Christina’s POV
My brain was doing sorsaults.
I knew the Laurents were throwing this party, but I’d thought Hudson was just a guest, not the bloody Alpha himself.
Hudson hadn’t exactly lied to , but neither had he told the full truth about his position in the pack.
Then sothing his friend had said earlier lit up in my head, and I circled back, "If this is your house, why the hell did you rent the apartnt opposite mine?"
Hudson looked dead in the eye, his intensity making my heart skip. "Well, the whole building belongs to The Sabreridge. I stay there sotis when I need space from the pack house."
"That’s how you knew I’d moved there. I’m your... tenant?" The realization settled uncomfortably.
He nodded, watching carefully.
Another mory struck ."And La Vache Dorée Restaurant? You own that too?"
He nodded, face impassive.
"And the bar?" Damn it, I couldn’t even rember its na. "The one where we... the night we..." Where our wolves had nearly claid each other in that heated mont of passion.
Another nod, but this ti I caught the flash of possessiveness in his eyes.
My emotions and my wolf were doing the cha-cha. Badly.
Since the day I t him,Hudson had given off a dangerous aura. Not rogue-dangerous, more like apex-Alpha dangerous.
His height, his build, those powerful arms that looked like they could overpower another Alpha, and those unreadable eyes that seed to see everything - you’d have to be crazy not to feel intimidated.
And yet.
He lived in the apartnt across from mine and told where to go when I was having an emotional breakdown.
He’d agreed without complaint to my desperate, drunken one-night stand plan.
He’d even offered to fake an engagent to help get my pushy parents off my back.
Sowhere in my idiot brain, I’d filed him under "dangerous but good-hearted Alpha."
Now, though, knowing he literally controlled half of Highrise’s territory and more, the pressure crushed down on like a hydraulic press.
I didn’t know what I felt.
Shock, sure.
But it was more than that.
It was like thinking you’d been running alongside a lone wolf, only to realize you’d been cuddling with the most powerful Alpha in the Northern Territories.
The room went dead silent.
Then Ysolde mumbled, "I, ah, I can’t wear this. I need to change. You, co with ."
She grabbed the man’s arm and bolted out of the room.
"I’ll put the first-aid kit back," Hudson said, disappearing into the en suite bathroom, giving a mont to process.
I heard Ysolde’s voice outside,"Why the hell didn’t you tell he was Hudson Laurent? The Alpha of The Sabreridge pack?"
The man she called Cassian shot back, "How was I supposed to know you’d t him before? And why are you dragging off? I haven’t even asked about the bloody mate-bond yet!"
"Did you not hear? They’re engaged."
"No way! Hudson’s been tracking his fated mate for years. What’s this engagent bullshit?"
"What? What mate? Who is it? Spit it out—"
Their voices faded as they stord down the hall, but my ears had caught every word.
I sat there, the echoes of their argunt fizzing through my head, alert and curious.
"Complicated" did not even begin to cover what was happening between us.
If what Hudson’s friend said was true, that he was bound to a fated mate sowhere, why’d he agree to be fake-engaged to ? Unless...
I heard the footsteps before I saw them, my enhanced senses picking up the familiar scent.
Niall shoved the door open. "Christina! Have you lost your bloody mind? Apologize to Beatrice! And that idiot bestie of yours, yelling about you ending our mate-bond, embarrassing in front of the whole pack community! Was that your idea?"
I tilted my head, brows pulling tight. I’d just managed to cool down, but Niall’s voice was like silver to our senses. It was painful and toxic.
"Niall," I said sweetly, "we’re already done. Ysolde was just telling the truth. You rejected , rember?"
"We’re not done unless I say we’re done!" He scowled."We’ll talk about that later. Beatrice’s face is swollen thanks to you. Don’t you feel the tiniest bit guilty for hurting your sister?"
Behind him, Beatrice clung to his sleeve.
"I’m fine," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "If she doesn’t want to apologize to , whatever. But she should apologize to the Laurents. The ballroom’s a complete ss now. The pack gathering is ruined before it even started."
Niall gave her hand a patronizing pat, then turned back to . "Beatrice is right. You need to apologize to Alpha Hundson. Publicly. Imdiately. Or I’ll—"
The words had barely left his mouth when the bathroom door behind swung open.
Hudson strode past , planting himself right in Niall’s face, Alpha energy radiating from him. "She’s not apologizing to anyone."
Niall blinked at him, thrown off balance as his wolf instinctively recognized a superior predator.
I could see the wheels in his brain creaking under the weight of realization.
He’d seen Hudson downstairs earlier, thought he looked familiar, but couldn’t place him among the Alphas he knew.
In his tiny little mind, that ant one thing—I’d picked up so random loser.
Niall’s nostrils flared. He looked Hudson up and down like he was so nobody from a lesser pack.
"And who the fuck are you supposed to be in our personal business?"I couldn’t see Hudson’s face, but I felt the surge of his Alpha energy that made Niall stiffen.
"This is the Sabreridge’s territory!"Niall gulped,"You’ve got no say here.And whatever’s going on between and Christina is none of your damn business either. If you’ve got half a brain, you’ll submit and get lost."
Hudson took half a step forward, his Alpha aura expanding.
Niall flinched and staggered back before he even knew what he was doing.
Before anyone could challenge for dominance, Dominic knocked once and pushed the door open. "Alpha Hudson, I got the footage."
Footage?
I saw Niall’s right eyelid twitching like crazy, and judging by the way he was suddenly sweating through his shirt, he was about to have a very bad day.
"Alpha Hudson? What...?"
Then I saw realization dawn in his eyes as him finally recognized who he’d been challenging.
I caught Niall giving Hudson a double take.
For a second, I almost pitied him. Almost.
Niall opened his mouth, probably about to dig himself even deeper, but Beatrice jumped in first, her voice trembling. "W-what footage?"
Hudson didn’t even spare her a glance. He was busy watching the tablet Dominic handed to him, his face carved from pure ice, his rage barely contained.
"Put it up on the main screen," he said. "First floor. Play it on loop. Full volu."
"Got it, Alpha." Dominic nodded and spoke into his earpiece.
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