I prowl after him, assessing the room in a controlled sweep first for exits (there are none, only the door that isthunkingshut behind us with a finality that makes me wince), and threats (far too many).
Ten Alpha enforcers in the same purple suits are standing around the walls of the large meeting room. Their gazes snap to me.
Why the fuck are there so many of them? And why Alphas?
I struggle to keep in my growl.
Is this a courting or an ambush?
Floor-to-ceiling windows run along three of the walls, which are angled to overlook the casino floor below. I bet that Damio jerks off to watching the mugs below losing their fortunes to him.
It’s a spectacle.
The lights pulse over the bars and tables of gamblers. The dealers in their crisp purple and gold uniforms work smoothly. They are cogs in a machine. This flagship Billion House casino is only a business, one of the Nine Zeros brand, in the same way that Fiorella’s property portfolio is.
Both packs may not like to admit it, but they have a lot in common.
They have respectable fronts to hide their shady business.
I take a deep breath of the perfumed air, which still can’t hide the strong scent of vodka wafting from Damio.
Damio, the Chief Alpha, is sitting at the head of the obsidian table that dominates the center of the room. He leans forward with his heavy arms leaning on the gleaming surface, which is empty apart from a single stack of papers.
Damio is in his sixties.
He is the type of man who callshimselfa silver fox, when in fact, he’s a creepy man who likes to prey on younger women.
He is dressed in a flashy plum silk suit.
Damio is known to kiss someone one moment and rip out their throat the next.
Literally.
Is Fiorella taking too great a risk wanting to ally with someone like him?
Damio’s gaze flicks over me, before dismissing me. Then he studies my brother with a contempt that surges fury through me.
I glance at the only other person who is sitting at the table. Rosa, Damio’s elite Omega daughter, leans back in the leather chair to the left of Damio.
Rosa is pretty with long, wild red hair. She appears to be the same age as my brother.
She is dressed in a silver designer dress and shoes with large hoop earrings. She is scrolling through her phone and hasn’t even glanced up.
My stomach sinks.
Mars valiantly approaches the table, and I stick close to his shoulder.
“Good afternoon, sir.” Mars holds out his hand to Damio. “I am pleased to meet you, as well as greet you on behalf of the Adonis pack. I am honored to court your Omega daughter. I swear that I will treat her with respect and?—”
“Fucking drop the act, boy.” Damio bats Mars’ hand away, and I can’t hold back the growl. “We all know why we’re here. I don’t need some kid bullshitting me with this old-fashioned chivalry crap. Do you know what knights were truly like? They were brutal killers who rampaged and ravished, taking what they wanted because they were the ones with the weapons.” He bares his fangs. “We’re Alphas. Fucking mafia. We’re the modern-day knights, but chivalry isn’t dead. It never lived to begin with. So, no bullshitting. Got me, kid?”
Mars stares at Damio in shock.
Then his jaw clenches. “I’m not a kid.”
Damio barks a laugh. “Then why are you the same size as one?”
I suck in a sharp breath.
