Chapter 12. The Alpha I Don’t Know

Elena’s POV

I followed James into the elevator, my steps slow, my mind spinning. I didn’t know where we were going or why. Minutes after I’d left the kitchen, he’d knocked on my door and told me the Alpha requested my presence on the fifth floor. His private floor.

The doors slid open, and I felt it immediately.

This floor was different. The air felt heavier, colder—like I’d stepped into a space I wasn’t meant to occupy. Soft lighting lined the corridor, reflecting off polished floors that seemed to absorb sound rather than echo it. Everything here whispered control. Power. Secrecy.

What am I even doing here?

The question circled my mind as my stomach tightened into knots. My thoughts kept drifting back to the kitchen, to Eric’s words echoing unbidden in my ears. “I hope you’re ready... for us. Alone. Together.”

At the time, I’d told myself he was joking. He couldn’t possibly mean what my brain was suggesting. I’d made myself clear, after a