Chapter 2 THE CORRIDOR OF NO RETURN

CHAPTER TWO

Vivienne pushed through the nearest doorway, desperate for air. The noise of the celebration

pressed in from every side, every voice pointed like a blade against her skin. She headed for

the back corridor, the one place in the house that rarely saw guests, but she barely made it

three steps before her father appeared at the end of the hall.

"Vivienne," he said, as if her name were a command.

She froze. Her mother stepped out from behind him, blocking the other end of the corridor. They

had cornered her with the precision of people who had rehearsed it.

"I need to leave," Vivienne breathed. "Just for a moment."

"No," her mother said. "You need to listen."

Vivienne tried to move around them, but her father shifted, stopping her with a firm hand

wrapped around her arm. His grip was not cruel, but it left no room for refusal.

"This is not the time for dramatics," he said. His voice held its usual trimmed politeness, but

underneath it was something colder.

She tried to pull free. "You saw what happened. You think I'm just going to stand there after "

"You will," he cut in. "Because this day was never about Maddox."

Her breath stalled. "What does that mean?"

Her father hesitated only long enough for her mother to step forward, her expression smoothing

into an emptiness Vivienne recognized too well.

"You've been chosen," her mother said. "Your future has already been arranged."

Vivienne felt the floor tilt. "Arranged how?"

Her father released her arm and exhaled as though the explanation bored him. "Your marriage.

It's settled. Signed and secured."

Vivienne shook her head. "To who? Why? What are you talking about?"

Her mother looked at her as if the answer should have been obvious. "Grayson Holt."

The name hit like a strike across her chest.

Vivienne stared at them, unable to form words. "Grayson Holt? The Alpha? The one people say

"

"Yes," her father said, cutting her off again. "He requested a bride. We provided one."

"We?" Vivienne whispered.

Her mother's eyes hardened. "You should be grateful. He is powerful. Wealthy. Influential."And dangerous," Vivienne said.

"He is what this family needs," her father replied. "We have obligations you know nothing about.

Agreements. Debts. Expectations. Your marriage settles all of them."

Vivienne stepped back, feeling the wall behind her like a cold spine. "You chose me. Not Tessa."

Her mother didn't blink. "Tessa has a future. A promising one. She is not suited for a man like

Holt."

But I am? Vivienne wanted to scream, but the words stuck in her throat.

Her father tapped his watch. "His men will arrive soon. Do not embarrass us. We expect you to

be prepared."

Vivienne felt her pulse in her ears, in her throat, everywhere. "I'm not going anywhere with him."

"You don't have a choice," her mother said. "We all sacrifice for family."

Her father stepped aside, opening the hallway as if she were expected to walk willingly.

Vivienne stood frozen, trembling, her breath shallow as distant footsteps began echoing through

the house steady, heavy, approaching.

The footsteps weren't from guests.

They belonged to someone else.

Someone coming for her.

The lights in the sitting room flickered as a rumble passed through the walls, low and distant,

like thunder rolling beneath the earth. Conversations died mid-sentence. Glasses stilled in

hands. Even the music faltered as if startled.

Vivienne walked back toward the main hall, pulled by a mix of fear and instinct she couldn't

name. Guests had turned toward the entrance in a tide of whispers.

A gust of cold air swept in.

Two warriors stepped into the room first tall, silent, dressed in dark tactical black. Their presence

shifted the atmosphere instantly. People stepped back without being told. These weren't men

accustomed to sharing space with humans. They moved with a certainty that came from power,

not permission.

Vivienne inhaled sharply when she saw their eyes flash amber under the chandelier.

Wolves.

Real ones.

The Cross estate had never hosted such creatures before. The air practically vibrated around

them, charged with something ancient and territorial. Their boots thudded against the marble

floor like deliberate marks of ownership.

Guests scrambled away. Someone dropped a wine glass that shattered across the floor. No one

dared to pick it up.

Vivienne's heart kicked violently against her ribs.

Her mother hurried forward, plastering on a stiff smile. "Welcome," she said, voice too thin. "We

have been expecting you."

The warriors didn't acknowledge her. They scanned the room with slow, assessing stares, as if

they were counting threats.

Vivienne stepped backward without meaning to. A hand brushed hers Maddox. He had moved

beside her silently, his face drained of color.

"What is going on?" he whispered, voice cracking.

Vivienne shook her head. "I don't know."

But she did.

Her parents' words echoed inside her like a warning bell.

He's coming.

He's here.

One of the warriors turned sharply, nostrils flaring, his gaze slicing through the crowd until it

landed on her.

Vivienne sucked in a breath.

He nodded to someone behind him.

And the room fell silent as the air changed thickened, tightened, almost hummed.

Footsteps followed. Slow. Heavy. Unhurried. Each one carrying more authority than the last.

Vivienne's eyes locked on the doorway just as he stepped through it.

Grayson Holt.

He didn't match the rumors. There were no scars, no twisted limbs, no sign of a broken Alpha

forced back into the world. He walked with a predator's calm confidence, shoulders broad

beneath a dark suit that fit him like armor. His presence filled the estate in a way no human ever

had.

People stepped aside instinctively, as if their bodies moved before their minds processed why.

Grayson lifted his head slightly, scanning the room.

His eyes were the first shock grey with a faint ring of silver that reflected the lights like a whisper

of moonlight.

They swept over Tessa.

Paused.

Dismissed her.

Then landed on Vivienne.

The breath left her lungs in a silent gasp.

He had found her.

Grayson didn't speak at first. He didn't need to. The estate was already under his control,

silence spreading outward from him like a command carried through the air. The two warriors

flanked him without breaking formation.

Vivienne felt Maddox stiffen beside her, but she couldn't move. Grayson's gaze was too direct,

too consuming. It was as if he studied not just her face but something deeper her breath, her

heartbeat, the place beneath her skin she didn't know how to guard.

Her mother stepped forward with a shaky smile. "Alpha Holt, welcome. We "

His gaze cut to her briefly. "Where is she?"

The question slid through the room like a blade. Her breath caught. "Why me?"

His eyes held hers, steady and unreadable.

"Because you were promised," he said softly. "And because I accept only what is mine."

Vivienne stepped back on instinct.

Grayson didn't reach for her. But the warrior beside her did firm, controlled guiding her closer to

the Alpha with a grip that offered no argument.

Maddox lunged forward. "Let her go!"

Grayson finally acknowledged him. A slow turn of his head. A calm stare. A quiet threat lingering

at the edges of his voice.

"One more step," Grayson said, "and I teach you why you should fear wolves."

No one moved.

Not Maddox.

Not Tessa.

Not even Vivienne.

And the last thing she saw before her world shifted was the faint, unmistakable glow rising in