Skye’s POV
He didn’t speak to me for the entire ride.
Not a single word.
Not a greeting‚ not even an explanation for why he had dragged me out of my house on a weeknight and shoved me into a dress that cost more than my monthly rent.
He just sat there in his seat with his leg crossed over his knee and his eyes locked on me like I was something he needed to memorize before it disappeared.
I tried looking out the window.
I could still feel him watching me.
I tried looking at my hands in my lap.
Still watching.
I tried staring at the back of Philips’ headrest like it was the most fascinating thing I had ever seen in my life.
Still watching.
Those ice blue eyes never moved‚ never blinked‚ never shifted to anything else.
The car slowed down and I turned to the window‚ grateful for any excuse to look away from the man who was burning holes into the side of my face throughout the entire ride.
My breath caught.
The venue was enormous and exquisite.
A sprawling estate surrounded by tall iron gates and lined with trees that were wrapped in thousands of tiny white lights that made the entire property look like something out of a dream.
Cars were lined up along the circular driveway‚ all of them black‚ all of them expensive‚ and men and women in gowns and suits were walking up the wide stone steps toward a set of massive double doors that were already open and glowing with warm golden light from inside.
Philips pulled the car to a stop at the front entrance and came around to open the door‚ but Thorne was already moving.
He stepped out of the car before Philips could reach the handle‚ adjusted the front of his suit jacket with one hand‚ and then turned back to the open door and looked at me.
He extended his hand.
I stared at it for a moment‚ surprised‚ because this was a man who issued commands like the world was built to obey him.
But right now‚ he was standing outside a car door with his hand held out to me like a gentleman waiting for his date.
I took his hand and stepped out of the car.
His fingers closed around mine immediately‚ firm and warm and possessive even in something as simple as a handhold.
He tucked my hand under his arm and pressed it against the inside of his elbow so that I was anchored to his side‚ and then he started walking toward the entrance without saying a word.
We walked up the stone steps together and the moment we passed through those double doors‚ every single person in that room turned to look at us.
Hundreds of strangers‚ all dressed in gowns and suits that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe‚ all staring at us with expressions that ranged from curiosity to shock to something else that I couldn’t quite identify but that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
I tightened my grip on Thorne’s arm without meaning to.
And then something even stranger happened.
People started bowing their heads.
Men in suits that looked like they cost thousands of dollars‚ women in gowns dripping with diamonds‚ people who radiated power and wealth and importance‚ all lowering their heads as Thorne walked past them with me on his arm.
A man approached us first.
He was tall with silver hair and broad shoulders and he walked with the kind of quiet authority that told me he was someone important.
He stopped in front of Thorne and gave that same small bow of his head before extending his hand.
“Alpha Thorne‚” he said.
“It’s good to see you tonight.”
Alpha?
Thorne shook his hand with a nod.
“Harrison.
Good to see you as well.”
The man’s eyes shifted to me briefly and he gave me a slight bow as well before moving on.
I nodded back because I didn’t know what else to do‚ and before I could process what had just happened‚ another person was already approaching.
“Alpha Thorne‚ welcome.”
And then another.
“Alpha Thorne‚ it’s an honor.”
And another.
“Alpha Thorne‚ we’ve been expecting you.”
Every single one of them used that same word.
Alpha.
They said it with a reverence that went beyond professional respect‚ beyond social politeness‚ beyond anything I had ever heard in a corporate setting or any other setting for that matter.
What did that word mean?
Why was everyone calling him that?
And why did every person who looked at me have that same strange expression‚ like they were seeing something unexpected and didn’t quite know what to make of it?
I wanted to ask.
I wanted to grab Thorne by the arm and pull him aside and demand an explanation for everything that was happening around me.
But the room was too crowded and the people kept coming and Thorne’s hand was pressed over mine on his arm‚ keeping me close to his side like he had no intention of letting me go even for a second.
A man in a dark grey suit appeared at Thorne’s side and leaned in close to whisper something in his ear.
Thorne listened‚ nodded once‚ and then turned to look at me for the first time since we had entered the venue.
“I’ll be back in a moment‚” he said‚ his voice was low and commanding.
“Stay right here.
Don’t move.”
And then he was gone‚ disappearing into the crowd with the man in the grey suit‚ and I was standing alone in the middle of a ballroom full of strangers who kept glancing at me when they thought I wasn’t looking.
I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to look like I belonged there even though every cell in my body was screaming that I didn’t.
I did everything I could think of to look calm and composed and not at all like a frightened cat.
“Hello‚ dear.”
I turned around.
A man was standing there.
He was tall‚ almost as tall as Thorne‚ with dark hair that fell slightly across his forehead and sharp features that were striking in a way that was almost too perfect.
His eyes were dark brown‚ almost black‚ and they were looking at me with a lazy kind of interest that made something in my stomach twist with unease.
He was handsome.
Undeniably‚ objectively handsome.
But there was something about the way he was looking at me that felt extremely wrong.
So I instinctively took a step back.
“I’m sorry‚ I’m just waiting for someone‚” I said politely‚ trying to create distance between us without being rude about it.
The man moved forward.
One slow‚ deliberate step that closed the gap I had just created and then some.
His head tilted slightly to the side and a small smile curved across his lips.
“Oh‚ I know exactly who you’re waiting for‚” he said‚ and his voice dropped to something quieter and more private.
“You’re the reason he’s ready to lose everything‚ aren’t you?”
My stomach dropped.
“Excuse me?”
His eyes moved over my face slowly‚ deliberately‚ like he was cataloging every detail and filing it away for later use.
“I have to say‚ I can see it.
I can see why he’s so fixated.
There’s something about you that’s quite…
intriguing for a human.”
For a human?
What did that mean?
Why did he say it like that‚ like being human was a category that separated me from everyone else in this room?
I took another step back but he followed‚ closing the distance again‚ and this time he leaned in even closer.
So close that his face was inches from the curve of my neck‚ and then he did something that made every hair on my body stand straight up.
He inhaled.
Long and slow and deep‚ like he was breathing me in‚ pulling my scent into his lungs the way an animal does when it catches something unfamiliar in the air.
“Interesting‚” he murmured against my skin.
“Very‚ very inter—”
A hand clamped down on my waist and yanked me backward so hard that I stumbled on my heels.
“Back off‚ Kael.”