Chapter 45 Forty five

Chapter 45 Forty five
‎Celeste
‎
‎The morning light felt too bright and sharp, like it was mocking me.
‎I stood at the window of my apartment, my arms wrapped tightly around myself, staring out at Chicago waking up below. My emerald gala dress from last night lay crumpled on the floor where I had thrown it. I hadn’t slept. Not really. Every time I closed my eyes I saw them... Zander and Iris in that hallway, his hand on her throat, her body arching into him like she belonged there.
‎My phone sat on the table behind me. The screen was dark now, but the photo was burned into my mind. The one my father’s man had sent at 3 a.m, Clear.
‎ Zander’s body pressed against hers, her dress shoved up. His mouth on her neck. The kind of photo that could ruin alliances if it ever got out. It was taken at the gala night about the same time he walked away from me and went after her.
‎But it wasn’t the photo that kept me awake.
‎It was the way Zander had looked at her.
‎It was not the cool, controlled alpha I knew or the man who had sat through endless dinners with me and my father, playing the perfect fiancé. No. He had looked at her like she was oxygen and he was drowning, like touching her was the only thing keeping him alive.
‎And she had let him.
‎The little omega bitch had let him.
‎I poured myself another cup of coffee, hands calm even though my stomach was in knots. My reflection in the window showed the perfect Celeste Vorne.
‎On the outside I was still the woman who would stand beside Zander at the head of two powerful packs. On the inside I was screaming.
‎How dare she?
‎How dare she walk into our world with her amber eyes and her fake confidence and steal the one thing that was supposed to be mine?
‎I had played this game perfectly for years. I had smiled through boring dinners, called my father “daddy” in public because it pleased the old alphas, worn the right dresses, said the right things. I had let Zander fuck me when he needed release, never complaining when he was distant. I had built my entire life around becoming the perfect mate for him.
‎And now some nobody from nowhere was making him lose control in a service hallway like a rutting animal.
‎My wolf snarled inside me, weak but vicious. She hated Iris even more than I did. She could smell the threat. She could feel the way Zander’s wolf had lifted its head the moment Iris entered any room.
‎The worst part was the way he had walked away from me last night.
‎“ I need some air.”
‎Those four words had cut deeper than any insult. He had left me standing there in my emerald dress, smiling for the crowd, while he followed her scent like a dog on a leash.
‎I set the coffee down too hard. The liquid sloshed over the rim.
‎No. I would not let this happen.
‎My father had already messaged me this morning.
‎"Surveillance is in place. Aldric is handling the rest, stay close to Zander and do not make a scene."
‎"Stay close and do not make a scene."
‎Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one watching his future slip away because some omega whore had spread her legs at the right moment.
‎I picked up my phone and opened the photo again. Zoomed in on Zander’s face. The hunger there made my stomach twist with jealousy and something darker... fear.
‎What if he couldn’t let her go?
‎What if last night wasn’t just a momentary lapse?
‎What if the mate pull I had always suspected existed between them was real?
‎I deleted the thought as soon as it formed. Mates were rare bonds like that didn’t just appear with random omegas who showed up at charity dinners. Zander was mine. The alliance between our packs had been decided years ago. Bloodlines mattered and power mattered. Not whatever fleeting heat he felt for Iris.
‎Still… the doubt lingered.
‎I walked to my closet and pulled out a sleek black dress modest enough for a morning visit, tight enough to remind him what he was supposed to want. I would go to his penthouse today. I would smile, touch his arm, remind him of our future. I would casually mention the gala, ask if he had seen Iris leave safely. I would watch his eyes when he answered.
‎And if I saw even a glimpse of guilt or longing…
‎I would handle it.
‎My father and Aldric were already moving.
‎ Whatever old secrets they were digging up about Iris would surface soon. She wouldn’t be able to hide behind that polished mask forever.
‎I smoothed the dress over my hips and checked my reflection one more time.
‎Perfect and composed.
‎The future Mrs. Ashveil.
‎But as I picked up my keys and headed for the door, one chilling thought refused to leave my mind,
‎What if Zander had already chosen?
‎And what if the choice wasn’t me?
‎I stepped into the elevator, chin high, smile fixed in place.
‎The game wasn’t over yet.
‎But for the first time in my life, I wasn’t sure I was still the one holding the winning hand.
‎