No. 3

ANASTASIA.

The entire room fell into a suffocating, dead silence. The music seemed to fade into a dull hum as hundreds of eyes turned to focus entirely on us. Out on the floor, Bella and Andrei actually stumbled, nearly losing their balance mid-step as they stared at Hector standing in my shadowed corner with disbelief.

I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing me shrink away. "I would be honored," I whispered, gently placing my hand in Hector's.

His hand was massive, swallowing mine completely, and radiating a sudden, intense warmth that sent a violent jolt up my arm. As he pulled me into his space, the scent of him, crisp winter rain, cedarwood, and an intoxicating, dark musk hit me like a physical wave.

We were so close my chest brushed his suit jacket. Everywhere his fingers touched my waist and hand, my skin burned, a fierce, crackling heat igniting beneath the surface.

My inner wolf, usually quiet and suppressed, slammed against her cage, howling in a wild, sudden frenzy.

"What's wrong?"

But my wolf didn't answer.

Instead, I kept feeling my soul reel, pulled toward him by an invisible force so violent it made me dizzy. It felt like something I didn't want to name. But it was blurred as if a thick heavy fog was blanketing the connection, preventing the final click.

I looked up into his face, expecting to see a reflection of the storm raging inside me.

Instead, Alpha Hector looked completely, utterly bored.

His sharp, jawline was set in a mask of pure apathy, his dark eyes scanning the room over my head as if I were nothing more than a tedious chore he had been forced to check off his list. He didn't feel the spark. He wasn't paying attention to me at all. To him, I was just another desperate, star-struck she-wolf clawing for his attention.

The rejection stung worse than a slap. The burning heat on my skin turned into a prickling, defensive anger.

"You don't have to look so miserable, Alpha," I muttered, my voice tight with offended pride. "I didn't ask for this dance, and I certainly don't need your pity. If you're looking for a brainless socialite to stroke your ego, you picked the wrong girl. I am the lead medical researcher for this pack. The entire proposal you're here to review is my life's work."

Hector’s gaze finally snapped down to mine. His eyes narrowed, a harsh, knowing glint flashing in the dark depths.

"A researcher?" he murmured, his voice a low, gravelly baritone that cut straight through my defense. He leaned in slightly, his breath hot against my ear, but his words were dripping brutal. "Do you want me to congratulate your talent when you are wasting your talent in a hopeless pack?"

The harsh, bleeding words hit me like a physical blow to the chest.

"Let go of me," I choked out, the burning tears instantly stinging my eyes.

Before he could respond, I violently dropped my hands from his shoulders, tore myself out of his arms, and walked away, leaving the great Alpha Hector standing alone in the center of the ballroom.

I rushed toward the grand corridor, needing to escape the suffocating weight of the crowd, but before I could reach the safety of the gardens, a hand gripped my upper arm with bruising force. I was violently yanked backward into a dark, empty parlor room. The door slammed shut behind us with a loud crack.

I spun around, my breath catching.

It was Bella. But the sweet, trembling angel the pack adored was completely gone. Her face was twisted into a hideous, trembling mask of pure, unadulterated rage. I had never seen her look so terrifying.

She let out a mocking, breathless laugh, her eyes flashing with jealousy. "Don't think that just because you managed to catch Hector's attention for five seconds, you're special. You think a man like him would ever notice a pathetic, forgotten thing like you?"

I ignored her, turning around to grab the brass doorknob. "Get out of my way, Bella. I’m not playing your games tonight."

Click.

She turned the key, locking us both inside.

She looked at me, a wild, unhinged laugh bubbling from her throat as she gestured to the sapphire necklace on her throat. "Look at you! Standing there in your faded rag, looking like a beggar. Do you still think you're the beloved Alpha's princess? Don't be so incredibly foolish to believe your family still cares about you, Anastasia. You're nothing to them!

I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. I wouldn't cry, wouldn't scream, wouldn't let her see how deep those words cut.

"I don't care about Andrei, and I don't care about your petty jealousy!" I shouted, rushing the door, throwing my weight against it. It wouldn't budge. "Open this door, Bella!"

"Oh, you want to leave?" Bella whispered.

Before I could comprehend what she was doing, she snatched a lit decorative candle from the mantle and hurled it directly onto the heavy silk curtains. The fabric ignited instantly, roaring into life. Within seconds, thick, black smoke began to pour into the room, and the crackle of wood devouring wood filled the air.

Bella let out a loud, maniacal laugh, the orange flames reflecting in her crazed eyes. "This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Are you out of your mind?!" I screamed, moving toward the fire.

Bella lunged, her grip like iron as she grabbed my arm, pinning me back. She looked at the growing inferno and let out a manic, terrifying laugh. "Guess who they will save, Anna?."

Thick, black smoke began to pour into the parlor, choking my lungs. Outside, the muffled sounds of music turned into frantic screaming as the servants finally noticed the smoke pouring from the cracks.

Bang!

The heavy wooden door splintered as Leo kicked it open, his face pale with panic. "Bella! Anna! Get out of there!"

The heat was blinding now. I looked up just in time to see the heavy, iron-and-crystal chandelier directly above us groaning, its supports snapping under the intense heat of the ceiling fire. It was falling.

"Leo, help!" Bella shrieked, instantly melting back into her helpless, crying act.

Leo didn't hesitate. He didn't even look at me. He lunged forward, throwing his entire body over Bella, scooping her into his arms, and diving out of the room just as the massive chandelier came crashing down.

A deafening explosion of iron and glass shattered over the floor. A heavy iron beam struck my shoulder, pinning me violently to the ground. The jagged glass sliced into my skin, and the sheer weight of the wreckage trapped my legs completely.

Leo stopped at the threshold. He looked back through the smoke, his eyes widening as he saw me trapped under the burning debris. He hesitated for a fraction of a second, the internal conflict tearing across his face.

But Bella let out another weak cough in his arms, “Leo…” My brother’s loyalty was decided.

"Servants! Someone get in there and save Anastasia!" Leo roared into the hallway, before turning on his heel and carrying Bella away to safety.

Pain.

An absolute, blinding white-hot agony exploded through my lower body, so violent that the world completely vanished for a split second. A choked, strained groan caught in my throat, a pathetic, wet sound.

I clawed at the floor, coughing violently as the black smoke filled my throat, tears streaming down my face. I pushed against the heavy iron beam, but it wouldn't budge an inch. The heat was blistering, melting the skin on my arms. The pain was so agonizing, so consuming, that I couldn't even draw enough breath to scream for help.

Dying. I was dying.

Just as my vision began to fade into gray, the flames at the doorway suddenly parted.

Through the smoke and fire, a figure appeared. It was Hector. He moved effortlessly through the fire, his dark eyes fixed entirely on me, looking less like a man and more like an invincible, untouchable god. He didn't look bored anymore.

And then, everything went completely black.

"Miss Anastasia? Can you hear me? Open your eyes!"

The frantic voices of the pack doctors and servants brought me crashing back to consciousness. I gasped, sucking in cool, clean air, realizing I was lying on the grass outside the estate, surrounded by emergency medical equipment.

"How do you feel? Does your head hurt?" a doctor asked, shining a small light into my eyes.

"Where..." My voice was a dry, raspy whisper. My throat burned. "Where is the person who saved me? Where is Alpha Hector?"

The doctor and the surrounding maids exchanged confused, pitying looks. "Alpha Hector? Miss Anastasia, He was already gone. No one went into that room. The fire was too advanced."

"That's impossible," I coughed, shaking my head. "He carried me out. I saw him."

"You must have inhaled too much smoke, dear," a maid said gently, patting my hand. "You just... appeared out here on the lawn. No one saw who brought you. One minute the grass was empty, and the next, you were just lying here. There was no one around you."

They thought I was hallucinating from the trauma.

Frustrated, I forced myself to sit up, ignoring the sting of the burns on my arms. I scanned the chaotic crowd on the lawn, my eyes moving past the pack members and straight toward the dark, shadowed corner of the estate greenhouse.

My heart stopped.

Hector was standing right there. Lean, uninjured, and completely real. But something was completely wrong—the maids were walking right past him, their shoulders brushing the empty air where he stood, completely oblivious to his massive, powerful presence. It was as if he wasn't there at all.

"He's right there!" I cried out, lifting my shaking arm and pointing a finger directly at the shadows. "Look! He's standing right there!"

The doctor turned his head, squinting into the darkness of the corner, before turning back to me with deep concern. "Miss Anastasia, there is absolutely no one there. It's just an empty shadow. We need to get you to the clinic immediately; the smoke inhalation is causing oxygen deprivation."

"I am not crazy!" I whispered, my eyes locked on the figure in the dark.

Because as I pointed at him, Alpha Hector didn't disappear. He stood perfectly still under the moonlight, his dark, piercing eyes locked onto mine. And for the first time since he had arrived at our pack, the bored, arrogant mask was completely gone from his face.

Was everything in front of me just a hallucination? My head throbbed harder and harder, and before I could think any further, darkness swallowed me whole.