Chapter 3 3

Elara POV

The phantom shatter of crystal that had echoed in my chest on Saturday morning haunted me for the entire weekend. By Monday, I just wanted to disappear. I huddled in my cramped cubicle at Blackwood Industries, surrounded by fabric swatches and mood boards, desperately trying to blend into the hum of printers and the smell of stale office coffee.

"Elara, you won't believe this," a hushed voice hissed over the partition.

It was Dahlia. Her eyes were wide with the kind of manic energy that only top-tier Pack gossip could fuel.

"What is it?" I asked, keeping my eyes glued to my monitor.

"The cleaning crew did the weekend sweep of the Alpha's Den," Dahlia whispered, leaning in so close I could smell her vanilla shampoo. "They found a torn, cheap dress in the trash. And get this-the suite reeked of a strange female scent. Not one of the elite she-wolves. Someone *else*."

The words hit me like a physical blow. My hand jerked violently. The paper cup crushed in my grip, sending scalding hot coffee cascading over my wrist.

I gasped, biting my lip to swallow a scream as the liquid seared my pale skin, leaving an angry red burn.

"Oh my goddess, are you okay?" Dahlia panicked, grabbing a handful of napkins.

"I'm fine," I choked out, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I frantically wiped at the mess, avoiding her gaze. "It's... it's probably just some unimportant human he brought back."

"Maybe," Dahlia muttered, unconvinced, before rolling her chair back to her desk.

I stared at the red welt on my wrist, drowning in a toxic mix of terror and humiliation. She had no idea she was talking about me.

Before I could even catch my breath, my computer screen froze. The design software vanished, replaced by a stark, imposing notification box bearing the silver crest of the Blackwood Pack.

*Alpha Kaelen Blackwood requests a Permanent Mind-Link with you.*

My blood ran ice cold. It was a trap. A cruel, calculated trap. Kaelen knew I was a wolfless Omega. I didn't have an Inner Wolf to bridge the psychic connection. I couldn't accept it even if I wanted to. He was doing this to publicly humiliate me, to remind me that his reach was absolute and I had nowhere to hide.

My finger hovered over the mouse. Clicking 'Decline' meant leaving a permanent log of insubordination in the Pack's system. It was corporate and Pack suicide. But the memory of the pharmacy, the suffocating weight of his scent on my skin, ignited a reckless spark of rebellion in my chest.

With a trembling hand, I clicked *Decline*.

The box vanished. For a second, nothing happened. Then, the chaotic chatter of the design department died. It didn't just quiet down; it was severed, as if the air had been sucked out of the room.

I looked up. Elias Vance stood at the edge of my cubicle.

The Pack's Beta wore his impeccable navy suit, looking like the grim reaper disguised as a corporate lawyer. He didn't glance at anyone else. His cold eyes locked onto me.

"Ms. Vance," Elias said, his voice a flat, chilling monotone. "The Alpha will see you now. Immediately."

"I have sketches due for the winter line," I stammered, a pathetic attempt to cling to my mundane reality. "I can't just leave-"

Elias leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "That is a command, not a request."

The subtle, crushing weight of the *Alpha's Command* bled through his words, forcing my knees to lock and my body to obey. Under the sympathetic, curious, and mocking stares of my coworkers, I stood up and followed him to the elevator.

The ride to the 45th floor was a silent march to the gallows.

The moment I stepped into the Alpha's Command Center, the heavy mahogany doors clicked shut behind me, sealing me inside. The sheer force of Kaelen's scent-a suffocating storm of wet earth and sharp cedar-swallowed me whole.

He didn't give me a second to adjust. Kaelen stepped out of the shadows, his massive frame blocking the light from the floor-to-ceiling windows. He held his phone in his hand, the screen glowing with the system notification: *Elara Vance has declined your Mind-Link request.*

He backed me up until my spine hit the cold wood of the door. He planted his arm beside my head, caging me in. The heat radiating from his body triggered a violent flashback of cool silk sheets and burning skin.

He leaned down, his lips brushing my ear as he let out a dangerous, suppressed growl. "Is this how you treat your Mate?"

The word shattered my last defense. I squeezed my eyes shut, my voice a broken whisper. "I am not your Mate."