Trigger

Trigger
Vinorca Jona POV

My eyes narrowed as I looked toward the person who had called my name, and I was totally unable to recognize the man standing in front of me. His face didn't trigger anything. No memory. No familiarity. Nothing.

How does this man know my name? Do I know him?

It was all confusion, and I knew it showed plainly on my face. I was damn sure about that.

"Who?"

"Aren't you Vinorca?" he asked.

I nodded, because sure, I was. But that wasn't the question here. Who was he? That was the part that mattered.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Panic had already started creeping in, and now this man was only making it worse. My chest felt tight, my nerves stretched thin.

I was in Dante's office building. How could there be someone here who knew me? Did Dante talk about me? No. That was nearly impossible. Dante didn’t talk about me. Not like that.

"You don't know the beta of your pack?" Disappointment crossed his face, sharp enough to catch me off guard.

I froze. I had just been thinking about this man. Wondered about him. Imagined him only as a position, a title attached to power, someone who kept Amy safe. And now he was standing in front of me. Not figuratively. Not in theory. But right here. Real.

My throat felt like someone was gripping it hard. "I… I've never crossed paths with you. I'm sorry for my negligence." It was all I could say without sounding completely unsteady.

"Then how are you so sure I'm the beta?" His tone shifted. "Even if I claimed it, trusting that so easily makes you a fool, doesn't it?"

Why was he insulting me? What was his problem?

"I don't think you'd lie about that." The words came out calm, even though my pulse had started racing. The way he carried himself, his eyes, his presence—everything about him screamed authority.

He was almost as tall as Dante, maybe an inch or two shorter. Close enough that I had no intention of picking a fight.

"Touché." He snickered. "So what are you doing here? By the way, my name is Finn Roth, since you quite obviously don't know me."

"I just got sent by Alpha Dante to collect some papers from you. I was on my way to find your office." I said it all in one breath, without stopping, forcing myself to sound polite and clear despite the tightness in my chest.

He gave me a look. Nothing more. "Then follow me."

The words landed bluntly, and I stood there for a second, caught off guard by his behavior.

He was arrogant. Like his sister. At least, that was my first impression. Yet the way he moved ahead of me, the way he spoke, carried an unsettling familiarity. As if he'd known me far longer than this moment allowed. As if I wasn't a stranger at all.

What unsettled me more was how much he already seemed to know about Dante and me. He hadn't questioned it. Hadn't hesitated. Hadn't asked a single thing after I mentioned Dante sending me here.

And that silence felt heavier than interrogation ever could. Fuck.

"Come inside." He opened his office door for me, the gesture almost gentlemanly. Which he wasn't. Or maybe I was judging too fast.

I stepped into his office with a small, polite smile and stood straight. "Thank you, Beta Finn."

He walked past me, unhurried, and within seconds returned with a glass of water. "Take this. You're sounding choked."

Heat crept up my neck at the remark, embarrassment settling heavy in my chest, but I still accepted the glass from him.

"Sit here." He slid the chair out for me, and I couldn't ignore it anymore. He was giving me one shock after another. Still, I didn't sit.

"You know me from before?" I couldn't stop myself. The question slipped out before I could weigh it.

He shrugged. "How would I not know? The one and only Vinorca Jona who lives in the pack house. Whose guardian is Alpha Dante."

A shiver ran through me, slow and unwelcome. "What do you mean?"

"I'm the beta of Alpha Dante's pack," he replied evenly. "But I'm his friend first, Miss Jona."

The way he said my name made something twist in my stomach. Not rude. Not threatening. Just knowing. Too knowing.

"So you talk about me," I remarked, my fingers tightening around the glass, knuckles paling. It wasn't an accusation. It was a realization.

His mouth curved slightly, not quite a smile. "You'd be surprised how often your name comes up."

That's not reassuring.

I swallowed, the water doing little to ease the tightness in my throat. "Then you already know why I'm here."

"Yes. Before you even told me." His gaze held mine, steady and unreadable. "That's why I didn’t question it any further.”

Then why had he even asked me in the first place? Formality?

"Finish your water," he said at last. "I'll get the papers."

As he turned away, my grip tightened around the glass again. Because something about this meeting felt planned.

And I was certain I wasn't the one who had walked in prepared.

Why did Dante even talk about me? Even if Finn was his friend, even if he was his beta, wasn't Dante the one who had warned me not to reveal anything about the situation?

The contradiction churned in my head, unease tightening with every second.

I pulled myself back when he spoke. "Here. Take these."

"Sure." I accepted the papers and carefully placed the glass on the chair, since I still hadn't sat in it.

My fingers closed around the file, but my focus wasn't there. It lingered on him. On the ease with which he handled everything. On how nothing about this exchange felt accidental.

And why did I think it would be accidental? When Dante brought me here and gave me this work, I should have known he had a plan. But what plan was this? Everything felt sketchy, yet nothing about it was openly wrong.

"You should be careful with yourself, Miss Jona. The meeting was all pleasure."