CHAPTER ONE

Bella Quinn

“Do you plan to work today or stand there daydreaming, Bella?”

The voice echoed in the kitchens and it was so impatient, as I straightened immediately, my hands still wet from washing pans that had already been scrubbed twice. I turned toward Elder Marrow and lowered my head the way I had been taught to.

“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “I was just finishing.”

“You were supposed to be here an hour ago,” he replied, glancing at the clock on the wall like it mattered more than the sweat on my skin. “We can replace you easily. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t,” I immediately said, even though I had arrived before dawn like I always did, even though I had already covered for two others who hadn’t shown up.

He walked away without another word, already bored of the conversation, and I went back to work, my movements smooth and quiet, careful not to draw any attention to myself .

This was my place, where for once in my life I felt useful, unnoticed and tolerated.

I walked down to the pack house, carrying trays, refilling drinks, stepping aside when higher ranks passed, keeping my eyes lowered while still seeing everything that was happening but never dared to talk even if I saw something wrong going on.

My heart skipped when my eyes met with someone else's. Harry Blackridge.

I watched him walk with pride into the halls. Wolves stepped aside for him without thinking, conversations stopped when he spoke, laughter followed wherever he went. He gave orders easily and was very confident.

I immediately turned my head to the ground. An omega won't dare keep an eye contact with the Alpha but then, my eyes still found its way to see him without anyone noticing it.

I knew the sound of his voice without seeing him, knew his stride, knew when he was in a good mood and when he wasn’t. I knew when to stay far away and when to be close enough to be useful. I had learned him the way one learns weather patterns, quietly, over time.

He laughed with Brianna near the main hall, everyone knew her to be the Alpha's lover. Her hand rested easily on his arm, her voice light and practiced, she was fake and I knew that.

Brianna always looked like she belonged, polished, confident, already playing the role everyone expected her to fill. The future Luna.

I carried a tray past them and kept my head down.

I had loved Harry for years, not loudly, not foolishly, not in a way that asked for anything. It lived in habit, in routine, in noticing when he was tired and leaving water nearby, in knowing which meetings ran long and which ended early. I never imagined futures or promises. Wanting him was something quiet I carried alone.

~

The pack gathered as the sun dipped lower, music rising, voices growing louder, alcohol flowing freely. Harry’s birthday was more than a celebration. It was a statement. Elders watched him closely. They had to because he was becoming the Alpha of this pack.

I worked through it all, assigned to stay late, to clean around and to refill, making sure nothing ran out. By the time the crowd thinned, my feet ached and my shoulders burned, but I couldn't dare try to act tired.

I stood with a fake smile on my lips and suddenly, I swear I was right because Harry looked right into my eyes. First and he kept staring for a few seconds before looking away.

Most of the wolves had drifted away, laughter echoing down hallways, the music quieter now. Brianna had left early, irritated and obvious about it, and Harry was restless, I could see that. The alcohol sitting heavy in his system, his mood uneven.

“Hey,” he said casually when I passed him with empty glasses.

I froze for half a second, then turned, keeping my face neutral. “Alpha Harry.”

“Don’t,” he said, waving it off. “You don’t need to do that.”

I nodded. “Do you need anything else?”

His eyes lingered on me longer, it was so hot and I could feel it playing around my neck.

“I know you,” he said. “You do work every single time around me right?”

I shrugged lightly. “It’s my job.”

He stepped closer. No one was around here and we were now closed doors which made it much more ... .worse. He hadn't even touched me yet and I was already like he started to. Well, ironically, with his eyes.

“You could have left hours ago,” he said.

“There was still work to do, Alpha.”

His mouth curved slightly, not quite a smile.

He reached out then, fingers closing around my wrist, not tight, not gentle either, like he expected me to stay exactly that I wanted him? My breath hitched before I could stop it.

His thumb brushed my pulse once, deliberate.

“You’re shaking,” he said.

“I’m tired, Alpha,” I replied, even though that wasn’t all of it.

He moved his hand from my wrist to my waist, settling there and I felt every instinct in my body scream warning. This was wrong. This was so dangerous. This was not something I could undo if it happened.

I should have stepped back but I didn’t!

“You understand what I want,” he said quietly, his voice lower now, stripped of its casual tone.

I swallowed. “Yes.” I didn't even know when that escaped my lips.

He studied my face,  something dark flickered in his eyes.

“Good,” he said.

He led me down a side corridor, his hand still on me, guiding me. No one saw us  and I was getting really so nervous.

We reached a quiet room near the back of the pack house, one rarely used, the door already unlocked. He pushed it open and stepped inside, pulling me with him, and the door closed behind us with a soft click that sounded too final.

The room smelled like dust and old wood, unused and clearly forgotten, and my heart pounded hard enough that I wondered if he could hear it.

Harry turned to me slowly, his gaze dropping to my mouth, then back to my eyes.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” he said, blunt and honest in a way that hurt so deeply.

“I know,” I replied, even when my heart didn't want to believe what he said was right.

He seemed to pause at that, something shifting again, then his hands were on me, one bracing against the door behind me, the other settling at my hip, pressing me back until the wood was solid at my spine.

My breath caught, shallow and fast, and his mouth hovered close, close enough that I could feel the heat of him, the tension pulling tight between us.

This was the moment I would remember forever. The moment I would replay when things went wrong. The moment I would wish I had walked away from.

I didn’t move.

I lifted my chin slightly, meeting his gaze, accepting the choice I was making.

Harry leaned in, his body pinning me in place, his voice low and controlled as he said, “Tell me to stop.”

I closed my eyes for just a second, then opened them again.