Chapter 8

Margot POV

“Got it. Your call.”

Rhett Vanderbilt tipped his chin once, satisfied. “Eaten yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Stay. Eat first. Tell Henry what you want.”

“Thanks, Alpha Vanderbilt.”

He stood. The air shifted.

A thin, dry thread of scent slid past me, black ebony, steady and a little sharp underneath the heavy wood. It settled in my lungs like something that had always belonged there.

The wolf under my skin lifted its head, restless, ears pricked.

Three years of locked doors, and that single note just turned the key.

My fingers twitched on my thigh; I forced them flat.

Three years ago, someone competing for the same talent slot slipped me something in the lab.

The heat hit like a truck. My skin burned. My thoughts scattered.

I would’ve taken any Alpha within reach just to make it stop.

My scent is night-blooming cereus, quiet most of the year, almost nothing. Most Omegas cycle four times, seven days each. Mine shows up once or twice, three or four days max. When it does, the concentration spikes hard enough to drop people. That day it flooded the floor.

I thought I was done. Public lab. My workplace. My entire life, including my body, career, and reputation, was on the verge of being ruined.

The flower scent poured through half of the research wing.

A couple of Alphas nearly lost it. Colleagues had to hold them back.

Then Rhett walked in. Fresh off some top school overseas, just starting at the company.

Only an alpha raised on brutal scent-control training could’ve stood there without cracking.

I was shaking and reaching for him at the same time.

 Fear and need twisted so tight I couldn’t tell them apart.

I latched on and wouldn’t let go, hunting for anything that might ease the burn.

He locked my body still, careful, controlled, and spoke low against my ear.

I was too far gone to catch the words, but the sound cut through the noise like cold water.

 Then the ebony hit.

Strong. Wide. Steady enough to hold everything.

 It washed through the chaos and gave me something solid to follow.

 I pushed my scent toward it.

Night-blooming cereus and black wood tangled in the air, soft and hard, rising and falling.

I felt the light in him flicker once, just for a second, before it locked down again and pressed mine under.

A sharp sting at the back of my neck.

Temporary mark.

The edge dulled enough for the emergency team to get the sedative into me.

You don’t understand that kind of attachment until you’ve been that far under.

He only gave me a temporary mark, but it stayed carved deeper than skin.

 After that day, I figured our paths were finished.

I was past fairy tales. I buried the feeling and told myself it was one strange night: look once, feel the spark, walk away.

Fate didn’t care.

It dragged us into the same room and handed me a marriage that feels soft on my side and pure transaction on his.

I would rather not get closer. I can’t afford to.

 Looking up from a safe distance is one thing. Standing this near and keeping my head quiet is another.

I’m scared I’ll start wanting things I have no right to want.

Lisa isn't concerned about rights. It just wants.

Rhett did not know any of that was moving under my skin.

He just said, “Someone will take you for fittings tonight. A few formal pieces. My father’s birthday dinner is coming up. I need you with me.”

 Then he turned and went upstairs without looking back. The ebony lingered in the air long after the door closed. My throat stayed tight the whole way out.