Page 9

I might have cajoled Soren against the apology if he didn't refer to me like I was little more than dirt underneath his polished boots.

Soren's eyes flash a lethal gold and I have never seen anyone move so quickly. The older man has my fingers in his in a matter of seconds and I cringe as his lips brush against my knuckles. "Forgive me, Luna."

My gaze flies to Soren's as I am unsure what to do in this terribly awkward moment, but Soren only tilts his head in what I assume to be approval and...pride? That can't be right.

I retract my fingers gingerly. "It is...alright." I am surprised at how steady I sound, as opposed to the variety of emotions I feel inside.

Alpha Axel steps off the dais and disappears into the crowd.

The silence is immediately broken—fortunately—when Eric announces, "On that note, you must all be overjoyed to know that there will be a revelry tonight to properly celebrate this union as Alpha Soren was much too excited to get his bride alone and couldn't adhere to traditions. "

That breaks the tension as laughter cascades throughout the hall, but when I look up, all I see is Alpha Axel's dark gaze fixed on me.

If looks could kill, I'd be fucking pulverized.

"My, you have such lovely eyes," a blonde coos, stepping way too far into my personal space, grey eyes shimmering with interest as they zero in on the silver choker around my neck. "What a lovely piece. I've heard the Head Alpha is quite generous with his lover—partners."

I blink, resting back against the heels that are currently trying to murder me. I have barely responded when a redhead suddenly invades my line of vision, seemingly awestruck by the dress that fits around my body like a glove.

Her friend tells me I look so good in short hair, I just might set a trend around here.

My responses get shorter and my smile faker. I've never had to deal with a crowd of this magnitude before—at least, from what I can recall—and having them fawn over me makes me feel suffocated.

I start for the banquet tables covered with succulent fruits, roast meats, pies and tarts, but yet another step only earns me a fluttering crowd of chattering women and inquisitive Lunas, demanding answers I cannot give.

A high-pitched voice reaches me. "How did you meet the Head Alpha? You must tell us if he is indeed as good as they say in bed. Surely you have consummated your union."

I choke on the sweet grape wine in my mouth and the liquid goes down the wrong hole. I cough, giving the hall a quick search for the man in question.

After the gathering, he'd sent me off to my chambers with Eric, who I had cajoled into giving me a brief tour around the mansion, not particularly looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon holed up in my room, anxious and bored.

The brief tour lasted about an hour and a half, most of which consisted of being flocked around by people I didn't know who kept introducing themselves with careful inclusion of what packs they came from, out of the assumption that Soren has a soft spot for me.

They couldn't be more wrong.

In a room of hundreds, I find him quickly. It isn't just that he's one of the taller men, a whopping six foot six inches tall. Neither is it his hulking frame and that dark aura of his that seems to be in love with him.

It is that...Gods, it feels stupid to admit that I can just...feel his presence. It's like having a boulder hovering over your head while standing close to a barbed fence. I know he is there without looking.

He's switched his blue embroidered coat from this afternoon out for a fitted high-collared deep black brocade that reaches him mid-thigh.

He tilts slightly to swipe a drink off the tray of a moony eyed maid and I catch a glimpse of the silk black dress shirt underneath.

The top button is left open, revealing the tan, strong column of his throat.

I force my gaze upwards before it can travel to his crotch and below.

Most days, I have a reasonable dislike for men. And when I do look, I prefer light-haired ones, lean and sinewy. The kind whose muscles don't hulk under their shirts or flex with every damn movement.

But I watch Soren's glossy dark hair, his strong jaw, his largely built frame that crowds and intimidates, his ironically delicate facial features that suggest he took more from his mother than his father, that scowling mouth and the scar that glints in the warm evening light. He is...somewhat attractive.

Okay. Very.

In the dark sort of way. His is a face that you don't look away from, even when you know you should, even when you see the hint of something dark lurking beneath the surface, watching you, too.

The hair on my skin prickles as his dark eyes shift from the man he speaks to, landing on me immediately like he can feel my gaze.

He stops speaking, lips pulling tight as he appraises me from head to toe.

His gaze shifts when it touches the flare of my hips—no longer just an appraisal but something more. Something heated. Frustrated. His nostrils flare, like he can't decide if he likes what he sees or if he hates that he does.

Soren and I look away from each other sharply. I don't acknowledge that the temperature seems to have risen suddenly and blame my dizziness on the baby.

By some stroke of luck, the ladies find a much more interesting target after seeking out more information of where I come from, my parents, my life before now and my highly sought after love affair with Soren.

Not . In truth, I ran from them with a lame excuse of needing to use the bathroom while I tried to hunt down a servant, suddenly thirsty for something chilly and tangy.

My fingers close around a pinkish-yellowish looking glass just as a deep voice creeps in from behind me. "It's alcoholic."

I jump at the sudden closeness, the heat that surrounds me, even if he is only behind. The server looks at the space behind my shoulder and smiles a little before bowing and scurrying away.

Sucking in a deep breath through my nose, I start to turn to give Soren my best I'm-so-in-love-with-you-I-melt-like-butter-when-you're-around look, for the purpose of the watching crowd, of course, but I freeze when his chest hits my back and he leans over so close, his lips graze the shell of my ear.

"If you keep jumping every time I touch you, no one's going to believe I married you because of our desperate, undying love. "

My breaths are suddenly uneven, his scent of winter and cologne teasing my nostrils. "We agreed you would keep your hands to yourself."

As if to spite me, he brushes his thumb against the bare skin just above the low back of my dress, throwing my pulse about a million rates higher. "Did we now?"

The crowd bleeds into the background. Their prying gazes, their laughter, the music...It all ceases to exist and for a whole second, my mind is thrown into befuddlement.

Help? I don't even like him.

I step out of his touch, my body, the betraying bitch craving more of his delicious heat. It must be the hormones. I've heard pregnant women get hot and bothered on the days they aren't overly irritated.

Turning to face him, I am struck by the sheer size of him towering above me like a...towering tower. "The written agreement clearly stated we would be wed in name only—what? Why do you keep looking at me like that?" I snap when he won't stop smirking.

He takes one step forward and I shuffle back, needing to put some space between us, but he easily catches me by my waist, tugging me closer. His gaze is dark and unreadable, resting on my mouth. "Do you trust me?"

My answer is immediate, even as my fingers rest on his large arms. "No."

His lips kick up. "Good."

I barely have enough time to register the scent of alcohol and something sweeter before his lips crash into mine. My eyes widen as he catches my bottom lip between his teeth and nips, hard.

Heat...aching and nearly familiar spreads through me immediately, and I push my fist against his chest, trying to shove him off, but I have no idea what is wrong with me because my fingers are tangling in his silk shirt instead and...and...

Soren's fingers clamp on the back of my neck, hot and urgent, and I gasp when they travel into my hair and tug.

The sound that rips from my throat isn't mine and his tongue plunges into my mouth immediately, stroking against mine in an obscene glide that I feel all the way to my core.

I clench, hard.

Hell no.

Soren breaks away suddenly, eyes wide and raw with emotions I don't know him well enough to understand. And like a fucking coward, he stumbles back a step. "I apologize. That was out of line."

And then, he leaves me standing there like he didn't just assault my lips and my senses.