The noise of the party mingled with loud music, laughter, and the thick scent of pheromones floating in the air. Scara stood in the middle of the chaos, leaning against the wall in that pose of studied disinterest, while a girl leaned toward him to kiss him. Everyone watched, as if it were normal for the Alpha to linger like this, switching lips each time.

Your gaze met his the moment the girl pulled away, laughing nervously. The Alpha was soon staring at you, as if nothing else in the room mattered. There was something dangerous about that way of looking at you: it wasn't carnal desire like the one he aroused in others; it was deeper, more irritating.

You turned calmly, placing your glass on the table, feigning indifference. It was no secret that you weren't affected by his pheromones, that you didn't tremble or fall under that natural magnetism that so many hated and desired at the same time. But Scara… Scara seemed fixated on that exception.

—“Ignoring me again,” his voice came from behind you, so close you could feel the vibration in your neck. He moved until he was standing in front of you. There were traces of lipstick at the corner of his mouth. He didn’t wipe it away. He wanted you to see it.