Category Red, the doctors had called it.
Aggression-triggering.
Dangerous.
A car door slammed nearby and suddenly there were footsteps, fast and purposeful.An Alpha.I could tell by the way the air pressure changed, the way my body reacted instinctively by trying to make itself smaller.
"Hey, are you okay? Do you need me to call..."
The voice cut off abruptly.
I looked up, my vision still swimming, and met a pair of wide eyes. The Alpha, a guy maybe my age, had gone completely still. His nostrils flared as he caught my scent and I watched inreal time as his expression shifted from concern to confusion to something that looked almost like hunger.
Then his scent turned sharp.
Aggressive.
Territorial.
"No," I managed to say, scrambling backward. My palm scraped against the concrete. "I'm fine. I'm okay."
But I wasn't okay and we both knew it.
He took a step closer and my body locked up, every instinct screaming at me to run. This was how it always went. This was why I'd left in the first place.
My scent didn't make Alphas want to protect me.
It made them want to fight each other for the privilege of claiming me.
"You should go inside," he said, and his voice had gone rough. Strained. Like he was fighting himself. "Right now. Before..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't have to.
I grabbed my camera bag and ran for the building entrance, leaving my suitcase on the pavement. My hands were shaking so badly I could barely get the key in the lock. Behind me, I could hear the Alpha pacing, his footsteps heavy and agitated.
The door finally opened and I threw myself inside, slamming it shut behind me.
Then I slid down to the floor and tried very hard not to cry.
My camera bag sat beside me, a reminder of why I was here. Of the job I'd fought so hard to get. The career I'd built from nothing, one photo at a time, until someone finally noticed.
Welcome home,I thought bitterly.
This was going to be a disaster.
2
REINA
The NIHL headquarters building was all glass and steel, reflecting the gray morning sky like a mirror. I stood in the parking lot for a solid five minutes, camera bag slung over my shoulder, trying to convince myself to walk through those doors.
You need this job,I reminded myself.You need the money. You need the portfolio piece.
Slowly, I smooth down any fly aways of blonde hair, trying to find some confidence.
You need to stop being such a coward.
