The Gala Invitation and The Rogue Alpha

A black SUV pulled into the underground garage of an isolated high-rise that overlooked the glittering skyline. Inside, dim lighting cut shadows across a long corridor of silence, broken only by the soft thump of polished leather shoes.

The man who’d vanished from the ER—the one with the gunshot wound—now stood upright, barely a scratch on his side, his gray t-shirt soaked with dried blood but his body completely healed.

He stepped into a private office.

Lucien Blackthorn stood near a massive glass window, his back to the door. Dressed in a black dress shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms, he didn’t turn when the door opened.

The man cleared his throat. “Alpha.”

Lucien’s jaw flexed. “Report.”

“I was shot point blank,” the man began, voice rough. “Should’ve died on that table, but… the doctor. Elaina Rivers. She put her hand on me, and the bleeding stopped like—like magic. No stitches. No transfusion. Just… warmth. Pain vanished.”

Lucien turned then. Slowly.

His eyes—black with a faint crimson glint—narrowed.

“She healed you?” Lucien’s voice was quiet. Dangerous.

The man nodded once. “Within minutes. Like she knew what to do. But when I tried to thank her, she looked… shaken. Like something passed through her.”

Lucien let out a slow exhale.

Kade stepped in from the side, arms crossed, brows raised. “That’s the third incident in two months, Lucien. First the clinic fire where she walked out without a burn. Then the blackout where she predicted the generator would fail. Now this. You still think her powers aren’t waking up?”

Lucien didn’t answer immediately.

He walked to the bar, poured two fingers of whiskey, then turned, sipping slowly.

“I thought we had more time,” he muttered, eyes distant. “She’s not ready. She doesn’t remember anything.”

Kade frowned. “The dreams might’ve started too.”

Lucien stiffened.

“She’s dreaming of the fire again, isn’t she?” Kade added.

“She will,” Lucien murmured. “And when she does, it’ll break her.”

“Unless we prepare her.”

Lucien’s eyes sharpened.

“She’s not a soldier. Not yet. She’s a doctor, a mess, and… too damn bright for the darkness coming.”

Kade grinned. “You mean too bright for you, boss.”

Lucien shot him a look.

“Fine, fine,” Kade laughed. “But she needs to be drawn in. Gently. Get her close. Before they do.”

Lucien downed the rest of the whiskey.

“Invite her to the charity gala,” he ordered coldly. “Make sure she comes.”

Kade raised a brow. “You want her to meet the wolves?”

Lucien’s voice dropped into a near whisper. “I want her to remember… who she used to be…. slowly.”

.........

The morning sun filtered through the half-closed blinds, stripping Elaina’s modest apartment in sleepy gold. A knock came at the door.

Daisy who came to Elaina's apartment early in the morning popped her head out of the kitchen, flour on her nose. “You're expecting someone?”

Elaina shook her head, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she walked to the door. When she opened it, a man in a sharp black suit handed her a sleek black envelope, sealed with silver wax.

“For Dr. Elaina Rivers,” he said with a shallow bow, then disappeared down the hallway before she could speak.

She turned the envelope over in her hand, heart inexplicably pounding. It was embossed with the Blackthorn Medical Foundation crest.

Daisy peeked over her shoulder and gasped. “No freaking way. That’s an invitation to the charity gala. As in the one where CEOs, heirs, and politicians drink wine that costs more than our rent!”

Elaina opened it carefully. The letter was printed on thick ivory paper:

“The Blackthorn Foundation cordially invites Dr. Elaina Rivers to the annual charity gala this Friday night at 8PM, hosted at the Blackthorn Estate.”

“Formal attire required.”

“Why me?” Elaina whispered.

Daisy was already grinning. “Who cares? We’re going. I’ll steal a dress if I have to.”

.........

Far across the city, in the fog-wrapped forests that bordered the outskirts, a man ran on four limbs—barefoot and shirtless—toward the circle of cabins hidden within the pines.

He shifted as he entered the clearing, bones snapping, muscles rearranging until he stood tall again, panting and human.

Inside the largest cabin, seated before a roaring fire, was a man with golden eyes.

Radiating dominance, power, and age, the Rogue Alpha didn’t move as the scout knelt before him.

“She’s attending the gala, Alpha.”

The golden-eyed man finally turned his head. His gaze was ancient and dangerous.

“Elaina Rivers?”

“Yes. She received the invitation this morning.”

A tense silence. Then, slowly, the Alpha stood.

“She’s not ready,” he growled. “Lucien is playing with fire.”

The scout shifted uneasily. “Should we intervene?”

“No,” the Alpha said darkly. “Not yet. Let him test her. Let him touch what doesn’t belong to him.”

His lips curved into a cruel smile.

“And then we’ll see if she bleeds like a human—or awakens like a queen.”