Chapter five

DANGEROUS CURIOSITY

Ryan’s POV

THE PAST WEEK

Something was wrong with me.

That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I stared down at Isla Warren, standing in the middle of my private floor, looking completely terrified and completely defiant at the same time.

The addictive scent in the air was becoming unbearable.

My wolf paced violently beneath my skin while I watched her struggle to breathe properly under the pressure of my aura. Any other wolf would have lowered their eyes by now. Most avoided direct eye contact with me entirely.

But Isla kept looking at me. Confused. Suspicious. And strangely unafraid.

I should have called security immediately. Instead, I found myself studying her.

Again.

“You are either very brave,” I said slowly, “or very foolish.”

Her throat bobbed slightly as she swallowed.

“I got lost.”

The answer came too quickly to be rehearsed.

Honest.

I narrowed my eyes slightly. “You ignored direct instructions on your first night here.”

“I said I got lost. Not that I’m stupid.”

The response startled me enough that silence followed instantly. Nobody spoke to me that way. Not council members. Not Alphas.

Certainly not frightened new staff members trespassing on my floor after midnight.

Yet there she stood with her heart hammering loudly enough for my wolf to hear while still managing to sound irritated with me.

Interesting.

“You have an attitude problem,” I observed calmly.

Something flashed across her face, briefly. It was hurt.

Then she straightened slightly.

“No,” she replied quietly. “I just dislike being threatened every five minutes.”

I stared at her for several seconds before asking, “Do you usually speak to powerful wolves this carelessly?”

“No.”

“Then why now?”

Her answer came almost immediately.

“Because you haven’t actually done anything to me.”

That caught me off guard.

I frowned slightly.

Most people feared my reputation before they feared me personally.

But Isla…

She separated both things instinctively.

Like she needed evidence before deciding whether someone deserved her fear.

That alone made her dangerous.

Because people who feared nothing blindly were difficult to control.

“You should return downstairs,” I said finally.

She nodded quickly as relief flickered across her face before she turned toward the staircase.

Then she suddenly stopped.

I watched her tense slightly before she glanced back at me carefully.

“You knew who I was the moment you saw me.”

“I did.”

“And you still hired me?”

My expression remained unreadable. “I don’t involve myself in staff recruitment.”

That was technically true. Mrs. Denver handled most household staffing personally. But I also knew that answer did not satisfy her. I could see it in her eyes.

“Goodnight, Alpha King Volkov,” she murmured eventually.

Then she disappeared down the stairs. The silence afterward felt unnatural. My wolf remained restless long after her scent faded from the hallway.

That irritated me more than it should have.

*****

The following morning, the estate felt different. I noticed it immediately because my attention kept drifting toward places it normally never would.

The west hallway outside the administrative offices. The kitchen entrance. The sound of unfamiliar footsteps moving through the lower floor.

Her.

Annoyance settled heavily inside me.

This was precisely why I avoided emotional distractions. They weakened focus. And weakness inside my position usually ended in blood.

“Your son arrived this morning.”

Elder Magnus Hale’s voice dragged my attention back toward the council meeting.

I lifted my gaze slowly.

Five men sat around the conference table inside my office. Powerful Alphas. Council members. Wolves feared throughout half the territory. Yet silence there was unique silence whenever I spoke.

“Roman informed me already,” I answered calmly.

Magnus studied me carefully from across the table.

“He intends to bring his chosen mate to the Moon’s Blessing Ceremony.”

Chosen mate.

I didn’t say a word.

Magnus nodded slowly, but I noticed the glance exchanged between him and another elder.

Something was shifting within the council lately. Meetings fell into silence whenever I entered rooms unexpectedly. Political alliances were formed too quietly.

I noticed everything. I simply had not decided what to do about it yet.

“The ceremony approaches quickly,” another elder spoke carefully. “The appearance of all major bloodlines has already been confirmed.”

My jaw tightened slightly.

Moon’s Blessing ceremonies were exhausting.

Seven years between each gathering, yet somehow the politics worsened every single time.

Powerful packs pretending loyalty while secretly measuring each other’s weaknesses.

False smiles. False respect. False alliances. I hated every part of it.

“Security arrangements are already in place,” I said coldly. “If that is all, this meeting is finished.”

The men immediately stood without hesitation. That was how things worked around me.

Magnus paused slightly before leaving. Then his eyes shifted briefly toward the office doors.

“Your new employee,” he said casually. “The Warren girl.”

Every instinct inside me came alive instantly.

“What about her?”

“She seems familiar.”

“She previously dated Roman.”

Magnus went still briefly before nodding slowly.

“I thought so.”

Then he smiled faintly.

“I imagine that could become… complicated.”

The moment the door shut behind him, my wolf growled low inside my chest.

Complicated.

That word had followed Isla into my life far too quickly already.

*****

Over the week, avoiding her became impossible. It wasn’t because she deliberately sought me out but because somehow, Isla Warren kept appearing everywhere. In hallways, near the library, inside meeting offices, organizing documents while council members stared at her with open curiosity.

And every single time, I noticed the exact same thing.

She watched everything quietly and carefully. Most people entering Crescent Estate became intimidated immediately. They learned to lower their heads and move carefully around me.

Isla did not. She observed. That difference mattered.

“You haven’t slept properly.”

Her voice startled me enough that I looked up from the paperwork spread across my office desk.

She stood near the doorway holding a stack of files against her chest.

I frowned slightly. “Excuse me?”

“The dark circles under your eyes,” she explained awkwardly. “You look exhausted.”

Silence followed instantly.

Nobody commented on my appearance. Ever. Not unless they wanted punishment.

Yet Isla looked genuinely concerned instead of fearful.

“I wasn’t aware my health became staff discussion material,” I said coldly.

Her expression hardened immediately.

“Forget I said anything.”

She placed the files down more forcefully than necessary before turning to leave.

“Isla.”

She stopped walking.

I studied her silently for a moment before speaking again.

“You notice too much.”

She tried to speak when, unexpectedly, my wolf surged forward the moment another man entered the office behind her.

Ethan. One of the younger security officers.

His eyes lingered on Isla too long while accepting documents from her. A low growl nearly escaped my throat before I forced it down violently.

What the hell was wrong with me?

Isla noticed. I knew she did. Because confusion flickered across her face immediately afterward. Then realization followed.

Dangerous realization.

Her pulse quickened slightly. My jaw tightened.

“Everyone out,” I ordered.

Neither of them argued.

But the moment Isla walked past me toward the door, her scent wrapped around me again, warm and dangerously distracting. My wolf reacted instantly.

Mine.

The possessiveness slammed through me so violently that I nearly crushed the pen in my hand. They shut the office door as they walked away, and everywhere became quiet.

Then I finally understood why this situation unsettled me so badly. It was not a simple attraction. Attraction could be controlled, ignored, buried. But whatever existed between Isla and me felt older than logic, stronger than restraint. And my wolf already recognized it long before my mind accepted it.

*****

PRESENT

"Alpha? Did you need me for anything?” Isla asked from across the room. Eyes focused on me with quiet curiosity.

‘Why the hell did I call her here? What was I just imagining?’ I run a hand through my hair and turn away. “I don’t need help anymore. Leave!”

“Oh! Umm… okay, Alpha.” Isla bowed again before leaving. For some reason the murmurs from before still continued.

‘You foolish man. Get your shit together!’ Even as I thought that, I found my legs moving to where she had just been standing. Her scent lingered in the air. ‘This is all you get! Now focus on work!’

*****

The Moon Goddess’s Blessing Ceremony arrived three nights later.

The ballroom glowed. Expensive gowns swept across polished floors while Alphas from neighboring territories exchanged careful smiles hiding dangerous intentions underneath.

I hated ceremonies like this. But tonight felt worse because the moment Isla entered the ballroom, every instinct inside me awoke painfully.

She wore dark blue. Simple compared to the wealthy women surrounding her. Yet somehow she still became the first thing I noticed. And apparently, not only me. Several male wolves, including Roman, turned toward her instantly, making my wolf react viciously.

I tightened my grip around the glass in my hand hard enough to crack it slightly. ‘Control yourself.’ I thought.

Across the room, Isla finally looked toward me. Then froze. The tension between us hit instantly and was somehow impossible to break. She runs over to where I stood, rushing over to meet Ethan, who was serving the guests. She mistakenly tripped, almost falling, but I caught her before she could.

The moment our hands met, everything exploded. Pain ripped violently through my chest. Isla gasped deeply beside me as energy surged through the ballroom.

Then my wolf roared spiritually. Power slammed outward so hard that several wolves stumbled backward in shock. Then Isla cried out suddenly, making every head snap toward her.

A burning red light spread beneath the skin near her collarbone while she trembled violently beside me.

“No…” someone whispered.

The mark appeared slowly. Glowing. Bright crimson. It was a crescent moon.

Silence immediately consumed the entire ballroom.

Absolute silence.

Because we all knew what it meant. Red crescents never happen.

It had not happened in the past hundred decades…