CHAPTER 1

~Audrina~

My eyelids flickered open, and the warm glimmer of morning filtered through the curtains. As I took in my surroundings, disorientation flooded over me, and the events of the previous night faded from my mind.

 Next to me sat a tall figure, his silhouette outlined against the faint light. Even though he was already dressed, I couldn't help but feel uneasy when I saw him because of the little strain in his broad shoulders and the well-defined muscle shapes that suggested an unquestionable power.

As I glanced at him, the sensation of our fingertips brushing prompted a crushing surge of passion to run through me. The fragrance of pine and earth filled the air, and a low growl from his lips.

And when he looked directly into my eyes, a raw intensity like that of a predator sizing up his prey,  and I knew that I might be lured in with his irresistible charm.

 Even with his face obscured by the darkness, I could see the harsh lines on his face and the suggestion of tension in his posture.

My heart raced as I attempted to recall his face, but the features eluded me in the early fuzz.

"What's... What's happening? And who are you?" I managed to croak, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my own pulse.

He turned to face me again, his expression unreadable in the dim light. "Here," he said, extending a piece of paper toward me.

I blinked, my eyes focusing on the object in his hand. "What? What's this?" I stammered, my fingers trembling as I reached out to take it.

"Compensation," he replied tersely, his tone clipped.

Confusion clouded my thoughts as I tried to make sense of his words. "I don't understand," I murmured, my head spinning with uncertainty.

"There's no need to pretend," he continued, his voice tinged with impatience. "You knew what you were doing."

Panic surged within me as I struggled to piece together the fragments of memory from the night before. "I don't remember," I confessed, my voice trembling with uncertainty.

He let out a heavy sigh, his frustration evident in the tension on his shoulders. "It doesn't matter now," he stated, his tone resigned. "But don't expect anything more from me."

“What? I never asked for this.” I told him in return.

His alluring eyes turned cold before he rolled them with irritation. “Who wouldn’t want to accept a check for 100 million dollars? That's more than enough to change your life.”

My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets at the mention of the figure, but at the same time, I needed to make it clear that no amount could sum up my worth.

“Definitely, not me.” I pushed it back toward me.

Letting out a snort, he replied, “That’s your problem, and I won’t be taking it back.”

My face fell as I was yet to understand why I was in a room with a total stranger who was offering me money like some roadside harlot. “Why not?!”

“Because I don’t want you to ever dream about Luna’s position, and I’d be devastated to get married to you because of some silly one-night stand.” He declared, his voice devoid of emotion.

 That was it, leaving me alone with my thoughts while his strong aura, the mark of a dominant Alpha, lingered behind him. The truth continued to elude me, slipping through my fingers like grains of sand, despite my best efforts to make sense of what had recently transpired.

Was I hallucinating again? I had to pinch myself to confirm this.

Just when I reached for my phone, my heart was pounding with apprehension as I saw Nicholas's name flashing on the screen. With trembling fingers, I answered the call, trying to keep my voice steady despite the chaos swirling inside me.

"Hey, babe," I greeted him, forcing a note of casualness into my tone.

"Where were you last night?" His voice came through the line, tinged with concern and confusion. "We were supposed to meet, but you never showed up."

I bit my lip, struggling to find the right words to explain. "I'm sorry," I stammered, my mind racing to come up with a plausible excuse. "I must have fallen asleep or something. I didn't mean to stand you up."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and I held my breath, waiting for his response.

"I see," he finally said, his tone guarded. "Do you realize how worried I was throughout yesterday? I thought something happened to you; I even had to call Paige.”

A pang of guilt stabbed at my chest as I listened to his words. Nicholas had always wanted this, yet I deprived him of it, and here I was, lying to him without a second thought.

“You did? I didn’t mean to put you through so much stress.” I apologized again.

“But you did; are you sure you weren’t with anyone last night?”

At that point, recollections of what had happened the night before began to swirl in a cloud of uncertainty and terror.

Every picture burned into my mind, crystal clear. I recalled lying in bed and seeing the world become dark around me as sleep took hold of me. Then, though, something changed—a nagging discomfort that twisted in the pit of my stomach.

Under the control of an unseen force, I tossed and turned, my body writhing in pain and my face burning with heat. I felt myself thrashing against the blankets, and I could taste blood on my lips—a metallic tang.

My eyes snapped open, and I found myself standing on wobbly legs, my body shivering from exertion. And then, all of a sudden, I was awake. With a flurry of panic and bewilderment racing through my head, I staggered toward the door.

But before I could get to safety, there he was, his offer of salvation hanging before me like a cruel temptation, his piercing gaze, his intimidating presence, barring my route.

"Save me," he had said, his voice cutting through the chaos like a knife. "I'll give you 100 million."

I recoiled at what he said, the enormity of his offer crashing down on me like a wave of water. That's when it became clear that he was the reason I was suffering and the skilled manipulator who decided what would happen to me.

But even as I struggled with him, a part of me kept thinking: What if what he had said was accurate? What if this rescue turned out to be a disguised blessing? After all, I was an omega, helpless.