Alastair was different.
I noticed it the moment I stepped into his room. The way he looked at me—polite, uncertain, distant—like he was seeing me for the first time. It stirred something unpleasant in my chest. Not fear. Not anger.
Possession.
He had always known me. Always reacted to me in some way, even if it was annoyance. This quiet uncertainty was new… and dangerous.
Zander, I thought bitterly.
That Alpha had been too close lately. Too present. Too influential.
I kept my smile gentle, my tone careful. Mother had always said patience was everything. Desire, when shown too openly, frightened people. And I couldn't afford to frighten Alastair—not now, not when he was vulnerable.
He was recovering from a heat. I could smell it faintly beneath the neutralizers, subtle but unmistakable. My instincts stirred, hungry and sharp, but I forced them down. I couldn't touch him. Couldn't rush him.
Not yet.
I wanted him to think of me as safe. Familiar. Reliable.
Someone who stayed.
Zander hadn't come. That fact alone made my lips curve in a private smile. The great Alpha CEO, absent when it mattered most. Cold. Predictable.
I would never make that mistake.
As I turned to leave, I lingered just long enough for him to notice. Long enough for my presence to settle into his thoughts, quiet and persistent.
He didn't belong to Zander.
He belonged to the family.
And if I had anything to say about it… he would belong to me.