Chapter 2
1123 Words
Cassian’s POV
She walked into my office this morning like a quiet storm.
Soft voice. Calm eyes. No scent that should have pulled me in.
And yet, the moment she stepped inside, my wolf stirred.
For years, I lived with silence inside my own body. The beast had been poisoned, weakened, caged. Every woman who came close made my skin crawl. My pulse would spike in rejection, my breath tightening like I was choking on the air itself.
But with her. Ayla Reed, it was different. The silence inside me broke.
I should have sent her away the moment I felt that. Instead, I kept her here. Maybe because I wanted to see if it would happen again.
And it did.
When our fingers brushed, it wasn’t pain I felt. It was heat. Sharp and clean. My wolf pushed against my control so fast I almost growled.
Now, sitting alone in my office at midnight, I can still feel it. The faint trace of her scent lingering in the air. Pine and smoke. Faint, but maddening.
I loosened my tie and leaned back in my chair. My reflection in the glass looked like someone I didn’t recognize—someone restless, distracted.
I hadn’t been restless in years.
There was something about her eyes. Silver-gray, like frost under sunlight. Too rare for a human. Too sharp for someone pretending to be ordinary.
“Who are you, Ayla Reed?” I muttered to myself.
She worked efficiently, spoke little, and never flinched when I barked orders. That alone made her different. Most wolves trembled under my voice. She just nodded, eyes steady, like she had already been through worse.
That calmness pulled me closer without my permission.
I told myself it was curiosity. But my wolf knew better.
I pushed away from the desk and walked to the window. The city below glimmered faintly, clouds swallowing the moonlight. Ravenwood territory stretched far beyond the skyline—land I ruled, people I protected. Control was everything. It kept me sane.
But tonight, my control felt like thin glass.
The scent of her lingered, a whisper that crawled under my skin.
I remembered how she looked when I caught her working late. Her hair had come loose from its tie, falling around her shoulders in soft waves. She didn’t even notice. She spoke calmly, her voice low and even, but I could hear her heartbeat—steady, unafraid.
It made me want to test her limits.
What would she do if I stepped closer?
If I leaned in just a little too near and asked her why her scent made my wolf growl with hunger instead of rage?
The thought made me clench my fists.
No. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t lose control over a stranger.
A knock broke my thoughts. “Alpha, you’re still here?”
It was Marcus, my Beta. Loyal, quiet, always watching.
“Yes,” I said. “Go home.”
He hesitated. “The pack council sent word. They want you at the quarterly summit in two days.”
“I’ll attend.”
He nodded but didn’t leave. “There’s something else,” he said carefully. “The new assistant. I ran a background check like you ordered.”
I turned slowly. “And?”
“Her records are clean. Too clean. No family, no pack, no past addresses except a small human city near the border.”
That got my attention. “Near the border?”
“Yes, Alpha. Close to The Hollow.”
My pulse slowed. The Hollow. That cursed stretch of land no one liked to mention. Years ago, a rebellion broke out there. A pack was wiped out by fire. The survivors scattered, most never found again.
A strange unease crawled up my spine.
“Keep watching her,” I said finally.
Marcus nodded. “Should I tell Lara?”
At the mention of that name, my jaw tightened. “No. Lara doesn’t need to know anything that concerns my assistant.”
He smirked faintly. “Understood.”
When he left, the silence pressed back in.
The Hollow.
Ayla Reed.
The silver eyes.
Something wasn’t right.
The next morning, she was already at her desk when I arrived. She looked up briefly, her expression calm as always.
“Good morning, Alpha,” she said softly.
Her voice wrapped around me like silk.
“Inside,” I said.
She followed, closing the door behind her.
I watched her from behind my desk as she adjusted the tablet in her hand, waiting for instructions. The soft glow from the window brushed her skin, and for a second, I couldn’t look away.
She noticed. “Did I do something wrong?”
The question caught me off guard. “No.”
She tilted her head slightly, eyes narrowing just a fraction. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”
I wasn’t used to being questioned. Especially not by a subordinate. But her tone wasn’t challenging—it was curious. Honest.
“Your scent,” I said quietly. “It affects me.”
Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn’t move. “Affects you how?”
I stood, walking around the desk until I was standing just inches away from her. She tensed but didn’t step back. Brave. Or foolish.
“My wolf doesn’t reject you,” I said. “You understand what that means?”
She looked at me steadily. “It means your wolf trusts me.”
Trust. The word felt foreign.
My gaze dropped to her lips, and for a moment, I forgot where we were. The beast inside me stirred, urging me closer. I could feel her breath against my skin, the faint tremble she tried to hide.
I reached up slowly, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face. My fingers stopped just short of touching her cheek. My wolf roared in my chest, clawing for contact.
But I couldn’t. Not yet.
I forced myself to step back, the taste of restraint bitter in my mouth. “Get back to work.”
She nodded, her composure flawless. But when she turned away, I caught it, a flicker of something in her eyes. Sadness. Or guilt.
And for the first time, I wondered if she was hiding something from me.
That night, I dreamed of fire.
Flames tearing through the woods.
A girl screaming. Silver eyes filled with fear.
When I woke, sweat clung to my skin, and my wolf whispered one word in my mind.
Found.
I didn’t understand what it meant.
Not yet.
But I knew one thing for certain.
Ayla Reed wasn’t who she said she was.
And whatever secret she was hiding.
It was already too late for me to stay away.
- Writer
