SILVER EYES IN THE DARK

DANGEROUS CURIOSITY II

His office screamed controlled power. Sunlight poured in from huge windows, bouncing off polished floors that showed the city skyline. Bookshelves covered the walls, stuffed with leather books that probably hid more business secrets than actual reading. Damian stood at his desk, phone to his ear, sleeves rolled up, jacket off. When he saw her, he set the phone down carefully and ended the call without saying a word.

"You shouldn't have come," he said, voice carrying that dangerous authority from the night before.

Alina lifted her chin. "That's not in my nature."

He came around the desk, moving like a predator, eyes locked on her face. "What do you want?"

"The truth."

His smile was cold, sharp. "Truth is rarely safe. Especially for people like you."

Her fists balled up. "What is the Pack Registry?"

For a second, the mask slipped. His eyes went dark, like recognition or maybe regret.

"Stay out of it," he said quietly.

"My father's name was on that list," she pushed. "He disappeared ten years ago. You want me to just walk away from that."

This time, the mask broke all the way. His eyes flashed silver, pupils shrinking to something not quite human. A low growl came from his chest as he turned and smashed his fist on the desk. The wood cracked under it.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with," he snarled.

She stepped closer, fire in her blood. "Then tell me."

He spun to her, eyes glowing not human. "You think you want the truth. But once you know, you can't unknow. You'll never be the same. Not when you see what I really am."

Her pulse hammered, but she didn't move. "Try me."

Something crossed his face, frustration maybe, or admiration, hunger even. His voice went low, whispering dangerously. "You smell like him."

Alina blinked. "What?"

"Your father. I could scent it the moment you walked into that gala. His blood runs in your veins."

Her throat tightened. He wasn't human. Couldn't be talking scent like that unless.

Before she could think it through, the door flew open.

"Damian," this sharp-faced guy in a suit stormed in, looking urgent. "The investors." He stopped when he saw her. "Who is?"

"Leave," Damian growled.

"But."

"LEAVE."

That sound from his throat wasn't human anymore. Guttural, animal, like a top predator warning. The guy went pale, backed out, and slammed the door.

Alina's breath hitched. "What was that?"

Damian ran a hand through his dark hair, fighting control. "Trouble."

"For you, or for me."

His eyes met hers, raw and dangerous in there. "Both."

Silence hung thick between them, full of things unsaid and violence just under the surface. She felt the predator in him, barely held back under the suit and business act. Every instinct said run, but something stronger kept her there.

"There are things in this city that your world doesn't acknowledge," he said at last, voice under control. "Things that hide in plain sight, protected by money and influence and the simple fact that most humans refuse to see what's right in front of them."

"And you're one of those things," she said. It wasn't a question.

He nodded slowly. "I'm what some might call a monster, Miss Cortez. The kind your father was investigating when he disappeared."

The words hit hard, like punches. Ten years of questions, wondering, searching, and here was proof of her worst fears.

"Did you kill him?" she whispered.

Pain flashed on his face, gone quickly. "No. But I know who did."

Her world spun. After ten years of nothing, dead ends, she faced someone with answers. Someone who could give her dad justice.

"Then help me," she said.

He shook his head. "You don't understand the cost. The world I'm offering to show you, it's not something you can walk away from once you've seen it."

"I've been walking toward it my whole life," she fired back. "I'm not stopping now."

His expression changed, a mix of admiration and worry that made her heart jump. When he looked at her that way, she almost forgot he was the enemy.

"You're either very brave or very foolish," he said softly.

"Maybe both."

For a moment, the business mask dropped, and she saw the real him, dangerous, sure, but lonely too. Carrying secrets that cut him off from the human world, he slid through so easily.

Then his phone buzzed, snapping it. He checked it, face hardening.

"They're coming for you," he said. "Now."

Before she could ask who, heavy footsteps echoed in the hall outside. Lots of them, moving like soldiers.

Damian went to the window and looked down at the street. Jaw clenched. "Black SUVs. At least a dozen men. Professional."

Alina's stomach sank. "The same people who."

"Who killed your father. Yes." He turned to her, and for the first time, real fear in his eyes. Not for him, for her. "They've decided you know too much."

Footsteps closer. Voices in the hall, sharp, giving orders.

Damian hit a hidden panel in the wall, opening a private elevator. "This goes to the parking garage. My car is on sublevel three."

"Why are you helping me?" she asked as he pushed her toward it.

He stopped, hand on her arm, power in his touch barely held. "Because you're mine to protect," he said simply. "Whether you know it yet or not."

Before she could ask what that meant, he shoved her in the elevator and hit the button. Doors closed, and she heard the office door burst open, Damian's voice not human anymore, roaring a challenge that shook her bones.

The elevator dropped fast, taking her from answers into something unknown. But for the first time in ten years, she wasn't stumbling blind in the dark. Someone knew the truth about her dad's death. Someone would fight for her.

Even if that someone was the most dangerous guy in the city.