The next morning, Julius woke up in his own bed for the first time in days. The room was familiar, quiet, empty. But it wasn’t comforting. He reached for his phone.

The screen lit up. No new messages. No missed calls. Nothing from Harrison. He opened his contacts and pressed call.

The phone rang three times, then went to voicemail. He hung up. He opened his messages. [Are you OK?] Send. [Are you awake?] Send.

The messages showed as delivered. Then read. But no reply came. Julius set the phone down. Fine. If Harrison wanted to play silent, so be it.

He got ready for work and left the house. His driver was already waiting outside. The ride to the office was quiet. Julius spent most of it staring out the window, his mind somewhere else entirely.

When he arrived at Vane Global Holdings, Sarah was waiting. "Good morning, sir." "Morning," Julius replied. "Sir, urgent news about today’s meeting."

"What is it?" "Apex Alliance moved the meeting time. It’s now at 11 AM instead of 1 PM." Julius checked his watch. "That’s in two hours."

"Yes, sir. They were very insistent." Apex Alliance didn’t reschedule meetings. If they moved the time, something had changed.

People who made the world turn with a single word had just moved up his meeting without explanation. "When did this come in?" "Early this morning."

"The message was very direct. They expect you to attend." Julius picked up the invitation and read through it. The location was listed at the bottom.

An address he didn’t recognize. No company name. No building number. Just coordinates. "This is the first time they’ve ever contacted us," Sarah added quietly.

"I know." He set the paper down and walked to the window. He muttered to himself. What was going on? Would he be there? That evil cold Enigma.

"Clear my schedule for the rest of the day." "Yes, sir." Hours later, Julius arrived at a building that didn’t belong in this century.

Stone walls. No signs. Just a single door with two men standing guard. The guards opened the door without a word.

Inside was modern, sleek, cold. Floors shined like glass. Walls lined with dark wood. No windows. No natural light. Just heavy silence.

A woman in a black suit appeared. "Mr. Vane. This way, please." She led him down a long hallway. His footsteps echoed against the floor.

The air felt different here. Controlled. Calculated. Like every breath had been planned. They stopped in front of a large door.

"They’re waiting for you inside." He pushed the door open. The room was massive. A long table sat in the center.

Around it were at least ten people. Every single one looked powerful. All watching him the moment he entered.

A tech mogul from America. An oil baron from the Middle East. A banking executive from Europe. A woman who controlled half of Africa’s diamond trade.

These weren’t just rich people. These were the people who controlled the world. Harrison sat at the head of the table, calm and untouchable.

The only empty chair was directly beside him. Julius took the seat next to Harrison. The moment he did, the room’s weight crushed down.

This was real power. The kind that didn’t need to be announced. It just existed, heavy and undeniable.

The meeting began. They discussed trade routes and political movements. When Harrison mentioned expanding operations, Julius cut him off mid-sentence.

"That won’t work. You’d be better off consolidating existing operations in stable territories." The entire room froze. People stared at Julius like he’d lost his mind.

No one interrupted Harrison. Ever. But Julius acted like it was perfectly normal.

Harrison remained calm outside. But inside, he smiled. Look at him. Fearless. Angry. Perfect. That’s my Alpha.

The meeting continued for another hour. Finally, Harrison stood. "That concludes today’s meeting. Thank you all."

One by one, people stood and left. Within minutes, the room was empty. Except for Julius and Harrison.

Julius stayed in his seat, staring at the table. Harrison stood. He walked around the table until he was standing behind Julius.

"Mr. Vane," Harrison said calmly. "Do you need something? Or are you waiting for something?" Julius didn’t answer.

His hands clenched into fists. After several seconds, Julius stood. He pushed his chair back and turned toward the door.

But Harrison’s hand shot out. His fingers wrapped around Julius’s waist and pulled him back hard. Julius lost his balance.

Before he could react, Harrison sat down and pulled him onto his lap. "What—" Julius started, but Harrison’s arm locked around his waist.

"Why are you angry?" Harrison asked calmly. Julius didn’t answer. He stared ahead, tense.

Harrison waited. "Answer me. Why are you angry?" Still nothing.

Harrison grabbed Julius’s wrist and bit down on the soft skin. Not hard enough to break skin, but hard enough to mark.

Julius jerked. "Are you crazy? What are you? A vampire?" Harrison released his wrist. "Why are you angry?"

Julius snapped. "Why am I angry?" His voice came out harsh. "I called you this morning. I messaged you. No response. Nothing."

"I sat there like a fool, thinking maybe you were still sleeping. Maybe something was wrong." He tried to pull away, but Harrison’s hold strengthened.

"But the moment I walked into this room, I saw you sitting there. Perfectly fine. Like nothing happened."

Harrison’s expression didn’t change. "I didn’t check my phone because it was the first time you called me." Julius’s eyes turned to ice.

"Is that supposed to be an excuse?" "It’s the truth."

Julius shoved against Harrison’s chest. "Let me go." "No." "I said let go."

Harrison didn’t budge. "Why do you care if I’m angry? You clearly don’t care about anything I do."

"I care," Harrison said quietly. Julius let out a bitter laugh. "You care? You—"

Harrison cut him off by pulling him closer and kissing him. Julius froze. For half a second, his mind went blank.

Then his body betrayed him completely. Instead of pushing away, his hands fisted in Harrison’s shirt and pulled him closer.

The kiss deepened. Harrison’s hand moved to the back of Julius’s neck, holding him there. His fingers tangled in Julius’s hair.

Julius hated that he kissed back. Hated that his mouth opened under Harrison’s. Hated that heat spread through his chest and down to his stomach.

Hated that when Harrison’s tongue swept into his mouth, he didn’t pull away.

Harrison’s other hand slid up Julius’s spine, firm and possessive. The touch sent shivers down his back.

Julius made a sound he didn’t mean to make.

Harrison pulled him even closer until there was no space left. Julius could feel Harrison’s heartbeat against his chest.

Could feel the heat of his body. Could taste him.

And god help him, he wanted more. That thought snapped him back to reality.

Julius pushed Harrison back with both hands, breaking the kiss. He was breathing hard. His lips felt swollen.

His hands were shaking. He could still taste Harrison on his tongue.

"Are you out of your mind?" His voice came out rough. "What the hell are you doing?"

Harrison was breathing just as hard.

"Why are you pushing me away?" "Because you’re insane!" Julius tried to stand, but Harrison’s grip held him down.

"Let go of me." "No." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Julius grabbed the front of Harrison’s shirt with both hands. They were inches apart, both refusing to back down.

"You don’t get to do this," Julius said, his voice low and dangerous. "You don’t get to play with me like this."

Harrison’s eyes stayed locked on his. "I’m not playing." "Then what is this?"

Harrison didn’t answer. He just held Julius there.

This was wrong. His body refused to listen. Every instinct told him to fight back, but he couldn’t move.

But something deeper held him frozen.

He was an Alpha. A man who had built an empire. A man who controlled everything.

But sitting here, on Harrison’s lap, with Harrison’s eyes burning into his and the taste of him still on his lips... he felt something shift.

He didn’t like it.

Then Harrison released him. Julius stood immediately, putting distance between them.

He turned and walked toward the door without looking back.

This time, Harrison didn’t stop him.

Julius didn’t stop walking after he left the room. The door had barely closed behind him, but his chest was still tight.

He couldn’t breathe right. His lips burned.

He pressed his fingers against them. It didn’t help. Made it worse, actually.

He exhaled and kept moving. Too fast. Like he couldn’t slow down.

Like if he slowed down for even a second, something would catch up to him.

Something already had. His jaw clenched. What the hell was that?

The question looped in his head, over and over. But it didn’t come with an answer.

Just heat. Just that same damn feeling sitting low in his chest, refusing to go away.

He stopped suddenly. His hand came up to his mouth again before he could stop himself.

"...damn it."

He dropped his hand like it burned him. That wasn’t supposed to happen.

He was supposed to push Harrison away. He knew that. He did push him away.

So why—

His fingers curled into a fist. Why did he kiss back?

The way he didn’t hesitate. The way his body had responded like it wasn’t even a choice.

His chest constricted. "That was a mistake."

The words came out low, firm. They didn’t feel convincing.

He scoffed under his breath and started walking again, slower this time.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

Julius froze for some seconds before pulling it out. Unknown number.

His eyes narrowed before he answered. "Speak."

"Mr. Vane." The voice on the other end was calm. Unfamiliar.

Julius’s expression didn’t change. "Who is this?"

"You just left our meeting." Silence.

His grip on the phone locked. "I’m listening."

"We need a follow-up. Private. Separate from today’s agenda."

Something felt wrong. That wasn’t protocol.

"About what?" "Not over the phone. Location will be sent within the hour. Come alone."

The line went dead.

Julius lowered the phone slowly. Of course. Of course something else had to happen right now.

He dragged a hand over his face.

"Fine."

If the world wanted to keep pushing—

He’d push back harder.

He turned, already moving toward the exit.

But for a second—

His steps slowed.

His fingers brushed his lips again. Then his face went cold.

"...this isn’t over."