Chapter 4

POV: Chloe

I woke up to my phone vibrating off the nightstand.

15 Missed Calls: Ethan.

I played the voicemail.

"Chloe, pick up. I can't access the offshore accounts. What's the password for the Cayman shell company? The contractors are threatening to walk."

"Stop playing games. Ashley wants to know where the hell you filed the blueprints."

"This is an Alpha Command! Answer me!"

My stomach cramped. Not fear. Disgust. He didn't miss me. He missed his admin.

"Pathetic," Sarah said, handing me coffee. "Delete it."

"I can't just-"

"He is nothing. You severed the link. His command is just noise now."

She tossed a bag onto the bed.

"Get up. It's war paint time."

The afternoon was a blur of exfoliation and hair dye. They chopped my mousy hair into a sharp, architectural bob. Dark chocolate. Severe.

"You were hiding," Sarah said. "Today, you hunt."

The dress wasn't grey. It was red. Blood red. Velvet. Backless.

"It's too much," I said.

"It's a power move. Every Alpha is going to be there kissing the Lycan King's ring. Ethan will be there trying to look important."

We walked into the convention center. The air was heavy with Alpha auras, a pressure cooker of testosterone.

I saw him immediately. Ethan, near the bar, nursing a whiskey. Ashley clung to him like a barnacle, wearing white, trying too hard to look virginal.

My phone buzzed. Text from Ethan.

If you aren't back by midnight to unlock the server, I'm calling the Council to report you as a runaway.

I looked at him across the room. He was texting threats while smiling at a donor.

"Ready?" Sarah asked.

"No," I said. "But let's ruin his night anyway."