I was so, so close to getting that drink into his hand, so close that the brush of our skin sent a violent electric shock crashing through every inch of me. It lit something up in my chest and my head, something fierce and burning that made my whole body jolt.
'MATE!'
I shrieked at the voice that tore through my head and in that same panicked second my fingers had let go. I watched it happen in slow motion. The glass slipping. Tumbling. His grip not firm enough around the handle to catch it.
It hit the floor with a clatter and the warm coffee splashed everywhere — across the tiles, up the legs of the Alpha. My eyes shot up in alarm, my brain already ten steps ahead of my body.
I was dead. So, so dead.
"S-s-sorry-"
I came face to face with hazel eyes. Angry ones. My mind went foggy all at once, the swirl of green and gold pulling me in and drowning out everything else.
'Mine.' A low purr rolled through my head.
I flinched at that voice. Again. Who was that? Who was doing that?
A mess of voices erupted around me, all clamouring for the Alpha's attention at once. My eyes darted around in a panic as three of his men rose to their feet and closed in around me — the Beta alone stayed seated. Hands locked around my biceps and shoulders and just like that I couldn't move; two of them holding me in place, the third positioned behind me.
The fog thickened. My eyes found those hazel ones again without meaning to. I watched his pupils blow wide, watched him tilt his head slowly, studying me like I was something he couldn't quite work out. He looked... almost as lost as I felt.
"Alpha!" A voice made me jump clean out of my skin. "I am assuming you would like this young lady escorted to the yard-"
"Please don't-" Steven cut in.
"She didn't mean-" Damien tried.
But it was the Alpha's voice that silenced everything. His eyes never left mine. A shiver — warm and involuntary — crawled all the way down my spine at the sound of it.
"No."
"No...sir?" The man gripping me faltered.
"No." Just that. One word. Smooth as silk, like it was made to be listened to.
I could have listened to that voice forever, honestly.
'Mine.' The intruder purred again.
That one, though? That one was freaking me out. How was a voice living in my head when I hadn't even shifted yet? Was I dreaming? Was I dying? Oh god. Oh no. I hit my head last night, didn't I. I was in a coma. This was all in my coma brain. Or — or the Alpha had already killed me and I just hadn't caught up yet. I was dead. Gone. Mum! Dad! I am so sorry!
Damien's voice yanked me back as he spoke up with authority. "Alpha Titan, I sincerely apologise. I truly do not know what happened. Nova is an excellent hostess-"
"Nova..." He said it quietly. Like he was tasting it.
A shudder tore through me at my own name. My eyes fell shut on their own and for one horrible, wonderful second, pleasure wrecked through my bones and prickled every inch of my skin. From the corner of my eye I caught Steven looking at me with worry, rising to his feet the same way his father had.
"Please do not harm her," Steven said.
"Nova...?" The beast hadn't even heard him.
The man behind me shoved me roughly and a whimper crawled out of my throat before I could stop it. The Alpha's gaze hardened immediately, eyes locked on mine like they hadn't moved once. I swallowed hard, my throat dry and tight. This man was terrifying. His hands alone could crush my neck. His frame alone could swallow me whole.
The voice in my head purred, happy about all of this apparently.
"Y-y-es, Alph-pha T-Titan?" I stammered.
His eyes closed. Just for a beat. His head tipped back slightly. And when they opened again they were pitch black — fully, completely black — and I knew. His wolf had come forward. Most wolves kept something of their human colour in their eyes even when angry, even when the pupils swallowed everything. But not him. His were pure black. Wild. Empty of anything soft. I knew what that looked like from too many awful, close-up experiences with angry pack wolves to count.
I had dropped my gaze already when I spoke — habit, survival instinct, whatever you wanted to call it. Keep small. Stay non-threatening. Don't make it worse.
Dead. RIP; rest in pieces, to me.
He hummed low in his throat and I saw him rise and start toward me. This was it then. This was where I actually died. No imprisonment like that Omega boy. Just death, right here, for embarrassing a King's Alpha in front of everyone. I had known it was coming. I had always known.
I raised my eyes to his chest as he stopped in front of me. The smell of him hit me like a wall. Dizzying. Warm. Earthy skin and something expensive mixed together in a way that made my mouth water against my will. If I was going to die, at least it was going to be in front of someone who looked like that. Small mercies, right?
His arm lifted toward my face and I flinched back hard, eyes squeezing shut, a whimper already leaving me. I braced for it. The hit. The crack of bone. Something.
It didn't come.
Instead his fingers touched my temple, soft and slow, and traced a line all the way down my cheek. My body locked up completely. I didn't know what to do with gentle. I kept my eyes shut. Then his finger found my lip and a bolt of electricity shot straight through me, deep and sharp.
I heard him breathe in — long and slow — before he exhaled. His hand dropped. "She may go."
My eyes flew open. Relief and shock crashed through me so fast I nearly swayed. His pitch black eyes were still hard when I looked at him. Still unreadable. Still a wall. Like none of it had touched him at all.
"B-but Alpha, she-"
"Let her go." He growled, his gaze snapping to the man who held me.
They dropped me instantly. I pulled my arms tight against my body and folded into myself, waiting for the trick. A small whimper slipped out. But nothing happened. Slowly, carefully, I stepped back from him and his men.
"Thank you. Alpha Titan." Steven exhaled.
I watched the Alpha's men fall back into their places as he turned and lowered himself back into his seat. Julie and Katie had vanished — long gone, the cowards. The Beta had sat through all of it without moving once and when my eyes found his, he gave me this big, easy grin. What was wrong with him? I had nearly died. And he was smiling at me like we'd just shared a joke.
Steven sat back down too, his eyes going over me carefully, checking. I rubbed my arms and shook my head at him. I was fine. Mostly. Other than my heart which was currently somewhere near the ceiling.
"Another coffee, Alpha Titan?" Damien asked.
The Alpha nodded once, silently. I took that as my cue and got out of there as fast as my legs would carry me. The tears came the second the kitchen was in sight, hot and unstoppable, spilling over before I even made it through the door.
Nobody came after me. They all cleared out of the kitchen like I was something contagious. I leaned against the counter and tried to breathe, and when I looked up I realised I wasn't alone after all.
Sophie. Arms crossed, hip cocked, glaring at me like I had personally offended her ancestors.
"How dare you disrespect us like that!" She screeched.
I had no idea how she already knew.