"It’s such an honour to have you here, Alpha Sokolov." A man in his forties squeezed past the crowd and came to a stop in front of him. "I am Atlas. The CEO of a real estate company. If you ever need to buy a home in the human settlement, you can tell me."
Killian hardly acknowledged the man when two women walked past the crowd.
"Serina, chief of the hospital. We have excellent facilities. Should you ever need any kind of medical help, we are willing to do anything beyond our own abilities..."
"I am Bella—the head of the police department of this city. If you need my help, just let me know. Our enforcers can trace anything or anyone as long as we have their scent."
Killian peeled his upper lip back. "What if there is no scent to trace?"
The woman’s face turned awkward. "That... then it will be a bit difficult."
"Then why would I need your help?" Killian arched a brow. "If there was a scent, then I would have traced the person down on my own. Not like I wouldn’t be able to trace them. Since there is nothing that can be hidden from me."
Bella’s face turned pale. "I —I see, Alpha Sokolov."
She exchanged a look with the woman who came along with her, and then the two of them scampered together.
Finn stepped close to him; he had been looking around the ballroom in his own way, by charming the ladies with his gentlemanly charm. His expression was calm and collected, but the flickering of his eyes proved that he was taking in everything that was happening around them. "There is a patio right behind this ballroom. Would you like to check it out? Countless roses are blooming in the garden facing the patio. I believe you would like it."
Killian didn’t mind following his suggestion. At this moment, he was grateful for the smallest reprieve while others stared at him as if he were a two-headed monkey. A rare breed that they were taking delight in while watching. The patio stretched along the back of the ballroom, overlooking a beautiful, well-maintained rose garden. Subtle fairy lights and hanging lamps that would have suited the garden if it were in the eighties. But overall, it still suited the garden, creating an elegant ambience.
The air was cold and icy, with winter incoming. But Killian would rather freeze himself into a popsicle rather than go back and deal with the stifling hot formality of these shifters.
"I am surprised that you haven’t cracked yet," muttered Finn. He stood beside him, and yet his voice was so low that even Killian had a hard time hearing what the man was saying. "Though I suspect that you are about to snap."
"I feel like a monkey in a zoo." Tugging on his tie, he glanced behind him and noticed how the people were still eyeing him, but there was something in their gazes which made his hackles rise. "The only reason I am playing along is because I know that they have intel on Inez." He couldn’t trace Inez’s scent because that woman was used to hiding her scent; every day, it was a new one, and he knew nothing about Scarlet. If not for Inez, he wouldn’t have bothered coming to this rotten place. Not even in his worst nightmare.
"Don’t worry; you are not the only one who is running out of patience." He nodded toward the ballroom. "I sense that these people also have some kind of motive as well. Look at their gazes; the way they look at us is as if they, too, are waiting for something." He paused and then glanced at the garden. His lips peeling back as he calmly stated, "Would you look at that, there are more than seven guards. Ten surveillance cameras on the back, and I noted that there were eight around the front perimeter when we arrived here."
"That’s a lot." Killian narrowed his eyes as he subtly looked around and counted the number of cameras. It was just as Finn said; there were too many guards who were walking around in front of the escapeways. More than guarding the space, it looked like they were there to stop people from running away. The red flags were rising so high that Killian could feel the alarm bells ringing in his ears.
And yet, like a colour-blind, lovesick fool, you are still letting them walk all over you, huffed his beast.
"Indeed, that’s a lot of security for a pack that claims that they are living in harmony with the humans. Didn’t you see the expressions on the faces of the so-called humans who were playing in the band? They were totally scared when we stepped in, given that they had no idea about Dawson being a shifter. Why were they scared? Either they know everything and Dawson has been lying, or—"
Killian narrowed his eyes. "They are not humans to begin with."
The doors to the patio swung open, Dawson stepped out with a beaming smile and together with him, he brought the air, which made his beast sneeze the heck out.
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His hackles started to rise, and he snapped at the man in front of them. Furious and annoyed to death. He tried to take over countless times, still bent on the old ways to deal with pests that annoyed him. Fortunately, Killian had always been in control of his beast. Thus, every time his beast tried to lunge to the surface, he pushed him back.
He told his beast, who only snapped at the air, annoyed and frustrated with the current situation.
Fortunately, whatever scent Dawson was wearing made his beast sneeze every time he tried to speak; thus, he didn’t even bother to say anything.
"Alpha Sokolov, I hope that we did justice to your presence?" Dawson spoke in a calm voice. Two glasses of champagne in his hands. "We didn’t expect someone of your caliber to attend our banquet. It was a real surprise. But I dare say that we balanced out things quite nicely."