PLAYING THE FOE

~ZIRA

"Mate!"

Arden smiled and approached me. I returned his smile as I watched him hug me. Although my wolf twisted with disgust at his touch, my mind began to think of all the wicked ways that I could destroy him. For that reason, I was able to tolerate his touch.

He released me and looked into my eyes. I understood what he was doing and I marveled at how good he was at acting. He was a good liar.

"Won't you take us to see your parents?" He demanded in a soft voice as he gestured in their direction.

I instead gave him a knowing smile. This was because I knew exactly what was going on in his mind. He only wanted to speed the process so that the Moon crest would fall into his hands. But there was no way I would allow that to happen.

"What's the hurry? The night is still young! The party just began!" I answered as I widened my smile at him. "Or aren't you enjoying my company?" I demanded trying to play with his mind.

It caught him off guard and he scoffed nervously. "Wh— what? What do you mean? Of course, I love your company," he stuttered.

My wolf spurred with life as it enjoyed his discomfort and I had to scold myself from letting out a satisfied growl.

So I instead, lifted my head high at him, even if he was towering above me. "Then let's dance," I suggested.

There was this newfound strength that I felt within me. I knew that my life was in danger but I felt untouchable. They might have succeeded in killing me before but they would not get that chance again.

Arden glared at me for a long time with a strange expression. I knew that my behavior was confusing him. I was usually a quiet and submissive person but that was the old me. I was reborn now.

"Sure," Arden accepted after perhaps, having an internal battle with himself.

I gave him a sly smile before offering him my hand. He willingly accepted it and took me to the center of the hall. There were other werewolves dancing with their partners.

Arden placed his hands cautiously around my waist and I placed mine on his chest. There was no way I was going to let this bastard out of my sight and I promised myself that he would know no peace from now.

He gazed into my eyes and I never broke away from his as we moved around the dance floor. I noted that he was good at hiding his emotions, I could not get anything out of staring at him.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I caught sight of Bella. She was clad in a red dress that hugged her body and had a provoking slit on her left thigh. My wolf stirred angrily at the sight of her.

"She came prepared," I muttered under my breath.

"What?" Arden asked.

I turned my gaze back to him. "Don't you want to take a break and have a few drinks?" I demanded, easily changing the subject.

Arden blinked once before nodding at me. "Yes, let's do that," he muttered.

I smiled back at him before grabbing his hand. Then I deliberately led him in the same direction as Bella. It was going to be fun openly teasing them just as it was going to be hard resisting the urge to kill the both of them.

I suppressed another growl as I forced myself to bury the ugly memories of my death and the kiss that they shared.

Bella spotted us and as expected, she came to us. "Zira! Arden!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm and I also noted how good she was at acting.

"I did not think that you would show up today," Arden said.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. "Of course you did you liar," I thought inwardly. Then outside, I said; "Your dress is lovely Bella. It almost feels as if it's your mating ceremony," I pointed out in a fake happy tone.

The idiot blushed stupidly. "Thank you, Zira. This means a lot coming from you," she stated.

I smirked. "I'm serious!" I exclaimed and pulled Arden before her. "It looks as if you're mated to him, why don't you two just accept each other?" I suggested in that same happy tone.

"What?" Bella managed to say.

Both she and Arden had the same expression, that of shock. All the amusement drained from their faces and they resembled children who had been caught stealing candies. It felt satisfying to watch their confusion unfold before them before I decided to liberate them.

"It was a joke! Look at your serious expressions!" I exclaimed and broke into laughter.

Both Bella and Arden broke into a burst of forced and nervous laughter.

"Th— that was a good one. You really got us good," Arden said first after recovering.

Bella only continued to laugh nervously before it died. Then I threw my glance away from them and it fell on Kael who was standing at the far end of the hall. Our eyes met at that moment and I lingered in his deep blue gaze, unable to break away. It was as if he was beckoning me over and for a few seconds, all my strong act was dropped.

Then he broke away and turned into the corridor beside him. I did not know what came over me at that moment but my entire body screamed at me to go after him. I knew that it was a bad idea, that I had to stay here where everyone could see me, where I would be out of danger but for some reason, I wanted to be there with him— wherever that was.

My wolf moved restlessly within me, begging and urging me to go. When the feeling became unbearable, I succumbed to it.

"Excuse me, I'd like to use the restroom. Have fun with Bella while I'm gone," I muttered.

I could tell that Arden wanted to say something and his lips even parted to speak before giving up and only nodding at me.

Then I turned my attention back to Kael. Knowing deep down that it was a dangerous mission, I went after him anyway.