The boardroom reeked of dominance.
It was in the air—sharp, metallic, and suffocating—the heavy stench of Alpha pheromones that pressed down on everyone like an iron cage. The polished mahogany table stretched across the room, gleaming beneath the chandelier lights, but even that shine could not distract from the weight of authority radiating from the Alphas seated around it.
They were all men—broad-shouldered, sharp-eyed, their postures radiating power. Each one was an Alpha who had clawed his way to the top of the corporate ladder, now seated like kings on thrones of glass and steel. Their voices were deep, heavy with command, every word dripping with an arrogance that came from being born at the top of the hierarchy.
And then there was me.
I sat in their midst, head held high, lips painted the perfect shade of crimson to disguise the tightness in my chest. My navy suit jacket clung to my frame, crisp and tailored, paired with a white silk blouse that gave me the perfect balance of elegance and authority. My hair was tied back into a sleek knot, not a strand out of place.
I looked every inch the part of a confident businesswoman—untouchable, unshakable, a Beta who belonged among wolves.
But it was a lie.
Beneath the layers of expensive perfume and carefully measured blockers that masked my scent, beneath the cool mask of confidence I had spent years perfecting, lay the truth I could never let slip.
I was no Beta.
I was an Omega.
One slip, one careless mistake, and everything I had built would crumble. Omegas were supposed to stay in the shadows—kept, controlled, silenced. They were treated as delicate things, too fragile for the ruthless world of Alphas and Betas. No one in this room would respect me if they knew. No one would see me as anything but a prize to claim or a burden to hide.
So, I played my role. I fought harder, stood taller, spoke sharper than any of them.
And for three years, it had worked.
Until now.
"Do you really think you can challenge me, Miss Hart?"
The voice cut through my thoughts like a whip. Mr. Lawson, an Alpha with silvering hair and a body thick with years of boardroom battles, leaned forward. His jaw tightened, his nostrils flared, and his pheromones lashed out like a storm. Even the Betas in the room stiffened under the pressure, shoulders curling instinctively.
His lips peeled back, revealing a flash of canines. "Don't forget your place. This isn't a game you can win."
The tension crawled across my skin like static, but I didn't flinch. I couldn't.
I folded my hands on the table and met his glare head-on. "Business isn't about who growls louder, Mr. Lawson," I said, my voice smooth, calm, deliberately sharp. "It's about who walks away with the deal."
A flicker of surprise rippled through the room. Betas glanced at one another, murmuring under their breaths. Alphas bristled. But I held my ground, my heart hammering against my ribs like a war drum.
For a second, I thought I had won.
Then Lawson slammed his fist onto the table. The sound cracked like thunder, rattling glasses of water and sending a shiver down my spine. His pheromones surged, flooding the room with dominance so thick it made my lungs ache.
And just as the tension reached its peak—
The doors opened.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The storm that had filled the room only moments ago vanished, sucked away like air through a vacuum. The Betas froze, straightening unconsciously. Even Lawson's glare faltered, his fury shrinking back like a dog whipped into obedience.
Because the man who entered wasn't just an Alpha.
He was the Alpha.
Tall, broad-shouldered, every step he took was deliberate, his presence consuming the space like fire devouring oxygen. His dark suit fit like it had been cut from shadows themselves, his tie loosened just enough to reveal the strong column of his throat. His hair was black, slightly tousled, framing a face carved from cold steel—sharp jaw, straight nose, eyes so piercing they seemed to strip the skin from your bones.
But it wasn't his appearance that froze me.
It was his pheromones.
They rolled off him in waves, dark and rich, commanding without effort. Where Lawson's dominance had been loud and forceful, his was silent—an authority so natural it didn't need to be proved. The air itself bent around him, and every Alpha in the room lowered their heads, unwilling to meet his gaze.
Every Alpha… except me.
My body reacted before my mind could stop it. My breath caught, heat coiling low in my stomach. My pulse thundered in my ears, and for one horrifying second, I felt the edges of my mask slipping. The blockers I had layered on this morning suddenly felt too weak, too thin, too fragile.
No. Not now.
His eyes swept across the room, cold and dismissive. He barely spared the others a glance. And then—
They landed on me.
The world tilted.
His gaze pinned me like a blade, sharp and unyielding, stripping away my defenses as if he could see straight through me. Something flickered in those storm-colored eyes—curiosity, recognition, something dangerous.
And that's when it hit me.
The bond-thread. Invisible but undeniable, it shimmered between us, pulling tight around my chest, my veins, my very bones.
My breath stuttered. My hands clenched into fists beneath the table.
No. No, no, no.
I refused to believe it. I had worked too hard, fought too long to build this life. I could not afford this—not now, not ever.
But my instincts betrayed me. My body whispered one word, over and over, as if mocking my resistance.
Mate.
Heat surged through me, my vision narrowing as the bond tightened, thrumming like a pulse between us.
And in that moment, I realized the greatest threat in this room wasn't Mr. Lawson's fury. It wasn't the Alphas who wanted to crush me.
It was him.
Because if this Alpha discovered what I truly was…
Everything I had built would turn to dust.