SILVER EYES IN THE DARK

THE GALA ATTACK II

A masked guy staggered back from the fight. Almost bumped her spot. She grabbed a broken champagne bottle. Smashed his arm. He snarled. Turned on her. But Damian was there quickly.

What came next broke all she knew about people. Damian hoisted the guy one-handed. Threw him across like trash. Hit the pillar with crunch. Stayed down.

Go, Damian growled at her. Voice rough. Not human.

But she froze. Recorder still on. Catching proof of world-shaking stuff. She hunkered deeper in the shadows. Staying hidden. Recording the unreal.

From there, she saw him rip through them savagely. But what scared her more was losing it. Eyes brighter each second. Teeth growing to fangs. Hands full of claws. Roar, all animals.

Damian. Sharp voice cut in. Marcus. From the office. Fighting through the mess. Control yourself.

Damian blanked for a beat. Silver eyes like fire. Turned to Marcus. Nothing human there. Just beast.

Then Alina gasped. Tiny sound. Shouldn't carry. But it did. His head whipped her way. Eyes locked across the fray.

Her fear hit him hard. Shame. Horror crossed his face. He wrestled the monster back. Claws pulled in with effort. Chest heaving. Fighting for control.

Clean this up, he growled to his team. Voice still off.

Cleanup pros popped up from nowhere. Handled itsmoothlyh. Bodies out. Blood gone. Guests shuffled to the doors. Fed lines about gas and glitches. Rich folks bought it easily. To keep things normal.

But Alina saw reality. Witnessed the shatter of what she thought was true.

Trying to slip out with the crowd, another scream hit. Little girl. Maybe six. Lost to parents in the mess. The surviving attacker cornered her by the buffet. Knife shining in red light.

Alina didn't pause. Grabbed a silver tray. Threw at his head. Scooped kid. Pulled away. Pain shot in her arm. The knife sliced through the dress and skin.

Attacker turned. Murder eyes. Cortez, he hissed. Blood iced in her. He knew her.

Before the next swing, Damian arrived. No holding back this time. No human mask. Claws ripped the chest. Blood-sprayed marble. Guy dropped silent.

Damian spun to her. Eyes silver blaze. Scary sec she thought he couldn't tell friend from foe. Nostrils flared. Smelling her blood. Wolf is pushing out. Barely held.

Damian. Marcus’s voice snapped like a whip.

It grounded him. Slow. Painful. Claws retracted. Breathing hard. Struggling back.

Alina bolted into the night. Arm clutched. Head spinning from what she'd seen. At her place, she was pale. Shaking. Dress ripped. Bloody. Collapsed on the couch. Stared at the recorder in shaky hands.

It got it all. Roars not human. Bones cracking. Stuff no one would buy. Proof monsters hid as people.

Phone buzzed. Unknown number. You saw him, didn't you? Now you get it. Stay away. Or you're next to die.

Throat tightened. Pack bags. Vanish. Delete tapes. Act like nothing.

But she typed back. What is he?

Reply fast. He's a wolf. If you don't run, he'll hurt you.

Heart pounded. Dropped phone. A wolf. Word clicked pieces. Silver eyes. Super strength. How he smelled her dad's blood on her.

Across town, in his penthouse, Damian stood by the windows. Shirtless. Overlooking the city. Knuckles are bloody from claws now, back. Reflection showed a guy clinging to a human.

Marcus paced behind. Face worried lines. You lost it totally. Everyone saw.

Not everyone, Damian said quietly. Crews are good. People forget easily when they want to.

She saw that Marcus pushed. That reporter. She knows now.

Damian's jaw clenched. Alina's face in his head. Her guts. Her scent. Risking for the kid. Wolf paced inside. Still riled from the fight. From her blood smell.

She knows too much, Marcus went on. Send her off. Or she dies. Council hates leaks.

I can't.

Then you doom her.

Damian shut his eyes. Silver flickered behind. Wolf clawed at him. Go to her. Claim. Protect. Bond stronger each time. Fighting it? Getting impossible.

She's mine, he whispered to the glass.

Back home, Alina laid out Dad's files on the kitchen table. Clippings. Photos. Notes in his hand. All clicked badly now. Pack Registry. Last probe. Why did he die? Fingers on a page. His writing. You knew, she whispered. Knew what they were.

Phone buzzed again. They weren't after him to kill. They wanted you.

Chest squeezed. It sank in. The attack is not random. Or botched theft. Hit job. On her.

Another text. Last warning. Run.

Smart move? Listen. Bags packed. City left. No looking back. But staring at dad's work. Ten-year questions. Dead ends. She couldn't bail.

Not this close to the truth.

Scraping at the window froze her. Third floor. Nothing reaches outside.

Unless not all humans.

Phone buzzed last. Run. Now.

The front door lock turned slowly. Pro pick job.

Two masked men slipped in. Deadly intent. Knives gleamed from the streetlight.

Alina screamed.

Across the city, Damian's head jerked. Like he heard. Wolf surged. Howling protects. Claws out. Snarled into the night.

Alina.

He moved before thinking. Leapt from the balcony into the dark. Wolf is in charge. Nothing is stopping him from mating.