Chapter 23

Kayla

I stood outside the guild hall, staring at the car that was waiting for me at the curb. The chilly evening wind whipped at my hair, making my cheeks flush red.

“Call the driver and head home now,” he had said before leaving me standing there like a forgotten date.

What a gentleman. Not!

I curled my lip wryly and kicked a rock on the pavement, watching it skitter across the path. “Of course, I’ll just go home all by myself while you skulk around doing who-knows-what. Perfect plan, Alpha,” I muttered under my breath, crossing my arms tightly over my chest as I stomped down the stone steps.

The driver gave me a polite smile and a little wave through the window as I approached the car, but I ignored it. I wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Not without giving Nicholas a piece of my mind—or at least finding a new rock to kick.

As I turned to glare one last time at the guild hall, I suddenly realized something. My scarf wasn’t around my neck. I must have left it inside, draped over the back of the chair in that god-awful meeting room.

Groaning, I spun on my heel and marched back up to the building.

“Great job, Kayla,” I muttered to myself. “Really sticking it to him by forgetting your stuff.”

The building was quieter now that the work day had ended, the earlier bustle having settled down. Only a few cleaners remained, focused on waxing the floors and wiping down surfaces.

My footsteps echoed faintly on the polished marble floors as I stomped my way through the corridors. If Nicholas was in here, then I hoped he would hear me stomping and realize how annoyed I was.

But when I reached the meeting room, my scarf wasn’t there. I frowned, scanning the space. Where could it have gone?

The sound of muffled voices caught my attention, pulling my gaze to an open door down the hall. I hesitated for a moment, then crept closer, curiosity tugging at me. As I peeked inside, I noticed a set of stairs leading downward.

The voices became clearer—a man’s low, commanding tone, followed by the sound of a woman’s voice.

At the very least, I recognized the man’s voice: Nicholas.

As for the woman… I had no clue who she could be. But her tone was high and drawn out, like she was… moaning.

I froze, my heart skipping a beat. Was he… meeting someone down there?

Immediately, my mind jumped to the worst possible conclusion. How stupid could he be, sneaking around with some woman on guild property, right after agreeing to be observed for a month? The man had the emotional intelligence of a rock, but this would be a new low, even for him.

Driven by a combination of outrage and my own morbid curiosity, I started down the stairs, the air growing colder as I descended into the basement. The voices grew louder, more distinct, and soon I found myself at the entrance to a dimly lit hallway. The walls were lined with steel, and the faint smell of dampness lingered in the air.

I wrinkled my nose. Not the most ideal spot for a hookup, that was for sure.

I followed the sound of Nicholas’s voice, my footsteps muffled by the worn carpeting. Eventually, I reached a small room at the end of the corridor. The door was cracked open, just enough for me to see inside without being noticed. I braced myself for what I might see.

But what I saw wasn’t a man and a woman in the throes of passion. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Nicholas was pacing the room, his hands clenched into tight white fists at his sides. His normally cool and even egotistical demeanor was replaced by something fiercer, something more dangerous.

I glanced over, and saw a woman sitting at a steel table in the center of the room, her wrists cuffed in front of her. She looked haggard, her face pale and gaunt, her eyes hollow and rimmed with dark circles. She looked like she hadn’t eaten properly in some time, and clearly hadn’t seen the sun in even longer.

Most of all, tears streamed down her cheeks as she shook her head, her blonde hair hanging in her face.

“Tell me what you know!” Nicholas barked, slamming his hand down on the table. The sound echoed like a gunshot through the hallway, making me flinch.

“I-I don’t know anything,” the woman stammered, her voice raw and desperate. “Please, I swear—”

“Don’t lie to me!” Nicholas cut her off, his tone colder than ice. “You were there when it happened. I know you know something!”

I pressed my back against the wall, my heart pounding in my chest. Whatever this was, it wasn’t just some clandestine affair. This was… something else entirely. Something dangerous.

Whatever it was, I knew I needed to leave. Now.

As quietly as I could, I turned to sneak back down the hallway. But in my haste, I didn’t notice the figure looming just around the corner until it was too late.

“Oof!” I collided headfirst into a broad chest, stumbling back. A hand shot out to steady me, but before I could look up, a man’s voice boomed down the corridor.

“Nicholas! We’ve got an eavesdropper!”

Oh no.

I tried to back away, but the man—tall and muscular with sandy hair and a neat beard—blocked my path, his grip like iron on my arm. Moments later, Nicholas appeared in the hallway, his expression thunderous.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded, his eyes blazing with anger. He stepped closer, towering over me. He was big enough as it was, but even larger and more imposing in the narrow corridor.

“I… I left my scarf,” I stammered, cursing myself for how weak my voice sounded. “I was just looking for it, and—”

“Your scarf?” Nicholas repeated, clearly not believing me. He gestured pointedly at the dark, windowless hallway around us. “And you thought it would be down here, in the guild hall basement?”

I swallowed hard, my cheeks flushing with heat. “I didn’t know it was the basement! I heard voices and—”

“And you decided to investigate?” He cut me off, his voice low and dangerous. “Unbelievable, Kayla. Truly unbelievable.”

“I wasn’t trying to spy on you,” I said quickly. “I just—”

“Enough,” Nicholas snapped. He turned to the man who had caught me. “Take her outside and have the driver take her home, Noah. Now.”

“Wait!” I protested, trying to pull free of the man’s grip. “Nicholas, I—”

“Don’t argue with me, Kayla,” Nicholas growled, his gaze piercing through me. “You shouldn’t have been here in the first place. I told you to go home. Why can’t you just ever listen?”

His cold dismissal stung more than I wanted to admit, but I knew better than to push my luck. The man, Noah, holding me guided me back up the stairs, his grip firm but not rough. I glanced over my shoulder once, just in time to see Nicholas turn and disappear back into the room, his shoulders tense.

By the time I reached the car, my frustration had bubbled over into full-blown indignation. I wrenched free of Noah—whoever he was—and climbed into the back seat, crossing my arms tightly over my chest as the door closed behind me.

The driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “Ready to head home, Luna?”

“Sure,” I muttered, slumping against the seat.

As the car pulled away from the curb, I stared out the window, my mind racing with unanswered questions. What had I just walked in on? Who was that woman? Why was Nicholas involved in something so… dark?

And most of all, why didn’t Nicholas trust me enough to just fucking tell me what was going on?

I sighed and sank down in my seat, pouting all the way home.