OFFICE STRANGERS

Aiden Cross didn't believe in luck. He believed in strategy. He planned kidnappings the same way other people planned meetings.

Standing in a dark alleyway two blocks from Sydney’s office, he stripped off his expensive Italian leather jacket and tossed it into the back of a black SUV. He replaced it with a heavy, ill-fitting navy blue jumpsuit. He smeared a bit of grease on his jawline and pulled a tattered baseball cap low over his eyes.He had managed to get employed in the same copany where Sydney works. 

He didn't look like a high-ranking wolf enforcer anymore. He looked like the help.

Perfect. Humans didn’t look twice at janitors. They walked past them. Around them. Through them. Aiden liked that. From this position, he could see everything. The elevators. The stairwell. The security desk. The cameras.

And Sydney.

She arrived at exactly 7:03 a.m., just like the file said. Hair pulled back. Coffee in hand. Bag slung over one shoulder. Moving fast like she always had somewhere to be.

She didn’t see him.

Good.

Aiden pushed his cleaning cart forward, pretending to wipe down the glass doors while tracking her reflection.

She smelled human.

But under that was Liam.

Alpha blood didn’t fade easily. Especially not when emotions were involved.

Aiden felt a familiar tension settle into his chest.

You should not have tied yourself to her, he thought.
You should have come home.

He wasn’t here to judge. He was here to retrieve.

Sydney swiped her card and disappeared into the elevator.

Aiden memorized the floor number from the panel.

Marketing.

Again.

Everything about her life was predictable. That made things easier.

By his second week on the job, Aiden knew her schedule better than she did.

He knew when she took breaks. When she stayed late. When she worked through lunch. When she left early on Fridays.

He learned which stairwell she used when the elevators were slow.

Which days she walked alone.

Which days she stayed on the phone with Liam until she reached her apartment.

He didn’t enjoy this part.

Watching humans live normal lives always made things harder.

Sydney laughed a lot at work. Not loud laughs. Small ones. Private smiles. The kind that made people want to protect her without knowing why.

Sometimes Aiden wondered what Liam saw in her.

Then he’d catch the way her face softened when Liam called. Or the way she leaned into happiness like she wasn’t used to it.

And he understood.

Still, orders were orders.

The Alpha wanted Liam back.

And Sydney was the key.

Aiden wiped down the breakroom counter as Sydney and her coworkers talked nearby.

“I swear, if my manager sends one more email at midnight, I’m quitting,” one girl said.

Sydney laughed. “You say that every week.”

“And one day, I’ll mean it.”

Aiden listened without looking.

Humans talked a lot when they thought no one important was around.

That evening, the vibe back at the apartment was the exact opposite of the cold, clinical energy of the office.

They were sitting on the floor, leaning against the sofa. Their shoulders were touching—just barely—but to Liam, it felt like he was sitting next to a sun. He was "down bad." He knew it. Every time she laughed, he felt a pull in his chest that had nothing to do with his wolf and everything to do with the girl beside him.

Tonight was supposed to be the night. He had practiced it in the mirror. “Sydney, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m not exactly... human.”

"Okay, my turn to pick the movie," Sydney said, scrolling through a streaming app. "Oh! This one is trending. Midnight Howl. It’s supposed to be a total jump-scare fest."

Liam’s heart did a nervous flip. "A werewolf movie? You sure? I thought you liked rom-coms."

"I do, but I like trashing bad horror movies even more," she joked, clicking play.

Sydney scrunched her nose. “Why do they always make werewolves so ugly?”

Liam stiffened.

She didn’t notice.

“I don’t know,” he said carefully.

“They’re always killers,” she continued. “Like, zero personality. Just rage and teeth.”

Liam swallowed.

Sydney shifted closer to him. “Honestly, I hate werewolf stories.”

That landed heavier than she meant it to.

Liam stared at the screen, his jaw tight.

“Why?” he asked.

She shrugged. “They scare me. Always have.”

"You... you really hate them that much?" he asked, trying to keep his voice casual while his soul was screaming.

"I hate the idea of them," Sydney said, her expression turning serious for a moment. "The thought of someone you trust having this hidden, violent monster inside them? Someone who could snap and hurt you because of some 'instinct'? That's not a romance, Liam. That’s a horror story. I like my life predictable. I like my guys human."

She leaned her head on his shoulder, completely unaware of how much those words hurt.

Liam forced a laugh, but it sounded hollow in his own ears. "Yeah. I get that. Predictable is good."

He didn't tell her. He couldn't. He just sat there, playing along, watching the fake monster on the screen while the real one inside him howled in silence. He wanted to tell her he loved her. He wanted to tell her he would never hurt her. But how could he, when she’d just told him he was her worst nightmare?

Aiden was watching.

Sydney’s window glowed softly. Inside, she slept peacefully, unaware of how close the world was to tearing open. Aiden adjusted his cap and turned away.

Tomorrow, he would learn which days she left work late. Tomorrow, he would map the blind spots. Tomorrow, he would prepare.

Because once the pack moved, there would be no going back. And Sydney had no idea that the most dangerous man in her life wasn’t the one who loved her.

It was the one who cleaned the floors beneath her feet.