With Him, Not Behind Him

The moment the heavy oak doors creaked open, silence fell over the chamber.

Not the kind of silence that greeted every Alpha’s arrival. No. This was sharper. Heavier. A breath held too long. A shift in the air that warned the wolves inside that something—someone—was different.

Alex stepped through first, tall and terrifying, all dressed in charcoal black, power radiating off him in waves. His expression unreadable. Cold. Dominant. Alpha.

And then there was me.

I stepped in behind him, every instinct screaming at me to turn around and run. To hide behind the door. To shrink. But his hand—large, warm, steady—slipped back and found mine. He didn’t tug or command.

He just held.

I lifted my chin.

The emerald gown shimmered with every step I took beside him. My curls were twisted high, exposing my throat, the mark he’d left with his mouth just barely hidden by a gold chain. I could feel them watching me. Taking in my curves, my skin, the soft swell of my stomach, the way the dress dipped da