Page 116 of Pack Frenzy
For a second, something flickers behind his eyes—shock or something else—before he slams the mask back into place. But there’s a tightness around his mouth that wasn’t there before.
“I could’ve sworn…” He trails off, then recovers with a too-smooth smile. “You remind me of…someone I used to know.”
Lily’s smile falters. Her phone disappears into her clutch. “We should head back,” she says lightly, grabbing my hand. “They’re probably looking for us and I bet dessert’s starting.”
“I’m sorry I missed the Alpha–Omega introductions at Nexus. Family emergency—last-minute,” he adds, too casual. “I heard you were assigned to a ninety-day trial.”
A faint smile cuts across his face and my gut twists.
How the hell does he know that?
Eli practically had to remind the guard approving the transfer that he had the authority to do it.
“So?” I say, sharper than intended.
He doesn’t flinch. Just studies me like I’m something he ordered but arrived in the wrong packaging. “I was surprised you were…claimed so quickly,” he says, voice warm but wrong. “Most candidates stay unassigned for days. I must’ve stepped out at the exact wrong moment.”
A ripple of cold skates down my spine.
“I won’t keep you,” he says, but his gaze doesn’t move off me. “Jess…isn’t it?”
Every instinct in my body bristles. I don’t answer.
His jaw ticks once—frustration, quickly buried. “Right. Well.” He takes a step back, but his gaze lingers. “Enjoy the dessert tonight.”
His attention drags over me like he’s cataloging inventory, not looking at a person. My skin prickles. I want to step back, but I won’t give him that satisfaction.
“Come on.” Lily takes my arm, already steering me toward the ballroom doors.
But when I glance back, the man is still watching me, smiling like he knows a secret I don’t.
It’s not flirtation. It’s recognition. And that’s somehow worse.
By the time Lily and I step back into the noise and light, my hands are shaking. I don’t even realize it until the fork rattles against my plate.
Cassian’s head snaps up instantly, eyes narrowing. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” I say too fast.
Rowan’s already half out of his chair. “Jess.”
“It’s fine,” I repeat. “I just—someone stopped me in the hall. Said I looked like someone he knew.”
“Who?” Rowan’s voice is low, dangerous.
“No idea. Just a creepy Alpha with red hair.”
They all go still, and there’s a pit in the bottom of my stomach. Rowan pulls out his phone, types something, then shows me a news article with the same guy’s picture.Blake Callighan Found Not Guilty of Omega’s Deaththe caption reads.
“Yeah.” I rub my arms. “That’s him.”
“Fucker.” Cassian’s expression goes hard as poured concrete. “Did he touch you?”
“No.” I shake my head. Blake…the one who killed Meredith and got away with it.
Eli’s jaw flexes once, his tone calm but lethal. “Stupid pickup line. I’d expect better from him.”
“I don’t know. He looked genuinely surprised. Then tried to cover it up.” I wrap my arms around myself. “It didn’t feel like a pickup line. It felt... personal.”
