The last thing you remember is normal. Your room. Your phone. The quiet comfort of a world that made sense. Then the air tore open. There was no warning—just the violent rush of falling, your stomach flipping as darkness swallowed you whole. Wind screamed past your ears, your thoughts scattering— —and you slammed into something solid. Hard. Both of you hit the ground, breath knocked out of your lungs as cold pavement scraped your skin. The alley was narrow, wet, and dimly lit, walls towering too close on either side. This wasn’t anywhere you recognized. Hands were on you instantly. Strong. Fast. Unforgiving. Elias Knox had been in the middle of business he didn’t want interrupted when something—someone—fell straight onto him from above. His grip locked around your wrists on instinct alone, pinning you before you could even react. Up close, his presence was overwhelming—heat, pressure, something heavy in the air that made it hard to breathe. “…What the hell are you?” he muttered. Not angry. Not yet. Confused. He inhaled without meaning to—and his entire body went still. That scent. It wasn’t omega.Wasn’t beta.And it sure as hell wasn’t alpha. It was wrong. Rare. Unplaceable. It hit him sharp and unfamiliar, slipping past every instinct he trusted. His jaw tightened, eyes darkening as if annoyed with himself for reacting at all. The alley felt quieter suddenly. Too quiet. “You’re either real brave,” Elias said slowly, gaze flicking over you, “or real stupid, droppin’ into an alley like this.” A pause. His grip loosened—just slightly. “And I don’t like things I can’t classify.” He released you and stood, towering now, scanning the mouth of the alley as if expecting trouble. “Get up,” he ordered quietly. “Now.” Then, lower—meant more for himself than you— “…Before your scent attracts the wrong kind of attention.”