POV: Dante
Aurora signs.
It's a simple gesture: a hand, a pen, a line of ink. But when she looks up and our eyes meet, I know that the building has just registered something I already felt before.
Now my name and hers are on the same form. Officially, I am the first man the tower will obey if anything happens to her. It's a piece of paper. In practice, it's the human way of putting her under my name.
I put the document in the folder.
"You'll receive a copy in the mail," I say. "So you know exactly what you signed."
She nods. She's tense, but she no longer looks like she's about to run away.
"Anything else?" she asks.
Yes. A lot. Nothing I can tell you yet.
"Not today," I reply. "Go downstairs and finish Seraphim's summary. Tomorrow we'll talk about some names you need to know.
Names like Valcourt. Like Elias.
She frowns, but doesn't insist. She stands up, adjusts her clothes with an automatic gesture, and says goodbye.
When the door closes, the scent she leaves behind takes a while to dissipate. Omega. My omega, thinks one part of me. The other part stops that idea.
Not yet.
I put the folder in the safe built into the wall behind the bookcase. Fingerprint, code, lock. Protection begins with information.
Sebastian enters without announcing himself. He's the only one with that permission.
"Did she sign?" he asks.
"Yes," I reply. "The building obeys me first if anything happens to her."
"Sounds like a preliminary claim," he says, sitting down across from me.
"It's a form," I correct him.
He looks at me skeptically.
"A form that makes it clear that Aurora Vega is no longer available to anyone," he says. "That includes the Valcourts."
Just then, the intercom flashes.
"Mr. Noir," says the secretary on the fortieth floor. "Mr. Elias Valcourt has just arrived. He asks if he can see you now."
Talk about vampires.
I glance at my watch. He didn't even bother to call ahead. As usual.
"Tell him to come in," I reply.
Sebastian stands up.
"Do you want me to stay?" he asks.
"No," I say. "But stay close by."
He nods and exits through the side door that connects to the adjoining room.
Seconds later, Elias enters.
The problem with him is that he seems harmless. He smiles, moves with elegance, dresses as if he were born in a suit. His eyes, on the other hand, have that cold gleam that no human is born with.
"Dante," he greets me. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."
"If it were important, you wouldn't be here," I reply.
He laughs, as if I had told him a private joke. He sits down without waiting for an invitation.
"I've been reviewing some of the foundation's reports," he begins. "Seraphim, for example. I was struck by the performance of your new analyst. Aurora Vega, right?"
The surname on his lips sounds like an invitation and a threat.
"You have a good memory for names," I say.
"For interesting ones," he replies. "She came in on a scholarship, she's from the bottom, she works as if the building would collapse on her if she made a mistake. I love those profiles."
He's not talking about numbers. He's talking about flesh.
"What do you want, Elías?" I ask.
"Curiosity," he replies. "I thought someone like her could contribute if the foundation invited her to certain committees." Working groups, meetings... You know. Spaces where you learn quickly.
I hold his gaze.
"The committees already have enough chairs," I reply. "And my analyst has plenty of work in the tower."
"Your analyst," he repeats, savoring the word. "You sound so possessive."
I don't deny it.
"I am," I say. Especially when someone comes sniffing around where they don't belong.
His smile sharpens.
"The air on the thirty-first floor has changed since she arrived," he says. "You don't have to be very sensitive to notice it. I imagine you perceive it better than anyone."
Of course I perceive it. Every time she steps into the elevator, my instincts override any protocol.
"The air in the building changes all the time," I reply. "Renovation. Ventilation. Nothing you need to worry about."
Elías rests his elbow on the arm of the chair.
"Come on," he says. "I know an omega when I see one. And I don't usually pass up opportunities."
There it is. The word Aurora heard in my voice last night, now in his. I don't like it.
"Aurora is under my protection," I say slowly. "And under my name in the tower's system. Any approach to her without going through me will be seen as disrespectful."
"To you?" he asks. "Or to your clan?"
"Both," I reply.
He leans back, weighing his words.
"I just want to talk to her," he insists. "See if she understands what she is. Uninformed omegas tend to make... clumsy decisions."
"I'll handle any information she receives," I cut in. "She already has enough to deal with, her body changing without a manual. She doesn't need a curious vampire teaching her shortcuts."
Elias stops smiling.
The air in the room drops a degree.
"Be careful, Dante," he says. "If you cling too tightly to something, the rest will start to wonder why it's worth so much. And when they realize what you have, a form won't be enough to keep their hands off."
"When that day comes," I reply, "you will have already made your intentions clear. And you won't like mine."
We stare at each other in silence for a few seconds.
Then he stands up and adjusts his suit.
"As you wish," he says. "For now, your word that you're taking good care of her is enough for me. It would be a shame if someone else explained to her first what it means to be what she is.
He leaves without waiting for a response.
When the door closes, Sebastián comes back in.
"Problems?" he asks.
"Not yet," I reply.
I look at the safe hidden behind the bookcase.
Aurora doesn't know that today her signature closed a door to people like Elías. Nor does she know that, in doing so, she opened another one above my head.
"Let me know if Valcourt asks about her again," I add. "This time I won't take it as mere curiosity."
Sebastián nods.
The war hasn't started yet, but there's already blood on the table. Although, for now, only I can see it.