#3 THE ALPHA'S RECKONING

The air in Cain Davis's office crackled with unspoken tension. Jay Williams, nervously perched on the edge of a chair, felt a prickle of unease crawl up his spine. His mind frantically searched for an escape route; the window? Too high. The door? Cain was blocking it. Should I feign illness? A sudden migraine? No, too cliché. He needed something believable, something that wouldn't make him seem like a liar, yet wouldn't reveal the truth either. The pheromones… that was the key. Maybe a temporary memory lapse? A side effect of some medication? He needed to buy time, to figure out what Cain wanted, what he knew. The weight of the unspoken hung heavy in the air, a silent promise of a confrontation that was only just beginning.

"Mr. Williams," Cain began, his voice a low, controlled rumble, "do you know me?"

Jay swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. "No, sir. I don't fully know you. I only know your name. This is the first time I've seen your face."

Cain leaned back, his expression unreadable. "Hmm, really?"

"Yes, sir," Jay insisted, his voice trembling slightly. "I'm truly sorry, sir. It's rude of me not to recognize you after being here for a year. May I ask your name, sir?"

"My name is Cain Davis," Cain replied, his gaze unwavering.

Jay's mind raced. So his name is Cain Davis, he thought. What a beautiful name, he murmured almost inaudibly.

"Did you say something?" Cain asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Jay stammered, "N…no sir. But sir, may I ask why you called me to your office?"

Cain's tone shifted, becoming sharper, more serious. "Mr. Jay Williams," he said, his voice emphasizing each word.

"Yes, sir," Jay replied, his heart pounding a frantic rhythm against his ribs.

"Do you know why I called you here?" Cain pressed.

Jay's voice was barely a whisper. "Ah, no sir… am I going to be fired?"

Cain's patience seemed to snap. "Mr. Williams, I'm going to ask again. Do you really not know me? Is this truly the first time you've seen me?"

Jay's eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape, a way out of this increasingly uncomfortable situation. "Yes, sir," he insisted, his voice strained. "I truly don't know you, and this is the first time I've seen you."

Cain leaned forward, his gaze piercing. "October 15th, 20XX, the XX Hotel. At 7:00 PM, you met an Omega there and…mated."

Jay gasped, a cold wave of dread washing over him. How…? Don't tell me he… His mind struggled to reconcile the fragmented memories of his vacation with the present reality.

"Sir?" Jay whispered, his voice barely audible.

Cain's voice was laced with a quiet intensity. "You don't think I wouldn't know the person I mated with that day, do you?"

Jay could only stare, his face slick with a cold sweat, his mind reeling from the implications of Cain's words. The weight of the unspoken hung heavy in the air, a silent promise of a confrontation that was only just beginning.

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