Chapter 7

Aritzea POV

Him. The man from the auction.

The one who should have been dead, had I not been a fool to leave him alive.

I bit the inside of my cheek as our eyes met, his gaze calm, almost smug, like he enjoyed seeing how frustrated I looked. He raised an eyebrow at me, daring me to react.

Fuck. I looked away instantly. This man was dangerous. Very dangerous.

He didn't give off any scent, not even a trace. Not werewolf, not vampire, not human—nothing. How was that even possible?!

I was a werewolf. And my extra keen senses meant I should have picked up something, anything, but there was only emptiness. And why the fuck was he following me around?

I stopped in my tracks, turning round to face him. "What the hell do you want?" I asked, my voice sharp.

He looked like my annoyance very much pleased him. His stance was casual, a faint smile tugging on his lips as he met my gaze. "I came to find you," he said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do.

I crossed my arms, trying to resist the urge to punch him hard as I glared at him. He was too damn calm for someone stepping into a den of werewolves and vampires. And he was definitely not a werewolf, so a vampire maybe?

Either way, since he was here there was no way I could kill him.

How disappointing.

"Sorry to disappoint you," I bit back "but I don’t know you."

I wasn’t in the mood for this, not after everything with Thorne and the night’s fiasco.

But clearly, he wasn't one to give up, bent on making me break.

He chuckled, a low sound that made my irritation bubble up even more. "Darling, I saved you," he reminded gently. "Or don't you remember?"

I paused, meeting his gaze again. His eyes were a hypnotising shade of silver-grey that seemed to draw me in against my will. For a moment, my mind went back to a moment—and not the one that happened some minutes ago.

The one from that day. All of a sudden, it was as if I could feel his hot breath on my nape and his hands on my skin.

Damn him! I couldn't look away, even if I wanted to—needed to.

"I didn't ask for help!" I snapped back, my voice tight. I crossed my arms tighter, unconsciously trying to shield myself from him.

I knew he could see the way I reacted to him, no matter how hard I tried to hide it.

"I didn’t say you did," he replied easily, his tone annoyingly nonchalant.

I could tell he was enjoying this—my reactions, my anger—it was all a game to him. And damn it, he was winning. His gaze stayed on me, and it bothered me, greatly.

I wasn't used to being watched like this. Especially not by someone who seemed to understand my reactions better than she did.

‘Fuck, why do I let this man disturb my mood?’

I let out a breath, resisting the urge to roll my eyes as I tried to calm down. "Well, congratulations. You can add ‘saving a werewolf’ to your list of strange hobbies."

His lips raised into a small smile, one that sent an unexpected shiver down my spine. I couldn't help but notice how good his smile—no, not that.

"Noted." He said, his voice soft, like he knew what he was doing. "Though, I was more interested in the look on your brother’s face when he couldn’t finish his sentence."

I snorted despite myself. Thorne’s look of bottled annoyance had been priceless. For a moment there, I almost laughed. But then, I remembered who I was dealing with and stopped myself.

"Yeah, well, I didn’t need you to step in. You can leave now, sir. " I tilted my head at him, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "And, I’ll make sure to send you a thank you card later."

He chuckled again, a low, lazy sound that seemed to vibrate through the air. "I’ll be waiting for it, love."

He was always chuckling. What the hell did he find funny?

I stared at him, trying to size him up, but he gave nothing away. His casual indifference, the relaxed way he moved—like he had nowhere better to be—was infuriating. But there was also something about him that put me on edge. I hated how he seemed to know exactly what to say to get a reaction from me.

All of a sudden, I felt the urge to twist his head off and watch those beautiful eyes dim and that annoying smile wipe off his face.

‘Calm down, Aritzea, calm down’ I tell myself. Thorne was still watching somewhere and he would not be happy if I killed this person.

Also... I wasn't quite sure if I could kill him in one move, this guy was probably a vampire. Starting a scene with him could lead to complications I wasn’t in the mood to deal with. So, instead, I decided to ignore him. If he didn’t get the hint, that was his problem.

We walked in silence after that, him keeping pace with me effortlessly, as if we were in sync. The longer we walked, the more tense I became. Usually, I could shrug things off, but, his presence made my skin prickle. And the fact that I couldn’t smell him—like any other creature—bothered me more than I cared to admit.

The fuck was he?

Suddenly, I saw him move out of the corner of my eyes. It was subtle, but enough to snap me out of my thoughts. I turned slightly, watching him warily.

As soon as he makes to do anything... I'll snap his head off.

Then, abruptly, he leaned closer.

My instincts kicked in, warning me to step back, but for some reason, my feet stayed rooted in place. His face was close—too close—and I could feel the warmth of his breath on my skin. My mind turned blank and for a split second, I thought he was going to kiss me.

Damn. Push him off! Every nerve in my body screamed at me to move, to push him away.

But I didn’t. I couldn't.

He tilted his head, watching me for a moment longer, as though gauging my response. His dark eyes seemed to pull me in, making it hard for me to look away. I felt as if I was being drawn into something dangerous, something I couldn’t control.

Then, just as quickly, he backed away, his hand lifting to reveal a small item—a piece of fabric.

"Sorry," he said with a lazy smile. "I just needed to grab this."

I blinked, completely thrown off. What? He had leaned in for that?

Before my brain could even think of a response, he reached out, and before I could pull away, his hand gently grasped mine.

My breath caught in my throat as he lifted my hand to his lips, brushing a soft kiss against the back of it. For a split second, I froze. His touch sent an unexpected warmth through me, and I cursed myself for the way my body betrayed me.

He stepped back, still smiling like he had won some invisible match, and turned to leave, throwing a glance over his shoulder.

"See you around, love," he said lazily, his voice carrying a hint of smugness.

I stood there, frozen in place, my mind spinning as I watched him leave. The back of my hand still tingled from where his lips had touched my skin.

Damn!

I couldn't help cursing myself for allowing him get under my skin like that. I glared after his already disappearing figure, clenching my fists so tightly my knuckles turned white.

All of a sudden, I regretted not killing him while I had the chance. Fuck Thorne and fuck propriety! This man did not deserve to live.

"I swear," I muttered under her breath. "The next time I get my hands on him, I’m going to kill him."

Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon.