Photographic Memory

The echo of Fiona’s heels faded down the corridor. I dragged the first towering stack of files toward my keyboard. Becoming an awakened Alpha came with hidden perks. My senses were dialed to perfection. When I flipped open the first folder, my eyes scanned the dense columns of inventory numbers, client names, and financial codes. My photographic memory registered every digit instantly.

My hands flew across the keys. The keystrokes blurred into a continuous, rapid-fire clatter that echoed through the quiet secretariat department. The mountain-like data entry task Fiona designed to break my spirit felt effortless. My superhuman hand-eye coordination turned the punishment into a smooth, mindless rhythm.

It did not take long for my terrifying efficiency to draw attention. I kept my eyes locked on the glowing monitor, but my enhanced Alpha hearing picked up the hushed, amazed gossip floating across the surrounding cubicles.

"Look at her fingers," a woman murmured two desks away, her tone thick with disbelief. "I thought I typed fast. She is blazing through that stack like a machine."

"Isn't she from some backwoods territory up north?" a guy whispered back. "I figured someone uneducated like her would barely know how to turn on a computer, let alone handle Zenith's database."

"It doesn't matter how fast she is," another coworker chimed in, shaking her head. "Did you see Ms. Banes glaring at her earlier? She just made a dangerous enemy on her first day."

"Yeah, and it is obvious Mr. Vance doesn't care about her. He hasn't looked her way once. She won't last a week."

Their foolish assumptions buzzed around my head. I tuned the gossip out like white noise, maintaining my hyper-focus on the flashing cursor on the screen.

**Fiona's POV:**

At first, I had hesitated. Assisting Chloe in scheming against Mr. Vance’s fiancée felt like a risky move. But dealing with Valerie’s lack of respect and insubordination wiped out any lingering guilt I felt. She was nothing but an arrogant, worthless Omega from the freezing northern borders. How dared she act so haughty in my department?

Still, she caught me off guard. When I dumped that mathematically impossible mountain of paperwork on her desk, I expected her to break. I expected her to complain, cry, or beg for an extension. Instead, she took the assignment without a single word of protest.

When standard office hours ended, I left my office to check on her progress. I assumed I would find her weeping over her keyboard. Instead, I spotted her casually strolling out of the company dining area, sipping a beverage and looking relaxed.

My blood boiled. I marched straight over and slammed my hand against the table.

"Valerie! What do you think you are doing?" I demanded, my voice cutting through the breakroom. "How dare you sit around eating before your work is finished? If your delay causes the Zenith Group any financial loss, I will hold you responsible!"

Valerie did not even flinch. She took a slow sip from her cup and gave a nonchalant shrug. "You said the deadline was today," she pointed out coldly. "It is not even seven o'clock yet. I suggest you check the time."

"Don't give me that attitude!" I argued back, taking a threatening step forward. "You have thousands of files to input—"

She waved a hand, cutting me off with a dismissive gesture. "Save your complaints for tomorrow morning if I fail," she stated bluntly. "Right now, I am taking a break. Leave me alone."

I stood there, vibrating with fury as she calmly walked past me. The sheer audacity of this rural bumpkin! I gritted my teeth, silently vowing to make her deeply regret humiliating me. If she thought she could mock my authority and get away with it, she was dead wrong. Once everyone else went home for the night, I decided to set her up with a much more *entertaining* and dangerous task. Let's see how long this arrogant Omega can last before she begs for mercy.

**Valerie's POV:**

By exactly 9:30 PM, I confidently tapped the final key. I leaned back in my chair, rolling my stiff shoulders. A mind-numbing administrative task that would have exhausted an ordinary Omega until past midnight was a total breeze for an Alpha like me.

The large office space was empty. I grabbed my bag, preparing to leave, when my phone rang. Fiona's name flashed on the screen.

I swiped to answer. "Yes?"

"How much longer until you are done?" she demanded, skipping any pretense of a greeting.

"I am already finished," I replied calmly. I clicked the mouse, attaching the massive batch of files to an email, and hit send. "Just forwarded the complete dataset to your inbox."

A heavy, stunned pause hung on the line. I could practically hear the gears grinding in her head.

"I am heading out," I added.

"Wait! You cannot leave yet!" Fiona shouted, her voice spiking in frantic panic.

I paused, my hand resting on my bag. "Excuse me?"

"The data you just processed," she lied, her tone dripping with false authority. "It is strictly related to physical warehouse organization. I just received an urgent notification. You cannot leave until the inventory in the physical warehouse matches exactly what you entered into the system."

My eyes narrowed. The sudden shift in her demands was jarring. My instincts flared, sensing a trap. Office assistants did not conduct midnight inventory checks. But after a moment of consideration, I agreed. It was physical labor. Sitting in a stuffy office all day had left my wolf restless. A trip to the logistics center offered the perfect excuse to let Lyra stretch her legs, while also covertly observing Zenith Pack's internal operations.

Following Fiona's exact digital instructions, I navigated to the industrial district. Just before midnight, I arrived at the massive, imposing warehouse doors. The cool night air bit at my skin as I stepped up to the terminal. I punched in the specific access code she provided.

The heavy steel doors clicked and slid open with a mechanical groan.

I stepped inside the cavernous, pitch-black space.

*Thud.*

The doors slammed shut. The locking mechanism engaged with a resounding, final thud, sealing me inside.

Before I could even turn around, a sharp, burning scent hit my nose. It clawed at my sinuses, toxic and suffocating. My empowering confidence vanished, shifting into heart-pounding terror. My wolf instincts flared, sending a blinding shockwave of panic through my veins.

Deep inside my soul, Lyra growled a fierce, terrified warning.

It was wolfsbane!