The Alpha Behind The Mask-Chapter 54: Ignoring Me

Aurora’s POV

​I kept staring at my phone, hoping to see a notification from Raymond. My heart would jump every time the screen lit up, but it was never him. I felt like a fool. I was acting like a girl who had a one-night stand and was now being ghosted.

​By 3:00 PM, I was packing my things. I saw Alpha Oliver walk out of his office. My breath caught; I thought he would finally speak to me. He walked straight toward my desk. For a second, I thought he would stop. Instead, he passed me without even glancing in my direction. It was as if I didn’t exist.

​I sat there, feeling my heart sink. What had happened? We were okay until that night we kissed. My eyes widened as the realization hit me. He probably remembered and regretted it. He was likely angry that he had lost control and kissed his secretary, and now he was punishing me with silence instead of just talking about it.

​Suddenly, my phone buzzed. My heart did a somersault. Raymond? I grabbed it quickly, but my face fell. It wasn’t him. It was a notification about my overdue loan. The red text on the screen felt like a slap. My mood turned sour instantly. I shoved the phone into my bag and left. I couldn’t be in this building for another second.

​When I got home, the silence of my apartment felt heavy. I immediately turned on the news, my hands shaking. I expected to see a reporter standing in that dark alley, talking about the body of the man I had killed. I waited for my face to appear on the screen as a "wanted" criminal. But there was nothing. No news, no police reports, nothing. Raymond really had made it all disappear.

​I scrolled through my call log, my thumb hovering over Raymond’s name. I wanted to call him. I wanted to hear his voice, to thank him for last night, but I held back. I couldn’t be that desperate.

​The clock ticked toward the evening. I couldn’t sit in the house with my thoughts anymore. I stood up and started to get ready for my shift at the club. I put on my uniform, careful to wrap my scarf tightly to hide the marks Raymond had left on my neck.

​When I arrived, the club was pulsing with the usual heavy bass and dimmed neon lights, but everything felt muffled to me. As soon as I walked in, Cara caught my eye. She paused, a tray of empty glasses in her hand, and frowned.

​"Aurora? You look like you haven’t slept in a week. Are you okay?" she asked, her voice raised to be heard over the music.

​"I’m fine, Cara. Just a long day," I lied, forcing a small smile.

​"If you say so. See ya at the break," she said, giving me a skeptical look before heading to the other bar stand.

​I started my shift, my hands moving on autopilot as I served the Doms. I couldn’t concentrate. My mind was a mess of Alpha Oliver’s coldness and the stinging heat of the spanks from last night from Dom Raymond. Several men threw advances at me, leaning over the bar with hungry eyes and suggestive comments, but I ignored them all. My eyes were glued to the entrance. I was looking for him. I was aching for him.

​And then, I saw him.

​My heart rate spiked so fast I felt dizzy. He walked in with that same predatory grace, his presence commanding the entire room without saying a word. I could recognize him instantly even with the mask that covered his face. I recognized him because he was built differently. In this city, no one had that kind of power in their frame. No one except him and Alpha Oliver.

​I stood frozen, a glass halfway to being filled, waiting for him to look at me. I expected him to come to the bar, or at least give me a sign that last night meant something.

​But he didn’t even look my way.

​Instead, he walked straight to a corner couch. Before he could even settle in, a beautiful blonde submissive, the one I’d seen him with before, practically purred as she sank onto his lap. My breath hitched as he wrapped his large, familiar hand around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest.

​The sight was like a physical blow to my stomach. Last night, those hands were pinning my wrists. Last night, that mouth was marking my skin. Now, he was acting like I didn’t even exist. I felt a hot, stinging prickle of tears behind my eyes and a surge of pure, raw jealousy that I wasn’t prepared for.

​"You look like you need a drink of your own, sweetheart. Or maybe just a distraction."

​I turned. It was a Dom named Grey. He was older, arrogant, and had been trying to get me into a private room for months. Usually, I felt disgusted by his gaze, but tonight, I was bleeding from the inside out.

​"Maybe I do," I whispered, my voice trembling.

​Grey’s eyes lit up with predatory hunger. He reached out, his hand sliding over the bar to grip my waist, pulling me closer until I was pressed against the mahogany. I didn’t pull away. Instead, I tilted my head, exposing the line of my throat, though my scarf still stood as a barrier.

​"You’ve been playing hard to get for too long, Aurora," Grey growled, his hand tightening, his thumb digging into my hip.

​I didn’t look at Grey. I looked past him. I looked straight at the corner couch.

​For a second, Raymond didn’t react. Then his head turned slowly in our direction. Even behind that mask, I could feel the sudden, violent shift in the air. The blonde girl said something to him, laughing, but he didn’t respond. He went completely still.

​Grey, oblivious to the death warrant he was signing, leaned in closer, his breath hot on my ear. "Come to the back with me. I’ll show you what a real man does with a girl like you."

​A masked man suddenly appeared behind Dom Grey. He had fiery red hair, slicked back, and his build was so similar to Oliver’s, strong, broad, and intimidating, that for a split second, my heart stopped.

​"Alpha Oliver?" I whispered, my heart hammering against my ribs.

​He scoffed, a dark, mocking sound that made my skin crawl. "Really?"

​He reached up and ripped the mask from his face. My eyes widened, and I felt my stomach drop into my shoes. It wasn’t Oliver. The hair was redder and his eyes were a piercing green.

​It was Alpha Oscar.

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