After the meeting, someone called my name in the hallway.

"Ms. Winston."

It was Kyle.

He stood in the shadows, his face pale, the dark circles under his eyes suggesting he hadn't slept in days. His suit was wrinkled, his tie crooked—things that never happened to him.

"Mr. Carlisle," I nodded, keeping my tone strictly professional. "Can I help you?"

He opened his mouth, his voice hoarse. "Claire, can we... can we talk? In private? These terms are too harsh. You're going to destroy my family—"

"Correction," I interrupted. "'You' destroyed your family. When you humiliated me in front of your fraternity brothers, when you slept with Anna in suite 0726, when you took my love for granted."

I took a step forward, the sound of my heels on the marble echoing in the empty hallway.

"You know what the most ironic part is, Kyle? I could have been your greatest asset. I could have made the Carlisle family untouchable within a decade."

My voice dropped to a low, venomous whisper.

"But now, I'm going to be your worst nightmare."

His eyes turned red. Not with anger, but with something else—something I had never seen in them before.

Fear.

"You've changed," he muttered. "You've completely changed."

"No," I smiled. "I've just finally woken up."

As I turned to leave, he called my name one last time.

The nickname he had used since we were kids.

"Claire..."

I didn't turn back.

But I heard it.

I heard the tremor in his voice.

I heard the last of his arrogance shatter.

The elevator doors opened, and Finn was leaning against the back wall, holding two cups of coffee.

"Double espresso, no sugar," he said, handing one to me. "You got here at five this morning. You need this."

I took the coffee, my fingers brushing against his.

"Are you spying on me?"

"I'm looking out for you," he said, stepping aside so I could enter. "There's a difference."

The elevator began its descent, a feeling of weightlessness washing over me.

"That board meeting just now," Finn said suddenly. "I watched it from the security room."

I raised an eyebrow. "Spying?"

"Appreciating." His eyes glinted in the dim elevator light. "Do you know what you look like when you're reading data? Your eyes turn a pale gold. It's a trait of top-tier Alphas when they're focused."

He took a step closer, and the distance between us became dangerously small.

The elevator was a confined space, and his pheromones wrapped around me like an invisible net.

Bourbon, amber, and hot desert wind—and that pure masculine scent that made my skin flush. My body remembered this scent from the night of the ball.

"I used to think you chose Kyle because of the moon-bound instinct," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Now I know. You were just... dormant."

"And now?"

"Now you're awake." He smiled, a predator's smile. "And a queen who has awakened needs a king to match."

His fingers lightly traced the bare skin of my forearm, the heat from his touch like a brand.

My wolf stirred within me, wanting more of his touch, wanting to tear away this thin veneer of civilization.

But I just tightened my grip on my coffee cup.

The elevator reached the ground floor. The doors opened to the noise of the lobby.

But Finn didn't move.

He reached out, not to touch me, but to gently brush a stray strand of hair from my shoulder. His knuckles grazed the side of my neck—the most sensitive, private part of a wolf.

My breath caught in my throat.

"There's a party tonight," he said. "At the Gagosian Gallery in SoHo. A few tech founders, some VCs, and... me."

"Are you asking me out?"

"I'm giving you a choice." His fingers lingered on my carotid artery, feeling my pulse. "You can keep fighting alone, or you can let me stand by your side."

I looked at him. I looked at this man who, in my last life, had avenged me, gone to prison for me, and destroyed everything for me.

"Why?" I asked. "Why me?"

Finn was silent for a long time.

Then he said three words, as soft as a sigh and as heavy as an oath.

"It was always you."

He turned and left, leaving me standing in the elevator, the heat from the coffee cup burning all the way to my heart.

And my skin was still on fire from his touch.