Chapter 1 :The Coldest CEO

The first thing I learned about Damian Voss was that he never smiled.

The second thing was that he made grown men cry in boardrooms without raising his voice.

I stood outside the glass doors of Voss Empire’s executive floor, clutching my cheap black folder like it could protect me. My interview had lasted twelve minutes. He had stared at me the entire time with eyes the color of winter steel, asked three questions, and then said, “You start Monday. Don’t be late.”

That was three weeks ago.

Now I was his personal assistant, and every day felt like walking a tightrope over a pit of wolves.

“Coffee. Black. No sugar. And the quarterly projections on my desk in ten minutes.”

His voice came through the intercom like a blade. I already had the coffee ready. I always did. Damian Voss did not wait.

I pushed open the heavy oak door to his office. Floor-to-ceiling windows framed the city skyline. The man behind the desk looked like he had been carved from marble and dressed in a three-thousand-dollar suit. Dark hair. Sharp jaw. Cold, beautiful, and completely untouchable.

He didn’t look up when I set the cup down.

“Thank you, Miss Hale.”

My name on his tongue still did something strange to my stomach. I hated it.

“The projections are ready, sir.”

He finally lifted those silver eyes. For a second they lingered on my face longer than necessary. Something flickered there—something I couldn’t name—before it vanished.

“Leave them. Close the door on your way out.”

I turned to go, but his voice stopped me.

“One more thing.”

I froze.

“There’s a charity gala Friday night. You’ll attend with me.”

My heart stuttered. “Sir?”

“As my assistant. Not a date.” His tone made the difference clear. “Wear something appropriate. Black. Nothing flashy. I don’t need distractions.”

Of course. Because heaven forbid anyone notice the girl who fetched his coffee.

“Yes, sir.”

I left before he could see the flush climbing my neck.

That night I stood in front of the cracked mirror in my tiny studio apartment, staring at the only decent dress I owned. It was black, simple, and a little too tight across the chest. Perfect for blending into the background of rich people’s parties.

I had no idea that by the end of the night, blending in would become impossible.

The gala was held in a private mansion on the edge of the city—the kind of place that made my apartment look like a cardboard box. Crystal chandeliers. Gold-trimmed everything. People who smelled like money and power.

Damian arrived exactly on time, of course. He stepped out of the black Maybach looking like sin in a tuxedo. When he offered his arm, it wasn’t a request.

I took it.

The second my fingers brushed the fabric of his sleeve, something electric shot up my arm. I almost pulled away. His body went rigid for half a second, then relaxed like nothing had happened.

“Stay close,” he murmured, voice low enough that only I could hear. “And don’t speak unless spoken to.”

Charming.

We moved through the crowd. People parted for him like he was a king. Women stared. Men nodded with careful respect. No one approached without invitation.

I was halfway through my first glass of champagne when it happened.

A woman in a blood-red gown stepped into our path. Beautiful. Dangerous. Her smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Damian,” she purred. “I didn’t expect to see you with… company.”

His hand tightened on my waist. The possessive weight of it made my pulse jump.

“Liora. This is my assistant, Aria Hale.”

Liora’s gaze slid over me like I was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe. “How… modern of you.”

Then she leaned in and whispered something in his ear that made his jaw clench.

I didn’t catch the words, but I felt the shift in the air. Something dark. Something ancient.

Damian’s fingers dug into my hip.

“We’re leaving,” he said suddenly.

No explanation. No goodbye to the host. He steered me toward the exit so fast I almost tripped in my heels.

Outside, the night air was sharp. The full moon hung heavy and silver above the trees.

I turned to him. “What was that about?”

He didn’t answer. He just stared at me—really stared—like he was seeing me for the first time.

Then he stepped closer.

Too close.

His scent wrapped around me: expensive cologne and something wilder underneath. Something that made my knees weak and my blood heat.

“You smell…” His voice was rough. Almost broken.

“Like what?” I whispered.

His eyes flashed—literally flashed—with a silver light that didn’t belong to any human.

“Like mine.”

The world tilted.

Before I could speak, before I could run, before I could even breathe properly, he backed me against the side of the car. One hand braced beside my head. The other gripped my chin, forcing me to meet that unnatural gaze.

“Tell me the truth, Aria. Have you ever felt something… different? Especially on nights like this?”

My heart was a wild thing in my chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Liar. My body knew. It had known since the first day I walked into his office.

Damian’s thumb brushed my lower lip.

“You’re human,” he said, almost to himself. “You shouldn’t be. You can’t be.”

Then, softer—dangerous: “But the moon doesn’t lie.”

Somewhere in the distance, a howl rose into the night.

Damian’s head snapped toward the sound. When he looked back at me, the cold CEO was gone.

In his place stood something far more terrifying.

And far more possessive.

“Get in the car, little wolf,” he ordered. “We’re going somewhere private. We have a lot to discuss.”

I should have run.

Instead, I opened the door and slid inside.

Because some part of me—the part that had been waiting my whole life without knowing it—already knew the truth.

Damian Voss wasn’t just the coldest CEO in the city.

He was the Alpha King.

And I smelled like his fated mate.