ya

slid open, the silence of the corridor hit me harder than a physical blow. The air up here was d

gs to move. The thick, dark carpet swallowed the sound of my footste

only from company newsletters. Heath Jacobson, the Alpha's Beta. He was leaning aga

, his expression shifting from

. He didn't ask how I got up here; he just stepped in fron

. "Please, Mr. Jacobson. I left something inside. The Shadow Cre

is gaze, only the calculation of a man whose sole job was to protect his lea

peration clawing at my throat. "I don't

, staring at something I couldn't see. The air a

down my sp

d at me with a new, unsettling expression-something between con

a will se

trapped bird. I reached for the handle, m

hit me i

dark earth. It was heavy, cloying, and terrifyingly masculin

He had discarded his suit jacket, and his white dress shirt was un

aying close to the door, ready to bolt. "I just

ight of his gaze press down on me, pinning me to the spot. He didn't look

rd me, the movement

h night are you referring to? The one where a wolfless girl thought she coul

stinging. He was twisting the knife,

nse stare. "I... I sent that text by mistake. I don

adable. He stopped just a few feet away from me.

. Just give

casual dismissal stinging more than his words. He poured a glass of

waiting list for three years," he said, his back to me again. "Congesti

ned from my face. "Leav

me, the glass of water untouched in his hand. "But I can. I can have the best cardiac surgeon i

nd sharp, pierced through my fea

er with a deliberate clink. He looked

eed somethin

me, his scent overwhelming my senses. He lea

rry

h falling open. The word

was closing a business deal. "I need a wife. You need your m

. A golden, deadly trap set by a King who held my mo