touch me.” I glare at each of them individually. “Or next time, it might come off.”

There’s a collective gulp as they all nod like bobbleheads. I close my eyes and force myself to remain human. No ears, tail, whiskers, fangs, claws… slowly but surely, I rein myself in. Taking calming breaths, I release the one I’m holding and step back. When my eyes open again, the men are relieved to see that my pupils are no longer vertical slits. “My apologies, gentlemen. It seems you successfully provoked my cat into attacking. You should be proud; that’s no easy feat.” They shudder in place.

I turn to Tylerin. “I figured out who’s responsible for your embezzling problem. Go check the accounts of the Finance Department Director. There should be some discrepancies between his salary and his paycheck.”

He nods. “Alexi, will you handle it? I think my friends and I need to have a talk.” Alexi nods, takes the file I’m holding, and scurries out. Turning back to the other guys, he says, “Let’s try this again. Allow me to introduce you to my new business advisor, Shona Shadowmoon.”

There’s utter silence for several minutes before anyone responds. “Nice to meet you, Miss Shadowmoon,” he says politely. “I’m Rikko Shadowscale. I hope we can get along.” I study him with renewed interest upon learning that he’s a hybrid. He seems to be the youngest of them, with chin-length golden hair and kind brown eyes.

I tilt my head toward him slightly. “Yes. I hope so too.”

One by one, the others introduce themselves. Based on their behavior, I’m guessing that the three pureblood members - a vampire, a wolf shifter, and an elf - were unaware that two of their friends were hybrids. Shadowscale is a combination of Shadowfang (the vampires) and Venomscale (the ruling clan of the reptilian shifters); Bloodclaw is a combination of Bloodwolf (the ruling clan of the canine shifters) and Skyclaw (a lesser clan of bears).

“A word of advice, boys,” I say when I feel them testing my resistance. “Never try to control an Ancient. It won’t turn out well.”

They startle, and Tylerin grins. “She’s only a couple years younger than I am, and she’s been a vampire for all but about fifteen of that. You guys won’t be able to control her. If anything, she’ll be the one controlling you.”