Chapter 95 Static in the Air

As dinner wound down, Kate and Natalie excused themselves to the restroom together.

Alpha Killian leaned back in his chair, one hand propped against his temple, eyes half-lidded, doing a pretty convincing impression of a guy who’d had way too much. His gaze slid over to Miles.

Miles caught the signal right away.

"Eira," he said, smooth as ever, "I think Alpha Killian might need a ride home. I’ll get Kate and Natalie back myself."

Out of everyone at the table, Eira had drunk the least. Her face was a little flushed, her head felt warm and pleasant, but she could still walk straight and talk just fine.

"Alpha Killian, you drunk?"

People who were actually drunk always swore up and down they weren’t.

"Not drunk," Alpha Killian said, flat.

"Yeah, that’s exactly what a drunk person says."

Miles kept his mouth shut, fighting a grin. Alpha Killian really committing to the bit.

"His tolerance is honestly terrible," Eira added under her breath, shaking her head like she felt bad for him.

Alpha Killian said nothing, just let his head loll back against the seat for effect, playing it up.

Kate and Natalie came back from the restroom right then, still laughing about something between themselves.

Miles caught Kate’s eye, tilted his head toward the door, then turned to Eira. "Hey, since he’s in no shape to get home on his own, and you’re headed that way anyway, mind taking him? I’ll drop these two off myself."

He scooped up Kate and Natalie’s bags and gifts before either of them could argue, ushering them toward the exit.

Alpha Killian stood up, movements a little loose, like he genuinely couldn’t be bothered to steady himself.

Eira rose too. "Come on. Car’s out front, right? I’ll ride with you, make sure you actually get inside."

They walked out to the car together, Eira keeping a hand near his elbow just in case. The valet had it waiting at the curb already. She bent down to help him into the back seat, and the moment she let go of his arm, his hand shot out and caught her wrist.

She looked at him, confused. "Alpha Killian?"

His eyes lifted, just slightly, locked on her face, unreadable.

"You’re divorced?"

Eira froze. Did not see that question coming.

"Caught it on your phone earlier," Alpha Killian said, plain as that.

"Yesterday," Eira answered, just as plain. "It’s final."

"Congratulations." He said it flat, no real read on it either way, then let go of her wrist and nodded her toward the car.

The driver shut the door behind both of them, climbed back up front, and raised the privacy divider.

The back seat turned into its own little sealed-off world. Above them, the ceiling glowed with tiny pinpricks of fake starlight.

Eira looked up at it.

Alpha Killian followed her gaze. "You into that?"

"Reminds me of the shelter roof," she said. "Every full moon, all the pups used to sneak up there. Real stars, no city glow drowning them out." A small pause. "Then the developers bought up half the block around us. Skyscrapers went up, lights never turned off. Couldn’t see a thing after that."

"Sounds like a rough trade."

"Yeah, well." She shrugged. "Omegas don’t exactly get a say in zoning decisions."

Alpha Killian leaned back, one arm draped over the seat, looking about as relaxed as a guy who owned the whole city block. "I’ve got a ranch. Private land, no lights for miles, wolves roam free out there most nights. Decent observatory deck too, if the view’s more your speed."

Eira glanced at him, waiting for the catch.

"It’s mine," he said, before she could ask.

"Of course it is," she muttered.

"You good to drive, or are you still feeling it?" She studied his face. Not even a hint of drunk left on him.

"Mostly good."

"So can I swing by your place tonight and grab my box? Rather not make it a whole separate trip."

Alpha Killian looked at her. Just the box, no other angle to it, no hidden ask. That was the thing about her, she never played games with him, not once, unlike every woman before her who’d tried some version of "can I come up" as a foot in the door.

Weirdly, that got under his skin more than it should have.

"Just the box?" Flat again.

"What else would there be?"

Alpha Killian went quiet for a second, eyes closed. Then he caught it, that faint floral warmth still clinging to her from dinner, the soft rustle of her shifting around next to him.

She was unwrapping something. One of the gifts from earlier.

He cracked one eye open. Eira was completely focused on the box in her lap, hadn’t noticed a thing.

Kate’s gift: silver filigree earrings, tiny pearls, catching the light. Natalie’s: ten hand creams, every scent under the sun. Miles’s: an engraved fountain pen, sleek black lacquer, easily the classiest gift of the bunch.

All solid gifts. Stuff she’d actually use.

Eira smiled to herself. She snapped a pic of the haul and posted it.

Caption: Shoutout to my coworkers, y’all didn’t have to but I appreciate it.

Replies came in hot.

Kate: wait is that a pen from Miles?? that man really said "here’s some office supplies" as his big romantic gesture

Miles: IT’S JUST A PEN. Kate I will not survive this

Natalie: Kate stop trying to get him fired

Natalie: jk. mostly.

Then Alpha Killian liked the post.

Alpha Killian was scrolling his own phone, jaw tight, mood gone somewhere dark.

Eira glanced up, confused.

"You’re up,"she said.

"Mm."

Whatever had soured his mood, she couldn’t tell. She tucked the gifts back into her bag without asking.

The car rolled up to a gate marked Number Nine, Southridge Estates. Eira packed faster now, twisting her hair up and jabbing Miles’s pen through the bun to hold it in place, some old habit from all-nighters back in the lab, barely thinking about it.

Alpha Killian’s face darkened another notch.

"Out," he said. Cold.

The car had already stopped in the circular driveway, a fountain going somewhere off to the side. Eira climbed out, feet barely on the pavement when a hand reached out and pulled the pen straight out of her hair.

It all came crashing down at once.

She spun around. Blonde hair fell across her face, half covering her eyes. Through the strands, she caught his stare.

Something flickered across his face for half a second before it smoothed back out.

She didn’t catch it.

She pushed her hair back. "What’s your problem?"

"Looks better down." Alpha Killian pocketed the pen and headed for the house.

Eira stared after him. "That’s my—"

"You coming or not? Thought you wanted your box."

She swallowed the word pen and jogged to catch up.

--

Silix Institute

Serena had just swiped her badge when a security guard stepped in front of her.

"Dr. Winthrop, we need to run you through a routine check."

Serena stopped cold. "Excuse me?"

Nobody had ever pulled her aside for a check before. Not once.

"Tight security this week. Orders from upstairs. We appreciate your cooperation, Dr. Winthrop."

Her face soured, but she kept quiet and walked through the body scanner anyway. They dumped her bag out on the side table, pulled out every device she had, and went through each one.

Did they honestly think this would stop her?

Cute.