Chapter 29
The bed jolted.
Before I could straighten up, a large hand pressed against the back of my head.
My lips brushed Alpha Gideon’s jawline.
My eyes widened in shock.
The smooth texture of his skin, the heady rush of his scent-warm, crisp, and intoxicating-flooded my
senses, searing into my brain.
Alpha Gideon froze.
He released me, tilting his head back, but then his hand returned to my head, gently pushing me away.
Our eyes locked.
I snapped out of it, yanking his hand off and standing, frantically smoothing my hair and steadying my
breath. “It’s five-thirty. You really need to get up.”
I bolted out like I was on fire.
Alpha Gideon sat there for a moment, then pressed the back of his hand to his eyes.
I raced back to my room, not pausing for breath.
I splashed cold water on my face in the bathroom, staring at my reflection-cheeks red like I’d been steamed.
I’d just been doing my job, waking Alpha Gideon up. How did it turn into kissing him?
This was straight-up cursed!
By six, I steeled myself and returned to Alpha Gideon’s suite.
Elliot was already there.
We stood in the living room, waiting for Alpha Gideon.
I glanced at Elliot, thinking-he’d worked for Alpha Gideon forever, surely he’d handled wake-up duties before.
Had he… never?
Or had he?
My brain conjured an image of Elliot tumbling onto Alpha Gideon, accidentally kissing his face.
Ugh, no way.
“Vivian, why’re you looking at me like that?”
Elliot asked, touching his face, puzzled by my shifting expressions-confusion, then distress.
“Nothing, nothing,” I said, pressing a hand to my chest.
“Just thinking… this job’s no walk in the park.”
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“No job’s easy. You get used to it.”
“You’ve got a good attitude.”
“What else can I do? Yell at Alpha Gideon?”
I pursed my lips, unsure how to respond.
He was right, no argument there, but… my resolve wasn’t quite that strong.
From the dressing room, Alpha Gideon had been standing for a minute, catching my flurry of expressions and
my comment about the job.
He rubbed his brow, chuckling-a mix of amusement and exasperation.
He stepped out.
“Alpha Gideon,” Elliot called.
He turned, and I followed, my eyes meeting Alpha Gideon’s for a split second before darting to his shirt
buttons, looking all respectful-like.
Alpha Gideon headed out, Elliot and I trailing behind.
The car left the hotel, bound for the yacht dock.
The ride was quiet.
I sat in the back, my body tense from neck to toes.
I wanted to relax, but my mind kept replaying that accidental kiss.
Gods, can I just forget it?
“Vivian.”
Alpha Gideon’s low, drawling voice drifted over.
I snapped to attention.
“Yes, Alpha Gideon? What do you need?”
“Grab a water.”
“Sure.”
I pulled a bottle from the car’s mini-fridge, twisted it open, and handed it over.
Alpha Gideon pushed it back to me.
“Take it. Sip it slowly, relax. Stop obsessing over work mistakes.”
The pack lights twinkled outside, casting a glow on my flushed face.
I turned forward, chugging the water like it was whiskey.
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< Chapter 29
Elliot, up front, was baffled.
The car reached the dock.
Rewards Menu
The driver stayed put while Elliot and I followed Alpha Gideon onto the yacht-a sleek, three-story beauty, gleaming white.
The first deck was for business, the second for entertainment with a massive pool, the third for guest cabins, and the top had a prime-view lounge with a round sofa.
Silas Hunt greeted us personally, clapping Alpha Gideon’s arm, his wrinkled face beaming with a smile that felt oddly unsettling, like a wolf hiding its fangs.
Inside, a dozen or so local elites mingled.
Among them was a petite, wheat-skinned she-wolf with an infectious smil.
“This is my granddaughter, Isadora Hunt, twenty-one, just back from studying art in the Meridona Pack. Graduated from your alma mater,” Silas said proudly, his voice thick with implication.
Elliot and I stayed on the deck, watching through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
We exchanged a look-a matchmaking setup, huh?
Alpha Gideon greeted Isadora politely.
She stared at him, eyes sparkling, clearly smitten.
At barely five-foot-two, she gazed up at the towering, six-foot-three Alpha Gideon-broad, handsome, and
radiating charm-her heart practically leaping out of her chest.
“Had we known Mr. Hunt was playing matchmaker, Alpha Gideon wouldn’t have shown,”
Elliot muttered.
“Can’t exactly invite someone saying, ‘Come meet my granddaughter,”” I said, arms crossed.
“Besides, what if they hit it off? Could be a perfect bond.”
“She’s not Alpha Gideon’s type.”
“How do you know?”
“I just ” Elliot started, then his eyes flicked to the dock, his voice cutting off with a gasp.
“What’s she doing here?”
“Who?”
I followed his gaze.
A she-wolf with shoulder-length hair strode forward, strikingly slender, with a long neck and delicate features. Dressed in a black satin slip dress, clutching a small black purse, she moved like a cold, elegant black swan -her wolf aura sharp and frosty.
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“Camilla Worthington, the Shaloria branch’s chef,” Elliot said, hurrying toward her.
So that’s Camilla.
I’d seen her name in the files but hadn’t expected such a stunning beauty-though there was a hardness to
her, like a wolf who’d fought to survive in a den of rivals.
“Camilla,” Elliot said, intercepting her on the steps.
“Elliot.”
She gave him a frosty glance. “Been a while.”
As she moved to pass him, her eyes landed on me, turning colder. “And this is?”
I extended a hand, unfazed by her icy aura.
“Hi, Camilla. I’m Vivian, Alpha Gideon’s secretary.”
Maybe it was my imagination, but Camilla’s expression chilled further, a flicker of something-sorrow? resentment?-in her eyes. “Secretary, huh.”
She didn’t shake my hand, brushing past us with an icy aura that made the air feel colder, heading inside.
“What’s with her?” I asked, looking at Elliot.
He sighed. “She’s the daughter of a close friend of Alpha Gideon’s mother, raised in the Hartley pack. She and
Alpha Gideon have… history. Love-hate, push-pull stuff. She was convinced she’d be his mate one day.”
I nodded.
“Got it.”
No wonder Alpha Gideon picked Shaloria first.
His heart was tied up here.
7
