The music was a living thing, a swell of violins that drowned out the murmur of the crowd, but it couldn't drown out the sound of Aria's own blood rushing in her ears.
Damien's hand was hot on the small of her back. Too hot.
It wasn't just body heat. It was the Alpha spark. Even through the layers of expensive gold silk and the chemical barrier of the suppressant, she could feel his energy leaching into her. It felt like standing next to a nuclear reactor with a cracked shield.
"You're tense, Lady V," Damien murmured. He pulled her closer, eliminating the polite distance usually reserved for a first dance. His thigh brushed against hers. Hard muscle against soft silk.
Aria forced her spine to remain fluid, resisting the urge to stiffen. "I'm not used to leading, Mr. King. And you are heavy."
"I'm not leading," Damien corrected. He spun her effortlessly, navigating the crowded floor with predatory grace. "I'm steering. There is a difference."
"Mom," Leo's voice crackled in her ear, sounding stressed. "His hand is covering the microphone on your brooch. I'm getting static. You need to turn him. Spin him toward the orchestra speakers."
"Easier said than done," Aria muttered under her breath.
"Talking to yourself?" Damien asked, his grey eyes narrowing. He was scanning her face, looking for cracks in the porcelain mask.
"Counting steps," Aria lied smoothly. She dug her heels in, forcing a sudden, sharp turn. It was a dominant move, one that demanded the partner to yield.
Most Alphas would have resisted. Damien didn't. He flowed with her, his lips curving into a ghost of a smile. He liked the challenge. He liked that she wasn't submitting.
Bad sign, Aria thought. He's enjoying this.
"So," Damien said, his voice dropping to a low rumble that vibrated in her chest. "Let's play a game. Truth or Dare."
Aria raised an eyebrow. "Are we twelve years old?"
"I'll go first," Damien ignored her. "Truth. You are not an artifact dealer. You hold yourself like a fighter, but your hands are soft like a healer. Who are you really?"
Aria's heart skipped a beat. He was too sharp.
"Dare," Aria countered. "I dare you to focus on the music instead of interrogating your guests. It's rude."
Damien chuckled. It was a dark, rusty sound. "I'm rarely polite. Tell me, Lady V. Why does a woman who doesn't exist know so much about my marriage?"
Here it comes. The trap.
"Everybody knows about your marriage, Damien," she said, using his first name deliberately. It was a calculated disrespect. "The tabloids said you locked her in the penthouse. That you suffocated her with control until she vanished."
Damien's grip on her waist tightened to the point of pain. His eyes flashed gold—pure, molten gold. The wolf was surfacing.
"I protected her," he growled. The air around them grew heavy, the pressure dropping. Nearby dancers stumbled, feeling the Alpha aura expanding. "The world is full of monsters. I built walls to keep them out."
"And yet," Aria whispered, leaning back into the dip he forced her into, "she's gone. So perhaps the monster was inside the walls."
Damien froze. He pulled her up violently, their chests colliding.
"Leo! Now!" Aria hissed internally.
"I need the words, Mom! Get him to say 'Access' or 'Authority'. I need the 'Au' and 'Ess' sounds!"
Aria looked up at Damien. He was furious. Good. Anger made men sloppy.
"You think you have the right to judge me?" Damien snarled softly. "You think you have the authority to speak on my life?"
"Got it!" Leo chirped. "'Authority' captured. I have the phonetics. I just need 'Access' now. One more, Mom. Push him."
Aria smiled. It was a dangerous, razor-thin smile. "I don't need authority, Mr. King. I have perspective. You treat people like assets. Like things to be owned. Do you even allow your employees to leave the building, or do you lock them up too?"
"I grant access to those I trust," Damien snapped, his control slipping. "And I trust no one."
"BOOM!" Leo shouted in her ear, so loud Aria winced. "Voice print synthesized! We have the keys to the kingdom. Now get out. The vault is on the top floor, but you can't reach it tonight—your vitals are crashing. The suppressant monitor is flashing red."
Aria felt it too. A sudden, searing itch on her neck. The spot where Damien's scent was overwhelming her senses. Her own pheromones were fighting to break through the Midnight Orchid perfume.
She needed to leave. Now.
"Well," Aria said, stepping back out of his hold. "It's been charming, Mr. King. But I think I've had enough of your... trust issues."
She turned to walk away.
"No."
Damien didn't grab her arm. He didn't have to. He simply stepped in front of her, a wall of black tuxedo and raw power.
"The dance isn't over," he said.
"It is for me."
"May I cut in?"
A third voice broke the tension. A man with slicked-back blond hair and a smile that looked like it cost more than Aria's life stepped between them. He wore a pin on his lapel: a silver wolf head.
The Council.
Damien's attention snapped to the newcomer. His lip curled in a silent snarl. "Councilman Vance. You weren't invited."
"It's a charity gala, Damien," Vance said smoothly, his eyes sliding over Aria with a greasy appreciation that made her skin crawl. "I came to donate. And to meet the lovely lady who managed to make the Ice King lose his temper."
Vance reached for Aria's hand.
It was a classic power move. In the werewolf world, touching another Alpha's dance partner without permission was an act of aggression.
Aria saw Damien's hand twitch. His claws were threatening to extend.
This is my chance, she realized. While they measure dicks, I run.
"I'm afraid I'm tired, gentlemen," Aria said, pulling her hand back before Vance could touch her. "I'm going to the powder room."
"I'll escort you," Damien said instantly.
"I'll escort her," Vance countered, stepping in Damien's way.
The two Alphas locked eyes. The air in the ballroom crackled with static electricity. Champagne glasses on nearby tables began to rattle.
Aria didn't wait to see who would win.
She turned and walked. Fast.
"Mom, run," Leo urged. "Elevator C is 30 meters to your left. I've hacked the call button. It's waiting."
Aria kept her head high, her back straight. She could feel Damien's gaze burning a hole between her shoulder blades. He was distracted by Vance, but only for a moment.
She reached the corridor. The noise of the party faded.
She broke into a run.
Her heels clicked frantically on the marble floor. The heat in her blood was becoming unbearable. The suppressant was failing faster than she calculated. The proximity to her mate had burned through a two-hour dose in twenty minutes.
She hit the elevator button. The doors slid open immediately.
She threw herself inside. "Basement level. Parking garage," she gasped.
The doors began to close.
Through the narrowing gap, she saw him.
Damien had shoved Vance aside. He was standing at the end of the long corridor, staring directly at the elevator.
He wasn't running. He was sniffing the air.
His eyes widened.
Just as the metal doors sealed shut, Aria heard a roar that shook the building's foundation. It wasn't a human word. It was a single, undeniable name, ripped from the throat of a wolf who had just found its lost half.
"ARIA!"
The Safehouse - 9:30 PM
Aria burst through the door, tearing the wig off her head. She collapsed onto the dirty rug, gasping for air. Her skin was flushed a deep, feverish red.
"Mom!" Mia scrambled off the couch, dropping her teddy bear.
Leo spun his chair around, his face pale. "Did we get it?"
Aria reached into her clutch and pulled out a small drive. She threw it to him. Her hands were shaking so hard she could barely unzip her dress.
"We got it," she wheezed, crawling toward the bathroom. "Voice print. Retinal scan. We have the data to open the vault."
"He knows," Leo said, his fingers flying across his keyboard. "I'm monitoring the police bands. He didn't call the cops. He called his private guard. He's locking down the city block by block. He knows it was you."
Aria stumbled into the shower, turning the water to freezing cold. She hissed as the icy spray hit her burning skin.
"He knows I was there," Aria shouted over the water. "But he doesn't know where we are. Tonight, we rest. My body needs to clear the heat."
She looked at her reflection in the cracked mirror. Her eyes were still glowing a faint, stubborn gold.
"Mom," Leo called out from the other room. "You might want to see this."
Aria turned off the water, wrapping a towel around herself. She walked out, dripping wet.
Leo pointed at the screen.
It was a live feed from the Gala. Damien was standing at a podium, microphones shoved in his face. He looked deranged. His tie was undone, his hair wild. He looked like a king who had just declared war.
"To the woman who just left," Damien said to the camera, his voice terrifyingly calm. "You took something from me. You think you can run? You think you can hide in the dark?"
He leaned into the lens, and Aria felt like he was staring right into her living room.
"I will burn the dark away," Damien promised. "I'm putting a bounty on your head. Fifty million dollars. Alive. Only alive."
Leo swallowed hard. "Fifty million. Mom... every mercenary in the world is going to be looking for us by morning."
Aria stared at the screen. She didn't look afraid. She looked tired.
"Good," she whispered. "Let them come. It'll keep him busy while we go back into that tower and rob him blind."