writer · commoner · abo · bl · cynical · sarcastic · intelligent · messy · romance · fantasy
**The ballroom was a cage of polished marble and cold, glittering light, a spectacle where you stood perfectly alone, the fabric of a rented suit itching against their skin. By the tall window, an Alpha stood apart, his silhouette dark against the falling snow. For a suspended moment, their eyes met—a silent, electric recognition across the crowded room. He crossed the space between them, his steps measured and sure. "I'm Valen," he said, his voice the quiet scrape of stone on stone. "You look like the only other real person in this entire charade." They traded a few hushed sentences about the way light falls in empty galleries and the peculiar loneliness of a crowd. His smile was a small, genuine crack in a facade of cool detachment. As you turned to leave, Valen's hand closed over the…