The Alpha's Filthy Secret.

- CHAPTER TWELVE -

Sloane.

Bright studio lights flashed every two seconds.

Photographers shouted directions from behind three camera setups. Stylists pulled at the hem of my costume, adjusting my hair, dusting powder across my face. People filled every corner of the room, taking over each other, managing schedules, holding light reflectors.

It was supposed to be a standard campaign shoot.

Yet I felt like I was suffocating.

Something is wrong with me. I thought to myself.

This wasn't normal.

My skin was burning under the fabric of my dress, my heart was beating too fast, it was rapid, frantic, thudding against my ribs that had nothing to do with the heat of the lamps.

Then I heard it.

Deep inside my head, my wolf spoke.

'Let me out.'

What the f**k? I thought as I sucked in a deep breath.

What's she saying?

Why here?

I stepped away from the backdrop, my hand shooting out to grip the edge of the glass vanity table. My knuckles were turning white against the polished surface as I gripped tighter.

No, Ivara, hold it back. I told her.

'He's here.'

I freeze.

I didn't need to ask her who.

Raul.

My wolf surges forward, pushing hard against my ribs. My vision blurs at the edges, the bright studio lights splitting into blinding streaks of white. The noise of the room turned into a muffled, distant drone.

My fingers trembled against the glass. I looked up at my reflection in the mirror. A gasp escaped my throat when I saw it. For half a second, my eyes weren't normal, they flashed a bright, unnatural gold in the glass.

Ivara. Stop it. I begged but it only made her push harder.

I stumbled backward into a rack of hanging coats, knocking two metal hangers to the floor.

"Eva?" A stylist named Anita called out, stepping forward. "Are you alright?"

Before I could answer, the heavy double doors of the studio swung open.

Raul walked in.

Of all places. Of all days.

He wore a dark tailored suit, his broad shoulders blocking out the light from the hallway. He doesn't look at the photographers, his forest green eyes lock straight into mine.

Please. Don't come closer. I begged in my head as I tried to shift back but my knees buckled under the weight of his presence filling the room.

Raul moved before my knees hit the floor. He crosses the studio in two long strides, his arms closing around my waist, pulling me up against his chest. His touch sets my blood on fire. My wolf began to thrash under my skin, going wild, clawing at my ribs as her blood answered his mark.

"Is she okay?!" I heard a voice shriek, the whole studio seemed to have erupted in chaos but I couldn't care less.

"Everyone calm down! She's fine." Raul ordered, instantly making everyone stay still but it was useless. The silence in the room now made it worse, being so close to him, I could hear his heartbeat and it only made my wolf thrash harder again causing me to wince.

"Sloane." He says, his voice a low vibration right beside my ear so only I could hear him.

I hated him so close.

But I hated hearing my real name from him even more.

"Let me go." I rasped, trying to push him off.

"You're losing control." he says, his grip on my waist tightening, anchoring me against him.

"I said let me go!"

I put my hands flat against his chest and shoved him away, hard.

He steps back two paces, releasing me. The studio goes deathly silent. Everyone froze, staring at us with wide eyes.

Raul stares at me. His face is a hard block of stone, but his green eyes burn with an intense, unyielding heat.

My wolf thrashes again, a chaotic wave of pressure begins to rise in my throat, threatening to break through my skin in front of twenty human witnesses.

"Eva, are you-"

Just as an assistant tried to reach out for me, I turned and ran, pushing past the studio doors and headed down the quiet rear hallway toward the fire exit.

I didn't make it far. My legs gave out three paces past the doorway, my vision darkens, my knees folding under me. I braced for the impact, ready to hit the floor but it never happened. Instead, strong arms catch me mid-fall.

Roan.

His arms wrapped tight around my back and shoulders, pulling my chest against him. He shifts his shift, holding me steady against his frame.

Then something impossible happens.

My wolf becomes quiet.

Instantly.

The violent burning under my skin vanishes. The thrashes stop, the chaos in my mind clears, leaving behind a deep, total stillness.

There was no struggle, no pain, no wild hunger.

Just....silence and peace.

I clung to Roan without meaning to, my hands tangling in the fabric of his jacket as my forehead drops against his collar.

His voice is low and steady . "Easy. Breathe. In and out, slowly."

I did as he instructed. Taking deep breaths.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

The violent shaking in my hands begins to stop. Slowly, I turn my head, looking over Roan's shoulder back toward the open studio door.

He stood on the threshold, staring at us. His face is completely unreadable, but something dark and dangerous burns in his eyes as he tracks Roan's hands wrapped around me.

Roan doesn't release me. He keeps one arm locked securely around my shoulders as he looks up, his hazel eyes locking onto Raul.

Raul's voice turns ice cold as he takes a step closer. "You can let her go now."

Roan doesn't move an inch. "She doesn't look like she wants you near you."

I wanted to say something but I couldn't.

My heart was pounding so loudly in my chest.

Not because of Raul. Not entirely.

But because my wolf was completely calm, sitting quiet and still in Roan's arms.