Promised to the Beta

Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

The communal space thrums with the pulse of the Ironfur pack. Scents mingle – pine, earth, and the tang of excitement. It's a small haven in the middle of a concrete jungle where we can be ourselves, away from prying human eyes. I lean against the cool wall, my gaze flitting across the room.

Laughter bubbles up from a group near the fireplace. Logan's there, but it's not his laughter that holds me. It's Henry. He stands out like a beacon of normalcy with his golden hair catching the dim light, those blue eyes reflecting the fire's dance. A human among wolves. Yet he doesn't seem to realize just how much he's an anomaly here.

My fingernails dig into my palm. I watch as Sierra, her dark curls bouncing with each movement, sidles closer to him. She tosses her hair back, laughing at something he says, her hand finding its way to his arm. Henry smiles, polite, but it doesn't quite reach his eyes. He's good at this game; being friendly without giving the wrong idea.

"Having fun, Mia?" Logan's voice, low and teasing, pulls me from my observations. I turn to him, forcing a smile.

"Always," I reply, but my attention drifts back to the scene unfolding before me. Another she-wolf joins the fray. Layla, with her piercing green eyes and confidence that could rival any alpha. She steps into Henry's personal space, her body language all challenge and allure.

I feel a twinge in my chest. It's not jealousy – it can't be. Henry is just my responsibility, one who happens to be dangerously unaware of the effect he has on these wolf girls whose instincts scream 'mate' at the first hint of vulnerability.

"Careful, Mia," Logan murmurs, following my line of sight. "That human of yours is stirring up

quite the interest."

"He's not mine," I correct him quickly, perhaps too quickly. But Logan just smirks, as if he knows something I don't.

Henry shifts uncomfortably under the she-wolves’ attentions, his laugh now forced. He's looking for an escape, a way to politely extricate himself without offending the very capable predators eyeing him like their next meal.

And suddenly, I’m moving. I slide through the crowd, a silent guardian, ready to intercept before things get too intense. Because he's Henry, and despite everything, he needs someone to watch out for him. Even if I don’t know why yet.

I'm a shadow slipping through the throng of bodies, all heat and pulse. The air vibrates with laughter and growls of play-fighting young wolves. I weave around them, unnoticed, my gaze fixed on Henry as he backs into a corner, Layla inching closer, her smile predatory.

"Excuse me," I mutter as I bump shoulders with a hefty Gamma. He barely glances my direction before resuming his boisterous banter. A few more steps, and I'll reach Henry, provide him a polite out from the encircling she-wolves.

A flicker of movement catches my eye. Something outside the window—outside the safe, warm glow of our pack's sanctuary.

I pause, senses heightened, and turn my head just so. For a second, it's there again—a silhouette against the night, a figure peering in. My heartbeat quickens; my wolf bristles beneath my skin, ready to spring forth.

"Everything okay, Mia?" Logan's voice is a low hum at my back, but I'm too focused on the window to turn.

"Thought I saw something." My words are clipped, tense. I angle my body toward the glass without stepping away from the crowd, trying to blend casual curiosity with the urgency simmering inside me.

"Probably just a curious neighbor," Logan suggests, though I hear the unspoken 'stay sharp' in his tone.

"Maybe." But that's not a neighbor's curiosity. It's intent, watchful. And it's gone now, leaving only the faintest ripple in the night like a stone dropped into water.

"Keep an eye out," I tell Logan, my voice low enough that only his enhanced hearing picks it up. Without another word, I push onward toward Henry, who looks like a man drowning in a sea of fur and pheromones. The figure at the window forgotten—for now.

"Hey, Henry," I call out, injecting warmth into my tone. "The Alpha wants a word."

His blue eyes latch onto mine, relief flooding his features. Layla's lips twist in a snarl, quickly smoothed into a semblance of grace. She knows better than to question me openly. Not here, not now.

"Saved by the Gamma," Henry chuckles, his joke weak but welcome.

"Always," I reply, throwing a glance over my shoulder at the window one last time. Nothing there. Just shadows and the endless secrets of the city. But my instincts are rarely wrong. Someone was watching. And I intend to find out who.