Chapter 3

[Sia's POV]

Panic choked me. I threw on a hoodie and jeans to hide my skin. To hide the scent of my arousal.

When I walked into the living room, Kaelen filled the doorway. He sucked all the air out of the room.

He took off his sunglasses. Those golden eyes pinned me down.

"Alpha Kaelen insists we move to the Summit Estate," Mom said nervously. "Because of the attacks... he wants us safe. Isn't that generous?"

No. It was a capture.

"Sia," Mom waved at me. "Come say hello. This is Alpha Kaelen Voss. We will be part of his family."

I forced my legs to move. I stared at his tie knot. I couldn't look at his face.

"Hello... Alpha Kaelen," I whispered.

"Please," his voice vibrated through the floor. "We're going to be living together. No formalities."

He extended a large hand.

I hesitated. Mom was watching. I had no choice. I put my small hand in his.

Zap.

A spark of static electricity snapped between us. Sharp. Painful.

His fingers tightened instantly. It wasn't a handshake; it was a grip. His thumb pressed against my wrist, feeling my racing pulse.

He pulled me closer, invading my space.

"It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Sia," he said smoothly.

Then, he leaned down. Only I could see the dark hunger in his eyes. A cruel, sexy smirk played on his lips.

"Although," he murmured, his thumb stroking my wrist, sending fire up my arm. "We met yesterday, didn't we?"

I froze, trapped in the wolf's grip.

***

The Summit Pack's Estate was a fortress carved out of obsidian and glass, perched on the edge of a cliff.

"Dr. Bennett, you will be in the East Wing guest suite," Theo, Kaelen's Beta, announced efficiently as we stood in the cavernous foyer. He was polite, but his eyes held no warmth. "And Miss Sia..."

He checked his tablet. "Alpha Kaelen requested you in the Master Wing. The room next to his. For... maximum security."

My stomach dropped. It sounded like maximum surveillance.

"That's very thoughtful!" Mom chirped.

Suddenly, Mom's pager beeped. "Emergency surgery. Pile-up on the interstate. I have to go."

"Go," I said quickly, though panic was already icing my veins. "I'll be fine."

"Sorry sweetie, I'll be back tomorrow." Mom hugged me hastily and rushed out. The heavy front door clicked shut.

The house fell into a suffocating silence.

The Omega servants moved like ghosts, eyes lowered, terrified to make a sound. Dinner was lonely. Kaelen never appeared.

But his presence was everywhere. The smell of cedar and gunpowder seeped into the walls.

By midnight, my throat felt like sandpaper.

I couldn't sleep. The silence was loud. I needed water.

I crept out of my room. The hallway was dark. I got lost in the massive house.

I took a wrong turn, then another, ending up in a wing I didn't recognize.

The air here was hotter. The Alpha scent was thick, smelling like storm clouds and musk. It made my belly ache.

I saw a light from a door at the end of the hall. An office.

The door was cracked open.

I raised my hand to knock, but a sound stopped me dead.

"Sia..."

It was Kaelen. He groaned my name. Low, painful, and full of need.

I froze. I should have run. Every instinct screamed at me to run. But I pressed my eye to the crack in the door.

The office was dark. He sat in a leather chair, back to the door, facing the window, looking out at the moonlit forest.

His suit jacket was gone. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned, hanging off his broad shoulders.

And he was moving.

His right arm was moving in a steady, rhythmic motion near his lap.

I couldn't see what he was holding, the high back of the chair blocked my view, but I could see the muscles in his back bunching and flexing with every jerk of his arm.

Slick. Wet. Heavy. The sound of friction filled the silence.

My breath hitched in my throat. I knew that sound. I knew what he was doing.

Heat flooded my face, my chest, my thighs.

I watched the way his head fell back, exposing the thick column of his throat. His hand moved faster, harder, as if he was trying to punish himself.

Then, he spoke again.

"Fuck... Sia... you little torment..."

The sound of my name on his lips, mixed with the wet, rhythmic sound of his pleasure, shattered my world.