Adrian’s POV
The private dining room of the Vance Group’s exclusive club was filled with the low murmur of business discussions.
Crystal glasses clinked softly while the city lights of New York glittered beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.
At the head of the long table sat Adrian Vance.
Tall, composed, and impossibly intimidating even in silence.
Most of the people in the room barely dared to breathe too loudly in his presence.
The Alpha of the Phantom Pack rarely attended social gatherings like this, and when he did, everyone knew better than to waste his time.
Adrian listened to the financial report with his usual cold expression, his fingers tapping slowly against the polished table.
Then suddenly—
A sharp pain shot through his chest.
His hand froze mid-tap.
For a brief second, the entire world seemed to tilt.
Something… strange.
Something powerful.
A pull.
A connection.
His wolf stirred violently inside him.
Mate.
The word echoed through his mind like thunder.
Adrian’s chair scraped loudly against the floor as he stood up abruptly.
The executives around the table immediately fell silent.
“Mr. Vance?” one of them asked cautiously.
Adrian ignored him.
His heart was beating faster than it had in years.
That feeling…
It was distant, yet incredibly clear.
Like an invisible thread pulling him somewhere.
“Zane,” Adrian said sharply.
His assistant, who had been standing near the door, immediately stepped forward.
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Car. Now.”
Within minutes, a black luxury car sped through the night streets.
Adrian sat in the back seat, his gaze fixed on the road ahead while the strange connection pulsed stronger with every passing second.
“Hurry,” he said coldly.
Zane glanced at the GPS.
“Sir, we’re already going over the speed limit.”
“Faster.”
Zane pressed harder on the accelerator.
The car roared down the empty road leading toward the western suburbs.
Adrian’s jaw tightened.
The closer they got, the stronger the sensation became.
His wolf was restless.
Uneasy.
And furious.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
As the car approached the abandoned furniture factory, a loud explosion suddenly echoed through the night.
BOOM!
Flames burst through the broken windows of the building.
Zane slammed the brakes.
“Sir!”
But Adrian had already opened the door.
Without hesitation, he ran straight toward the burning factory.
The heat of the fire slammed into him the moment he entered.
Smoke filled the air.
Panicked shouting echoed inside.
Adrian’s eyes darkened.
His hand reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out a sleek combat knife.
Custom-made.
Deadly sharp.
A kidnapper rushed toward him.
“You—!”
The man never finished his sentence.
A flash of silver.
Blood splattered across the burning floor.
Another attacker lunged from the side.
Adrian moved like a shadow.
Cold.
Precise.
Within seconds, several kidnappers lay on the ground, groaning in pain or unconscious.
But Adrian didn’t even glance at them.
His eyes were searching.
Then he saw her.
A woman lying on the concrete floor, covered in blood and soot.
Her breathing was faint.
Her body was full of wounds.
For some reason, seeing her like that made something inside Adrian snap.
He rushed forward and knelt beside her.
“Eileen.”
The name left his lips before he even realized it.
Carefully, he lifted her into his arms.
Her body felt fragile.
Too fragile.
Behind him, Zane finally caught up.
His eyes widened in shock.
“Sir, your back—!”
The fire had burned through part of Adrian’s shirt.
Red burns covered his skin.
But Adrian didn’t even seem to notice.
“Call the hospital,” he said coldly.
“Yes, sir!”
Just then, the woman in his arms stirred weakly.
Her eyelashes trembled.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
For a moment, her unfocused gaze met his.
Her fingers suddenly grabbed the front of his suit tightly.
“…Mate…”
The word was barely more than a whisper.
Then her head fell back against his arm.
She fainted.
Adrian froze.
Mate?
His eyes darkened slightly as he looked down at the unconscious woman.
After a moment, he exhaled slowly.
“Let’s go.”
He carried her out of the burning factory and placed her carefully in the back seat of the car.
Her head rested on his lap as the car sped toward the hospital.
For the first time in years, Adrian felt something dangerously close to… unease.
Eileen’s POV
When I woke up again, the world smelled like disinfectant and medicine.
White walls.
Soft lighting.
A hospital.
My body felt sore everywhere.
The door opened quietly.
The man from the factory walked in.
Even in the calm hospital room, his presence felt overwhelming.
He still wore the same suit, though his shirt had been replaced.
His sharp gaze met mine.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Strangely…
Even though we were clearly strangers, the silence between us didn’t feel awkward.
Instead, it felt…
familiar.
My eyes drifted downward unconsciously.
The knife at his waist caught my attention.
Dried blood still stained the blade.
But what truly made my heart skip was the symbol engraved on the handle.
A pack crest.
The Vance family crest.
My fingers tightened slightly on the blanket.
Before I could think further, he suddenly spoke.
“I’ll get you something to eat.”
Then he turned and left the room.
After the door closed, I slowly got out of bed and walked toward the bathroom.
The mirror reflected a pale, exhausted woman.
My mind replayed the scene in the factory.
Just before he arrived…
I had shifted.
Not just into my brown Omega wolf.
But into the White Wolf.
My mentor’s warning echoed in my mind again.
Never reveal the White Wolf easily.
If others discover it, it will only bring disaster.
That was why I forced myself to return to human form before I fainted.
No one could know.
No one.
Just then—
CRASH.
My hand accidentally knocked over the shampoo bottles on the sink.
They clattered loudly against the floor.
Outside the bathroom, footsteps rushed closer.
“Are you alright?”
Before I could answer—
The door suddenly opened.
Adrian froze.
I froze.
For a split second, both of us realized the situation.
I had just stepped out of the shower.
Water still dripped down my shoulders.
Adrian immediately turned his face away.
“…Sorry.”
His voice was unusually tense.
Without looking, he grabbed a bathrobe from the rack beside him and quickly wrapped it around me.
Then he lifted me effortlessly in his arms and carried me back to the bed.
Neither of us spoke.
The atmosphere in the room became strangely awkward.
Just then—
The ward door suddenly burst open.
And someone walked in.