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He tilts his head to the side, smiles that precious smile, and reaches out, enclosing her hand in his. He may as well rip out my heart and kill me.
I wait until she’s gone before I step out from behind the wall. He doesn’t acknowledge me at all. That hurts. It really hurts. I reach out for the hand that he touched hers with, but he snatches it back.
I close my eyes and struggle to breathe evenly.
“Why her?” I ask in a whisper.
He glares at me, his gaze turning frigid.
“Why? I’m just trying to understand why?”
“You wouldn’t understand. Fuck off, Silas. I’m here like any other guest.” His eyes lift to look past me, and I hear the high giggle. I stiffen and reach out, resting my hand on his arm.
“You belong with us,” I say, and I’m not sure if it’s a command or a plea.
He snorts in derision and stands taller, slamming his hand, into one pocket of his jeans.Where I can’t reach it.
“The only thing I do know is that with you is the last place I want to be.” He glances at the woman who moves closer to us. “Enjoy your evening, Alpha Hastings.”
I pull out a chair and sit at a table, staring at the spot he just left, reeling from the venom in his voice. He stalks out of the restaurant, uncaring of my pain, unmoved by my torment, leaving me broken at the table. Haunted by my own failures, again.
five
Onyx
It’s hard not to fidget. I’m shoulder to shoulder with a man who smells like garlic and a woman who’s sniffing is driving me up the friggin wall. My mask of polite interest is getting hard to hold. Silvie didn’t come back last night. Not for her things, not to sleep. I should be happy for her, and a huge part of me is, but I can’t help but feel she’s just abandoned me.
She kinda has.
But I can survive in this world. She can’t.
Simon walks past, discussing last-minute reminders and barking out orders. I absorb the information with half an ear. There are easily over a hundred staff lined up in this room. All of us wearing identical white shirts with black slacks and shoes. The quality of the clothing is excellent, the best I’ve ever worn. I almost raise my hand to check my hair and make sure my ponytail is tight, but at the last minute, I keep my arm still. We are the perfect face of the Treyfield Resort.
My feet are aching from the new shoes, and my eyes are burning. My jaw aches from fighting the yawns, courtesy of spending the night up waiting and listening for any sign of Silver. I feel gross like I just need a month in bed.
Upon our arrival, uniforms were given out, but this morning, they gave us our name tags, shoes, and a bracelet that identifies us and our location in real time. It can’t be taken off except with the master key. The silver metal is pretty, with roses engraved into the cuff and a number. 266.
I am now reduced to a number. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
The woman beside me sniffs again, and I bite hard enough on my tongue to taste blood. I side-eye the line of staff to my right. They are all standing at attention, blank expressions on their faces. I get a horrible thought that perhaps I’m standing next to robots. The urge to giggle grabs hold of my stomach, and I bite my lower lip to suppress it.
Simon’s gaze pauses on me for a moment before he continues on. The impulse to laugh dies away as the torture resumes.
The double doors are thrown open, surprising us all into spontaneous flinches. It’s so unexpected that Simon falls silent and approaches with a wary smile. A man who I suspect is Simon’s assistant scurries to hold the door open and almost doubles over in a deferential bow.
A man walks in with such an air of command that I want to duck away and hide. He’s got classic good looks, a strong face, with a wide jaw, eyes with thick black lashes, and a slim body with broad shoulders. Lips that look like they could smile prettily or cut you to the core. Not a hair is out of place, not a wrinkle can be seen on his immaculate charcoal suit. But his eyes are piercing, and as they land on me, I fancy he knows who I am, that he sees me, and then I remember that I’m a beta, and men like that never look at me.
The second man who enters has thick blond hair. He smiles at the room, and I feel a flutter in my stomach. He moves like a jungle cat. He looks like he should be modeling underwear.
The last is the man from yesterday, but today, it’s like I’m seeing him for the first time. His hair is slicked back, and I notice that his brown eyes are dark and deep and they look soulful. He looks like someone I would want to be friends with.
The three of them together send crackles of electricity into the air. They have an aura that cows us lesser mortals. I’m holding my breath, staring with wide eyes.
Three tall, broad, and handsome alphas walking in like they own the place…Oh, no. No way. These are they, the Treyfield Pack. The Alpha’s who own the company. No, I checked. They’re not supposed to be here. Simon said they were in the city and wouldn’t be coming here.
Oh, my god. Treyfield Pack gave Silver a room and…what do they want from her? I feel sick and put my hand against my stomach without thinking. The movement draws their eyes. I freeze like a baby deer in the headlights of ravenous wolves.
What are their names? Why can’t I recall the information?
