“That’s not very hospitable,” Carson says as if discussing the weather, stepping inside without invitation.
I back away as he closes the door behind him with a finalizing click. My spine collides with the desk, papers scattering to the floor.
Carson’s nostrils flare, taking in my pheromones, drenched in fear and adrenaline that no amount of control can mask.
“You missed an important event tonight.” He adjusts his cuffs, the gold links catching the lamplight. “The board asked after you.”
The hotel room shrinks around us, with Carson standing between me and the exit, his posture relaxed, but he tracks my every movement.
“I told you I wouldn’t attend.”
Carson smiles without warmth. “And I told you there would be consequences.”
He moves farther into the room with deliberate steps, each footfall measured. His cherries-and-iron scent fills the air, suppressing my cedar notes, dominating the space.
“You always did struggle with understanding your place.” Carson runs a finger along the desk, inspecting nonexistent dust. “At Westbrook. Here at Pinecrest. In the natural order of things.”
The tight set of his jaw gives away the rage boiling beneath the surface as he lifts a framed photo of Quinn with Sprinkles from my nightstand, both looking at the camera with identical expressions of trust.
“Such a responsibility.” Carson studies the image with his head cocked, as if he can’t understand why I have it, before returning it to its place with exaggerated care. “A child’s future in your hands.”
My back presses harder against the desk, the edge digging into my spine. “Leave Quinn out of this.”
Carson turns to me, a curl of cold amusement tugging at his lips. “If only you had the power to make that demand.”
He unbuttons his suit jacket, revealing a mauve waistcoat, and settles into the desk chair as if we’re having a pleasant business meeting. His fingers steeple beneath his chin, elbows resting on the armrests in a posture of complete control.
“When I extended the invitation to attend the faculty function, it wasn’t a request.” He speaks with the measured calm of a teacher explaining a simple concept to a struggling student. “It was an opportunity for you to demonstrate your understanding of appropriate boundaries and hierarchies.”
I shift from one foot to the other, calculating the distance to the door.
Carson’s head tilts, a predator studying prey. “Don’t. We both know how that will end.”
His certainty freezes me in place.
“Your absence tonight was noted by everyone who matters.” Carson continues. “The board chairman. The parent committee representatives. The donors whose children attend classes where you substitute teach.”
He crosses one leg over the other, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from his trousers.
“Your text declining my invitation displayed remarkable disrespect.” Carson examines his manicured nails. “Not only to me, but to the institution that employs you.”
He stands in one fluid motion, closing the distance in two long strides. I try to move sideways, but the narrow space between the desk and the wall traps me.
“I have invested considerable time in managing your integration at Pinecrest,” he says, close enough for the expensive scotch on his breath to wash over me. “Smoothing ruffled feathers when your size and manner disturb parents’ expectations of Omega behavior. Explaining away your…irregularities.”
His hand rises toward my cheek, and I flinch backward, colliding with the wall. Carson purrs at my reaction, letting his hand drop to straighten his tie instead.
“Did you imagine I wouldn’t find you?” Genuine curiosity colors the question. “That changing hotels would provide some protection?”
I’d switched hotels three days ago, paying in cash. I hadn’t even alerted the Wright Pack that I was moving.
“How did you?—”
“Pinecrest isn’t that big.” Carson shakes his head, disappointment evident. “And you stand out, my Omega.”
He leans down to inhale my pheromones and rumbles at the fear he finds.
“The Wright Pack can’t protect you,” Carson murmurs, reading my thoughts with uncomfortable accuracy. “Your over-muscled Alpha girlfriend can’t protect you. This pathetic attempt at independence can’t protect you.”