Azriel makes a quizzical hum, and I wrench my bewildering gaze from the man a few feet away from me and look at him. He raises an eyebrow questioningly.“I…” my voice quivers as I manage to utter. He whisks me away from the spot and I let him drag me away. I glance back once and find him nowhere.“Did you not attend a party like this one?” Azriel hisses when we finally find a corner fairly secluded and drenched in semi-darkness.I take a deep breath, but my chest tightens. I feel as if I cannot breathe fully.“What’s the matter?” Azriel asks gravely.“Nothing. Nervous,” I mutter. I suddenly feel irritated at him. Despite being the future alpha king, why does he think that he has the right to jump to conclusions?“We have work to do, don’t we?” I say quietly and move past him. He quickly falls in step beside me and places his left hand on the small of my back. The heat of his palm sears through the fabric and into my skin. However, it feels reassuring.By the looks of it, this party is
The party is held for high society people, strong and wealthy packs to schmooze with the royalties. My eyes narrow at Denzel, Kai, and Aysel’s asshole of a father. I have heard Kai swear when his name would somehow pop up. Kai never told me why he joined the Royal pack when he so obviously hated it.Denzel like was an old shark, and I knew somehow, he was one of my father’s men.“Aysel,” Aiden stands up and comes to stand beside her.“What are you doing here?” he asks, completely ignoring my presence. The show of concern frankly makes me cringe. From my peripheral vision, I can see Denzel watching the conversation closely.“She is my beta, therefore, she has to be present I am surprised by your presence though,” I say with an air of callousness. Aiden’s jaw clenches. I know why he is here and he was definitely not expecting me to be here.“So, alpha Liam, how have you been?” I ask, ignoring how everything has mellowed down and the earlier hubbub has sort of become silent.Alpha Liam,
Despite knowing the fact that I was just his rut partner, the rare bout of jealousy sours my mood as I watch Azriel walk toward that woman. The air of indifference with which he dismissed me makes me feel as if I am not his beta but just another helper, just another person under the future alpha king’s wing. I walk a little further instead of standing and watching him like a dumb, naive wolf first time in love because this couldn’t be love. I shouldn’t be feeling anything. I should only be thinking about what my father has to do here or what my brother meant by my father being involved. And yet…I find myself staring at the man who somehow has made me obey him and awe me by his dark presence. I watch the way Renee slinks closer to him, the way she clung to him as they talked quietly in the corner. I wanted to look away but couldn’t, not until, Renee’s eyes met mine. Her gaze narrows for a moment I stood frozen in the place before I storm off because how much more embarrassing can it
Within one moment and the next, I find myself pinned to the tree where he had earlier cornered me. My hands grab fistfuls of his jacket while his arms tighten around my waist. The kiss turns heady, wild, and downright messy as he slips his tongue into my mouth. A noise comes out of my mouth. It’s embarrassing. I am much more in control during make-out sessions, however, this feels… different. He sweeps his tongue across my lower lip and one of his hands travels down my waist and slips under the dress.His rough, calloused palm leaves goosebumps on my damp skin. This is not his rut doing its job, he isn’t under that spell. This time he is in control and yet. His hand gropes my left cheek. I can feel his interest against my hip. Despite the rough bark and the fear of being caught by someone, I press closer, hooking my ankle around his leg. The wetness between my legs makes its sticky presence known. Amaia whines in my head, whether from pleasure or simply mourning my lack of judgment I
The storm brewing inside me is safely tucked away from Aysel, or she would have been scared. She would have run for her life.Like she did.I force myself to not argue, to not command her to obey my earlier proposal. It will look barbaric and the last thing I want is to be like my father, forcing and manipulating another person until we get our way.‘But you are like me.’ My father’s voice sneers at the back of my mind. I clench my fists, stopping myself from not throwing a fit like the 11-year-old who had just lost his mother to an unknown cause.Why had she become so cold that time all of a sudden? What caused her to come to this decision? Had she been someone else, someone who is power-hungry, they would have grabbed the opportunity. Not her. Just like her brother, Aysel is resilient, and sort of true to herself.My mind drifts to the memories of Amara, the woman who was like this girl, the one who took care of me, stayed beside me but until…“I wanted to show you something…” Aysel
[Earlier]I walk back to my room in a daze. Something really changed in our relationship, huh? The dynamic just… shifted. I contemplate if I made a mistake in handing the notebook over to Azriel. What if he has other motives and my brother died because of him, but… but he doesn’t seem to be someone of that sort. He is crude and rough but not cruel.‘What would you say of his indifference then?’ Amaia counters.I remain silent as I enter the room and close it. My body feels sore. When I returned, I had to hurry and change my clothes. Now that I am relieved of my duty, I shuffle to the washroom and hop in the shower.The scalding warm water cascades down my back, relieving my sore muscles. My thoughts run wild; my chest feels heavy as I recount the evening. Shouldn’t I have been doing the bargaining? Why did Azriel keep me by his side as if I were just an arm candy?‘He doesn’t trust you,’ Amaia states matter-of-factly.He doesn’t. He still doubts my abilities. I know I have a lot to le
Running feels exhilarating. Even though my agility feels hindered, I keep up my pace to match hers. Her beautiful silver coat shines like a white blob in the dark. She yips when I tackle her after running for some time.I pin her to the forest ground; her fur is now marred by dirt and twigs. Both of us are huffing. She whines as she is on her back, vulnerable. She bares her neck as is customary, but it is more of a playful submission than fear. I would be able to smell it.Her gaze is intent, quizzical. My claws dig into her soft fur and giving into the irrational want, I lower my head and nuzzle her neck before darting out my tongue and licking the place where a mark is supposed to go. She lets out a low whine as I continue scenting her. Will she like it if I scent her? She isn’t protesting so maybe, yes?The ritual itself is very primordial. No one does this anymore. Even mates don’t and here I am scenting a beta who might…I pull away and stand up. She remains silent, assessing me
When Aysel stands at my door, almost when I am about to go to bed. She gives me a sheepish look.“Well, I didn’t want to disturb you at this time but I wanted to confess something,” she says with a nervous chuckle. I raise an eyebrow and lean against the doorframe.“What that might be?”“I kind of ruined that dress? I am sorry. I didn’t mean to. I can pay back the amount,” she rushes to explain. I swallow back a laugh. By now, probably everyone in the palace sort of knows that she is exclusively Azriel’s.“No need. Think of it as a gift. I never wore it because it did not look good on me,” I lie. Her eyes widen. I don’t want Azriel to give me a lecture.She lets out a sigh of relief.“Okay then, I won’t bother you anymore. Good night,” she says and speed walks across the corridor before I can even utter another word.Closing the door, I walk back to my desk where I have been writing. These days, I have been keeping to myself, so much so that even mom once came and asked me if I was ok