Chapter 42: Priority

Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Priority

As Caesar strode toward the hotel exit, his gaze drifted to the tinted bronze mirror panels lining the lobby walls. He wasn’t admiring his own reflection—though, objectively, it was a very good reflection—he was scanning the space behind him out of habit. Alpha instincts. Paranoia. The usual.

And that’s when he saw her.

A woman. Running. In their direction.

She looked... familiar.

His eyes narrowed. His brain, which had survived battles, political intrigue, and one very traumatizing night in a certain she-wolf’s bedroom, began to piece together fragments of recognition.

Wait.

No.

It couldn’t be.

That was... her?

That was the crazy naked girl who had slept while groping her own breasts.

Who had sexually harassed him in her sleep.

Who had traumatized him so badly that he still flinched every time he saw a meat bun.

Who had made him question every life choice that had led him to that moment.

Caesar’s soul left his body for exactly 0.3 seconds before slamming back into his flesh with a vengeance.

If she was here—if she was staying in the human city instead of returning to her pack—then all their entire plan would collapse like a house of cards in a hurricane!!

They had plans. Specific plans. They were supposed to secretly head to Crimson Crest Pack this afternoon. Then, when night fell, they were going to kidnap her again. Drag her back to their territory. Interrogate her. Figure out what the hell she was.

But she was here. Not where she was supposed to be.

Caesar stopped walking. He turned around fully, his eyes narrowing further as he tried to confirm the identity of the approaching blur of movement.

However—

Just like a cheesy drama, just like a ridiculous cliché scene that would make any screenwriter roll their eyes into the back of their skull—

A man stepped directly in front of Azura.

A tall man. Broad back. Expensive suit.

He grabbed her wrist. Pulled her close. Blocked Caesar’s view completely.

And to make matters worse—

That man was an Alpha.

Caesar could smell it from here. The arrogance. The dominance. The territorial energy radiating off him like cologne.

Who the hell is this guy?!

Caesar’s eye twitched.

"Caesar. What’s wrong?"

Caelian’s voice came from beside him, curious and slightly amused. The youngest triplet had noticed his brother’s sudden stop, his frozen posture, the way he was staring at a random couple like they had personally offended him.

Caesar stared at the couple for another long moment. Then he turned away.

"...Thought I saw someone I know. " he muttered. "But maybe I was mistaken."

Oliver let out a low chuckle from behind him.

"Alpha, those are the cliché lines that characters in dramas always say. And it always turns out they weren’t wrong. That person really WAS the one they meant."

Caesar shot him a flat look. "It seems impossible. The odds of a coincidence like this are very slim."

"Who exactly are you talking about—"

"Alpha Caesar. Oliver."

Noah’s sharp whisper cut through their conversation like a blade. The gamma gestured frantically with his eyes toward the front of their group.

"Alpha Kyler just glanced at you."

Caesar’s spine snapped straight. Oliver’s mouth clicked shut. Even Caelian suddenly found the ceiling incredibly interesting.

Nobody wanted to annoy Kyler Blackwood. Nobody.

So Caesar dropped the subject. He turned forward. He walked. He did not look back.

Within moments, the Blackwood group had exited the hotel and arrived at the porte-cochère, where the crisp air hit their faces. They stood in a loose formation, waiting for their cars to arrive, the distant hum of the city filling the silence.

Caesar’s jaw was tight. His eyes flickered toward the hotel entrance once, just once.

It couldn’t be her.

Could it?

--

Azura had a plan. A simple, elegant, foolproof plan.

Step one: Walk casually toward the Blackwood family.

Step two: Blend in with the crowd.

Step three: Follow them discreetly to their destination.

Step four: Ensure they never, ever step foot near Crimson Crest Pack.

It was beautiful. It was flawless. It was working perfectly.

Until it wasn’t.

Because just as she closed the distance—just as she was about to become the world’s most undercover stalker—a hand shot out from her blind spot and clamped around her wrist like she was a runaway balloon.

She was yanked so hard that her feet actually left the ground for a split second. When she landed, she found herself chest-to-chest with Adrian, whose face was scrunched up in an expression of pure, unfiltered concern—the kind of face a man makes when he finds his girlfriend chasing after a group of apex predators like they were a food truck offering free samples.

"Azura." His voice was strained. "What are you doing? Why are you chasing the Blackwood family? Do you have any idea how dangerous they are?"

He narrowed his eyes, suspicion dripping from every syllable.

"Don’t tell me... you’re going to stalk them. Like those crazy women we just saw being dragged out of the lobby."

Azura’s brain short-circuited.

She wanted to be angry. She really did. She wanted to shake him off and sprint after the Blackwoods like an Olympic athlete chasing a gold medal.

But she couldn’t get mad at Adrian. Because he looked like a worried golden retriever who had just seen its owner run toward a busy highway.

So instead, she let out an awkward, strangled laugh and patted his shoulder with her free hand—the one he wasn’t currently holding hostage.

"Stalk them?? Me?? Adrian, do I look like a stalker to you?"

Adrian stared at her.

"Okay, don’t answer that," she said quickly. "My only hobby right now is stalking my sister to show my love and repentance! That’s completely different! That’s FAMILY bonding! The Blackwood family is not my family! I don’t want to bond with them! They have too many muscles and not enough emotional availability!"

Adrian’s expression did not change. He simply blinked.

"...That was oddly specific."

"It was NOT specific! It was just words! Normal words!"

Azura’s internal panic meter was climbing rapidly. Through the glass doors, she could see the Blackwood family already exiting the hotel. They were walking toward the porte-cochère. If she lost sight of them now, something terrible would happen.

Probably.

Definitely.

The first meeting between the male and female leads would happen without her interference, and then the plot would spiral into chaos like a dropped plate of spaghetti.

No. NO. She had to go.

"Adrian, listen to me very carefully," she said, her voice suddenly serious. "I need to leave right now. My friend is waiting for me outside. She brought a surprise gift that I had prepared for you."

Adrian’s eyebrows shot up. "A surprise gift? For me?"

"Yes! A surprise gift! Which you have now RUINED because I just told you about it! So you owe me! Let me go so I can retrieve it before my friend leaves, and you can wait here like a good, patient boyfriend who didn’t just sabotage his own surprise!"

Adrian blinked.

Then his expression shifted. His eyes widened. His grip loosened.

"You... you’re not angry?" he whispered.

Azura froze. "...what?"

"That I..." He swallowed. "That I... three days ago..."

Azura’s brain produced only question marks. A whole garden of them. Blooming in confusion.

But before she could ask, Adrian pulled her into a tight hug.

"You’re not angry," he murmured into her hair. "Good. You can be angry that I didn’t tell you myself. But don’t be angry about why I did it. Please."

Azura stood there, stiff as a board, with a single thought echoing through her mind:

What the hell is he talking about.

The hug broke. Adrian pushed her gently toward the exit, a small, relieved smile on his face.

"Okay, okay. You can go now. I’ll be waiting."

Azura didn’t wait for him to change his mind.

She bolted out of the hotel like a bat out of hell, her mind racing with questions, suspicions, and the terrifying realization that she had just forgiven him for something she had no knowledge of him doing.

But, well...

No time to unpack whatever cryptic confession he had just dropped. She had a plot to intercept, a sister to protect, and a quartet of dangerously handsome werewolves to stalk.

Priorities.