INICIAR SESIÓNMargot POVI wanted him to respond the way he had during the past week.Instead, he picked up a clear plastic evidence bag from the coffee table.Inside was my ruined phone.“Do you know what was inside this?”I stared at it. “What?”“A device capable of emitting infrasound.” My mind went blank.“The ringtone was the trigger. You could hear the ringtone, but not the infrasound itself. It can affect the endocrine system.”He observed me. “Arian didn’t explain that to you?”“This was military-developed technology. It was designed to interfere with top-tier Alphas.”I just couldn’t find the words to say anything.Then I remembered. That afternoon. Simone had called me home because Ellen wasn’t feeling well.Simone had taken my phone with her when she went out to buy groceries.She had
Margot POVRhett’s usual elegance had disappeared.The man who was always controlled, precise, and almost painfully restrained was gone.In his place was something wild. Something that wanted only one thing.Me.My fingers dug into the carpet as I tried to pull myself away.It didn’t matter. His strength was overwhelming.The surrounding scent grew heavier, and my body began reacting against my will.Heat spread through me, confusing fear with instinct until I could no longer tell where one ended and the other began.I hated it. I hated that my body was betraying me.Rhett’s breathing grew rougher.His control was slipping.The struggle became a blur of fear, instinct, scent, and pain.I heard Henry shouting.I heard myself crying.Then everything disappeared into darkness.When I came to myself, I was lying in Rhett’s arms.“Baby.”His voice was soft.“Honey.”I blinked slowly.“Margot. You’re awake.”I stared into his eyes. They were entirely different now. Warm. Almost boyishly ple
Margot POVIt rang again.And again.After several rings, I realized it was my phone.I picked it up.An unknown number was calling.I stared at the screen.Then I frowned.My ringtone had always been the default system ringtone.I’d never changed it.But this wasn’t my ringtone.Rhett slowly turned his head toward me.His expression had gone strangely blank.Then confusion flickered across his face.I answered.“Hello?”There was silence on the other end.A few seconds passed.Then the call disconnected.Before I could put the phone down, it rang again.“Hello?”Again, silence.Then the call ended.I was getting irritated.I blocked the number.A few seconds later, my phone rang again.Rhett suddenly made a low, strangled sound.He stumbled backward two steps.Henry reacted first.“Alpha, what’s wrong?”My phone continued ringing.I was already annoyed by the bizarre harassment, but Henry’s voice made me look up.Rhett had lowered his head.His face was growing paler by the second.T
Margot POVOver the next couple of days, I found myself distracted at work.Ordinarily, I was thinking about Rhett.People often called it a bad feeling when something seemed wrong before you knew why.I couldn’t find a better name for the uneasiness sitting in my chest.That afternoon, Simone suddenly called me.“Ellen isn’t feeling well. She’s dizzy and nauseous.”Her voice carried a tone of anxiety and nervousness.“Come home as soon as you can.”I immediately put down my work and took a cab home.Ellen looked surprised when she saw me.“What are you doing at home? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”“You’re not feeling well.”I walked over and pressed the back of my hand to her forehead.“What happened? Do you have a cold?”“Oh, it’s nothing serious.”
Margot POV“My father forced her to terminate the pregnancy.”I squeezed the fork gently with my fingers.“My uncle had a daughter who was a top-tier Alpha. My father couldn’t accept that his first child would be a Beta.”I went silent.Suddenly, I understood where some of Mrs. Vanderbilt’s resentment had come from.Rhett, however, seemed to have already pushed the memory aside.“I don't understand why I wanted this today.”He took another bite.“My appetite gets strange before rut. It’s annoying.”I tightened my grip on my fork.I couldn’t stop thinking about the little boy Rhett had once been.Before he became the powerful, intimidating Alpha everyone feared.I wondered if that little boy had ever been genuinely happy simply because his mother had sat across from him in a cheap restaurant and shared a plate of pasta.That thought brought a heaviness to my chest.By the time we finished, Rhett had eaten six plates of pasta.I stared at the empty plates.Six.I knew Alphas ate a lot m
Margot POVHalf an hour later, Louise pulled up outside an elementary school.I stared through the windshield.The school looked old, almost understated for a place with such a reputation. It was one of the oldest elementary schools in the country, sitting on land that had become absurdly expensive over the years.The surrounding blocks were packed with Pack Alliance military buildings, and security guards stood outside nearly every residential complex in the area.The campus itself wasn’t impressive.But its academic record was.It consistently ranked among the top three elementary schools in the country, and getting in was nearly impossible.You either had an exceptional mind or came from a family with the money and influence that could open doors most people never even saw.I turned to Rhett.“This is where you went to school?”“Yeah.”He opened the car door and stepped out.“We can’t park here. Come on.”I followed him onto the sidewalk, still looking at the school.“Did you bring







