Chapter 1: the Party

Chapter 1

Maya

"You're staring again."

Emily's teasing voice reached me just as I lifted my champagne, making me tighten my grip on the glass.

"I am not."

She gave me a knowing smile before lowering her voice. I did the same without thinking. In a room full of werewolves, whispering had become second nature.

Silverman Holdings employed more than six hundred people at its New York headquarters, but only fifty of us were human. If Emily and I wanted to gossip, we had to be careful.

"I wasn't staring," I insisted.

Emily laughed anyway and followed my gaze to the center of the ballroom.

"If I weren't happily married, I'd be staring too," she admitted with a grin. "Can you blame anyone? Werewolves are already unfairly attractive, and our boss happens to be the most handsome."

She wasn't wrong.

Brian Silverman stood surrounded by investors and executives, his tailored black tuxedo only emphasizing the broad shoulders and commanding presence that came naturally to every Alpha. He wasn't smiling, yet every conversation seemed to revolve around him.

Power wasn't something Brian displayed, it was a part of him. 

Unfortunately, that wasn't why I couldn't stop looking. I'd been hopelessly in love with my boss for three years.

Emily caught the expression on my face and sighed dramatically.

"You've got it bad."

Before I could deny it, movement across the ballroom stole my attention.

Brian quietly excused himself from the group around him. As he walked toward the private executive elevators, he rubbed his temple, a gesture so subtle no one else seemed to notice.

I did.

Working as his executive assistant meant I noticed everything.

Headaches had become more frequent over the past year, usually after long meetings or events like this. I watched him disappear into the elevator before forcing myself to look away.

"There you go again," Emily teased.

"I wasn't watching him."

"Maya."

"I wasn't." She laughed softly.

"You really need to stop lying to yourself."

Maybe she was right. Or maybe after three years of managing Brian's schedule, worrying about him had simply become part of my job.

The orchestra shifted into another song while waiters moved through the crowd with silver trays of champagne. Reporters captured photographs of the city's most influential business leaders, and the annual gala carried on as though nothing in the world could interrupt it.

"Maya." I turned to find Ethan Brooks approaching through the crowd.

As Brian's Beta and closest friend, Ethan carried authority with an ease Brian never seemed to possess. He smiled more often, joked with employees, and somehow made everyone around him feel comfortable.

"Good evening, Mr. Ethan."

"I’ve told you to refer to me as just Ethan but you never listen," he joked before his expression became more serious. "I've been trying to mind-link Brian."

"And?"

"No response." My smile disappeared.

Mind-linking was one of the abilities unique to werewolves. A Beta could communicate mentally with their Alpha over short distances.

If Ethan couldn't reach Brian, something was wrong.

"He probably stepped outside," I suggested.

"I thought so too. I saw him heading for the executive floor."

"So did I."

Before either of us could say anything else, one of the board members hurried over and pulled Ethan away to meet a group of investors.

"If you see Brian first," Ethan called over his shoulder, "tell him I'm looking for him."

"I will." As Ethan disappeared into the crowd, I found myself looking toward the elevators again.

Brian had been gone longer than expected.

Emily was busy talking to another employee. The board members were occupied, and Ethan had been swallowed by investors.

No one else seemed concerned. Maybe I should check on him. Not because I was worried.

Because... if he really did have another headache, I'd know where he kept the painkillers.

That sounded professional enough. Before I could change my mind, I slipped away from the ballroom and took the executive elevator upstairs.

The doors opened onto a floor that felt like an entirely different world. The music and laughter vanished, replaced by complete silence.

Brian's office occupied the entire east wing of the executive floor.

My workstation sat directly outside his office, acting as both his reception area and the first stop for anyone hoping to meet the CEO. Every visitor, every phone call, and every meeting passed through me before it reached Brian.

Tonight, the reception area was empty.

The lights were dimmed, leaving only the glow of Manhattan filtering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. My desk looked exactly as I'd left it before the gala.

I glanced toward Brian's office. The door was closed. If he'd come upstairs to escape the crowd, he'd be inside.

I walked over and knocked lightly.

"Mr. Silverman?" No answer. Frowning, I knocked again.

"Mr. Brian?" Still nothing.

Maybe he'd fallen asleep on the lounge sofa after taking something for his headache.

Feeling slightly ridiculous for worrying so much about a man perfectly capable of taking care of himself, I turned back toward my desk.

I had barely taken two steps when a deafening crash shattered the silence.

Glass broke. Something heavy slammed into the floor.

My heart lurched.

"Mr. Brian?" Silence.

I rushed back to the office door and grabbed the handle, it was Locked.

Without hesitating, I pulled the executive access card from behind my employee badge and swiped it across the security panel.

The lock clicked. Taking a steadying breath, I pushed the door open.

The office was almost completely dark. A crystal whiskey glass lay shattered across the hardwood floor, while an expensive bottle had rolled beneath Brian's desk, its amber contents slowly spreading across the polished wood.

My eyes searched the room. Then they found him. Brian Silverman lay motionless beside his desk.

My breath caught.

"Brian!”