The chandelier light reflected off crystal glasses and polished marble, scattering soft golden hues across the ballroom. The hum of conversation mingled with faint classical music from the live quartet in the corner. Waiters moved like shadows through the crowd, balancing silver trays laden with champagne flutes and delicately plated hors d'oeuvres.
Avery stood in the middle of it all, a silent anchor in a restless sea of silk gowns and tailored suits. Jay, still linked to his arm, was a flawless accessory for the night. Beautiful, poised, and quietly mysterious. The flash of cameras still lingered in Avery's periphery; even inside, a handful of reporters were granted limited access to capture the "most notable moments" of the evening. Avery knew every click of a lens was another strategic step forward.
He began to move through the crowd with the precision of a seasoned hunter. Jay followed his lead without a word, the slight tilt of his head and carefully crafted smile reinforcing the illusion of intimacy. For Avery, this was business theater and tonight's performance had to be perfect.
His first targets were a cluster of tall, broad-shouldered men speaking accented Mandarin. Avery switched to flawless English, a skill honed from years studying abroad, and was met with pleasantly surprised smiles. They were foreign investors from Germany, overseeing renewable energy ventures across Southeast Asia. Avery's handshake was firm, his gaze direct, his words threaded with calculated charm.
"Mr. Cheng," one of them remarked, "I've heard of you, of course, but I didn't expect… this." His eyes flicked briefly to Jay before returning to Avery.
Avery allowed the faintest smirk. "Sometimes, it's good to surprise people."
That statement carried more than one meaning, but he didn't elaborate. Instead, he steered the conversation toward mutual business opportunities. Joint ventures, technology exchanges, infrastructure partnerships. Avery knew his father's influence ran deep in domestic circles, but foreign alliances were harder to manipulate. If he could secure these men's trust, they'd serve as shields against any interference from the Cheng family.
The investors were receptive, partly because of Avery's polished proposals and partly because of his presence. His aura, usually contained and refined, was impossible to suppress tonight. It radiated from him in heavy, tangible waves, the kind that made weaker Alphas shift uncomfortably and drew Omega instincts to either shrink back or lean closer. In Avery's case, it didn't feel reckless. It felt… lethal.
Jay sensed it too. Even without looking at Avery directly, he could feel the tension in the Alpha's body, the subtle vibration in the air. It wasn't intentional, Jay realized Avery's rut was close, and his self-control was being tested. But instead of making him appear unstable, the effect tonight was devastatingly effective. Foreign investors, especially those from cultures that valued dominance as a display of capability, interpreted Avery's energy as confidence and authority.
Not everyone saw it that way. From across the room, a few older Chinese business magnates exchanged glances, their expressions tinged with disapproval. They were traditionalists, men who valued humility and subtlety in social settings. To them, an Alpha releasing such a strong aura in the presence of elders was borderline disrespectful, even provocative. Avery caught their looks but didn't bother to adjust himself. Tonight was not for them.
His second approach was toward a pair of Middle Eastern entrepreneurs expanding luxury hotel chains into Asia. Jay found himself unexpectedly playing a more active role as Avery made the introductions. His task was simple: look charming, laugh at the right moments, and, when necessary, translate subtle cultural cues that might otherwise be lost in the exchange. Jay had a knack for reading people and Avery noticed so he didn't waste it.
"You have good taste, Mr. Cheng," one of the hoteliers commented in accented English, gesturing slightly toward Jay.
Avery's hand tightened imperceptibly around Jay's arm. "I do," he replied smoothly, without looking away from his conversation partner.
From a distance, the two of them looked inseparable, a striking couple moving seamlessly from one high-profile connection to the next. That was exactly the image Avery wanted. Enough to fuel curiosity, but not enough to make the relationship seem openly performative. Every whispered question, every speculative glance was another thread he could later weave into the media narrative.
As the night wore on, Avery's network expanded. He collected business cards like a general gathering weapons, each handshake a calculated exchange of power. Some came with verbal commitments to meet again privately; others were promises wrapped in cautious interest. All were seeds he intended to plant beyond the reach of his father's influence.
Through it all, his aura remained a silent, unyielding barrier. Jay noticed that people tended to either lean toward him, drawn to the magnetic pull of his dominance, or subtly step aside to give him room. It was as if Avery had reshaped the very flow of the ballroom, bending it around his will.
By the time Avery steered them toward a quiet corner for a brief reprieve, Jay's head was buzzing from the intensity of the room. He looked up at Avery, intending to make a teasing remark, but stopped when he saw the Alpha's expression.
The cold sharpness in his eyes hadn't lessened, it had only deepened. Avery was winning tonight, yes, but he was also fighting something invisible, something primal clawing at the edges of his restraint.
And Jay, for the first time, wondered just how much longer Avery could hold it back. He is a psychology major. His gift of easily reading people allowed him to notice things before others did.
The ballroom's air was heavy with perfume, cologne, and the subtle undercurrent of pheromones. It clung to Avery's senses like smoke, a constant reminder that his control was hanging by a fraying thread. After a final round of polite goodbyes, he murmured something about needing a moment and slipped away toward the corridor leading to the bathrooms.
The hallway was quieter, carpet muffling his footsteps, though the faint murmur of the event carried through the walls. He allowed himself a breath away from the crowd, feeling the tight coil of his aura still pressing outward, even here. The cool marble under his palm helped ground him as he pushed the bathroom door open.
When he emerged a few minutes later, straightening his jacket, the last person he expected to see was standing halfway down the hall.
"Avery."
The voice was familiar, though the tone carried an edge of amusement.
His younger brother, Adrian Cheng, leaned casually against the wall, dressed in a sharply tailored navy suit that seemed to have been chosen to contrast Avery's darker attire. Adrian almost never set foot in China; his life was a blur of overseas properties, yacht parties, and boardroom deals in other continents. To find him here, of all nights, was… unsettling.
Avery's expression didn't change, though a flicker of calculation passed behind his eyes. He wasn't sure whether to be pleased or wary. Adrian was close to their father. Closer than Avery had ever been. That meant this encounter could be harmless, or it could be a quiet test.
Still, appearances had to be kept. Avery stepped forward and embraced him briefly, their shoulders stiff in the contact.
"I see you got yourself a wife, huh?" Adrian's smirk was quick and deliberate, his tone mocking in that way siblings used when they wanted to probe without committing to open hostility.
Avery's chuckle was low and without warmth. "Is it not what the family expects from me?"
They pulled back, facing each other fully. To the casual observer, it might have looked like two brothers exchanging pleasantries. But beneath the polished smiles, there was an unspoken distance a silent fight that had existed for years.
It hadn't always been that way. When they were younger, there had been shared summers, games, and the occasional late-night conspiracy against parental expectations. But somewhere along the way, Adrian had pulled back, becoming colder, more aligned with their father's ideals. Avery had never asked why. He'd been too busy carving out his own empire to care for unanswered questions.
Adrian's gaze swept over him with measured interest. "The media's having a field day, you know. You and your… omega. Trending within the hour."
Avery's smirk returned, sharper this time. "Good. That's the point." He said hoping it might help hint at his brothers true intentions even through facial expressions. But Adrian remaind the same.
They exchanged a few more guarded remarks, circling each other with words like boxers waiting for an opening. In the end, neither pressed further. Adrian gave a shallow nod before turning down the opposite hallway, disappearing into the noise of the ballroom.
Avery watched him go for a moment longer, thoughts unreadable, before returning to the main room.
The first thing he saw was Jay.
The omega was standing near a low arrangement of white orchids, surrounded by a loose cluster of other guests—mostly omegas and betas. Their smiles were too sweet, their postures too casual. Avery knew the type. They weren't here to welcome Jay; they were testing him, subtly undermining him with half-compliments and veiled questions about his "sudden" appearance at Avery's side.
Jay, to his credit, wasn't cowed. He stood with his chin lifted, a faint curve to his lips that could be mistaken for politeness but carried a thread of quiet defiance. He didn't push back openly as his role tonight didn't allow it, but he wasn't letting them have the satisfaction of seeing him flustered.
Avery stepped in without hesitation, his presence scattering the group like startled birds. "Excuse us," he said smoothly, the faintest edge of command in his voice. His hand closed firmly around Jay's wrist as he led him away.
Jay blinked up at him. "We're leaving already?"
"Yes." The single word was clipped, his tone brooking no argument.
Jay didn't press further, though confusion flickered in his expression. Avery didn't need to explain. The truth was pressing against his skin, coiled in his blood like a live wire. Every breath in that ballroom had been thick with competing scents, and the combination had pushed him past the point of irritation into something far more dangerous. His pulse was quick, his body on edge.
It wasn't just stress.
He knew it now, with uncomfortable clarity. His rut was no longer approaching, it was standing at the door, knocking hard.
The sharp scent of his own pheromones was beginning to bleed past his control. That was dangerous, not only for him but for the event. Tonight was about building alliances, not igniting instincts.
They reached the entrance in silence. The night air outside was crisp, cutting through the heat under Avery's skin. The black sedan was already waiting, Miss Reed stepping out just enough to hold the door. Avery guided Jay inside before sliding in after him, shutting the chaos of the event firmly behind them.
He'd gotten what he came for. More than enough business cards and verbal agreements to weave into future deals, foreign connections that would be far harder for his father to disrupt. Now, all that mattered was getting home before the last threads of his restraint snapped.
And if Jay noticed the faint tremor in his hand as he adjusted his cufflinks, he didn't comment.