Page 17 of Unmarked
Rhea
Ibite the inside of my cheek,hard.
Focus on the sting. The tang of blood. Something sharp.
Somethingreal.
My feet stay put out of sheer spite. My fingers wrap around the camera, knuckles stiff, grip aching. It’s heavy, familiar, and one of the few things in this room that doesn’t smell like polished ambition and pheromones.
Click. Click.
I keep shooting. Keep framing.
Keep pretending I’m not one breath away from absolutely feral.
You are fine. You are invisible.
You are a beta, and they cannot smell you.
Except the words are starting to slosh around in my head like soup.
The crowd blurs. Laughter crashes too loud. Lights burn too bright.
My ears are ringing.
And my gut? Oh, my gut hasopinions.Three different ones, to be exact, all pulling in entirely separate directions.
The scent-neutralizers aren’t cutting through anything anymore. They’ve given up.
So have I.
Still, I lift the camera again. Zoom in on a new face.
Tall. Unfamiliar. Alone at the far end of the room.
Click.
I freeze.
He's beautiful.
Not in the arrogant-god way Ash is.
Not in Lucian’sI eat spreadsheets for breakfastway.
And not in Kai’s chaotic sex-and-petty-theft energy, either.
No. This one is still.
Not stiff. Not cold. Just…settled.
Like someone pressed pause on the world, and he’s just standing there, holding the silence.
He’s tall. Built like he could bench-press a compact car while apologizing for getting in your way.
Sleeves rolled. Forearms dusted with ink.
Collar open. Shoulders broad. Stance loose.
