My mind short-circuited.
My eyes were level with Alpha Sebastian’s thighs.
Perfectly still. Perfectly sculpted.
And terrifyingly close.
Words? Vanished.
Thoughts? Scattered.
Dignity? Completely absent.
Why, of all places, did my wheelchair have to stop right there?
Behind me, Harlow let out a small choking sound-half laugh, half gasp.
I silently vowed to strangle her later.
Alpha Sebastian remained silent, his expression unreadable as ever.
After what felt like an eternity of awkward silence, I managed to say, “You drive quite slowly, Alpha Sebastian.” I reached back discreetly to squeeze Harlow’s hand, silently begging her to turn my wheelchair around.
But Harlow seemed mesmerized by the close-up view of the notorious Alpha’s almost godlike features.
Alpha Sebastian looked down at me, his pale eyes locking onto mine. “Instead of idle chatter in elevators, perhaps select your floor first.”
His voice mixed sarcasm with resignation, but beneath it all, there was something that almost sounded like… indulgence.
Flushing with embarrassment, I twisted around and pressed the button for my floor.
“Harlow-” I pinched her hand discreetly after hitting the button.
“Oh! Right.” Harlow finally snapped out of her daze.
The elevator was spacious by typical apartment standards, but with five people and a wheelchair inside, turning gracefully was a challenge.
Harlow took a step back and accidentally bumped into Beta Sawyer’s arm. As she apologized, she pushed my wheelchair forward-directly toward Alpha Sebastian.
Horror flooded me as I realized I was about to face-plant into his thighs.
“Whoa, whoa!” I cried out, throwing my hands up instinctively to stop myself.
But instead, my hands landed firmly on his muscular thighs.
I froze, eyes wide with mortification, my hands lingering there for a full five seconds before I yanked them back as if burned.
When I finally dared to look up, I caught something I never expected to see-a faint pink flush spreading across Alpha Sebastian’s usually impassive, pale face.
Celina
The instant my hand accidentally grazed Alpha Sebastian’s thigh, it felt as if the world had come to a standstill.
In that frozen moment, three pairs of eyes in the elevator widened in shock, almost as if they were about to burst from their sockets.
“…Excuse me?!” someone blurted out.
Immediately, Harlow lunged forward, pulling me back as if I’d been about to leap off a cliff. Lian and Beta Sawyer whipped their heads around so quickly I half expected them to suffer whiplash. Their gazes turned rigid and fixed straight ahead, as blank and unmoving as statues. Ah, perfect. They were doing the classic “see no evil, hear no evil” act.
I wanted nothing more than to disappear. To vanish into thin air. I dropped my head, pressed my palm against my forehead, and began rubbing frantically-as though I could scrub away the last five seconds from existence. My cheeks burned fiercely. No, my entire face felt like it was on fire. I was pretty sure I could cook an egg on it.
Ding.
The elevator chimed, signaling the 13th floor-my salvation.
Thank heavens I didn’t live on the 23rd or 33rd floors. I wouldn’t have survived the ride. I probably would have combusted spontaneously before the elevator even reached halfway.
“Excuse us,” Harlow said quickly, dragging me out of the elevator like we were fleeing a crime scene. The sharp click-clack of her heels against the floor sounded like rapid gunfire.
As the elevator doors slid shut behind us, I felt my soul slip right out of my body.
I had just-accidentally-grabbed my boss’s thigh.
His actual, real thigh.
With my bare hand.
“Oh my god. Somebody get me heart medication. Or better yet, a new identity,” I groaned, burying my face in my hands as Harlow wheeled me inside my apartment.
“Absolutely not,” she declared firmly, slamming the door shut behind us like we were sealing off a crime scene. “You’re not disappearing. Not until you tell me everything. Right now.”
I peeked through my fingers. Harlow was practically vibrating with excitement.
“There’s nothing to tell,” I muttered, my voice muffled. “Unless you count me dying of embarrassment in front of my boss.”
Harlow gasped. “You touched Alpha Sebastian’s thighs and you think there’s nothing to tell?”
“I didn’t mean to!” I protested. “It was the wheelchair. And Lian. And gravity. Probably.”
“Oh, please,” Harlow rolled her eyes, maneuvering my wheelchair into the living room with practiced ease. “I saw the way he looked at you. And the blush on his face!”
I sank deeper into the couch cushions. “Please. I need bleach. For my brain.”
“Absolutely not,” Harlow said, plopping down beside me, crossing her legs, and leaning forward eagerly. “Now spill it. How did you even end up working for him? Last I heard, you were drowning in divorce papers, not job applications.”
With no way out, I reluctantly recounted my encounters with Alpha Sebastian-the car accident, the charity gala, and finally, how he’d offered me the job at Silver Peak Pack headquarters.
“Wow,” Harlow whispered when I finished. “It’s like the Moon Goddess herself is pulling all these strings, making sure you two keep crossing paths. Maybe he’s your true mate!”
I nearly choked on my own breath.
“First of all, there’s no way he’d ever be interested in someone like me.
Second, I’m not looking for a mate right now.
And third, it’s strictly professional between us.
He needed a secretary, and I needed to get out of Xavien’s social circle.
Working as the head assistant for the CEO of Silver Peak Pack is helping me rebuild my career. That’s all.”
Harlow raised an eyebrow and smirked knowingly.
“You’re seriously telling me you can resist that gorgeous Alpha Sebastian?”
I knew she was just trying to lift my spirits-trying to stop me from giving up on love after what Xavien had done-but I’d already made up my mind.
I gave her a dry, unimpressed look.
“Please. Alpha Sebastian doesn’t need to push anyone away. Most people can’t even get close to him in the first place.”
I leaned back, folding my arms.
“Beta Sawyer said the last woman who threw herself at him almost got kicked out of his car. And that was someone he actually liked.”
I shrugged.
“I’m not about to humiliate myself like that. I know exactly where I stand-and I’m fine with it.”
“If I ever dared to think about him that way or touch him on purpose, he’d probably drag me to the nearest river and drown me.”
My voice was so serious that Harlow actually paused for a moment.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” she said, recovering quickly.
“You literally grabbed his thighs and you’re still alive! Maybe give yourself some credit-you’re not invisible.”
Just hearing the word “thighs” made my face flare up again, like a fire alarm going off.
“I did not grab his thighs! You pushed me forward, and if I hadn’t caught myself, my face would’ve ended up buried in his…”
I trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
“So what?” Harlow asked, eyes sparkling mischievously. “His crotch?”
“Harlow!” I snapped, horrified.
She collapsed into laughter, toppling sideways onto my couch while I glared at her.
Sometimes I wondered why we were even friends.
After our laughter died down, Harlow seemed to accept that there truly was nothing between Alpha Sebastian and me.
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