Present.
The tension was thick, as thick as smoke in a closed room. The black-haired alpha stood with his eyes slowly scanning the faces of his subordinates.
No one dared to speak; it seemed they weren't even breathing. A few minutes passed until, finally, William's voice broke the silence.
"Deimos... can you tell me... what the hell happened?"
His tone wasn't particularly loud, nor did he seem upset. But the echo of those words carried something primitive, like a shadow of authority, that forced the three subordinates to swallow as if their bodies responded on their own.
One of them, the pink-haired omega, was already on his knees, his face bent toward the ground and the back of his neck completely exposed.
"Well... it seems... it seems there was something unexpected," he began in a trembling voice, his hands clenched on his knees, unwilling to look up when the air seemed about to shatter under the weight of the gaze he felt upon him. "Miss Belion left... minutes after she entered the bakery. Some of my subordinates saw her return to her residence."
There was no immediate response from William; he simply narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. " I understand that," he said finally. His voice was softer than before but with a different edge. More dangerous. "What I don't understand is how you could mistake me... Erika... for the omega inside."
Deimos swallowed, sweat beginning to accumulate on the curve of his back.
"I don't know what to tell you, boss," he finally muttered. "I can assure you that before entering the bar... I personally saw Erika heading toward the pastry shop, and the lookout I left watching the place never saw her leave... I don't know how she managed to leave unnoticed."
William narrowed his eyes, not in anger, but in curiosity. A new gleam appeared in his pupils, somewhere between understanding and intrigue. To which he made a slight gesture with his hand, barely a permission.
"Ths... get up now. I'm not going to punish you for a decision made by my next omega."
Deimos raised his head slowly, a little surprised at first. But he didn't say anything since he knew the Aballay was a man of his word.
"This isn't a mistake," William added. "But a decision by someone you can't control."
"Thank you, Alpha," Deimos whispered, slowly rising as he lowered his gaze slightly.
Xander and Bentral stood silently to the side, choosing to remain completely still while this happened.
After one last glance at his subordinates, William turned, placed a hand on his neck, and scratched the back of his head.
"The good thing," he began in a lighter tone, "is that I've already anticipated that this could happen."
"Do you mean...?" Deimos asked, his words barely coming out, as if the echo of the previous growl still weighed on him.
William looked at him over his shoulder with a slight, almost imperceptible smile forming on his lips. Not mockery or tenderness, but something more complex. Something only he understood.
"That's right..." the alpha said calmly, interrupting the omega's thoughts. "We'll go to the only place where Erika's location is certain."
A new silence fell over the place, but this time it wasn't one of fear, but of anticipation.
.
.
.
A black limousine drove nonstop through the city, passing the streets opening up around it at a slow pace. Inside, William looked out the window, as he always did, watching the buildings pass by like shadows.
The lights from the storefronts illuminated the glass. But none of that mattered to the raven-haired man since his mind was already elsewhere.
More precisely, in the Belion sisters' home.
He knew Erika was there. He knew it because something inside him seemed to mark her exact location when she was within a certain range.
It was disconcerting. But not painful. It was as if she carried a part of herself that called to him through its own initiation.
Something the omega apparently ignored or didn't know how to sense.
But he didn't get angry. Not with her.
He had seen his face as he crossed a window in his house. He had noticed how his shoulders tensed and his pupils dilated, not from desire, but from anxiety.
"Something must have happened to one of the cubs... I won't be able to approach you yet. Not like this," he thought, sighing softly and tilting his head slightly.
Beside him, Deimos shifted in his seat, still nervous, though no longer fearing immediate retaliation. So William glanced at him briefly, but said nothing, preferring to let the silence speak for itself. This time, the important thing wasn't to punish... it was to understand.
As they passed the neighborhood where Erika lived, the vehicle stopped a block away.
William got out first, with Deimos, Xander, and Bentral following close behind, keeping a bit of distance. The air was fresh, carrying the smell of warm bread wafting from a nearby bakery.
William didn't stray far from his vehicle. He stood, watching, feeling, and thinking.
"Do you want to come in, boss?" Xander asked, unsure of what to do.
William shook his head slightly.
"No. Not today. Not like this."
"Why...?"
"The situation isn't ideal... she's too nervous for a direct meeting," he replied. Without changing anything. "We'll use a more delicate but direct method... a much clearer gift than flowers."
"But... I've never..."
"I've never needed to," he interrupted, finishing what the beta was about to say. "But with Erika... I have no choice but to dance to the beat she sets."
As his men stared at each other, William turned his gaze toward the exact spot where Erika lived. With renewed determination. "Tomorrow," he said, turning around. "Tomorrow we'll go to the bar and try again. She'll come." Now she just needs to know... that there's someone waiting for her.
Deimos nodded, speechless. Knowing that, when William spoke like that, there was no turning back. The alpha returned to his limo. He calmly closed the door as the engine started, putting the vehicle in motion.