The Alpha Behind The Mask-Chapter 14: Meeting Cassey

Aurora’s POV

​After work, I took the elevator down to the ground floor of the packhouse, where the elite boutique was located. As I stepped through the glass doors, the chime announced my arrival, and a sales associate immediately hurried over.

​"Miss Sterling? The Alpha King called ahead. Please, this way."

Of course he did.

​I followed her, feeling small and out of place, when a sharp, melodic voice echoed through the quiet room.

​"I told you, I want the midnight lace, not the navy. The navy makes me look like a commoner, for fuck sake."

​I froze. Standing in the center of the showroom, surrounded by three frantic tailors, was Cassey. She was even more breathtaking in person. Her skin glowed, and she carried herself with the effortless arrogance of someone who knew she was the most important person in any room.

​She caught my reflection in the three-way mirror and turned around, her eyes sweeping over my cheap office skirt.

​"And who is this?" she asked, her voice dropping to a bored, condescending drawl. "I didn’t think the boutique allowed tourists."

​The sales associate cleared her throat nervously. "Miss Cassey, this is Miss Sterling. She’s Alpha Oliver’s new personal assistant. He opened his credit line for her to prepare for a business dinner."

​The air in the room suddenly felt twenty degrees colder. Cassey’s eyes narrowed, her gaze sharpening into something hateful. She walked toward me, the clicking of her designer heels sounding like a countdown. She stopped just inches from me; her perfume hung heavy in the air, sweet and suffocating.

​"The new assistant," she whispered, circling me like a predator. "And he opened his credit line for you?"

​I stiffened, my fingers curling into my palms. "I’m just here to do my job, Miss Cassey."

​She stopped in front of me and reached out, flicking a stray hair off my shoulder with a look of pure disgust. "Oliver is a man of many... appetites, girl. He likes to keep interesting pets around. But don’t mistake a leash for a crown." She leaned in, her voice a poisonous hiss against my ear. "He belongs to me. If you think a business dinner invite means you’re special, you’re more deluded than you are."

​She stepped back, flashing a bright, fake smile at the terrified sales girl. "On second thought, give her the navy. It suits her... status."

​With a final, mocking look at my shaking hands, she swept out of the boutique, leaving me standing there in the middle of the floor. I felt humiliated, but I took a deep breath and composed myself. I wasn’t going to let a woman I barely knew—no matter how beautiful or powerful—break me on my first day.

​"I’m not interested in the navy," I told the sales associate, my voice surprisingly steady. "Show me the back collection. Something... different."

​The associate looked hesitant, glancing at the door Cassey had just exited, but she knew saying no to my request was saying no to the Alpha King. She led me to a restricted rack in the back. That’s when I saw it. A floor-length, obsidian-black gown with a daring slit up the side and a neckline that was sophisticated.

​"This one," I said.

​An hour later, I stood in front of my small, cracked mirror at home. I barely recognized the woman staring back. The black gown hugged my curves perfectly, the dark fabric making my vibrant red hair pop like a flame against the night. I had applied a deep red lipstick and left my hair in soft, cascading waves over my shoulders.

​I looked elegant. I looked stunning. But inside, I was a mess of nerves.

​My phone buzzed on the bed. A text from an unsaved number: "The driver has arrived. Come out."

​My stomach did a somersault. He must have pulled my personal contact and address from my employee file. I grabbed my small clutch, took one last stabilizing breath, and walked out of my flat.

​I stepped onto the curb to see a sleek, silver Rolls-Royce idling at the entrance. The driver, a dark tall man in a suit, stepped out and opened the rear door for me. I expected to be alone in the car, perhaps driven to a restaurant to meet the king there.

​Instead, my heart stopped.

​Sitting in the shadows of the plush leather interior was Alpha Oliver. He was dressed in a black tuxedo, the white of his shirt crisp against his tan skin. He looked like every bit the lethal, powerful monarch the news described.

​"You look..." He paused, his sea-blue eyes traveling slowly from my heels up to my face, lingering on my lips. For one brief second, the cold mask slipped, replaced by a raw, hungry heat that made my skin tingle. "Adequate. Get in, Aurora."

​I slid into the seat and closed the door with shaky hands. The space was small, and the air was immediately dominated by his scent—whiskey and forest rain.

​"Thank you for the dress, Your Majesty," I murmured, keeping my eyes fixed on the window.

​"It wasn’t a gift," he rumbled, his voice low and vibrating through the seat.

​I frowned slightly but didn’t respond.

​He leaned slightly closer, and I could feel the warmth radiating from his body. "And one more thing. Cassey mentioned she ran into you today. Whatever she told you or did... forget it."

​I swallowed and nodded.

​We drove in silence, the tension between us so thick I felt like I could reach out and touch it. After a few minutes’ drive, we pulled up to the glittering entrance of the estate where the dinner was being held.

​"We’re here," he said, stepping out and extending a hand to me.

​I looked at his large, calloused hand, then up at his handsome, unreadable face. I took it, and that same electric spark from the office surged through me again. This time, I saw his jaw clench. He did feel it.

​