Hazel

The next morning felt wrong before I even opened my eyes.

A heaviness sat in my chest like someone had parked a truck on it. The dream from last night still clung to me - the silver wolf, the burning city, the voice that whispered my name like a promise and a threat.

I dragged myself out of bed and straight to the bathroom mirror. My eyes looked normal, but my skin was pale, almost glowing faintly under the morning light. I told myself it was just the fluorescent bulbs, but deep down, I knew better.

Maya knocked on the door. “You’re up early. Is everything okay?”

I forced a smile when I stepped out. “Just… couldn’t sleep.”

She raised a brow, holding her coffee mug like a lifeline. “Did your boss breathe fire again?”

You have no idea, I thought.

“Something like that.”

Maya grinned. “You’re lucky, though. He’s insanely hot. If I had a boss who looked like Liam Taylor, I’d work weekends too.”

I tried to laugh, but it came out shaky.

Hot didn’t even begin to cover it. He was danger dressed in a designer suit.

I took my time getting ready, half hoping Liam would text me to say I was fired like he’d threatened. No message came. No calls. Nothing. Just that same eerie silence that filled the air whenever something big was about to happen.

By the time I reached SilverCorp, the building looked different. Maybe it was me, but the lobby felt colder, emptier. People still moved with their usual urgency - security guards, executives, assistants - but I caught whispers as I passed. Their eyes lingered on me longer than usual.

When the elevator doors opened to the executive floor, Ethan, Liam’s Beta, was already waiting. Tall, calm, sharp-eyed. He smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Miss Moore,” he greeted. “The Alpha— I mean, Mr. Taylor will see you now.”

Alpha. He almost said Alpha.

I followed him into the office, and there he was. Liam Taylor. In a black shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, no tie. His eyes met mine for half a second before he looked away. The tension was a physical thing between us.

“Close the door,” he said quietly.

I did. Then I waited.

“You shouldn’t be here.” He didn’t look up from the papers on his desk.

“You hired me,” I said. “And you didn’t fire me yesterday, so…”

His jaw tightened. “You don’t understand how dangerous it is for you to stay.”

I took a step forward. “Then explain it to me. Because I saw what I saw, and I deserve to know what that means.”

Liam’s eyes lifted, gold flickering beneath the blue for a heartbeat. “It means,” he said slowly, “that you stepped into a world you can’t walk away from.”

I swallowed hard. “Then maybe stop pretending I’m too fragile to handle the truth.”

For a second, something almost like a smile tugged at his lips - admiration or regret, I couldn’t tell. Then he stood, walked around the desk, and stopped just a few feet from me.

“You’re not afraid,” he said quietly.

“I’m terrified,” I whispered back. “But that doesn’t mean I’ll run.”

That made him flinch, like the words hit deeper than they should’ve.

Before he could speak again, the office lights flickered. A faint hum filled the air… low, pulsing, like a heartbeat I could feel in my bones. My fingers tingled.

Liam’s eyes widened. “What the hell—”

The glass wall behind him shimmered, reflecting a faint silvery glow that came from me. My skin, my hands were glowing faintly, like moonlight had crawled under my skin.

“Hazel,” he said carefully, stepping closer. “Listen to me. Don’t panic.”

“What’s happening to me?” My voice shook. “Why is it doing this?”

He reached out, hesitated then took my hand. The moment his skin touched mine, the glow dimmed, and the hum stopped. Silence crashed down like a wave.

Liam let out a slow breath. “Your blood… it’s not normal.”

I looked up at him, heart pounding. “What do you mean?”

Before he could answer, the intercom buzzed. Ethan’s voice came through, tense. “Alpha, you need to see this. We’ve got uninvited company downstairs - Arthur Williams.”

Liam’s entire body stiffened. “He’s not supposed to be here.”

“Yeah,” Ethan replied, “but he’s insisting on meeting your assistant.”

My assistant. He didn’t even hide it this time.

Liam’s gaze darkened as he turned back to me. “Stay here. Don’t move. Don’t talk to anyone.”

But the second he walked out, I already knew I wouldn’t listen.

Liam

The elevator doors opened to chaos. Security teams formed a loose circle near the lobby entrance. Arthur Williams stood at the center - tall, too confident, his smirk aimed straight at me.

“Liam Taylor,” he greeted, smooth and poisonous. “Or should I say Alpha King of Los Angeles?”

Liam’s jaw flexed. “You shouldn’t say anything at all.”

Arthur laughed. “Relax. I’m not here to start a war. Just came to see your little assistant. The one everyone’s been talking about.”

Liam’s eyes narrowed. “You came to see who?”

Arthur shrugged. “Word travels fast. A human girl in your tower? Working late? Smelling like you? Sounds like someone’s breaking his own rules.”

Liam’s wolf growled low beneath his skin, begging to come out. He stepped closer. “Stay away from her.”

Arthur smiled wider. “So it’s true. You’ve finally found her.”

Liam didn’t take the bait. “If you so much as breathe her name again, I’ll rip your throat out.”

Arthur leaned in slightly, his tone mock-gentle. “Careful, Alpha. Possessiveness doesn’t suit you. But it suits me just fine.”

Before Liam could strike, Ethan’s voice came through the comm. “Sir, Hazel’s not in your office anymore.”

Liam froze. “What?”

“She’s… she’s downstairs.”

Hazel

The moment Liam left, I couldn’t stay still. My skin still felt electric, my heart still racing. If Arthur Williams was the man from yesterday’s event, the one who made Liam lose control, I needed to know why.

I took the elevator down, praying I wouldn’t regret it.

The lobby was crowded when I stepped out. Cameras flashed - press? No, wolves disguised as them. I felt it, that strange energy crawling under my skin again. My pulse thrummed painfully fast.

Then I saw him. Arthur Williams. Smiling at me like I was an open secret he’d been waiting to unwrap.

“Well,” he said, his voice smooth as silk, “you must be Hazel Moore.”

I froze. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh, everyone in our world knows it now.” He took a step closer, eyes glinting silver. “You’ve caused quite the stir, darling. The Alpha King’s human assistant? The one with the glow?”

The glow. He knew.

He reached for a strand of my hair, and I instinctively stepped back… right into Liam’s chest.

His voice was low and lethal. “Touch her again, and I’ll end you.”

Arthur laughed softly. “Temper, temper. You can’t protect her forever.”

“Watch me,” Liam growled.

Arthur’s smirk widened. “Then you’d better start. The moon’s changing, Alpha. And when it does…” He glanced at me, eyes gleaming with something dark and knowing. “She won’t be human anymore.”

He turned and walked away, leaving the air heavy with meaning.

Liam caught my wrist, his grip tight but trembling. His voice was a whisper meant only for me.

“Hazel… what the hell are you?”

For the first time, Hazel didn’t have an answer.

But deep in her chest, where her heartbeat met his, something ancient stirred and it whispered back to the moon.