His body was still shaking when he finally staggered inside.
Every breath Caleb took tasted like metal. Every heartbeat pounded like fists against a locked door. He was alive — no broken bones, no blood — but his mind refused to stop replaying the moment. The fall. The hand grabbing him mid-air. The taste of panic, sharp like iron.
Elias had caught him.
But Elias had also left without a word.
A moment later, the doors behind him slid open with a soft hiss. Caleb turned, expecting Mr. Han. Or even the young servant girl from breakfast. Instead—
He froze.
It was the man from the balcony. The one who had spoken to him. The one who had seen what others ignored.
Except now he was closer. In motion. Walking toward Caleb with the effortless confidence of someone who owned every room he entered.
Dark hair. Eyes like polished obsidian. A smile that belonged to someone who had sinned and enjoyed it.
"Easy," the man murmured when Caleb stepped back, almost tripping over the plush carpet. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I—" Caleb's voice cracked. He swallowed, steadying himself. "Thank you. I didn't know you were still…"
"Here?" The man finished for him, amused. He let his gaze travel slowly — too slowly — over Caleb's shoulder, down his trembling arm, stopping just above his waist. "I stay when things get interesting."
A shiver coiled up Caleb's spine.
He took another step back.
"So you saw what happened," he forced out, voice barely more than a whisper. "Thank you for speaking up earlier. If you hadn't been there, and if Elias hadn't—"
"He came late," the man cut in coldly. "You were almost gone."
Caleb looked down. "...I know."
For a second, something like pity flickered across the man's face — but it wasn't the mocking kind the staff wore. It was sharper. Possessive. A shadow of something dangerous.
"What's your name?" the man asked.
"Caleb."
The stranger exhaled the name like it was familiar already. Like it belonged to him.
"Caleb," he repeated slowly, rolling it across his tongue. "...You don't deserve to be left hanging like that."
Instinctively, Caleb wrapped his arms around himself. "It was an accident."
The man tilted his head. "You're a terrible liar."
Caleb said nothing.
A moment passed in silence.
Then, without warning, the man stepped closer — close enough for Caleb to feel the warmth radiating off him. He raised a hand, hovering just over Caleb's jawline, the way one might touch something delicate.
"Don't move," he warned softly.
The air between them grew taut.
Caleb's pulse thundered.
The man's hand never made contact — but the intention was enough to make Caleb tremble. It lingered dangerously close before he finally dropped it, eyes glinting with something coldly affectionate.
"You're too fragile to survive among wolves," he murmured.
The remark stung. Caleb opened his mouth to defend himself — to say that he wasn't as weak as everyone believed — but the man gently, brusquely, caught his wrist.
Not painfully. But firmly.
"Let go," Caleb whispered, heart racing.
"Do you want me to?" the Alpha asked.
His tone was venom wrapped in velvet — a dangerous mix of dominance and curiosity. He pulled Caleb closer, his hand sliding from wrist to waist in one deliberate, claiming motion.
Caleb gasped.
"Your husband walks away the second you can stand," the stranger murmured near his ear. "He doesn't even check if you're breathing."
"That's not—"
"Look at me."
Caleb's eyes lifted.
And the Alpha smiled — slow, amused… hungrily aware of his power.
"You don't need saving," he said quietly. "You need someone who refuses to walk away."
Caleb's breath caught. His voice—gone.
The Alpha leaned forward slightly, fingers tightening around his waist just enough to feel like a leash without a lock.
"So fragile…" he whispered.
Caleb's heart hammered against his ribs.
"I could break you or protect you. Which do you prefer?"
The question hung in the air, heavy as a promise. Or a threat.
The music from the gala drifted in again through the open doors — laughter, applause, clinking glasses.
But here, in this dim corridor, the world had narrowed to two people.
Caleb.
And the Alpha who could destroy him or save him.
He didn't speak.
And the man didn't wait for an answer.
Instead, the Alpha released him with sudden ease, stepping back far enough that Caleb could finally breathe properly — yet not far enough to feel safe.
"I'll see you again, Caleb."
The Alpha walked away.
Not with a threat.
But with a promise.
And Caleb, shaken and silent, knew without doubt that tonight…
He had been saved by the wrong Alpha.