Ava’s POV
I followed Adrian into the private penthouse suite.
The bodyguards shut the door behind us, and all at once, the quiet room held only the two of us.
He was still holding my hand.
His palm was burning hot against my skin.
I tried to pull free, but his fingers only tightened around mine.
With one gentle tug, he pulled me forward, and I stumbled straight into his chest.
I looked up.
His face was… honestly, unfair.
Deep-set eyes.
A straight, sharp nose.
A cold, angular jawline that looked carved out of stone.
Broad shoulders.
The solid outline of muscle barely hidden beneath his shirt.
He was basically the textbook definition of a top-tier Alpha male.
He lowered his head and looked at me, something intense flashing in those blue eyes.
I swallowed hard.
“Alpha Adrian…”
He didn’t answer.
His eyes turned red in an instant.
Then he grabbed my chin, lifted my face, and the next second, his mouth crashed down on mine.
I wanted to struggle.
I didn’t want to be controlled by him so easily.
But my body betrayed me.
My fingers grabbed his back before I could stop myself.
I opened my mouth, my tongue tangling with his.
The core between my legs began to pulse, and I felt Adrian’s hard cock pressing against me.
I wanted to taste it.
I had never had sex before.
I didn’t know if Adrian’s charm was simply too strong, but right now, all I could feel was emptiness.
“Damn it. You taste too good,” Adrian growled.
He pressed me against the door again, his hands gripping my ass.
My legs locked around his hard abdomen, and when I brushed against his cock, hard as stone, I couldn’t help grinding forward against him.
Bang!
My back hit the solid wooden table behind me.
The glasses on top clinked together with a sharp, delicate sound.
I opened my eyes abruptly.
The light from the crystal chandelier stung my eyes.
I saw my own hands still clutching his shirt, my knuckles white.
His hand was still locked around my waist, burning like a brand.
And inside my body, there was nothing.
No wolf waking up.
No instinct answering.
I had always thought that if I truly met the right Alpha, that sleeping thing inside me would finally wake.
But it didn’t.
Everything that had just happened was only my reaction as a woman.
Not as an Omega.
I was still the defective one.
I turned my face away, avoiding his mouth, and braced my hands on the edge of the table, pushing myself back half an inch.
“I want to get down.”
My voice sounded hoarse, almost unlike my own.
Adrian’s breath was still hot against the hollow of my neck.
His fingers tightened once around my waist—
Then he let go.
I slid down from the edge of the table.
When my feet touched the floor, my knees almost gave out.
My cheeks felt like they were on fire.
I took a few deep breaths and didn’t dare look at him.
Instead, I stared at the button on his shirt that I had pulled crooked.
“I’m not ready,” I said.
“And I’ve never been with a man before.”
The room was silent for a long time.
“You’re serious?” Adrian finally breathed.
I nodded.
“He kept himself pure for Sylvia.
He only ever planned to use me as a tool for the pack.”
“Damon will regret it,” Adrian said.
“I don’t care.”
“In any case, you’re right.”
He took a step back and leaned against the wall.
“This place is too small for our first time. And I’ll do my homework. I’ll make sure your first time feels like you own the whole world.”
My face burned even hotter.
I wanted to leave, but before I could say anything—
“I’ve changed my mind,” he said coldly.
“What?!” I said, panicked.
“I can’t stand the thought of my fiancée still living under the same roof as another man.”
The words came out of him like he hadn’t meant to say them, but once they were out, they stayed between us.
“Absolutely not!”
I stood up.
My divorce from Damon still needed twenty-five days.
I didn’t want to become Adrian’s problem from the very beginning, even if he didn’t care.
I was still facing resistance from the Crawford Pack.
If enduring a little longer meant Damon wouldn’t become a bigger problem for me, then twenty-five days was nothing.
“You don’t need to worry about anything.
I can guarantee that my money will absolutely make Damon say yes.”
“I know.”
I walked over and sat down on the sofa.
After what had just happened, I didn’t even dare touch the wine.
I was afraid things would get out of control again.
“But this is my business.
And we agreed before that until I leave Damon, we won’t make the engagement public.”
“I won’t,” he said calmly, approaching me again.
“And I won’t make the engagement public. Have you forgotten? You will be my liaison for the project with the Darkmoon Pack. I need to evaluate you—”
I was sitting in the chair, and he leaned down, bracing his hands above me.
I was completely surrounded by him.
I couldn’t help swallowing.
His voice lowered.
“And like I said, Ava, what are you afraid of? With me supporting your divorce, Damon won’t dare stop you.”
I looked up at him.
Even though his scent was sweeping over me, my gaze remained steady.
“I agree to go to the Blood Moon Pack as your partner, but absolutely not under the name of your fiancée. At least not publicly. Not yet.”
He tapped the arm of the chair, waiting for me to explain further.
I took a deep breath and said, “Like you said, this is only a political alliance.
I don’t want to give my new partners a bad first impression from the beginning.
For example, that I’m a troublemaker?”
“Is that a complaint or a fact?” Adrian asked, taking a step back.
“As a betrayed Omega, I’m not going to believe that a powerful Alpha fell in love with me at first sight. So it’s a fact. And I’ll keep reminding myself of that.”
My voice was firm.
Silence fell between us.
“And most importantly, the Crawford Pack already looks down on me because I’m an Omega. If they find out I’m an Omega who was thrown out by her husband, my right to inherit will be questioned even more.”
I paused.
“Twenty-five days isn’t just the countdown to my divorce.
It’s also the countdown to the collapse of the Darkmoon Pack.”
“I bet that once I leave, the Darkmoon Pack will go into decline.”
“I need to wait until the moment the Darkmoon Pack acknowledges my abilities.
Then we announce our engagement.
Alpha Adrian, that makes things easier for you too.”
Adrian gazed at me, his eyes so intense it felt like they were peeling my clothes off layer by layer.
I felt bare, exposed.
“Well, it seems you’ve already adapted to the title of my fiancee.” Adrian murmured, voice low and rough, husky and raw.
“You’re thinking of me.” I stepped back, uncomfortable under the heat in his eyes.
“Just contractual duty.”
“Most people don’t blush when they say ‘contractual duty,'” Adrian said low.
“Most Alphas would hear an Omega saying all this and think I’ve lost my mind,” I shot back.
“Looks like we’re both special people,” Adrian said, his tone firm.
“So we chose each other. That’s fate’s decision.”
I drew a deep breath, suppressing the wild pounding in my chest, pushing back the heat along with the easy path he was offering.
“So, Alpha Adrian…” I bit my lower lip and met his eyes.
“I agree to go to the Bloodmoon Pack as your partner.
But I refuse to do it under the name of your fiancee.
Which means we need to keep a low profile.”
“Do you agree?”