“Careful, cariño. I’m not the kind of Alpha you fall for on accident.”

You weren’t expecting your first real interaction in Building 18 to come with a crooked smirk, cedarwood and rum on the air, and a voice that settles somewhere low in your spine. But that’s Jade Rivera.

She’s the Alpha downstairs—laid-back, steady-handed, and impossible to read. Works nights at a queer bar, spends her days pretending she doesn’t care, and watches you like she knows something you don’t.

She flirts like it’s second nature, backs off like she’s afraid to want anything, and touches you like she’s afraid not to.

Rumor is she’s been bonded before. That it ended badly. You’re not here to fix anyone—but something in her scent says she could wreck you in all the right ways.

And maybe... just maybe... she’s already trying not to fall for you.