Page 24 of Forsaken Desire (Ruthless Wolves #1)

“Lucian,” I admonished and tugged on his jacket.

He frowned, and I could tell he’d given in.

The swell of chatter thickened, and light spilled out of the entryway into the main ballroom.

As soon as we turned the corner, I slowed, my eyes immediately going toward the table we’d been sitting at.

He stopped, peering down at me with a clear question in his gaze.

“Wait here then, Princess,” he murmured and kissed my forehead. He slipped away, and I laced my hands in front of me.

Lucian’s back flexed even under his suit. I sank my teeth into my lower lip.

“Why are you here with him ?” The deep, gravely tone rumbled in my ear. I spun around and raised my chin to look at a tall man. He was as tall as Lucian, with the same muscled physique. But unlike Lucian’s elegant features, he had a rougher look to him.

Tattoos reached up the side of his neck and behind his ear. I caught a brief glimpse of the thin dark lines of a snarling wolf’s maw baring its teeth upward, and then his piercing eyes settled on me.

The crackle of energy that accompanied Lucian came off him too.

I stiffened my spine, stilling as he leaned closer to me. The corner of his lips quirked into a smirk. Every inch of this Alpha screamed bad news, but I didn’t take my eyes off him to search for my mate as I wanted. He put me on edge, and not in a good way.

My stomach turned and dipped, but I didn’t back away from his approach. I lifted my chin, meeting his eyes for a brief moment, and then dropping my eyes to his nose.

I raised my eyebrow, studying him impassively.

He straightened up and slid his hands into his pockets. He was dressed as elegantly as any other here, but there was a certain wildness to him. It wasn’t necessarily the tattoos, although no other person I’d seen in here had visible ink.

“A different female wolf near Lucian?” he rumbled, eyebrow raising.

“I never thought I’d see it.” He clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

The smirk was clear on his face. He’d approached me to get a reaction out of me.

I could see it in the way he spoke. I’d been face-to-face with plenty of people like this; the ones who only wanted to start shit.

“Do you approach all women this way?” I kept my tone bland, keeping aware of his every move.

His smile widened like he found me funny. I didn’t react because it was obvious he wanted me to.

My stomach swirled with discomfort, but I didn’t give in to my urge to look for Lucian. This guy was slimy. I didn’t trust what he might do if I wasn’t keeping my eyes on him.

I clenched my hand, combing through my thoughts on what to say, or whether I should stay silent and let him talk his shit. Before I could decide, Lucian’s wide shoulders blocked my view.

“Drake.” My mate had a growl in his voice. He was so tense he looked ready to snap. I tried to move forward, but as if sensing me, he stepped in front of me again, placing himself as a barrier to the other large Alpha.

“Wilder,” the other Alpha intoned in a mocking way. “Is this your new bitch?”

“Walk away,” Lucian hissed. He was ready to pounce. A human couple swept past us, eyeing the posturing Alphas.

“We need to keep up appearances,” I whispered, pressing my hand into Lucian’s back. Drake chuckled and shook his head.

“A female is telling you what to do now?” He smirked. “How quaint?—”

His eyes widened with shock.

“She’s your fated.” Drake boomed out a laugh. “You have quite the living target now.”

He chortled, walking away. The threat wasn’t lost on me. Nor was it lost to my mate, he vibrated with rage. I bunched the back of his suit jacket and slid my other palm along the front of his stomach.

“It’s okay,” I exhaled. He jerked around, facing me, his hand delving under my hair. The cold air touched the side of my neck, raising goose bumps. Lucian pressed his fingers into the bite like it was all that grounded him, and I stifled my wince.

I kept hold of his angry eyes, and so slowly, he eventually relaxed.

“Let’s get out of here,” he rumbled, voice deep. His arm went around my waist, and he pulled me with him.

“Where are we going?”

“Home, Princess,” he murmured curtly, and I stayed silent as he guided me away from the ballroom and into the main hall, going in the opposite direction from where he’d fucked me.

The hotel was huge and ostentatious, but he easily found his way around, guiding me until the hall spat us out in the large lobby.

Moments later, we stood in front of the hotel, his wide stride not hesitating. I lifted my foot and turned it in a circle to stretch out the sore muscles. Then I did the same with my other foot.

Lucian hadn’t let me go, his grip near painful, and he kept looking around, as if waiting for an attack. That Alpha had put him on high alert. I mean, I could understand why since he’d thrown a threat at him so easily.

Lucian fiddled with his cell phone and put it to his ear.

“Get Gideon Drake out of my fucking hotel,” he hissed. Just as quickly he hung up and slid the phone into his pocket. He wouldn’t let me go, and he kept squeezing me like I would fly away.

“Could I ask you something?” I rubbed my fingertips against his side. It was clear that the male had set him off.

“Always, Princess.” He tapped my nose.

“Who’s Gideon Drake?”

His expression blanked. In that moment, the valet pulled his Mercedes up to where we stood. The valet was out of the car in the next beat.

“I left your keys inside, sir,” he called, stepping back.

I followed his guiding hand and plopped onto the passenger seat while he waited patiently. He placed my little handbag on the dash and shut the door.

Lucian slid into the driver's side. He pulled away from the curb. I kept peeking at him from the corner of my eye. The silence stretched to the point that I figured I wouldn’t get my questions answered.

“We don’t get along.” His voice startled me.

“It seemed deeper than just not getting along.” I was surprised by my backbone. I’d never been scared of speaking out, but Lucian made me nervous.

I couldn’t just be quiet with him though; we were mates.

“Nothing to stress yourself over, Princess,” he replied.

I pressed my lips together. He obviously didn’t want to share, and I didn’t feel comfortable pushing him.

Tapping my fingers against my thigh, I rolled my lips between my teeth.

Trees flashed by, the thick woodsy Oregon landscape passing in a blur. He sighed and rubbed his jaw.

“He will do anything to fuck me over. Remember that. Stay away from him at all costs.”

With that final comment, we settled into silence. The woods began to thicken, evidence that we were heading further from the city.

“Where are you taking me?” I eyed the freeway exit that led south toward Portland.

“Home.” With the curt word, he revved onto the road.

With the adrenaline leaving my veins, my neck was beginning to sting.

My secret was out. I couldn’t help but feel like it hung between us, yet he hadn’t asked me anything.

I reached up to my neck and gingerly touched the bite. The rough surface felt like dried blood. Once I put the visor down, I bunched my hair over my other shoulder, angling my neck.

The little light in the visor fell over my throat, allowing me to view the skin. The imprints of his teeth were clearly visible; the indents crusted with dried blood. He’d gone in deep.

Lucian growled, bringing my gaze over to him.

His big hands flexed on the steering wheel. He sped up, weaving down the road at a faster speed. I had to grab onto the door handle so I didn’t move around too much.