When Wolves Watch

Chapter Seven – Rival Wolves

The music still played, but I couldn’t hear it.

I stood trapped between the two men. The billionaire who had dragged me into this world without asking, and the silver-haired stranger whose smile looked sharp enough to slice my skin.

The crowd kept watching. Their laughter softened, their movements slowed. It wasn’t just a dance floor anymore. It was a ring. A cage. A battlefield hidden under chandeliers.

The silver-haired man’s eyes flashed. His voice was smooth, but there was something hungry in it. “You never share, do you? Always keeping the prize to yourself.”

The billionaire didn’t know. His hand stayed tight at my back, keeping me close. His golden eyes burned steady. “Because you don’t know how to protect what you touch.”

The silver-haired man chuckled low. “Protect? Or a cage?” His eyes slid to me, shameless, like he was peeling me apart with just a glance. “Do you even know what he is, little dove?”

My lips parted, but no words came. My chest rose and fell too fast.

The billionaire’s jaw tightened. “Enough.”

“Ah,” the stranger said softly. “I don't know.”

And then he stepped closer. Too close. His cologne was sharp, colder than smoke. He leaned toward me, not touching, but close enough that my skin moved slowly.

“Has he told you about the nights?” he whispered. “Has he told you what those eyes mean when they find you in the dark?”

My stomach twisted. My heart begged to run.

But before I could move, before I could breathe, the billionaire’s hand snapped out and shoved the man back. The crowd breathed in. Glasses of champagne banged.

The silver-haired man didn’t fall. He only laughed, low and cruel. “There it is. The temper. The wolf showing its teeth.”

The word wolf cut through my chest like a blade.

My head is off. My knees weakened. I looked up at the billionaire, but he refused to meet my eyes now.

The silver-haired man leaned back, fixing his suit like nothing had happened. Then he bowed to me, mockery dripping from the gesture.

“Enjoy your evening, little dove,” he said. “But be careful. The one who holds you may be more dangerous than the ones who circle you.”

He walked away, wiped out by the crowd, leaving whispers and tension behind.

My whole body shook. I pulled from the billionaire’s grip, breathing hard. “What did he mean? Wolf? What is going on?”

His hand caught me before I could escape. His voice was low, sharp, but softer than the storm around them.

“Not here,” he said. “Not tonight.”

I yanked back. “Then when? You show up at my door. You warn me about shadows. You drag me here and—” my voice cracked, trembling, “and then another man tells me you’re not even human.”

The music shouted louder. The crowd circled tighter. But none of it was important. It was just him and I.

His eyes glowed faintly now, even under the bright lights. Golden. Burning.

“Lilian,” he said, voice steady, “if you want to survive, you’ll have to trust me. Even if you hate me. Even if you fear me.”

My heart was beating so hard I thought it would burst.

And then he bent in, so close my lips nearly brushed his jaw, and whispered—

“You’re in the middle of a hunt. And the wolves don’t wait forever.”