The Alpha Behind The Mask-Chapter 72: The Crash

Oliver’s POV

​I watched her through narrowed eyes, savoring the way her breath hitched as I held the silk scarf in my hand.

My wolf was purring, a low, rumbling sound in the back of my mind. I knew I was the one who had put it there. But as the King, I had to play the part. I had to be the jealous Alpha—the man who couldn’t stand the thought of another male touching his property.

​"Who was he?" I growled, leaning in so close that our noses almost touched. I let my scent flare, a heavy, dominant wall of power designed to make her submissive.

​I watched her eyes widen, filled with a delicious mix of fear and defiance. She looked so small in that large leather seat, her lips still swollen from the kiss we had shared. I wanted to reach out and touch her, to pull her onto my lap and show her that the King and the man behind the mask were the same man, but I held back. Not yet.

​"You smell like him, Aurora," I hissed, my voice dropping to an angry whisper. "It’s all over you."

​She swallowed hard and tried to look away, but I grabbed her jaw—not tightly, but hard enough for her to look my way.

​"Talk, Aurora. Who is he?" I demanded, putting on the best act I could. Anyone seeing me this way would never believe I was acting. Also, this was a way to kill any thought of her thinking Raymond and I are one; I knew she was already suspecting, so I had to do something, and this was part of my plan.

​Aurora suddenly frowned and said, "It’s my boyfriend... do you have a problem with that?"

​I raised a brow, faking more anger. I knew it wasn’t that silly boyfriend of hers; it was me, but behind a mask.

​"Your boyfriend? Who the fuck is he?"

​Aurora glared at me. "My private life is none of your business."

​I scoffed and held her jaw more tightly, showing her that I was losing control. "Aurora, I am going to find him, and when I do, I will kill him."

​Aurora’s eyes widened in fear, and I let go of her jaw, settling back in the seat and picking up my tablet. Her terrified eyes were still glued on me, but I pretended not to care about it. I knew right now she was sure I and Raymond aren’t one person; I had cleared any doubt from her mind.

​"I hate you," she suddenly said.

​I lifted my eyes from the tablet, meeting her gaze head-on. The hatred burning in her eyes was so raw, so physical, that it felt like a punch to the gut. For a split second, the "King" mask slipped, and I felt a pang of genuine regret.

​Did I go too far? I wondered.

​The impulse to reach out, to pull her into my lap and whisper, "Aurora, it’s me. I’m the one who held you last night," was almost overwhelming. I wanted to tell her the truth—that the only reason I played these games was because I was terrified that if she knew who I really was, she would run. I knew how much she despised the Doms, and here I was, playing the ultimate tyrant just to keep her close.

​But before I could even open my mouth to soften the blow, the entire jet lurched violently to the side.

​The glass of water on the table slid across the polished wood, shattering against the floor. Aurora let out a sharp cry, her hands flying to the armrests of her chair as the floor beneath us tilted at a terrifying angle.

​"Oliver!" she shrieked, her face turning bone-white.

​"Calm down," I commanded, my voice steady despite the adrenaline spiking in my blood. I gripped the sides of my seat, my wolf instantly on high alert. "It’s just turbulence. Sit back."

​But it wasn’t just turbulence. The engines let out a high-pitched, screaming whine that made my ears ring, followed by a series of muffled explosions that shook the cabin to its core. I looked toward the front and saw the cabin crew scrambling, their faces tight with a fear they couldn’t hide.

​The intercom crackled to life, the pilot’s voice sounding frantic and breathless.

​"Alpha... we’ve lost both engines. Electrical systems are failing. I—I can’t stabilize the descent. We’re going down! Prepare for a hard impact!"

​The cabin lights flickered and then died, plunging us into a terrifying, dim red emergency glow. The jet began to nose-dive, the scream of the wind outside becoming deafening.

​Aurora’s breath was coming in short, panicked gasps. She looked at me, the hatred in her eyes replaced by absolute, paralyzing terror. In that moment, the games didn’t matter. The mask, the King, the lies—none of it mattered if we didn’t survive the next sixty seconds.

​I unbuckled my belt and lunged across the aisle, ignoring the way gravity tried to throw me against the ceiling. I grabbed her, pulling her out of her seat and dragging her toward the floor in the center of the cabin where the frame was strongest.

​"Look at me, Aurora!" I roared over the sound of the crashing wind. I wrapped my arms around her, shielding her body with mine, tucking her head under my chin. "I’ve got you! Don’t let go!"

​"We’re going to die!" she sobbed into my chest, her fingers clawing at my sweater.

​I tightened my grip, my wolf howling in defiance against the coming crash. Then I whispered into her ear, "Not today, Aurora. I promise you... not today."

​I tightened my grip, the cabin around us shrieking as metal groaned under the pressure of the dive. Gravity tried to rip her away from me, but I anchored her against my chest, my arms a cage of muscle and bone.

​"My brother..." she sobbed, her voice barely audible over the roar of the wind. "Oliver, my brother... who will pay for his bills? If I die, he has no one. He’ll be kicked out... he’ll die without the treatment."

​The desperation in her voice sliced through my chest. Even now, facing her death, she wasn’t thinking of herself. She was thinking of the life she was struggling to support.

​"Nothing will happen to him," I growled into her hair, my frustration boiling over. "I won’t let it. You hear me? He is safe. You are safe."

​But she wasn’t listening. The panic had taken hold, and the words poured out of her like a confession, a list of all the things the world was about to steal from her.

​"I don’t want to die," she choked out, her fingers digging so hard into my arms that I knew I’d have bruises to match the ones on her neck. "I haven’t experienced life yet... I haven’t experienced what it feels like to truly be loved. I haven’t traveled the world... I haven’t seen the things I promised myself I’d see..."

​Every word was a jagged blade in my heart. I was the Alpha King. I had all the power in the world, yet I was currently powerless to stop this metal tube from screaming toward the earth. I sat there, the "King" of nothing, listening to the woman I loved realize she might die without ever knowing she was loved back.

​I wasn’t scared of death. I had faced it a dozen times on the battlefield and behind closed doors. My life meant nothing to me in that moment. I would have traded every bit of my soul just to blink and have her safely on the ground, even if it meant I vanished into the wreckage alone.

​"You’re going to see it all," I hissed, my wolf surging, lending me a terrifying, calm strength. "You’re going to be loved so much it will scare you, Aurora. I promise you."