Page 103 of Rejected By My Shifter Billionaire
“Got it. No personality assessments.”
“And don’t mention the Spring Equinox disaster.”
“The goats weren’t even my fault! The venue coordinator said they needed ‘kid-friendly entertainment’ and I thought—”
“Ada.”
“Right. No goats.”
The entrance to the building was a massive archway that seemed to be carved from a single piece of black stone. As we approached, runes along the sides began to glow, and the air itself seemed to take our measure. I felt a gentle tingle as some kind of scanning magic washed over us, checking for weapons, hostile intent, or probably a dozen other things I couldn’t imagine.
“Welcome,” a voice said from everywhere and nowhere. “Please state your business.”
“Maryah Gray and Ada Bones to see Prince Alexei Lykaios,” I said to the empty air. “We have an appointment.”
There was a pause, then the stone archway dissolved like mist, revealing a lobby that belonged in a luxury hotel crossed with an art museum. The floors were polished marble that seemed to have starlight embedded in it, and the walls were lined with portraits of supernatural leaders throughout history. A fountain in the center played music instead of water, filling the space with hauntingly beautiful melodies.
“Proceed to the Alpha Wing,” the voice instructed. “His Highness will see you now.”
The elevator was a work of art in itself, all crystal and silver, with buttons that appeared when you needed them and disappeared when you didn’t. As we rose through the building, the windows offered views of landscapes that definitely weren’t Colorado. I caught glimpses of silver cities, rolling purple hills, and what might have been an ocean made of liquid starlight.
“This is so not helping my anxiety,” Ada whispered.
The elevator opened onto a corridor that screamed power and authority. The walls were a deep midnight blue, lined with what looked like constellation maps but definitely weren’t showing Earth’s sky. Everything was designed to make visitors feel small and insignificant, and it was working.
“Miss Gray.” The voice came from behind us, smooth and cultured and carrying just enough edge to make me straighten my spine.
I turned to find myself face to face with Prince Alexei Lykaios, and every rumor about him being impossibly beautiful turned out to be underselling it.
He was tall and lean, with the kind of aristocratic bone structure that belonged on ancient coins. His hair was blue-black, like a raven’s wing, and his eyes were the same color but somehow colder, like winter nights in the depths of Atlantis where his bloodline originated. His suit was perfectly tailored, midnight blue to match the walls, and he moved with the fluid grace that marked him as royalty from the oldest shifter lines—the Atlantis stallions, first children of the deep realm, heirs to King Thaddeus himself.
There was something predatory about his stillness, the way he seemed to evaluate everything around him as either useful ordisposable. This was a man who could destroy lives with a word, topple governments with a gesture, and he looked like he knew it.
“Your Highness,” I said, offering what I hoped was an appropriate bow. Human etiquette for supernatural royalty was not something they’d covered in business school.
His gaze shifted to Ada, who was staring at him with the expression of someone witnessing their first glimpse of a mythical creature. Which, technically, she was.
“Miss Bones." The prince's tone was enough to have both Ada and me gulp.Simultaneously.“I understand we have you to thank for this meeting.”
Ada squeaked.
“She didn’t mean any harm,” I said quickly. “It was an honest mistake.”
“I’m sure it was.” He gestured toward a door that definitely hadn’t been there a moment ago. “Shall we?”
His office was exactly what I’d expected from a Prince of Atlantis. Floor-to-ceiling windows offered a view of snow-capped peaks that stretched to the horizon, and the furniture was the kind of understated luxury that probably cost more than my car. Everything was designed to remind visitors exactly who they were dealing with.
“Please, sit,” he said, settling behind a desk that looked carved from a single piece of obsidian.
I took the chair across from him. Ada perched on the edge of hers like she was ready to bolt.
Prince Alexei folded his hands and studied us both with those unsettling pale eyes. Prior toThat Day,no human or preter alike even suspected someone like him existed. Shifter royalty, from the legendary kingdom of Atlantis.
There might be more of them, or there might be none, and he was the last of his kind. Only Prince Alexei himself knew, and he was obviously not the type to show and tell.
The silence stretched until I was sure one of us was going to crack under the pressure.
“You didn’t register your agency with L’Alliance,” he said without preamble.
