ROOM 49

I should have known that meeting Dante Romano would change my life.

But I never imagined it would happen so quickly.

For three days after our first encounter, I couldn't stop thinking about him. His grey eyes, his deep voice and the strange way he had looked at me when our fingers touched.

There was something unusual about him.

And there was something even stranger about the way my body reacted whenever he came near me.

I tried to convince myself that it was nothing.

After all, he was an Alpha, a billionaire and a man who could have any woman he wanted.

I was simply Aria Cole, an ordinary Omega working at an event centre to survive.

What business could a man like him possibly have with someone like me?

Yet Dante kept returning to Diana Event Hall.

The first time, he requested champagne.

The second time, he asked whether I was working that evening.

On his third visit, he finally made his intentions clear.

He waited until I finished serving the guests before approaching the counter.

"Aria."

I turned, surprised to hear him call my name.

"Good evening, sir."

"Do you always call me sir?"

"You're a customer."

He chuckled.

"And if I don't want to be just a customer?"

I stared at him, unsure how to respond.

He took a napkin from the counter, wrote something on it and pushed it towards me.

"My number. Text me when you finish work."

I glanced at the napkin.

"Why?"

"Because I'd like to speak to you without having to order champagne first."

Before I could answer, he walked away.

I looked down at the number again.

Then I folded the napkin and slipped it into my handbag.

I didn't text him that night.

Or the following day.

I waited a week.

On the eighth day, after typing and deleting several messages, I finally sent one.

Is this the man who tips in hundred-dollar notes?

His reply came almost immediately.

Only when the service is excellent.

I smiled at my phone.

That was how everything began.

Our conversations started with simple questions.

He wanted to know whether I had eaten, how my day had gone and whether anyone had upset me at work.

Soon, he began sending me pictures of the sunrise from his office window, the expensive meals he rarely finished and even a stray dog he had started feeding.

Sometimes he called after midnight.

Other times, he simply sent a message asking me to sleep early.

I told Brenna everything.

She listened with her arms folded, looking far too pleased with herself.

"So, let me understand this. The Alpha of the Midnight Pack is calling you every night?"

I nodded.

"And you still haven't agreed to date him?"

"I never said I wasn't interested."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

I shrugged.

"I'm just being careful."

Brenna shook her head.

"Aria, listen to me. Don't let a handsome face and a powerful title confuse you. Let him prove that he wants you."

I laughed.

"You sound like my mother."

"Good. Somebody has to give you sense."

For the next two years, Dante became an important part of my life.

He never rushed me.

He took me to dinners, sent me flowers and remembered even the smallest things I mentioned.

Whenever I complained about being tired, he offered to send a driver.

Whenever I mentioned something I liked, it somehow appeared at my apartment a few days later.

But I remained cautious.

I had spent too much of my life watching people abandon me to surrender my heart easily.

Dante seemed to understand.

He never demanded more than I was ready to give.

He was twenty-six, and I had just turned twenty.

My twentieth birthday was a simple celebration at a small pizza restaurant. Brenna had borrowed a sequined top for me, bought a tiny cake and insisted on singing loudly enough for the entire restaurant to hear.

I laughed until my stomach hurt.

For once, I wasn't thinking about my parents, the house I had lost or the people who had abandoned me.

I was simply happy.

At noon, a courier arrived with an enormous package.

Inside were beautiful dresses, expensive shoes, a silver phone and a scarf with a familiar cedar fragrance.

There was a small card resting on top.

I'll try to be there tonight.

D.

I read the message twice.

Dante had promised to celebrate my birthday with me.

I spent the afternoon getting ready, but he never arrived.

By six o'clock, I was beginning to feel disappointed.

Then a black car pulled up outside my apartment.

A driver stepped out and opened the back door.

Inside sat a makeup artist holding a case of brushes. An emerald-green dress lay carefully across her knees.

"The Alpha sends his apologies," she said with a polite smile. "And his love."

My cheeks warmed.

I looked at the dress.

It was beautiful.

For a moment, I wondered what it would feel like to be loved by someone as powerful as Dante Romano.

I pushed the thought aside and allowed the woman to help me get ready.

An hour later, I arrived at the Hartwell Hotel.

Room 49 was at the top of the building.

The moment I entered, I stopped.

The lights were dim, a candle burned in the centre of a beautifully arranged table, and the windows overlooked the entire city.

Dante stood near the window in a black shirt with his sleeves rolled to his elbows.

When he turned and saw me, he went completely still.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

I looked down at my dress.

"Is something wrong?"

He shook his head slowly.

"My eyes," he murmured. "They can't take it."

I laughed nervously.

"You're exaggerating."

"I'm not."

He approached me and gently took my hand.

"You're beautiful, Aria."

I lowered my eyes.

"Thank you."

He pulled out a chair for me, and we sat together.

For the next hour, we talked about everything.

His childhood. His mother's roses. His responsibilities as Alpha.

I told him about my parents, their accident and the relatives who had taken everything from me.

I even told him about the eleven dollars I had once considered my entire fortune.

He listened without interrupting.

When I finished, he reached across the table.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that."

I looked at our joined hands.

"Sometimes I still miss them so much that I forget they're gone."

He squeezed my fingers.

"You're not alone anymore."

I wanted to believe him.

But there was something else I needed him to understand.

"Dante, there's something about me you should know."

"Tell me."

I took a deep breath.

"I'm an Omega. My parents were Omegas too. People like me aren't considered important in the werewolf world. We're expected to serve people like you."

His expression changed.

"Who told you that?"

"Everyone."

He leaned forward.

"Then everyone is wrong."

I looked up.

"Aria, listen to me. Your rank doesn't determine your worth. You're not beneath me, and I never want you to feel that way."

His thumb moved gently over my wrist.

"I love you."

My heart skipped.

I stared at him, wondering whether I had heard correctly.

"What?"

"I love you, Aria. I've known it for a long time. I love the way you smile at strangers. I love how you care about people even when life hasn't been kind to you. And I want to be part of your life."

My eyes filled with tears.

For two years, I had wondered what we were to each other.

Now I finally had my answer.

"I feel the same way," I whispered. "But I need you to understand something. You've been my first real love. I've never allowed anyone this close to me before. I need to be sure."

He raised my hand and kissed the back of it.

"Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere."

A waiter approached with two tall glasses containing an amber-coloured drink.

Dante picked up his glass.

I picked up mine.

"Happy birthday, Aria."

"Thank you, Dante."

Our glasses touched.

Neither of us noticed the man sitting quietly in the corner of the dining room.

He had been watching us for some time.

And the moment our glasses touched, he quietly stood up, folded his newspaper and walked out.

I took a sip of my drink.

It tasted sweet.

Dante smiled at me, and I smiled back.

But something was wrong.

A few minutes later, I began feeling strangely warm.

I loosened the neckline of my dress and shifted in my chair.

Dante noticed immediately.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I suddenly feel strange."

He swallowed and rubbed his forehead.

"Strange?"

"Yes. Are you feeling hot too?"

He didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he looked at his drink.

Then he looked at mine.

His expression changed.

"Aria, don't drink anymore."

I frowned.

"Why?"

He picked up his glass and sniffed it.

For the first time since I had known him, Dante looked genuinely frightened.

"Something is wrong."

My heart began pounding.

"What do you mean?"

He stood abruptly, knocking his chair backwards.

"Someone has tampered with our drinks."

I tried to get up, but my legs felt weak.

"Dante..."

He reached for me, but his own balance seemed unsteady.

We looked at each other.

Neither of us knew who had done it.

Neither of us knew what would happen next.

The last thing I remembered was Dante calling my name before the darkness swallowed everything.

---

I woke up the following morning with a terrible headache.

For a few seconds, I couldn't remember where I was.

Then I noticed the unfamiliar ceiling.

The luxurious bedroom.

The scattered clothes.

And the bloodstained sheet beneath me.

My breath caught.

I pulled the sheet tightly around my body and sat up.

Dante was already awake.

He sat at the edge of the bed with his head buried in his hands.

"Aria."

His voice was hoarse.

I stared at him, struggling to understand what had happened.

"Please tell me nothing happened."

He lifted his head.

Pain was written all over his face.

"Aria, I swear I didn't intend for this to happen. I think someone drugged our drinks. I felt it too."

I pressed my hands against my forehead.

"Don't."

He moved closer.

"Let me explain."

"Don't tell me that!"

My voice cracked.

He stopped.

I looked at him through my tears.

"You told me you loved me. You told me you would wait until I was ready. And now look at what has happened!"

"Aria, I'm sorry."

"Get out."

He stared at me.

"Please."

"GET OUT!"

He stood slowly.

His phone began ringing on the bedside table.

He glanced at the screen, then at me.

Something urgent had happened at the docks, and his men needed him.

"I'll arrange for my driver to take you home whenever you're ready."

I turned my face away.

He remained there for a moment before finally walking out.

The door closed.

And I broke down.

I cried until my chest hurt.

I cried because I was frightened, because I felt betrayed, and because the one person I had finally allowed myself to trust had become part of the most painful morning of my life.

At nine that morning, Brenna found me sitting on the bathroom floor.

She dropped her handbag and rushed towards me.

"Aria? What happened?"

I couldn't speak.

She knelt beside me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders.

I eventually told her everything.

Her expression changed.

"Someone did this deliberately," she whispered.

I looked at her.

"What?"

She held my hands.

"Two powerful people don't suddenly become helpless like that without a reason. Somebody wanted this to happen."

I started crying again.

Brenna pulled me into another hug.

"Whoever did this will answer for it. I promise you."

---

That same evening, Dante returned to the Romano mansion.

His father was waiting in the living room.

Mr. Romano stood beside the fireplace, holding a glass of whiskey.

"You're late," he said.

"I had an emergency."

"Sit down."

Dante remained standing.

"What is it?"

His father turned towards him.

"You're twenty-six years old. It's time you stopped behaving like a boy and started acting like the Alpha you are."

Dante's jaw tightened.

"Father, I'm not in the mood."

"Your marriage has already been arranged. Serenna Thomas, the daughter of Beta Thomas. The wedding will take place during the Moon Festival."

Dante stared at him.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Father, I can't marry Serenna."

His father's expression hardened.

"You can, and you will. Your trust fund becomes available when you marry. That agreement was made years ago."

"I don't care about the money."

"Then you can walk out of this house with nothing but the clothes you're wearing."

Dante looked towards his mother.

She sat silently, her eyes fixed on the carpet.

"Mother?"

She didn't answer.

His father placed his glass on the fireplace.

"Choose, Dante. Your inheritance or your foolish attachment to a woman who means nothing to this family."

Dante's hands curled into fists.

He wanted to tell them about Aria.

He wanted to tell them that he had found someone he loved.

But he knew his father would never accept an Omega as the Luna of the Midnight Pack.

Without another word, he turned and climbed the stairs.

He entered his bedroom, locked the door and picked up his phone.

Aria's number appeared on the screen.

He called.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

She didn't answer.

He tried again.

And again.

Seventeen calls.

Seventeen unanswered attempts.

On the eighteenth call, the phone rang twice before going straight to voicemail.

Dante lowered himself onto the edge of the bed.

For the first time in his life, the Alpha of the Midnight Pack felt completely powerless.

And somewhere across the city, Aria sat alone, unaware that the man she loved was about to make a decision that would destroy both their lives.

END OF CHAPTER TWO