His voice was deep and commanding-just four simple words.
I froze for a moment before replying, “Right away.”
Ending the call, I turned back to Amara.
“Alpha Sebastian wants to see me. Please wait here-I’ll be back soon.”
Amara slowly lifted her head from the cushion where it had rested. Those cold, sharp eyes scanned me from head to toe, and suddenly her expression shifted. A bitter, knowing smile curled at the corners of her lips.
“Go ahead,” she said softly.
I stood there awkwardly. What was that look supposed to mean?
I opened my mouth to explain but realized any explanation would sound defensive. This wasn’t worth the effort.
Fine. Let her think what she wanted. The truth would reveal itself in time.
I turned and left.
Outside Sebastian’s suite, I pulled out the keycard he had given me earlier. For convenience, both Beta Sawyer and I had access to his room so we could respond immediately when needed.
The room had felt perfectly normal before, but after Amara’s suggestive look, it suddenly took on an intimate, uneasy atmosphere.
I stepped inside to find Sebastian standing by the window, unfastening his watch.
Removing accessories in a hotel room…
My mind betrayed me, conjuring a ridiculous soap opera scenario: two people locked in a love-hate dance, the man getting close to his secretary just to make his ex jealous, to break her down.
“A-Alpha Sebastian, are you-” I stammered.
“I’m hungry,” he said, dark eyes locking onto mine, voice low and rough.
I froze.
For a split second, my brain short-circuited.
Did he mean… that kind of hungry?
I took a step back, heart pounding.
He blinked, then sighed.
“I meant food. Actual food.”
“Oh!” I laughed, probably too loudly. “Right. Of course. You meant food. Like… sandwiches. Not… other things.”
His brow lifted, and my cheeks burned.
An awkward silence followed, so thick you could cut it with a knife.
I wanted to bite my tongue off.
Clearing my throat, I hurried to the phone, trying to recover my professionalism.
“What would you like to eat, Alpha Sebastian?”
He expressionlessly put his watch back on.
“Anything.”
The most difficult order in the world is “anything.”
I rolled my eyes internally but kept my voice gentle and patient as I ordered from room service, choosing a variety of dishes since I didn’t know his preferences.
After hanging up, I turned back to see he had already refastened his watch.
So he hadn’t been… but why mention that?
“Celina, you know that your current duties were previously handled by Sawyer,” Sebastian said coolly, clearly trying to dispel whatever inappropriate thoughts he’d caught on my face.
I was still catching up, so his words hit me oddly.
Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Beta Sawyer had to do THAT too?”
Sebastian stared at me for a long, agonizing moment.
“Get out,” he finally said, waving his hand dismissively.
I practically fled the room.
After walking a short distance down the corridor, I came to an abrupt stop and deliberately pressed my forehead against the wall. Once. Twice. Then again.
Beta Sawyer turned the corner just in time to see me.
He paused, torn between intervening and pretending he hadn’t noticed. But before he could decide, his phone buzzed.
Sebastian.
With one last bewildered look at me, Beta Sawyer turned and headed toward the Alpha’s suite.
Inside, Sebastian stood near the window, arms folded, jaw tense. He didn’t look up as Beta Sawyer entered.
“Celina,” Beta Sawyer began, voice a mix of concern and confusion. “Has she been drinking too? Because she’s out in the hallway… banging her head against the wall.”
Sebastian exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Report,” he said instead.
Beta Sawyer launched into a summary of tomorrow’s schedule.
A knock interrupted them-room service.
As the food was laid out, Sebastian gestured wordlessly for Beta Sawyer to sit. The Beta obeyed gratefully; his stomach had already betrayed him with a loud growl.
They ate in relative silence.
After dabbing his mouth with a napkin, Sebastian spoke-casual but purposeful.
“Celina was doing well at the card table. Why did you take over?”
Beta Sawyer grimaced.
“She got a little… carried away. At first, I was nervous, but she was holding strong-until she nearly went all-in on a trash hand. I almost had a heart attack. Had to drag her away before she bankrupted us both. She thinks she’s some kind of poker prodigy.”
Sebastian’s hand paused on the stem of his glass. The corner of his mouth didn’t twitch, but his gaze sharpened-still cold, still calculating.
“She left the card room?” he asked in a low voice.
“Yeah. I asked her to see if you needed help, but she’ll be back in a minute,” Beta Sawyer replied, missing the subtle shift in the Alpha’s tone.
A flicker of something dangerous passed through Sebastian’s eyes-quick and quiet, like a flash of teeth in the dark.
His fingers tightened, barely noticeable.
So. She had seen them on the deck.
Celina
I woke up early, the sky outside still cloaked in gentle hues of gray and blue, the kind of morning that feels both calm and expectant.
Amara was still asleep, her breathing slow and even beneath the soft sheets, completely unaware of the world stirring around her.
A sudden, sharp pang of hunger gnawed at me. My stomach growled, insistent and demanding attention.
Since that single bite of cake on the yacht, I hadn’t eaten anything. By three in the morning, I had been wide awake, hunger twisting inside me like a restless creature pacing in the dark.
Unable to resist any longer, I slipped quietly from the room, seeking a quiet meal in the hotel’s nearly empty restaurant.
The hotel grounds spilled out into a vast tropical garden, a wild yet carefully tended oasis. Palm fronds swayed gently overhead, casting flickering shadows across the mossy stone path beneath my feet. The air was thick and fragrant, filled with the scent of damp earth, fresh greenery, and something softer-like jasmine after a rainstorm.
I stepped deeper under the canopy of trees, the cool morning breeze tugging playfully at the hem of my dress.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves in broken shards of gold, warming patches of my skin with a gentle touch.
For a brief moment, I closed my eyes.
No voices pierced the quiet. No orders. No watchful eyes marking me as property.
Just the wind, the birdsong, and the faint, slow stirring of the world waking up.
A rare moment of stillness-the calm breath held between storms.
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