Chapter 6

“Are you ready?”

Dad’s question pulled my attention away from the tinted window, where camera flashes were already bouncing across the entrance of the Westmont Grand Hotel.

I looked down at the midnight-blue dress Lauren had chosen, then checked my reflection in the glass even though I had already done that at least five times since leaving Silvercrest Manor.

“I don’t think ready exists for this kind of thing, but I’m already dressed and sitting in the car, so I guess we’re past the point of running away.”

The car slowed beneath the hotel lights, while reporters shifted toward the curb and photographers raised their cameras before the driver even reached the entrance.

My wolf surged up. “Welcome to Showbiz.”

“Please don’t sound excited about that.”

“I like attention when nobody is calling us a slut.”

I pressed my lips together before an inappropriate laugh escaped, then Dad reached across the seat and held out his hand.

His fingers squeezed mine once.

The driver opened Dad’s door first.

“Alpha Monroe, this way please!”

“Alpha Monroe, can we get a comment on your daughter’s return?”

“Is Courtney attending tonight?”

“Has Silvercrest formally recognized her?”

Dad stepped onto the carpet, then turned and offered me his hand.

The second I emerged beside him, every camera angle shifted.

“Courtney!”

“Miss Monroe, look toward us please!”

“Courtney, how does it feel making your first public appearance?”

“Miss Monroe, will you be taking an official role in Silvercrest?”

“Courtney, can we get a photo with your father?”

The flashes came so quickly that I had to blink twice before the staircase stopped looking washed out.

Dad kept his hand lightly against mine while we moved forward, and whispers from the wolves lining the entrance reached me easily.

“That has to be her.”

“She looks almost exactly like Luna Natalie.”

One reporter leaned toward us without crossing the barrier. “Courtney, what does returning to Silvercrest mean to you after so many years?”

I paused long enough to answer without sounding rehearsed. “I’m still processing most of it, but I’m grateful I got the chance to come home and know where I came from.”

A new wave of flashes erupted.

Dad glanced at me as we climbed the stairs. “Nicely handled.”

“I was one follow-up question away from forgetting every English word I’ve ever learned.”

His smile widened. “Nobody noticed.”

Inside the hotel, the gala looked even more intimidating than the entrance had.

Crystal chandeliers reflected against black marble floors, string musicians played near the center of the ballroom, and groups of wealthy humans mixed easily with Alpha families, Lunas, investors, and wolves whose scents carried enough rank to make my instincts notice them before my brain did.

Every few steps, Dad introduced me to another person.

Some congratulated him.

Others welcomed me personally.

Several women stared at my face long enough to make it obvious they were comparing me to Natalie.

I stayed polite, answered what I could, and tried not to think about the fact that less than forty-eight hours ago most of these people could have walked past me without ever learning my name.

Dad leaned closer while another couple moved away. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve already forgotten eight names, and one woman hugged me before I knew who she was.”

“That means you’re doing great.”

A woman in an emerald gown approached before Dad could answer, and the emotion on her face appeared before she even reached us.

“Courtney, this is Patricia Bennett, and she was one of your mother’s closest friends.”

Patricia looked at me for several seconds before taking my hand gently. “Oh, sweetheart, you look so much like Natalie that for one second, I forgot what year it was.”

Her eyes turned glassy, but her smile stayed warm as she squeezed my fingers. “We should have lunch soon, and I’ll tell you all the stories Dean will conveniently leave out.”

Dad shook his head. “I’m already regretting this introduction.”

I laughed as Patricia moved away.

Then a scent reached me from across the ballroom.

Dark amber, bergamot, fresh rain against stone, and a warmer note beneath all of it that made my wolf slam forward so abruptly that my fingers froze around my champagne glass.

“Turn around.”

I didn’t move immediately. “Why?”

“Just do it!”

The urgency in her voice made me obey.

A man had just entered the ballroom.

He was tall enough to stand above most of the crowd, with dark hair brushed away from his face and a black tuxedo fitted across broad shoulders that made the men beside him look underdressed by comparison.

His face was all sharp lines and controlled arrogance, but it was his eyes that held me hostage across the room.

Gray and striking, they looked cold from this distance, yet a violent, possessive storm brewed.

My breath hitched at the sight of him, and a sudden wave of electric heat crashed straight into my chest.

The crowd between us kept moving, yet my attention completely stopped registering any of them.

“It’s him.”

“What about him?”

“Mate!”

For half a second, I genuinely thought my wolf had lost her damn mind, and my fingers tightened around the stem of my glass while I kept staring at a man I had never seen before in my life.

No, absolutely not, and you cannot just drop that on me after everything that has happened this week.

Her presence pushed harder against mine. I didn’t choose him, and neither did you.

That answer did nothing to calm me, especially when the stranger lifted his head and looked directly at me like whatever had just exploded inside my chest had affected him too.

Dad followed the direction of my stare. “Hunter Cole.”

I forced myself to look at him. “Who is he?”

“Alpha of Blackridge Pack and founder of Cole Capital, while most people also consider him one of the best investors in the country.”

My attention drifted back across the ballroom.

Hunter.

Now the name fit the face.

Dad continued. “He took over Blackridge young, built most of his fortune outside pack money, and he’s irritatingly aware of how competent he is.”

As if summoned, Hunter began walking toward us.

Every step shortened the distance, while his scent grew richer beneath the perfume, champagne, and dozens of wolves filling the ballroom.

My heart started beating fast enough that I became embarrassingly aware of it.

Hunter stopped in front of Dad first.

“Alpha Dean.”

“Alpha Hunter.”

Neither man smiled much then Hunter turned toward me.

For several seconds, he simply looked at my face, and his gray eyes took their sweet time tracing every single detail of my features like a man completely spellbound by a masterpiece.

His heated gaze drifted slowly down the curve of my bare neck, mapping the line of my collarbone and taking in the exact fit of the silk dress against my curves with pure, breathless worship.

Every single inch of my skin caught literal fire under that heavy, once-over, and slowly his eyes finally traveled all the way back up to lock onto mine.

"Courtney Monroe."

The way my real name rolled off his lips sent a wicked, dizzying shudder straight down my spine, but I forced my chin up to fight the intoxicating pull.

“Would you dance with me?”

I chewed the inside of my bottom lip, looking down at his broad palm while my pulse kicked into overdrive. “I should probably warn you that I’m not much of a dancer, and tonight already has enough people watching me embarrass myself.”

Hunter tilted his head with a slow, devastating smirk, his silver-gray eyes dipping to my lips before locking back onto mine. “Nobody in this room will dare say a word when you’re in my arms.”

A real laugh slipped out before I could choke it back, my cheeks warming up under his intense, heavy gaze. “Okay, that was ridiculously smooth, but you're definitely full of it.”

“I’m deadly serious, sweetheart, so take my hand and let me prove it.”

I placed my trembling fingers into his large grip, and the searing jolt of electricity made me gasp as my wolf practically clawed at my chest to get closer.

Hunter guided me smoothly onto the floor before pulling me flush against his hard frame, his broad hand settling heavily against the small of my bare back with possessive warmth.

The intoxicating scent of rain and crushed cedar flooded my senses, and my hand rested hesitantly on his broad shoulder while my knees fought to keep me upright.

“Everyone is staring at us right now, Alpha Cole, and it’s kind of freaking me out.”

“Let them stare, Courtney, because I’m pretty sure they’ve never seen anyone this gorgeous on this floor before anyway.”

My eyes widened in genuine surprise, and I dropped my gaze to his chest to hide the heat racing through my blood. “Are you always this shamelessly flirty, or is this special treatment for the lost Alpha daughter?”

“I don’t waste my time flirting with anyone in this shallow crowd, but I honestly can’t seem to stop myself around you.”

He pulled me an inch closer until our thighs brushed with every slow turn, his calloused thumb stroking the curve of my waist in a slow, hypnotic circle.

I swallowed the sudden flutter in my throat, forcing my eyes back up to meet his intoxicating stare. “And what exactly makes me so different?”

“A woman everybody thinks they understand after hearing one dramatic headline, but I can see right through that expensive, polished little armor you’re wearing.”

My fingers instinctively tightened against his tailored jacket. “You think you figured all of that out in two minutes?”

“Not all of it, but I already know there’s a whole fire hiding behind those shy eyes, and I plan on uncovering every single piece of it before the night is over.”