Chapter 03: Shadows Of Desire.

“She is the one.” Alpha Kael’s whisper sliced through the silence in the back seat like a blade.

The driver heard every word. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, the air inside the Rolls-Royce growing thick and heavy with tension.

The Beta’s hands tightened on the steering wheel, his wolf instinctively sensing the shift in his Alpha’s aura.

Jasmine, still standing by the driver’s window, tilted her head slightly. “Is everything okay? I just really need to reverse and get out of here right now.”

From the shadows of the back seat, Alpha Kael’s deep, commanding voice rolled out, slow and authoritative. “I want to take you out on a date, Stay over at mine afterwards and anything you want, believe that you shall receive all.”

Jasmine’s eyes widened in pure disbelief. She stared toward the tinted rear window, her mouth falling open in a mix of shock and outrage.

Her cheeks flushed with a combination of embarrassment and irritation. “Excuse me? Do I look like someone in desperate need of a date?” She shot back, her voice laced with sass.

Kael remained silent for a beat. Then his hand moved, and he extended a sleek black card through the driver’s window. “Meet me at this hotel. Name the place you want afterwards. I will take you there, as long as it is a date between us, and do not use beyond the required time, I dislike it.”

Jasmine blinked rapidly, completely thrown off.

She couldn’t even see the man speaking...his window was still up, leaving only the polite but tense driver visible.

“I am so very confused right now,” she said, laughing nervously. “But I guess you’re speaking to the wrong person. Can you guys just move back a little so I can reverse?”

No answer.

She glanced between the driver and the dark rear window. “I’m confused. Can I at least see who is talking? I can’t see your face properly, for a lot of reasons I don’t even know."

A low, almost amused chuckle came from the back.

“Fine,” Kael said. “Anything for you.” The rear window glided down smoothly.

Jasmine’s breath caught in her throat the moment his face was revealed.

He was devastatingly handsome in the most dangerous way possible.

Sharp, angular features carved from stone, piercing blue eyes that seemed to glow with an otherworldly intensity, and a jawline so defined it could cut glass.

His skin had a subtle golden-bronze tone, and his presence radiated raw power. There was nothing soft about him.

He looked like a predator barely contained in human form..ruthless, regal, and utterly lethal. The faint scar near his left brow only added to the deadly allure.

Jasmine’s mouth fell open. “What the fuck? Are you human?”

The words tumbled out before she could stop them. Her heart slammed against her ribcage as heat flooded her body.

Kael tilted his head slightly, looking away for a moment as if her reaction bored him. “Are you going to accept my proposal or not?”

Jasmine bit her lip, pretending to think. She smiled, lightly touching her hairstyle as a blush crept up her neck. “I’ll think about it.”

Silence stretched between them.

“Okay, very well then,” Kael said flatly. “When you are done thinking, let me know.”

“Wait...” Jasmine quickly added, “I just thought about it. Yes, I would love to go on a date with you. But next time, can you be a little cuter about it?”

Kael stared at her for a long, intense moment, his expression unreadable, before turning his face away.

The driver spoke immediately. “He needs to get your address as soon as possible and let us know when you’ll be available for pickup.”

Jasmine rolled her eyes, though her pulse was still racing. “I know you’re very handsome, but you should be a little nice. Not every girl falls for this whole dark-and-brooding vibe.”

Kael’s gaze snapped back to her, sharp and possessive. “But you fell.”

The tension crackled as Jasmine stared at him, lost.

“Fine,” she muttered, pulling out a small card with her address. She stretched it toward him.

Kael didn’t move to take it.

He simply glanced at it, then looked away dismissively.

The driver reached out. “Bring it here.”

Jasmine handed it over, her mind spinning. “Okay....So?” she asked.

“You can leave,” Kael replied, his voice low. “Have a nice time, mate.”

Jasmine paused mid-turn. “Mate?”

Kael’s expression didn’t change. “I don’t know your name. That was my way of asking.”

She let out a breath. “I’m Jasmine.”

He gave a single, curt nod and rolled his window up, shutting her out once more.

Before Jasmine could walk back to her car, a calm voice spoke behind her. “I thought Elara called you to leave.”

Jasmine spun around. Orella stood there, elegant and composed, a glass of wine still in her hand.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am,” Jasmine stammered. “I was just telling them to move their car a bit so I could reverse.”

Orella rolled her eyes and walked away without another word as Jasmine hurried to her car, heart still pounding.

A short while later, after the Rolls-Royce had adjusted its position, Orella approached again, her demeanor perfectly professional.

“Hello, Mr. Kael,” she said smoothly. “Nice meeting you. I’m so happy to be working with the new powerhouse, Eclipse Holdings Limited.”

She extended her hand for a handshake.

Kael didn’t even glance at it. “Can we start whatever we are here for? You are quite late for a business that is supposed to benefit you.”

Orella cleared her throat gracefully. “I’m so sorry, sir. It wasn’t my fault.....”

Kael ignored her explanation entirely, his face impassive. “Okay. So tell me now, what do you have for me?”

Orella gestured toward the house. “Please, come inside so we can take your measurements properly.”

Kael’s gaze remained cold. “If you cannot take measurements right here in my car, then I do not think there is any need doing business with you.”

Orella sighed, frustration flashing across her perfect features before she masked it.

She eventually entered the back seat with her kit.

“There is no way I can measure you properly inside the car. I’ve been so deep into the fashion business and sewing since I was a kid that I am too weak and feeble for heavy work now, but I have my talented worker inside.”

Kael studied her for a long moment. “That is smart of you. You don’t know how to sew at all, yet you used your resources to employ talented fashionists. Good move.”

Orella looked shocked. “Am I supposed to take that as a compliment?”

“If you wish,” he replied indifferently, turning his face away.

“You are very much handsome,” Orella said after a pause, her voice taking on a flirtatious lilt. “I mean… I don’t know, but I feel you must have a lot of ladies around you.”

Kael rolled his eyes and looked away as the driver intervened politely. “Ma’am, please, can you go on with the business?”

Kael sighed heavily and stepped out of his car.

His tall, powerful frame unfolding with predatory grace. “Let’s be fast with this. Lead the way.”

Orella smiled brightly. “Thank you so much.”

They walked to the grand entrance as Orella knocked twice and the door flung open almost immediately.

“Uh, ma’am, I was just thinking, why don’t we...” Elara’s words died in her throat when her eyes collided with Alpha Kael’s.

Time seemed to freeze as a powerful, invisible current surged between them.

Elara’s body reacted instantly, her pulse skyrocketed, warmth spreading through her veins like liquid fire.

Kael’s reaction was even more intense. His entire body tensed, muscles coiling like a predator ready to claim.

His blue eyes bored into hers with raw, primal hunger. His wolf howled inside him, demanding he grab her, mark her, never let her go.

The air around them grew charged, the evening breeze falling strangely silent as if the universe itself held its breath.

Elara couldn’t look away. Those eyes… they were the same ones from the car earlier. The ring, The flash of light, It all crashed over her.

This is crazy, she thought desperately when she remembered her Job rule: Never get romantically involved with a client. Orella doesn’t joke about that.

Even if nothing has happened, the way they stared at each other could cost her everything.

With tremendous effort, she tore her gaze away, cheeks burning.

Kael’s voice came low and dangerous, laced with recognition. “Your eyes… I’ve met you today, right?”

Elara gulped hard.

Her throat felt dry.

Her heart hammered so loudly she feared everyone could hear it.

Truth or lies? Tell him they crossed paths earlier and risk Orella’s wrath, or deny it and betray the electric pull screaming between them?

The tension was suffocating but one wrong word could shatter her career… or ignite something far more dangerous.