The Alpha's Forbidden Mate

Chapter 3

The elevator doors opened with a soft chime, and Emma stepped into the forty-second floor of Steele Dynamics Tower. The executive level hummed with quiet efficiency—assistants moving with purpose, phones ringing in muted tones, the distant sound of keyboards clicking. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a panoramic view of Elliott Bay, where ferries cut white wakes across the dark water.

"Ms. Rosewood?" A polished woman in a charcoal suit approached. "I'm Jennifer, Mr. Steele's executive assistant. He's waiting for you in Conference Room A."

Emma adjusted her laptop bag and followed Jennifer down a hallway lined with abstract art and corporate awards. Her presentation was solid—months of research on wind patterns, environmental impact studies, and mitigation strategies. Yet something felt off, like walking into a storm she couldn't see coming.

The dreams had been worse last night. She'd woken with pine needles in her hair and mud on her bare feet, her apartment windows thrown open to the October chill. The rational part of her mind insisted she was sleepwalking, but the rational part was growing quieter each day.

"Right through here," Jennifer said, opening double doors to reveal a glass-walled conference room.

Emma stepped inside and froze.

He sat at the head of a polished mahogany table, fingers steepled, steel-gray eyes fixed on her with an intensity that made her breath catch. Alexander Steele was larger than his photos suggested—broad shoulders straining against a tailored navy suit, presence filling the room like smoke. A thin scar traced his jawline, and silver threaded through black hair at his temples, giving him a dangerous elegance.

But it was his eyes that stopped her cold. They held recognition, hunger, and something wild that made every instinct scream run.

"Ms. Rosewood." His voice was a low rumble that seemed to vibrate through her bones. "Please, sit."

Emma forced her legs to move, choosing a chair halfway down the table. Professional distance. Safe distance. The fluorescent lights above flickered once, twice, then steadied.

"Thank you for coming," he continued, though his gaze never left her face. "I understand you have a presentation for us regarding the Olympic Peninsula project."

She opened her laptop, grateful for something to focus on besides the way he watched her every movement. "Yes, I've prepared a comprehensive analysis of the proposed wind farm sites. The environmental impact will be minimal if we follow the proper protocols."

"Environmental impact." He leaned back, and Emma caught a glimpse of something predatory in his posture. "Tell me, what do you know about the land you're so eager to develop?"

"It's privately owned forest land, mostly old growth timber. Some areas show signs of previous logging, but the ecosystem has largely recovered. The wind patterns are ideal for renewable energy generation."

"And the wildlife?"

Emma pulled up her research files, trying to ignore how the laptop screen flickered whenever she looked at him directly. "Standard Pacific Northwest fauna. Deer, elk, some black bear. There are rumors of wolf populations, though Fish and Wildlife hasn't confirmed any packs in that specific area."

Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. "Rumors."

"Local folklore, mostly. Nothing that would impact the development." She clicked to her first slide, but the projector screen remained black. "I'm sorry, there seems to be a technical issue."

Marcus Cole, whom she recognized as Head of Security from the company website, leaned forward from his position near the door. "I'll call IT."

"That won't be necessary." Lex's voice carried an edge that made the hair on Emma's arms stand up. "Continue without the slides, Ms. Rosewood. Tell me about these rumors."

Emma's fingers trembled as she closed the laptop. The room felt charged, like the air before lightning strikes. "Stories about howling in the night. Hikers reporting unusually large wolf tracks. Nothing documented, of course."

"Of course." He stood, moving with fluid grace to the windows. "What if I told you those stories were true?"

"I'd say that makes the environmental assessment more complex, but not impossible. Wolf populations are recovering throughout the region. With proper planning—"

"What if I told you," he said, turning back to face her, "that those wolves have been protecting that land for generations? That it's sacred ground, not just empty forest waiting for development?"

Emma's heart hammered against her ribs. There was something in his voice, something that spoke to a part of her she didn't understand. "Mr. Steele, I appreciate the romantic notion, but—"

The lights went out.

Emergency power kicked in a second later, bathing the room in red light. Emma's laptop screen blazed to life without her touching it, cycling through her presentation slides at impossible speed. The projector hummed and sparked, filling the air with the scent of burning electronics.

And through it all, Alexander Steele stood perfectly still, his eyes reflecting the red light like an animal's.

"What's happening?" Emma whispered, but she already knew this wasn't a power surge or equipment failure. This was something else, something that made her blood sing with recognition.

He moved toward her then, each step deliberate, predatory. The emergency lights flickered with each footfall. When he reached her chair, he leaned down, hands bracing on either side of her, trapping her between his arms and the table.

"You feel it, don't you?" His voice was barely human now, rough with something wild. "The pull. The certainty. You've been dreaming of the forest, haven't you, Emma? Dreaming of running under the moon."

Her name on his lips sent electricity racing through her veins. She should be terrified—should run, should scream, should do anything except lean closer to this dangerous man whose presence made her skin burn and her heart race.

"How do you know about my dreams?" The words escaped before she could stop them.

His eyes blazed silver in the red light. "Because I've been dreaming of you."

The building's power grid struggled, lights throughout the floor flickering in sequence like a wave. Emma's laptop screen cracked down the middle, but she barely noticed. All she could see were his eyes, all she could feel was the magnetic pull drawing her toward him.

"This is impossible," she breathed.

"Is it?" He lifted one hand to cup her face, and Emma felt her world tilt. "What's your mother's maiden name, Emma?"

The question came from nowhere, but the answer spilled out before she could think. "Rosewood. It's always been Rosewood. Why?"

Alexander Steele went very, very still. Behind him, Marcus stepped forward, tension radiating from his frame.

"Emma," Lex said slowly, his thumb tracing her cheekbone, "what do you know about your family history? About what happened to the Rosewood pack twenty years ago?"

The word 'pack' hit her like a physical blow. Images flashed through her mind—newspaper clippings she'd never seen, photos of a burning forest, headlines about a m******e. And through it all, the sound of howling that wasn't quite memory and wasn't quite dream.

The lights blazed back to full power, and Emma saw the truth written in Alexander Steele's eyes: recognition, desire, and something that looked terrifyingly like grief.

"You're one of us," he whispered. "And you don't even know it."