Adelina POV
The cab ride to The Pierre Hotel was a blur of throbbing pain and cold resolve. I had wrapped my blistered hand in a makeshift bandage from the office first-aid kit, the stark white gauze a glaring contrast against my charcoal gray blazer.
Stepping into the lavish ballroom felt like walking into a lion's den. The sheer scale of the room was suffocating. Massive crystal chandeliers hung from the soaring ceilings, casting a warm, blinding gold light over the Davenport Pack's elite. My senses were immediately assaulted by the overwhelming scents of hundreds of powerful wolves—heavy musks, expensive colognes, designer perfumes, and beneath it all, the raw, primal undercurrent of apex predators.
I stood out like a sore thumb in my sensible office attire, clutching the Henderson Pack Alliance file. But I wasn't here to mingle. I was here to sever the final thread.
I spotted Jase near the center of the room, holding court among a circle of visiting Alphas. He looked devastatingly handsome in a tailored black tuxedo, exuding absolute power.
Taking a deep breath, I marched toward him.
The moment Jase's eyes locked onto mine, the charismatic, victorious smile vanished from his face. It was replaced by a mask of cold, unadulterated contempt. The Alphas around him fell silent, sensing the sudden shift in the room's atmosphere.
"Alpha," I said, keeping my voice steady as I held out the thick folder. "The Henderson Pack Alliance file. As requested."
Jase didn't reach for it. His gaze slowly raked over my wrinkled blazer, my sensible flats, and finally, the clumsy bandage on my hand. A low, vibrating growl rumbled in his chest, meant only for me.
"You dare show up to my Pack's Gala looking like a street vagrant?" he murmured, his Alpha tone dripping with disdain. "You are an insult to this room."
"I'm just delivering the file, Jase. Take it, and I'll leave."
He scoffed, refusing to dirty his hands by taking it from me. Instead, he jutted his chin toward a small side table littered with discarded, half-eaten appetizers and dirty napkins. "Leave it there."
My jaw tightened, but I walked over and dropped the highly confidential file next to a smeared cocktail glass. He was reducing me to a lowly servant in front of the most powerful men in the state.
Before I could turn and walk away, a cloying scent of jasmine and vanilla suffocated the air.
"Adelina! Oh, you actually came!"
Kira Parrish slithered through the crowd, her stunning platinum-gold gown clinging to her perfect curves. She threw her arms around me in a sickeningly sweet, fake embrace. As she pulled back, her eyes darted to my left hand.
"Oh my goddess, what happened to your hand?" Kira gasped loudly, drawing the attention of the surrounding guests.
Before I could pull away, she grabbed my bandaged hand. Under the guise of concern, her perfectly manicured thumb found the exact center of my burn. And then, she pressed down. Hard.
Because I was wolfless, I didn't have the rapid healing to protect me. The blister beneath the gauze ruptured under her malicious pressure. White-hot, blinding agony shot up my arm.
I gasped, my knees buckling slightly from the sheer shock of the pain. I looked at Jase, silently pleading for him to stop her.
Instead, Jase's eyes darkened with warning. "Don't disrespect my Luna, Omega," he warned, his voice a low, cruel rumble.
*Omega.*
The word shattered whatever was left of my heart.
Driven by pure, agonizing physical instinct, I violently yanked my hand out of Kira's grip.
The movement was too fast, too reckless. My elbow slammed hard into a passing waiter.
Time seemed to slow down. The silver tray tipped. Crystal champagne flutes launched into the air, raining down in a spectacular, disastrous crash.
The sound of shattering glass was magnified by the sensitive hearing of every wolf in the room. The bustling ballroom plunged into a dead, horrifying silence.
Expensive vintage champagne splashed directly across the front of Kira's pristine platinum gown.
Kira let out a dramatic, wounded gasp, covering her mouth as she looked at her ruined dress, then up at me with wide, tear-filled eyes. "Adelina, are you drunk? Why would you do that?!"
The air in the room turned to ice. The metallic, ozone scent of Jase's fury spiked so hard it burned my lungs. His Inner Wolf was clawing at the surface, enraged by the public attack on his chosen mate.
Jase stepped forward, his face twisted in absolute rage. Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of Pack elites, he unleashed a deafening roar that carried the crushing weight of an Alpha's Command.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
