Chapter 10

Avia's POV

Damon Lester.

He walked into the clearing like he owned it. Black three-piece suit that probably cost more than my car. No tie. The top button of his shirt undone, revealing a sliver of pale throat. His platinum blonde hair was shorter than I remembered, styled back from his face.

The crowd reacted instantly. Conversations stopped mid-sentence. Alphas straightened. Lunas smiled their most charming smiles. Even Victoria's expression shifted—became more deferential, more careful.

This was power. Real power. The kind that didn't need to announce itself.

My breath stopped.

Because I'd been in a room with this man. I'd let him touch me. I'd made sounds I'd never made before while he—

No. Stop.

My hands were shaking. I pressed them against my dress, trying to calm down.

I stumbled backward, my heel catching on something.

Dr. Harper caught my elbow. "Mrs. Cross?"

I barely felt his grip.

Damon was moving through the crowd now, Victoria and several other Alphas converging on him like moths to flame. They were talking, gesturing, but I couldn't hear the words over the roaring in my ears.

Don't look at me. Please don't look at me.

But even as I thought it, I knew it was useless.

Because his gaze was already sweeping across the clearing. Methodical. Assessing. Like he was cataloging every wolf present, filing them away for future reference.

His eyes moved past the buffet tables. Past the cluster of Lunas near the champagne fountain. Past—

They stopped.

On me.

I froze.

For two seconds—maybe three—our gazes locked. His expression didn't change. No recognition. No surprise. Nothing.

Just that cold, analytical stare.

Then he looked away.

Like I was nothing. Like I didn't exist.

My knees nearly buckled.

He doesn't recognize me.

Relief and something else—something I didn't want to name—crashed through me in equal measure.

"Avia!"

I turned, my body moving on autopilot.

Alexander.

He was walking toward me from the opposite side of the clearing, his expression bright with that false warmth he wore so well in public. His navy suit was immaculate. His dark hair perfectly styled.

And beside him—

Mira.

She wore a deep red gown that hugged every curve. Her golden hair fell in soft waves over one shoulder. She looked like every man's fantasy—beautiful, sophisticated, untouchable.

The woman from the stairwell. The woman whose voice I'd heard begging Alexander to leave me.

But here, in front of the Pack, she was something else entirely.

Alexander's hand rested on the small of her back as they approached. Proprietary. Familiar.

"Everyone," he said, his voice carrying across the nearby wolves. "I'd like you to meet Mira. She's just joined Blackcliff Corporation as our new Executive Secretary."

Executive Secretary.

The title was so mundane it was almost funny. Like calling a mistress a "personal assistant."

Mira smiled at the gathered wolves, her expression demure. "It's wonderful to meet you all."

A few of the Lunas smiled back. One of the younger Alphas—someone from the Harvey Pack, I thought—stepped forward to shake her hand.

I watched it all from my chair, feeling like I was looking at the scene through glass.

This is what they're doing. Normalizing her. Making her part of the landscape.

Alexander's gaze found mine across the space. For a second, something flickered in his eyes—guilt? concern?—but it was gone before I could be sure.

He didn't come over to me.

Neither did Mira.

They just stood there, accepting congratulations and well-wishes like she was a legitimate addition to the family business.

I should have felt something. Rage. Humiliation. Anything.

But I was numb.

Because across the clearing, Damon Lester was talking to Victoria, his expression unreadable. And all I could think about was the weight of his body pressing me into hotel sheets. The sound of his breathing in my ear.

The child growing inside me.

"Alpha Lester."

Alexander's voice cut through my thoughts.

I looked up.

He was walking toward Damon now, Mira still at his side. His posture was different—straighter, more aggressive. Alpha challenging Alpha.

The crowd sensed it too. Conversations died. Wolves turned to watch.

Alexander stopped a few feet from Damon, his smile sharp. "I heard you rarely attend these events anymore. What brings you out tonight?"

Damon's expression didn't change. "Business."

"Business." Alexander's smile widened. "At a Hunt?"

"Opportunity doesn't keep office hours."

A few wolves chuckled. But the tension didn't break.

Alexander's eyes narrowed slightly. "Well, since you're here—why not participate? It's been years since we've seen what the Lester Pack's Alpha can do in the field."

The challenge was unmistakable.

Victoria stepped forward, her expression carefully neutral. "Alexander—"

"Ten badges," Alexander continued, ignoring her. "First to find ten badges wins. Unless you'd prefer to sit this one out?"

The clearing had gone completely silent now.

Damon looked at Alexander for a long moment. Then his gaze flicked past him—briefly, so briefly I almost missed it—toward where I sat.

My heart stopped.

Then he looked back at Alexander.

"Fine."

One word. Flat. Final.

But the crowd erupted.

Wolves started talking over each other, excitement rippling through the clearing like electricity. Two of the most powerful Alphas in San Loris, competing directly. This was the kind of thing people would talk about for months.

I sat frozen in my chair, my hands gripping the armrests so hard my knuckles went white.

He's going into the forest.

Alexander's going into the forest.

And I was supposed to just sit here and watch.

Dr. Harper leaned down, his voice low. "Mrs. Cross, are you sure you're alright? You're trembling."

I was.

My whole body was shaking.

Because somewhere in the back of my mind, a terrible thought was forming.

What if they run into each other out there? What if Alexander says something? What if Damon—

I cut the thought off.

It didn't matter.

None of it mattered.

I just had to survive tonight. Get through this Hunt, get back to the estate, and figure out what the hell I was going to do.