Page 18 of Alpha’s One-Night Stand (Shifters of Clarion #3)

I spent the last couple of days in the library scouring old registries for information about the alumni. Not a single listing with my mother’s name.

I looked in old yearbooks and through news articles (which were pretty strange in it of themselves) and nothing. As far as I could see, there’s no indication that she was ever here.

I was also avoiding Chad whenever possible. I’ve been skipping classes, and I couldn’t help but think he’ll come looking for me eventually. I tried to catch his scent in case he comes around—a scent that somehow isn’t his cologne. That’s a trip. I can’t believe he just naturally smells that good.

With everything that’s been going on, I started losing track of time. Saffron came by my room earlier wearing a satiny red dress with spaghetti straps, her blood-red hair up in an array of curls to display her long, elegant neck.

I’d forgotten. I promised I would go to the Red Moon Ball with her.

So. Here I am, my right hand tucked in Saffron’s arm as we walk through the doors of the grand ballroom on the south side of campus. With everything that she’s been through since she came out as a Scarlet Wolf, I would have thought she’d want to skip a party. Apparently not.

“So, tell me again why you wanted to come to this thing?” I ask her after we get our complimentary Red Moon pins. I look down at mine skeptically. Little metal moons painted red. Charming.

“Because it’s a ball for the Scarlet Wolves and their neutrals. That’s why.”

I frown a little. She’d explained about neutrals before and how they were the only ones who could handle mating with her. I don’t ask her to elaborate. I feel like I can live without knowing the details of something like that.

“So, everybody here is a Scarlet?”

She glances around, and her smile drops a little. “No, not everybody. A lot of Plain Janes in the house, no offense.”

“None . . . taken?”

The dance floor is filled with the kinetic movement of party guests, all dancing to the beat of the DJ booth at one end of the room. Strobe lights and a disco ball, people walking by with red cups in their hands . . .

It all looks like fun, but I’m just not into this right now. My mind’s back in the library.

“Come on,” Saffron yells over the music. “I’ll go get us some drinks!”

Before I can protest, Saffron’s disappeared into the crowd. I sigh and look around me, feeling like a lost boat in the middle of a sea of college students.

I turn around to get away from all the people, spotting a quiet corner at one end of the room. I weave through the crowd and lean against the wall, just happy to be out of the way. Shit. I kind of want that drink now.

“Hey, baby girl.”

I nearly jump as I realize I’m standing next to a guy wearing ripped jeans and a tank top. He’s got acne scars and a pierced eyebrow . . . and he reeks of alcohol.

I cringe and take a step away from him. He’s not deterred. He leans into me and says, “I’ve had my eyes on you for a while now. First Labor, right?”

“Yeah,” I say. “Listen, my boyfriend is going to be back really soon. He wouldn’t be too cool with you here.”

He scowls. “ Boyfriend? What are you, raised by humans or something? You trying to tell me you’re mated already?”

“Yeah,” I lie. “Totally.”

He looks me over, his eyes moving over my dress and short sleeves like he’s feeling me up. “I don’t see no Mark. You look single to me, baby.”

He grabs my arm, and I pull away. Quick as a wink, he grabs the other one and pulls me to his face, his beer breath assaulting my nose. “Hey, I like it when they fight—”

He stiffens, his eyes bulging. He starts gagging as he releases me. I stumble back to see that Chad is standing behind him, his hand around the creep’s neck.

“Bad dog,” he says. “When a girl says back off, you back off. Got it?”

He coughs loudly, then croaks, “She ain’t marked. She’s free game.”

“Is that a challenge, friend?”

Chad’s lips turn up into a snarl as he leans into him. The poor idiot just shakes his head as best as he can with Chad’s hand holding him.

“I didn’t think so. Beat it before I lose my temper.”

Chad lets him go, tossing him away from me. The guy stumbles back, rubbing his neck sorely, then walks away from us. I look at Chad, who seems about as out of place as I am at this party. Everyone else is in party clothes, short skirts and dresses and tank tops and jeans. He’s wearing a dark dress shirt and slacks.

I hate to admit it, but I’m as relieved as I am angry to see him.

“Tracking me again?” I say to him. “You really shouldn’t stalk women. It’s a bad look.”

“Come on. We need to talk.”

He looks serious. Moreso than usual. He takes me by the hand and leads me to a nearby door leading to a closed off room. He flips on the light of a sort of lounge area. There are antique looking couches with red crushed-velvet upholstery around a table with a marble top and clawed metal feet. The walls are covered in an intricately patterned wallpaper. This whole place is like a castle.

“You know, if you wanted to take me to this party, you could have just asked,” I tell him. “You really have a lot to learn about talking to women.”

He looks uneasy. No . . . I know he’s uneasy. My heart starts to pound a little faster just looking at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

He opens his mouth to speak, then shuts it. He turns away from me. “Shit,” he mutters.

I walk up to him and touch his shoulder. He bats me away. “Don’t. Please.”

Something inside me stirs. A rush of excitement washes over me in waves, moving over my skin like a caress. I reach out to him again, and the second I touch him the feeling returns. Like something is pulling me toward him.

It’s that same feeling I had the night we had sex, right before I left. That need to be with him again. Only this time it’s much, much stronger.

He moves away from me and says, “I don’t know if I can hold myself back, so I’ll try to make this quick. I’ve found out something . . . Fuck—”

He leans against the wall, pressing his head to it. “Stand down,” he whispers. “Fuck . . . Stand down. ”

Without thinking, I go to him. I wrap my arms around him, my hands landing on his chest. I press my face into his back, taking in his scent. Something is moving inside me, awakening.

And it’s hungry.

“Please,” he says, taking my hands in his. “You don’t know what you’re doing . . . to me . . .”

He turns and pulls me into him, his dark eyes simmering. My heart is leaping inside me as he lowers his lips down to me, kissing me deeply, his tongue mixing with mine. My hands move up his chest and into his thick hair as I bite his lip passionately.

I had forgotten how good he tasted before, and I can’t help but whimper at the passion that’s coming from him.

His hands move up my thighs, his fingers hooking into my panties. I grab his wrists, stopping him. He’s not leaving me with no clothes to walk home in this time.

I pull away from him and slip out of my panties, kicking them across the room. He grabs my waist and turns me around and starts to bend me over the arm of the couch. I slip out of his grasp.

“No,” I tell him. “I want to see your face.”

He pauses, watching me as I unzip my dress and let it fall to the floor. His eyes move over my naked body, and he smiles, a growl rumbling in his chest. He reaches out and grabs me, pulling me back into his embrace. I start unbuttoning his shirt, kissing his hard muscles as his skin becomes exposed to me. I get his shirt open and start unbuckling his pants as he takes his shirt off the rest of the way.

This is insane. I can’t explain how or why this is happening. It’s like my body is yearning for him. Like it’s been dying of thirst all this time and now I’m faced with a wellspring. His pants off, his cock is rock hard in my hands as I kiss him again. His sharp teeth pull at my lips.

He grabs me by the ass and lifts me up, pressing my back against the wall. In one easy movement, he slides himself into me, the sweet sensation of his cock inside me forcing a gasp from my lips.

He thrusts hard and deep, my legs wrapping around him and my arms holding his head as he nuzzles into my neck. My gasps turn to moans, growing louder by the second.

“Oh, yes!” I cry out, my nails digging into his shoulders. He rumbles against me with a growl, and sharp teeth scrape against my shoulder.

My legs are starting to shake as my body is suddenly filled with a twist of pain and pleasure. I look down to see my hands have changed, dark claws where my nails should me, drawing tendrils of blood as I pierce his skin.

Fear . . . lust . . . pain . . . passion, it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt. Nothing I’ve ever known.

He’s slowing down, pulling back. I can feel him drawing away from me. I squeeze my thighs around him. “Don’t stop,” I moan. “Chad . . . Don’t stop.”

“I can’t,” he growls. “Yarra . . . Oh, fuck, Yarra . . .”

My instincts are informing me now. This is more than want. More than need. More than everything.

I am his. He must claim me. It has to happen.

“Do it,” I demand, my body on the verge of climax. “Claim me, Chad! Oh, God . . . Do it, now!”

He thrusts harder as his mouth returns to my shoulder. His teeth pierce my skin, and the sweet pain sends me through the roof. I come harder than I ever have. The vibration of his growls as he bites me, marks me , echoes through my entire body.

He releases me, pulling me off the wall as his warm tongue caresses my wound. He moves me to the couch and lays me down, lifting my legs onto his shoulders.

I can feel his heartbeat racing. I look up into his face . . . blood on his fangs, running down his lips, his eyes shining like gold. He’s about to come. Oh, God, so am I . . .

We come together this time. He leans his head back, his moans turning into howls. The sound resonates within me, and I join him, arching my back as I dig my claws into his arms.

This is everything. The moon, the stars, the sky, and heaven. Everything. As my body shakes against his, he kisses me. The taste of my blood on his lips ignites the beast within me.

I am his.