7. Whisper Of The Past.

ROSE — POV

By the time I reach my apartment, the sky is gray and heavy, like it’s about to cry for me.

I fumble with my keys, my hands trembling so hard that the metal slips twice before I finally get the door open. My apartment is quiet, small, and painfully normal … white curtains, a couch that’s older than me, and a faint vanilla scent from my air freshener..

I step inside, drop my purse on the floor, and shut the door behind me. The sound of the lock clicking feels too loud.

Then my phone rings.

Mom.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath before answering. “Hey, Mom.”

“Rose, honey,” she says softly, her voice like warm tea after a storm. “Are you okay? You sound… off.”

“I’m fine,” I lie quickly, forcing a laugh that comes out like a cough. “Just tired. The event last night ran late.”

There’s silence on her end. Then, “Rose, you’ve been pushing yourself too hard. That city will eat you alive if you don’t slow down.”

I press my lips together. “I’ll be fine, Mom. Really.”

“Okay,” she sighs, not convinced. “Just… take care of yourself. And don’t forget … you can always come home.”

I smile weakly. “I know.”

When the call ends, I drop my phone on the couch and sink into it, my body aching everywhere. My head spins. My skin still remembers him …Adrian … his touch, his warmth, his mouth on my neck.

My heart pounds, and suddenly I’m back there … his hand sliding down my spine, his lips claiming mine with raw hunger, the way his body trembled like he was in pain until I touched him.

It wasn’t just lust.

It was something deeper, strange, and terrifyingly familiar.

My eyes flutter shut as the memories flicker like a movie I can’t pause … his voice whispering my name, the taste of his skin, the electricity between us that made my whole body come alive.

Why him? Why does it feel familiar?

The sound of my phone cuts through the fog.

Another call.

Work.

I sit up instantly, trying to sound awake. “Hello?”

A woman’s clipped, irritated voice answers. “Rose Carter?”

“Yes, this is—”

“You were supposed to be at the morning presentation for the Wolfe Enterprises partnership,” she interrupts coldly. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done? That client was our biggest deal of the quarter!”

My throat tightens. “I—I wasn’t feeling well. I tried to send an email, but—”

“Save it,” she snaps. “You’ve been dismissed. HR will follow up. Don’t bother coming back.”

The line goes dead.

I stare at the phone like it just stabbed me.

Fired.

Just like that.

All because I was lying unconscious in a stranger’s penthouse… no … Adrian’s penthouse.

A fresh wave of tears rises and spills before I can stop them. I cover my face, shaking, every breath jagged and uneven.

“This can’t be happening,” I whisper. “I worked so hard…”

The world tilts around me. I curl up on the couch, hugging my knees to my chest. My tears soak into the fabric, and the sound of my sobbing fills the small space until exhaustion finally pulls me under.

I fall asleep crying.

And when I dream, the world is red.

ADRIAN — POV

The meeting room reeks of tension and cheap coffee.

I sit at the head of the long glass table, watching the nervous faces of the executives from the other company …. They shuffle papers, whisper, and avoid my eyes. The digital clock ticks too loudly on the wall.

We’ve been waiting for forty minutes.

“Where’s the presenter?” I finally ask, voice low but sharp enough to make two of them flinch.

“Uh—she was supposed to be here,” one man stammers. “We’re, uh, having a slight…technical—”

Caleb leans close to me and mutters, “Technical my ass.”

I don’t smile. My patience is hanging by a thread. “My time isn’t a playground,” I say flatly, my tone like steel. “If this partnership means nothing to your team, we can end this right now.”

The man’s face goes pale. “No, please, Mr. Wolfe—just a moment—”

My wolf stirs beneath my skin. I can hear every whisper in the room … the panicked heartbeats, the shuffling shoes, the small sighs of fear.

And then, through the noise, I catch a whisper that makes my blood run cold.

“…she was supposed to handle the presentation, but we had to fire her… something about incompetence…”

“Yeah,” another voice murmurs, “Rose Carter. Such a shame. She was brilliant.”

Everything inside me freezes.

Rose.

Her name slices through me like lightning.

Caleb feels the tension rolling off me. “Adrian?” he whispers cautiously. “What’s wrong?”

I don’t answer. I just listen.

More whispers …frantic apologies, someone begging to reschedule. I don’t care about any of it. I’m staring straight ahead, but my mind is somewhere else … seeing her tear-stained face, the way she walked out of my suite, the sound of her voice cracking when she said I ruined her.

Now this.

They fired her.

Because of me.

A muscle ticks in my jaw as one of the executives finally speaks up. “Sir, we deeply apologize for the disorganization. If possible, we’d like to … uh—reschedule this meeting for another time. The presenter—Miss Carter—was unexpectedly let go this morning. It’s… complicated.”

For a second, no one breathes.

Then I lean back slowly, folding my arms, my face unreadable. “Reschedule?”

“Yes,” he says nervously. “We’ll prepare the full presentation properly, with—”

“I’ll agree,” I interrupt smoothly, “on one condition.”

He blinks. “Anything.”

“Rose Carter will handle it,” I say.

The room goes silent. You could hear a pen drop.

“B-but sir,” he stammers, “she’s been—”

“I don’t care,” I cut him off. “If she isn’t the one presenting, there’s no deal.”

The man looks at his colleagues helplessly. “Of course, Mr. Wolfe. We’ll… we’ll make it happen.”

I rise from my chair without another word. “Good.”

As I walk out, Caleb follows behind, trying not to smirk.

The moment we step into the hallway, he lets out a low whistle. “You’ve got it bad.”

I glare at him. “Shut up.”

He grins wider. “You could’ve demanded anyone … but you said her. You realize they’ll probably crawl on their knees to find her now, right?”

“Good,” I mutter.

Caleb chuckles. “So this is the mighty Adrian Wolfe, Alpha of two worlds, losing his head over one woman.”

I shoot him a look that could kill. “She’s not just any woman.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Then what is she?”

I pause, jaw tightening. I don’t answer.

Because I don’t know even who she is to me.

All I know is that every time I try to move on, every time I try to focus, her name drags me back like a spell I can’t break.

Everything somehow leads to Rose.

And that terrifies me more than any war ever could.

ROSE — POV

Darkness.

Then… woods.

The air is thick and wet, the scent of pine heavy in my lungs. I’m running barefoot, branches snapping beneath my feet, my breath ragged and fast. The sound of snarls echoes through the trees.

Something is chasing me.

My heart pounds, and I glance back …glowing red eyes cut through the fog behind me. Vampires. I remember their hiss, their speed. Their hunger.

“No,” I whisper, stumbling forward.

A root catches my foot … I fall, scraping my palms on dirt and leaves. The vampires close in, shadows flickering between the trees.

And then … light.

Silver light cuts through the darkness, and with it, a shape … a man. No, not just a man.

A wolf.

Massive, dark-furred, eyes glowing molten gold. He moves faster than the wind, crashing into the vampires like thunder. Claws slash, fangs gleam, and screams fill the forest. One by one, they fall.

I can’t move. I’m too terrified, too stunned.

When it’s over, he turns to me …the wolf’s breath fogging in the cold air. His eyes lock on mine, and something inside me… calms. My fear fades. My pulse slows.

He steps closer.

And right before my eyes, the wolf shifts … bones cracking, fur receding, until standing before me is a man. Tall, broad-shouldered, shirt torn, chest heaving.

Adrian.

My breath catches. “You…”

He kneels beside me, his eyes softer than I’ve ever seen them. “You’re safe now.”

And in that moment …that night … I remember everything. The accident. The blood. The headlights flashed as my car spun out of control on that lonely road. The pain in my chest. The world fading to black.

And then — him.

Carrying me out of the wreck.

Saving me.

He was there.

He was my savior.

The pieces click into place.

That’s why he felt familiar.

Why his scent calms me.

Why his touch feels like home.

I gasp awake, sitting up so fast that my vision spins. My hair sticks to my forehead. My heart is racing like I ran a marathon.

Sweat clings to my skin. My breath shakes as I whisper into the darkness:

“He was the one…”

The room feels too small, too silent. I press my hand to my chest, feeling my heartbeat thundering beneath my palm.

Adrian Wolfe.

The man who saved me that night.

The man I’ve been dreaming about for months without realizing it was real.

Tears sting my eyes again …. but this time, not from sadness. From shock. From the weight of understanding.

The universe is playing some cruel game, tying me to him in ways I can’t escape.

And maybe… I don’t want to.

I lie back slowly, staring at the ceiling.

But one thought refuses to leave my mind.

If Adrian saved me once…

Why does it feel like he’s the one who can destroy me, too?

ADRIAN — POV

Back in the car, the city flashes by … glass towers, traffic lights, the glow of life moving without pause. Caleb drives, humming something tuneless.

I stare out the window, silent.

“She’s going to find out, you know,” Caleb says quietly. “Sooner or later, the truth about that night.”

I close my eyes. “She can't find out, she's a mortal.”

“If she does, she’ll hate you.”

“I know that too, but she can't find out. We shouldn’t trust mortals with it.”

He glances at me through the rearview mirror. “Then why do you look like a man who’s already falling?”

I don’t answer.

Because he’s right.

And for the first time in my life… I’m not sure I want to stop.