Chapter 2 Alpha Eyes, Cold Hands

Candace walked with her spine straight and her eyes forward, but her blood was chaos.

That man-Mason Cruz-was like a winter storm: didn't raise his voice, didn't need to. Just froze everything around him with one stare and a quiet promise of violence. Or sex. She couldn't tell the difference.

The echo of her heels trailed her through a narrow hallway just past the main ballroom, lined with glass panels and soft gold sconces. She needed a second. Just a second to think. To breathe.

Too much was happening at once. The bond. The flash of Marcus. The heat between her thighs that hadn't settled since Mason looked at her like he already owned her.

She leaned against a pillar, took a deep breath.

"Running already?" came a voice like smoke and fine bourbon.

She didn't turn. "Do you sneak up on all your mates like that, or just the ones who could break your nose?"

He stepped beside her, hands in his pockets, slow and relaxed like his ego wore expensive cologne too.

"Only the ones that look like they want to claw my face off and lick it after."

Candace side-eyed him. "Cute. You practiced that one?"

Mason gave her a slow smile. Not flirty. Not warm. Just enough to make her want to slap it off or climb into it.

"You know what I'm trying to figure out?" he asked, voice low.

"What."

"You knew who I was. You didn't flinch. You didn't bow your head. You didn't ask questions. Most wolves stutter in my presence."

Candace turned to face him fully now. They stood close. Her back to the pillar. His frame blocking the light.

"You know what I'm trying to figure out?" she said calmly.

He waited.

"Why the Goddess would link me to a man with a superiority complex and control issues so bad, he probably hires someone to breathe for him."

Mason chuckled. It was soft. Dangerous.

"Why fight the bond, Candace?"

She leaned in just slightly, her voice a velvet blade. "Because you want it too much."

"I haven't even touched you."

"But you've thought about it." Her smile was smug now. "You've imagined it. What my skin tastes like. What I sound like when I come. You want control, Alpha? You'll never get it from me on your knees."

He blinked once. Just once. But she saw it. That brief flash of restraint nearly breaking.

"You play dangerous games," he said, his voice tight.

"I am a dangerous game," she whispered.

Then she walked off, leaving him standing there.

Candace needed space. The main floor was starting to feel like a zoo exhibit: everyone watching the wild girl from the wrong bloodline make her grand reappearance.

She found a quieter room-low lights, old whiskey, a few retired alphas smoking cigars and pretending they weren't eavesdropping.

She slid into a leather seat at the edge of the bar.

Shayla found her moments later, drink in hand.

"Tell me you didn't punch him. Or kiss him. Or both."

Candace smirked. "Neither."

Shayla narrowed her eyes. "So you stared at each other and talked about the moon?"

"He wants control," Candace said, sipping. "He's not used to women telling him no."

Shayla sipped too. "And your thighs?"

"Betraying me."

"Your heart?"

"Doing push-ups."

Shayla laughed. "Then we have a problem."

"Yeah." Candace's voice dropped. "We really do."

Across the room, Mason was speaking to a tall man in a steel gray suit-his second-in-command, Lucas Vane. Sharp cheekbones. Cold eyes. The man moved like a ghost and stared like a sniper.

Candace watched them closely, her business instincts flaring.

Obsidian Black Security. Top firm in three regions. Specialized in both supernatural surveillance and high-profile protection. Mason didn't just lead a pack-he built an empire with teeth.

Why the hell was her mate a corporate Alpha?

Why did her fingers itch to break into his files?

Candace turned back to Shayla. "I need a favor."

"Already?"

"I want you to do a light trace. His name. His company. Contracts, audits, the works."

Shayla raised an eyebrow. "You sure that's smart?"

"No," Candace said. "But if fate is gonna throw me in a cage, I'm damn sure gonna pick the lock first."

Shayla smirked. "Now that's my girl."

Mason POV – Final Scene of Chapter

Lucas handed him a folder. "Redwood's been patching its borders with underpaid warriors and bad math."

Mason flipped through the file without blinking. "Sloppy."

"She's not."

Mason looked up. "Who?"

Lucas nodded toward the bar. "Candace Carter. That girl's more than street smart. I think she's watching the room better than we are."

Mason's jaw clenched. He looked at her.

Sitting at the bar, back arched slightly, one leg crossed over the other. Laughing at something her friend said-but scanning. Always scanning.

Her aura shimmered like a blade. Her smile was war paint.

And Mason felt it again.

That pull.

That ache.

She was a wildfire in his territory.

And whether he wanted it or not...

He was about to burn.