Chapter 5 Arrival of the Alpha King

Stephanie's POV

Bennett stood rooted to the spot, his gaze fixed on the direction I had gone, eyes shadowed as if lost in thoughts he would never share.

Suddenly, a wave of dizziness crashed over me. My vision blurred, and my legs faltered beneath me.

Before I could stumble, Bennett's hand shot out, his arm a solid wall pulling me against him. This time the contact was closer, almost suffocating. My cheek brushed the firm plane of his chest, and I could hear the steady, powerful rhythm of his heart.

Every instinct in my wolf screamed to tear away from him, to shred the man who had once broken me. I forced that urge down, locking it in a dark corner of my mind, and did not push him away.

"Stephanie?" His voice was low, edged with genuine concern.

Isabelle, just off a phone call, hurried toward us. She froze for half a second at the sight of me in his arms, but worry quickly replaced whatever else she might have felt. "Stephanie? What happened?"

"Just… a little dizzy," I murmured, my voice thin. I tried to step back, but my knees gave slightly, and Bennett's body went rigid for a breath.

"We're going back. You need to rest," Isabelle said firmly, taking charge without hesitation. She slid into Bennett's place, looping her arm around me, and steered me toward the recovery suite.

Bennett followed us for a few steps, as if he wanted to speak, but stopped short. When the elevator doors slid shut, I caught one last glimpse of his eyes locked on me.

Inside the elevator, Isabelle's voice softened. "What were you and Bennett talking about? He looked… strange."

I leaned into her shoulder, my words barely above a whisper. "Nothing much. I just think… losing my memories has changed the way I see people. And everything else."

That, at least, was the truth.

Since coming back, nothing looked the same anymore.

Back in the suite, Isabelle's hand moved gently over my back, her eyes full of a tenderness I had never known in my past life.

When I was Sophia, my father had loved me, but his love had been wrapped in the steel of a warrior's discipline. Now… now I was treated as something precious, something to be guarded.

I took her hand, meeting her gaze with a spark of resolve. "Mother, I want to take over the Pack's business holdings."

She blinked in surprise, then her face lit with unguarded joy. "You're ready to take responsibility for the Pack?"

"I've graduated from university," I said, straightening my spine. "The silver poison taught me more than I ever wanted to learn. It showed me I have to be strong—strong enough to protect our family."

In the quiet of my own thoughts, I added the words I didn't dare speak aloud: strong enough to protect… and to avenge.

"Good girl." Isabelle pulled me into a fierce embrace. "I've waited so long to hear you say that. In that case, we'll hold a grand graduation celebration and formally introduce you to the leaders of every Pack."

A week later, the Valerius Estate was alive with music and light. Guests filled every corner, the air rich with laughter and the clink of crystal.

I stood before the mirror, draped in a champagne-colored gown that caught the light like liquid gold. The reflection staring back at me was breathtaking—more refined, more dangerous than I had ever been as Sophia.

When I pushed open the doors to the grand hall, every head turned. Conversations faltered. I descended the staircase with practiced grace, my smile flawless, my steps unhurried, letting their whispers wash over me.

"I heard she's taking over Valerius's holdings. She carries herself like she was born for it."

"She's… different. Like she's someone else entirely."

Bennett was there, of course, with Clara clinging to his arm. He looked sharp in a black tux, handsome as ever, but to me his shine had dulled to nothing.

Clara, in a scarlet backless gown, leaned into him with calculated possession. But tonight, she would not be the one in the spotlight.

"Stephanie, you're… different tonight," she murmured, leaning in so close her breath brushed my ear. "But some things are off limits."

I let a slow, cool smile curl my lips. "Clara, I don't take hand-me-downs. You can polish a secondhand ring all you want—it's still secondhand."

The flush that rose in her face crept down her neck, and she turned away sharply.

Then the music stopped. The room fell into a hush, as if the air itself had shifted.

Every gaze swung toward the entrance.

A man stepped inside—tall, broad-shouldered, his black suit tailored to a blade's edge. His face was all sharp planes and patrician angles, as if carved to command.

Stillness clung to him, a cold, unshakable authority that made even the strongest Alpha straighten as if under inspection.

The air seemed to thicken, heavy against my ribs. My wolf stirred—not to challenge, but with the primal urge to lower her head.

"God… is that Karon Thorn?"

"The heir to the Thorn Pack? Alpha King himself?"

"They say he never attends social events. Why is he here?"

Isabelle appeared at my side, her voice a whisper against my ear. "Stephanie, he was your father's closest friend. He came tonight for you."

Something warm and unexpected flickered in my chest.

Karon's gaze swept the hall, and when it locked on me, the noise, the lights—everything—bled away.

Those eyes—deep, dangerous—felt like they could strip me bare. And I… didn't look away.

He began to walk toward me, each step unhurried, deliberate, as if the crowd parted for him by instinct. Women turned to watch him pass, their eyes shining with open hunger. Even Clara, who had never looked twice at anyone but Bennett, flushed and stared.

Bennett's jaw tightened, his grip on his glass whitening. Against Karon's presence, his own aura seemed to wither.

Karon stopped in front of me, close enough that the faint scent of his cologne—dark, clean, threaded with something primal—wrapped around me. I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes, the motion baring the line of my throat to his view.

His gaze lingered for a heartbeat just below my collarbone, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes, before returning to mine.

"Stephanie Valerius," he said, his voice low and rich, each syllable curling into my chest. "Congratulations on your graduation."