I pushed the porcelain plate across the marble island. "Sunny-side up. Extra pepper."
Julian stared at the eggs. He didn't pick up his fork.
"I don't eat this anymore," he muttered.
He shifted his weight, pulling his left leg further under the shadow of the counter. The rigid metal brace scraped the floorboards. He always hid it.
"Julian, talk to me," I said. "It's been a week of daily extractions. You barely look at me unless my veins are burning."
"I'm here to supply pheromones, Miss Vance. Not to play house."
"You used to steal my lunch in high school."
"That boy is dead." His voice was a flat, gravelly rasp. He grabbed his titanium cane and stood. "I'll be in the medical wing when you're ready for the evening dose."
Before I could stop him, the front doors of the villa blasted open.
Wood splintered. Two of my security guards hit the floor, groaning.
Dominic stormed into the foyer, flanked by three massive thugs. His designer suit hung loosely on his frame. Bankruptcy had hollowed out his cheeks. Both of his wrists were encased in heavy fiberglass casts.
"Eva!" Dominic screamed, his eyes wild and bloodshot.
Julian froze. His grip tightened on his cane.
I stepped around the kitchen island. "You are trespassing."
"You ruined me!" Dominic spat. "You froze my accounts! You blacklisted me from every firm in the country!"
"I told you never to speak to me again."
Dominic’s manic gaze darted from me to Julian. He took in the titanium cane, the stiff leg, the faded henley. A cruel, ugly sneer twisted his face.
"This is him?" Dominic laughed, a harsh, barking sound. "The great Eva Vance, CEO of Vance Global. You threw me out for this?"
"Shut your mouth, Dominic."
"You'd rather have a crippled piece of trash who can't even stand steady than me?!" Dominic stepped closer, pointing a cast-covered hand at Julian. "Look at him! He's a fucking invalid! Can this cripple satisfy your strong Alpha physical desires?!"
Julian’s bronze face pulled taut. The muscles in his massive chest heaved beneath his shirt. He lowered his head, his knuckles turning stark white over the cane's handle. He looked ashamed.
Something inside me snapped.
I didn't walk. I lunged.
My Alpha aura exploded outward, a crushing wave of ice and pure dominance. The three thugs choked, dropping to their knees under the sheer atmospheric pressure.
I grabbed Dominic by the throat and slammed him onto the hardwood.
"Eva, wait—" he gagged.
I drove my combat boot directly into his chest.
Bone crunched. Three ribs snapped under my sole.
Dominic shrieked, a high-pitched wail of agony.
I didn't stop. I stomped my heel straight down onto his jaw. Teeth shattered. Blood sprayed across the polished floorboards.
"Drag this garbage out," I ordered the recovering guards. "If he comes within ten miles of this property again, kill him."
The guards hauled Dominic’s limp, bleeding body out the door by his collar.
I turned back to Julian. My chest heaved. "Are you okay?"
He stared at the blood on my boots. His dark eyes were utterly hollow.
"You still feel it for him," Julian whispered.
"What?"
"You lost control," he said, his tone thick with bitter resentment. "You only lose control like that when you care. You're furious because he broke your heart."
"Julian, no. I was defending you."
"I don't need your pity, Eva!" he roared.
He turned and limped heavily down the hall.
* * *
Night fell. The tension in the villa felt like a loaded gun.
I walked into the dimly lit medical wing. Julian sat on the edge of the black leather sofa. He had removed his shirt. Sweat already slicked his broad, bronze shoulders.
"Let's get this over with," he said, not meeting my eyes.
"You misunderstood what happened today," I told him, stepping closer.
"I said, let's get it over with."
I reached out to touch his shoulder.
The second my fingers grazed his hot skin, a violent tremor ripped through my spine.
My vision flashed red. The air vanished from my lungs. It wasn't the necrosis this time. It was the Rut.
The sheer rage from the afternoon, combined with Julian's suffocating insecurity, triggered a massive biological meltdown. My Alpha temperature spiked to a hundred and four degrees in seconds.
"Eva?" Julian asked, his head snapping up.
"Fuck," I growled, clutching my stomach. "Julian. Run."
"You're burning up." He dropped his cane and reached for me.
I lost my mind.
I tackled him backward onto the leather sofa. The impact rattled the side tables.
"Give it to me," I snarled, pinning his thick wrists above his head.
"Eva, stop! You're in a full Rut!"
I didn't care. I shoved my knee between his thighs, forcing his heavy legs apart. The metal brace dug into my thigh, but the pain only fueled the fever.
"I'm going to fuck you blind," I panted, my face hovering inches from his. "I want your pheromones. I want everything."
I tore at his belt. I ripped the leather strap right off the buckle.
Julian thrashed beneath me. His massive chest arched, slick with sweat. "You don't want me! You're just angry about Dominic!"
"Shut the fuck up and open your mouth," I commanded.
I crashed my lips onto his. I bit his lower lip until I tasted copper. Julian groaned, his hips jerking upward against mine. His thick, heavy arousal pressed hard against the front of his trousers.
Wild honey and white tea flooded the room. His Omega scent was thick, ripe, and totally overwhelming.
I dragged my open mouth down his jaw, trailing wet, biting kisses down his thick neck.
"Fuck, Eva," he choked out. His fingers dug into the leather cushions.
"You smell so fucking good," I muttered, licking the sweat off his collarbone. "I'm going to tear this gland right out of your neck."
Julian stopped fighting. His body went rigid.
He looked up at the ceiling, his jaw trembling. Then, he actively thrust his chest upward. He arched his neck, exposing the swollen, ripe gland directly to my mouth.
"Do it," Julian rasped, his voice breaking.
I paused, my teeth grazing his flesh. "What?"
He turned his head, locking his dark, wet eyes onto mine.
"If you just want a body to vent on, Eva... then bite down as hard as you want." His chest heaved against mine. "I've been sick to the bone for a long time anyway."
My heart slammed against my ribs. I stared down at his beautiful, ruined face.
Before I could answer, a sharp, deafening alarm blared from the security monitors in the hallway.
A mechanical voice echoed through the villa speakers.
"Perimeter breach. Sector four. Armed intruders detected."
Julian's eyes went wide.
I slowly wiped the sweat from my brow, my Alpha fangs still fully extended.
