Chapter 2

I pulled an all-nighter on the report. I thought last night’s disaster was finally over.

10 AM. Apex Investments. Top-floor conference room.

Gideon stood in front of a giant projector screen, presenting to the executives with the PowerPoint I made.

I sat in the corner, my eyelids heavy.

My mind was still full of resentment from being worked to the bone.

“Oh my god…”

“Is she insane?”

A sudden wave of whispers jolted me awake.

I snapped my head up. Did I miss something important in the meeting notes?

The next second, my blood ran cold.

The screen wasn't showing boring data charts.

It was showing my private iMessage chat.

Damn iCloud sync!

My backup tablet for the meeting was connected to the projector!

And right there, in giant, crystal-clear letters, was the rant I’d sent Chloe five minutes ago to stay awake.

“Damn werewolf stamina! How do they never sleep? I'm a walking zombie.”

If it had stopped there, it would have just been getting caught bad-mouthing the boss.

But the next part was fatal.

“But that one time I spilled water on his white shirt… those eight-pack abs were unreal!”

“They say Alphas are beasts in bed. I wonder what it would feel like if he bit me?”

“And the way he questioned me last night… you think he wants me to be his Luna? Hahaha!”

The room went dead silent.

Dozens of pairs of eyes—hot, shocked, disgusted—stabbed into me.

My brain exploded.

Game over.

I slowly, stiffly, turned my head toward Gideon on the stage.

His intense, amber wolf eyes were fixed on the screen. A flicker of genuine shock crossed them.

Just as I thought he was about to throw me out the 50th-floor window, I saw something else. A flash of… amusement.

The corner of his mouth ticked up. Just a fraction.

Was he smiling?

No. I had to be seeing things.

The next second, Gideon cleared his throat.

He cut the projection feed.

His powerful Alpha aura flooded the room, silencing the chaos without a word.

“Meeting adjourned,” he said coldly, as if nothing had happened.

But for the next hour, I was on pins and needles.

The elite she-wolf in front of me glared back, her eyes filled with undisguised contempt.

“A human? Fantasizing about our Alpha?” she sneered under her breath.

The human manager next to her snorted. “Wants to be Luna? What a joke. She’ll be fired by the end of the day.”

Every word was a slap in the face.

Noon.

I braced myself and brought the executive lunch into the CEO’s office.

I pushed open the door and froze.

Gideon wasn't at his desk working.

He was leaning back on the black leather sofa, eyes closed.

That pristine white shirt, always buttoned to the top, was now undone by two buttons.

The smooth line of his neck flowed down, revealing a hint of his collarbone and the powerful edge of his chest muscles against pale skin.

Looking at that flawlessly handsome face, my stupid heart started hammering again.

I gulped.

Damn it.

Even if he was a cold-blooded tyrant, I still wanted him.

I took a deep breath, placed the tray quietly on the coffee table, and prepared to bolt.

“Stop.”

His deep, magnetic voice cut through the silence.

I froze mid-step.

“Close the door,” he commanded without opening his eyes. The voice of a man used to being obeyed.

I turned stiffly, my heart pounding like a drum, and clicked the door shut.

We were alone. Just the two of us in the massive office.

“Mr. Vance,” I stammered, my face burning. “About the meeting this morning… it was an accident. I didn’t know my tablet was synced. I absolutely did not…”

Gideon slowly opened his eyes.

Those deep wolf eyes stared straight at me.

The flicker of amusement from the meeting was gone. There was no rage from my eight-pack fantasy either.

Only cold indifference.

“Harper,” he cut me off.

He sat up. Slowly, his long fingers buttoned his shirt back up, hiding that tempting view beneath his usual ice-cold armor.

The action was elegant. And utterly ruthless.

He looked down at a file on his desk, his tone all business.

“I don’t care what kind of unrealistic fantasies you have in your private life.”

He pushed a file to the corner of his desk, not even glancing at me again. “From now on, focus on your work.”

My heart sank.

“Understood, Mr. Vance.”