Chapter 266 Do you think your bankrupt little pack would get a single investor?

Chapter 266: Chapter 266 Do you think your bankrupt little pack would get a single investor?

Aria’s POV

I hesitated, suddenly aware of how intently he was looking at me. Not in a predatory way, exactly, but... focused. Like he was trying to place me.

"I don’t think so," I said carefully. "This is my first industry summit."

Julian’s assistant murmured something to him, and he blinked, then offered an apologetic smile. "Forgive me. It’s just... I have this strange sense of familiarity when I look at you. Like we’ve crossed paths before."

I’d heard that line a hundred times at events like this. It was usually a precursor to some weak attempt at flirting.

But something about the way Julian said it felt... different. There was genuine confusion in his expression, like he couldn’t quite figure out why I seemed familiar.

But I wasn’t about to make it awkward. I offered him an easy smile. "Well, maybe that means we’re meant to work together. I actually feel the same way—you seem very approachable, Alpha Cross."

Julian seized the opportunity. "In that case, would you be free for dinner after the summit? I’d love to continue our conversation in a more relaxed setting."

I flicked a glance at my assistant, who immediately stepped in.

"Alpha Cross, I’m afraid Miss Smith’s schedule is fully booked for the rest of the day—"

I raised a hand, cutting her off gently. My gaze returned to Julian. "How long are you staying in the city, Alpha Cross? If you’re around for a while, perhaps I could take you out instead. Once my schedule clears up."

"I’m only here for the summit, unfortunately," Julian replied smoothly, clearly reading between the lines. "I leave tomorrow. But I’ll be back in the city soon for other business. When I do, I’ll hold you to that promise, Miss Smith. I hope you’ll honor me with your company."

"Of course."

I kept my tone light, professional, courteous. But inside, I was already calculating how to gracefully dodge any follow-up.

Julian was well-connected, and Sentinel was a valuable potential partner. But I wasn’t here to make friends. I was here to rebuild my father’s empire and prove that I wasn’t the liability everyone assumed I was.

After wrapping up the conversation, I excused myself and slipped out through the private corridor reserved for VIP guests.

The moment I stepped into the quiet hallway, I felt the tension drain from my shoulders.

My skin still tingled faintly from this morning. Damian’s scent—cedar and lavender—clung to me like a second skin, faint but unmistakable to anyone with a sharp enough nose.

I wondered if Julian had noticed.

Werewolves had a keen sense of smell. If he’d caught even a trace of Damian’s scent on me, he would’ve known immediately that I wasn’t just some untethered human playing at corporate politics.

I was under the protection of the Alpha King.

And that changed everything.

---

Author’s POV

Julian Cross stood frozen, his gaze lingering on the corridor where Aria Smith had just disappeared. Something about her presence had left him unsettled—a nagging familiarity he couldn’t quite place.

His friend beside him noticed and clapped him on the shoulder with a knowing grin. "Julian, I know Miss Smith is stunning, but I’m warning you—she’s already taken."

"Oh?" Julian’s lips curved into a faint smile, though his eyes never left Aria’s back.

"Damian Blackwood. The Alpha King himself," his friend continued, lowering his voice. "Word is, he’s kept her close. Very close."

The Blackwood name hadn’t crossed Julian’s radar in relation to any woman in years. The Alpha King was notoriously unattached, his lack of a fated mate the subject of endless speculation across packs.

*So that’s how it is.*

Julian blinked, refocusing as his wolf stirred restlessly in his mind.

*’That scent on her,’* his wolf growled low, insistent. *’Cedar and lavender. Fresh. Recent.’*

*I know,* Julian replied internally, his jaw tightening.

*’She’s been marked. Not fully, but... claimed. By someone powerful.’*

*I said I know.*

His wolf fell silent, but the unease lingered. Julian had an excellent memory for faces, for scents, for connections. And yet something about Aria Smith felt impossibly familiar in a way that shouldn’t make sense.

He pulled out his phone, intending to save her contact information, when he noticed several missed calls from Clara.

By the time he stepped outside to find her, she was already gone from the lobby.

Julian immediately dialed Clara’s number. "Where are you?"

"I’m at the coffee shop across the street," Clara’s voice came through, tight and controlled.

"I’m sorry, I had my phone on silent. Did something happen?"

"The entrance was closed when I got there. They wouldn’t let me in."

There was disappointment in her tone, carefully restrained. Clara knew better than to complain outright, but Julian could hear it anyway.

She wanted to ask why he hadn’t intervened. Why he’d let her miss such a prime networking opportunity.

But she didn’t dare.

Julian exhaled slowly. "The project files are with me anyway. You didn’t miss anything critical."

*Liar,* his wolf muttered.

*Shut up.*

"I’ll be right there," Julian said, ending the call.

But even as he left the summit venue, his thoughts circled back to Aria Smith.

To the way she’d held herself. The precision in her speech. The faint, unmistakable scent of the Alpha King clinging to her skin.

*She’s human,* his wolf observed quietly.

*I know.*

*And his scent is all over her. That’s not an accident*

Julian’s fingers tightened around his phone.

Yes. He’d caught it the moment she walked past him.

It made no sense. Alpha Kings didn’t claim humans — not as mates, and certainly not as Lunas. A human queen, ruling beside the most powerful wolf alive? It went against everything Julian had been taught about lineage, strength, pack law.

So why her?

Aria Smith wasn’t just another business contact.

She might already be the reason the Alpha King was about to break every rule his kind had ever lived by.

And Julian had just made himself very, very interested.