Chapter 4
1336 Words
The quiet hum of the private elevator was a relief, but as soon as the frosted glass doors of Hart Tower shut with a click, Karl’s flawless professional composure abruptly shattered. He staggered. He gasped sharply, his hands clutching his throat as if the air suddenly became heavy, like liquid lead.
"Whoa—Karl! Hey, talk to me," Ethan said, quickly shedding his formal attitude. He grabbed Karl’s elbow, his fingers pressing into Karl’s suit. "What’s wrong? Are you tracking a scent?"
"No," Karl rasped, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached.
He tore at his silk tie, and all decorum disappeared as he yanked off the top two buttons of his shirt, which pinged onto the metal floor.
It wasn't an external attack.
Deep within his subconscious, Lycaon was throwing a tantrum. The wolf had been simmering throughout the negotiations, seemingly pacified by Elena’s presence across the table. However, when Karl checked his watch, closed his laptop, and mentally regarded her as a "human impossibility," the beast suddenly became feral.
“YOU FOOL,” Lycaon howled in his mind, clawing viciously at the walls of Karl’s thoughts. “YOU WAVED HER OFF? YOU LOOKED AWAY? SHE IS OURS!”
"She is human, you damn animal," Karl snarled back internally. "She doesn't have a wolf. She doesn't even know who we are. It makes no sense.”
By the time they reached the underground garage, Karl was actively shivering. It was a humiliating sensation for an Alpha King.
Ethan shoved him into the back seat of the SUV, slammed the door, and then navigated into the chaotic mid-afternoon Aurelia city traffic.
The vehicle arrived at Karl's temporary penthouse suite. Karl dragged his heavy frame into the vast, dark living space. He stumbled toward the kitchen island, gripped the edge of the stone, his knuckles turning a stark white as another wave of agonizing heat ripped through his chest. He looked down at his reflection on the black surface.
"You can't fight this, Karl," Ethan stated, walking into the room. "The gala isn't until Saturday night. If you stay this far away from her for forty-eight hours, your wolf will render you completely unconscious."
Karl let out a low growl. He hated this weakness. He hated how an ordinary woman could impact his bloodline. He hated how a bond forced him to kneel less than two hours after meeting her,
"Get the keys," Karl rasped.
Ethan didn't seek clarification; a knowing nod passed his face. "The car is already idling in the courtyard."
.
The air was freezing as the SUV pulled up to the curb of the deserted avenue, parking in the shadows of a concrete pillar across from the Hart penthouse.
The exact second the front bumper crossed Elena’s apartment, the execution stopped.
Karl opened his eyes, staring up through the tinted windshield at the glowing, floor-to-ceiling windows thirty stories up. He felt completely ridiculous. He was the CEO of Silvermoon Global, an almighty Alpha, and here he was, sitting in a dark car on a deserted Aurelia city avenue like a lovesick teenager, just so his heart wouldn't give out.
"Better?" Ethan asked quietly from the driver's seat, turning off the dashboard lights to keep them completely invisible in the dark.
"Shut up, Ethan," Karl muttered. He adjusted his cuffs, his gaze fixed on her window. "Did she receive the invitation to the gala?"
"Delivered this afternoon. Hand-stamped, just like you wanted." Ethan glanced up at the penthouse. "She'll be there Saturday night..."
.
Back in the boardroom, after Richard left, the air remained thick.
“He's hiding something," Selene’s voice broke the silence.
Elena turned to look at her friend. Selene was already standing, her skirt-suit perfectly smoothed, her bag slung over her forearm with grace.
"My father or Ashford?" Elena asked, standing up and slipping her feet back into her six-inch Louboutins.
"Both," Selene snapped, her rings clicking sharply against her tablet screen as she locked it.
"Let's get out of here," Elena whispered, rubbing her temples as a dull, throbbing ache began to pulse behind her eyes. "The air in this room is suffocating me."
Ten minutes later, the two women were enclosed in the pristine, leather-scented sanctuary of Elena's private car. The city was shifting into night, with streetlights and tall office buildings blending into a vibrant mix of amber and neon lights. Through the tinted, soundproof windows, Aurelia City appeared like a quiet, slow-moving movie.
Elena leaned her head back against the soft leather headrest, closing her eyes as the car smoothly navigated midtown traffic. Inside the vehicle, her mind's framing focused heavily on the memory of Karl's face.
The private elevator opened directly into Elena’s triplex penthouse.
Selene immediately shed her boots and threw her jacket over the back of a sofa. She walked straight to the kitchen island and began pouring two glasses of wine.
Elena walked to the glass windows, staring out at the frozen River. She reached up to her neck, unbuttoning the top two buttons of her blouse, desperate for the cool air of the penthouse to soothe the fever raging beneath her skin.
"Drink this," Selene said, appearing beside her and pressing a chilled glass into her hand.
Elena took a slow gulp of the wine. She looked at Selene, her eyes wide with a quiet, uncharacteristic fear.
"Selene... when Karl Ashford walked into that room, my blood literally felt like it was boiling," Elena confessed, her voice a fragile whisper. “It's like a physical magnet. It felt like my soul was trying to tear itself out of my chest to get closer to him."
Selene sat down on the edge of the marble island, staring down at her glass.
Elena walked over to the island, gripping the edge of the marble counter to steady her trembling knees. "This isn't a corporate merger, Selene. These men... there is something deeply anomalous about them.”
"We need to dig deeper into Silvermoon's private security divisions," Selene said, her professional instincts kicking back in as she narrowed her eyes. They are deploying tactical assets.
Before Elena could respond, a soft, low electronic chime echoed through the penthouse.
Elena’s personal cell phone, a highly encrypted, unlisted device known only to her family and Selene, started vibrating on the marble island surface. The screen illuminated the dark room, but there was no caller ID.
Elena and Selene exchanged a sharp, tense glance.
Elena reached out, her fingers steadying as she slid the screen to answer, lifting the phone to her ear. She didn't speak, letting the silence on the line hang like a question mark.
"You should be in bed, Elena."
The voice was a low, gravelly deep that immediately sent a violent wave of warmth through Elena's spine. It was Karl Ashford. The rhythm was unmistakably his.
"How did you get this number, Mr. Ashford?" Elena demanded, her professional tone returning like a shield, though her breath was shallow and frantic.
A low dark chuckle vibrated through the speaker. "There is very little in this city that is hidden from me, Miss Hart.
"This is an incredible breach of privacy," Elena snapped.
"I don't care about that, Elena," Karl said, his voice dropping into a deep octave of weight pressing against her chest. The sheer, possessive gravity of his words turned the cold penthouse air into a furnace.
"I called to tell you to close your bedroom windows. The winter wind is dropping below freezing, and your skin is already fighting a fever you don't understand. Put on something warm and stay inside.”
Before Elena could utter a single word of protest, the line suddenly went silent.
Elena slowly lowered her phone, her chest heaving as she gazed at the blank screen. Her eyes drifted to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Outside, thirty floors below, a sleek black SUV idled silently at the curb of the empty street, its headlights casting sharp beams into the cold night air…
Karl Ashford had just followed her home.
- Writer
