by JJ King
It just seemed to me that Lucian, with his intelligent dark eyes and kind words was the kind of guy I could see myself with. Then again, my physical reaction to him hadn’t been mild. I just understood it more than I did with the others.
Looking at Chase as he sauntered towards me, his golden eyes catching the lights as they watched me back, I understood that my attraction to him was purely physical. I didn’t know enough about him to want him for any other reason.
My thoughts flicked to Dimitri, the bad boy Russian himself. I couldn’t stand him half the time, could barely stop myself from mouthing off, or wanting to slap that stupid half grin off his face. I wasn’t even sure if I liked him, but it didn’t seem to matter. When I was with him, I felt seen, and real, and almost whole. He challenged me and it let loose this inner warrior in me that enjoyed the challenge and rose to the occasion.
“Hey,” he drawled and reached out to run the tips of his fingers up the length of my arm, sending shivers over my entire body. It was a highly effective move, I thought.
“Hey,” I said, glancing down in what I’d read was step one in the flirting process. Step two was looking up through your lashes, so I did that and added a little step three, a flirtatious smile with step four, a lower lip bite.
I wasn’t prepared for his reaction. I’d read up on flirting in preparation for tonight and had even practiced in front of my mirror, but I hadn’t expected it to be so fucking effective. Chase’s golden irises darkened instantly to a deep molten color and his lips parted to expel a shaky breath. His scent changed, deepening, ripening, and seeped through his pores to infuse the air around us. I breathed it in and began to ache.
“Well,” Emily said, in a tone that was clearly amused. “I’ll see you later, Lexi.” She nodded at Chase. “See you, Chase.”
“See you, Emily,” Chase murmured, never once taking his gaze off me.
I felt like we were locked together, drawn by centrifugal forces that wouldn’t allow us to break apart even if we tried. He stepped closer and skimmed his hand back down my arm, then slid his fingers through mine, rubbing our heated skin together.
Neither of us spoke as the rest of the room faded away, leaving us in a cloud of hormones and lust. The rational part of my brain knew that we were exuding enough pheromones to drive half the population of Omega Wolf Academy into a sex craze and that we should probably slip away and find somewhere private to explore these feelings. The irrational part of my brain, which was now located between my thighs, couldn’t give two flying fucks if the entire world scented our attraction. I leaned into him and inhaled deeply.
He tugged me forward, pressing our bodies together, then turned, surprising me, and pulled me towards where a bunch of students were dancing. I followed and linked my arms around his neck as his hands moved to my hips.
I knew how to dance. We might not have had much in the mountain, but we’d always had music and where there was music, there was dancing. We hadn’t always felt like dancing, or singing, but it had often been the one thing to keep us from going insane, so we persevered and sang anyway, even when the beatings increased and they cut our rations. I swallowed and pushed the dark memories down deep and focused solely on the buzz filling my body.
His hands skimmed over my waist, trailing high up my back then moving low to dip over my curves. I hummed softly, and pressed into him, grinding my hips against his.
His body responded fiercely and a growl, low and so fucking hot it nearly destroyed me, slipped from his throat. “Old Ones, Lexi,” he groaned into my ear. “You’re going to kill me.”
That feminine power he’d awoken in me roared to life and I lifted my face to his and let my lips quirk up in a knowing smile. “Don’t die on me yet, Chase. I’ve got big plans for you.”
He swallowed hard and opened and closed his mouth several times, then just linked his hand through mine again and pulled me off the dance floor, toward the darkest corner of the room, not that it would do anything to hide our situation.
It turned out the darkest corner of the room with a small alcove hidden around a corner that led to the laundry room of this building. My dorm building was laid out slightly different and didn’t have the same alcove. Chase moved with me into the dip, turning me until my back pressed up against the wall.
Alarms rang in my head, alarms that warned me we might just lose all sense of time and place and end up doing something a little too risqué in public, but they faded into the background as the pleasant buzz intensified and swept me under.
I went willingly, thrusting my fingers into his thick golden curls to pull his mouth down, down, until it covered mine in a searing kiss. I opened to him, parted my lips to give my tongue access to his mouth. I needed to taste him, to breathe him in, more than I needed to breathe myself.
Our breaths came in gasps and our hands moved like lightning over and under clothes that felt cumbersome and binding.
I arched my neck to give his lips better access and moaned when he grazed his teeth over my jaw and down the line of my neck to my collarbone. Soft, incoherent, mewls of desperate need escaped my mouth, and were swallowed up a moment later by his lips, returning to my mouth for more.
His hands delved beneath my tank top, sliding over my stomach and up. When his fingers traced the contour of my breast, through the lacy bra I picked out to entice and feel sexy, my eyes rolled back and, for a moment, I saw stars.
Cold air rushed over my naked flesh, exposed by his curious hands. I opened my eyes, confused, in time to see Chase’s body fly back, yanked back by a hand I somehow recognized. The same hand that, a moment later, balled into a fist and slammed into Chase’s face.
Chapter 7
The sound of flesh hitting flesh assaulted my ears and yanked me out of the state of sexual bliss I’d embraced. An involuntary scream erupted from my throat as I watched my date get slammed into the adjacent wall with enough force to crack the drywall.
“Dimitri!” I shouted his name but saw no sign of recognition in the rage filled eyes that were locked on Chase’s face, which was swelling and turning blue already. “Stop!”
The world spun in a different kind of chaotic maelstrom than it had a moment ago when I’d been wrapped in strong arms being driven to madness by talented fingers. I heard the ongoing sounds of music in the background mixed with shouts of “fight!”
I pressed my back against the still warm wall and tried to catch my breath. It was too hot in here, too closed in. I couldn’t seem to fill my lungs. Flashes of party lights stung my retinas and I closed my eyes to block it out.
But the sounds couldn’t be blocked out. The grunts and growls of men fighting, throwing their fists into each other, grabbing and pushing until there was nothing but madness. Flashes of blood filled my mind, flashes of red, then darkness encroached and dragged me under.
My eyes flew open. I wouldn’t go! I wouldn’t let them put me in the dark anymore!
My heart thundered and the sound of it blissfully drowned out the shouting. I dragged in oxygen, over and over until my heart began to slow, just a bit, but enough to help me stay in the moment and not slip away.
I was safe now. I was at Omega Wolf Academy and safe.
Anger bubbled up from deep inside me, the place where I stuffed the darkness down so deep it had to fight to resurface. It came fast and hot and took me over like the need had earlier. Like the need, it chased away the fear, so I welcomed it and pushed off the wall.
A growl ripped from my chest, loud enough to breathe through the primal instincts pumping through Chase’s and Dimitri’s veins. I lowered my center of gravity, training my gaze on them as they grappled and punched, and waited for an opening.
When I saw it, I leaped forward, shoving myself between them so fast they each pushed into me then fell back with shock and confusion ripping through their anger.
Chase recovered quicker than Dimitri and reached for me to pull me to safety, away from his supposed friend’s rage. As quick as a flash, Dimitri’s h
and darted out and grabbed my other arm, locking me between them.
Each tugged, for their own reasons. I could only assume what those were. Whatever they were, they were pissing me off.
I pulled my arms sharply into my chest, freeing myself from both their grips, and turned my back on Dimitri to check on Chase.
The savage growl that ripped from Dimitri made my blood roar.
Blood dripped from Chase’s eyebrow, which had suffered a cut during the brawl. “Are you alright?” I asked, stepped closer and raised a hand to brush his forehead. “You’re bleeding.”
His breath came in pants and his eyes, dark and furious, shifted from me to over my shoulder as he fought to regain control. “I’m fine,” he ground out between clenched teeth. “What the fuck, man?” Chase’s voice was raw, but I could hear the edge of hurt. It twisted at my stomach.
I pivoted to glare at Dimitri, whose eyes were so black they made him look like a demon. It sent a shiver up my spine.
“What are you doing?” I lifted my hands and raked them through my hair to hold my head. I didn’t understand any of this. “Why did you do that?” I took a step towards him but stopped when his entire body went stiff at my approach. I exhaled slowly and focused on not clawing his eyes out. “Leave, Dimitri,” I hissed the command, hoping he’d recognize the fury radiating from me and listen, for once. “Just leave.”
He shifted his gaze with what looked like Herculean effort from Chase to me and blinked, as if bringing me into focus. Just as I was about to scream at him to leave, his eyes widened and his pupils shrunk, revealing the depths of his irises. It threw me, that shift from animal to human, just long enough to make me pause and really look.
His body shook violently, from still contained rage or the adrenaline pumping through his body, I wasn’t sure. What I saw was someone on the edge of losing control, someone who’d pulled back from the darkness… but why?
For me, I realized in a moment of shocking clarity. This was all about me. I’d done this.
No, I blinked hard and shook my head, pushing away the self-deprecating thoughts that threatened my thoughts too often. No. I wasn’t responsible for the choices of others and this had been a choice. I took another hesitant step towards him.
“He’s your friend,” I whispered, lifting my hands then letting them fall by my sides. “Why would you…” I trailed off when he stepped forward and lowered his mouth to my ear. I barely heard Chase’s wild growl in response.
“I can’t stay away,” his whisper was ragged and filled with pain that tore at my chest. “I tried. I swear.” Dimitri pulled away and squeezed his eyes shut but, before he did, I saw regret swimming in them. “I’m sorry,” he murmured it quietly then shifted his gaze to Chase. “I’m sorry, man.”
He moved past me and where his body touched mine, fires lit. Then he was stalking around the corner and disappearing into the crowd who parted like the Red Sea as he left.
I stared after him, fighting the urge to follow, to beg him to stay. The absurdity of it struck me in the chest like a blow. I pressed a hand over my heart, trying to ease the ache in there, but it only grew with each passing second.
A hand brushed mine and I turned to see Chase, staring after Dimitri, too. His face was a study in confusion, anger, and grief. I didn’t know much of their friendship but, from what I’d seen in those few brief moments, it had seemed tight, more like a brotherhood than casual friends.
I’d come between them. It wasn’t my fault. I’d be damned if I’d let myself take responsibility for that, but the undeniable truth was that they’d been just fine before me. Guilt didn’t always take rational thought into account.
I scanned the faces of the other students watching us, curiosity and the desire for gossip lighting their eyes. A thought tickled my mind making me frown.
The population of Omega Wolf Academy seemed equally split down the center between female and male. Discounting the guys who preferred guys but adding in the girls who preferred girls, there were a lot of potential interests right here, even in this room, none of whom looked at me the way Lucian, Chase, and Dimitri did.
So, what was it about them and me that made us different?
If I really were in heat, wouldn’t everyone around me be affected by my scent? I understood it wasn’t typical to be entering your first heat at this point in life, so meeting a female wolf in heat at University would be a novel experience. Yet, as I watched the crowd turn away and funnel back to the party, I couldn’t help but notice that nobody else was paying attention to me.
Except for Chase.
His fingers linked with mine and he gave a gentle tug that turned me away from the crowd to face him. I tilted my head up to look at him and noticed a small trickle of blood on his temple. My heart squeezed tight.
I lifted my fingers to his face, skimming them over his swelling and swiftly forming bruises. He was so beautiful, even moments after a fight, it nearly stole my breath. I cupped his cheek in my palm, and he leaned into me, closing his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them, they were that beautiful golden color once more, and they were looking down at me with a different kind of need, one that filled my throat with emotion and brought a sad smile to my lips.
“Not quite the date you had in mind?” I murmured, rising up onto my toes to gently flutter my lips over his. A soft warmth thrilled through me, so different from the blazing heat of before.
He gathered me into his arms and rested his chin atop my head. “Not quite,” he whispered into my hair. “I’m really sorry about that.” His voice broke on the apology.
I pulled back just enough to look up at him and shook my head. “Don’t apologize. Don’t ever apologize for him.” I exhaled my frustration. “I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but he had no right to touch you like that.”
Chase stared down at me for a long moment then a ghost of a smile lifted his lips. “I think he’s jealous.”
I scoffed. “Why would he be jealous? He acts like he can’t stand me half the time and, quite frankly, I’m not sure I even like him. He’s a bit of an asshole, you know.”
Chase laughed and the sound of it lifted my heart. “I can’t argue with that, he can definitely be an asshole. But he’s never been one to me or Lucian, and we’ve been friends since the first week we got here, three years ago.” His brow furrowed. “If I could just talk to him.”
Fresh guilt rose up inside me. Three years of friendship, torn apart because I’d decided to attend Omega Wolf Academy. Like it or not, I was at the center of this controversy. We were connected, the four of us, in a way I didn’t know how to explain. I’m not sure anyone would be able to explain it, but it was real.
How else could you explain the fact that three guys, from different walks of life, could become best friends and then all be intensely, irrationally attracted to the same woman? In our world, soul mates were the foundation of relationships. It was rare for people our age to find their soul mates, so wolves tended to just have fun and explore their sexuality until The One came along. I’d read papers on it the night before, written by highly educated wolves, but nothing I’d read had even mentioned what we were experiencing. My going into heat theory wasn’t holding up, it just didn’t make sense. More confused than ever, I decided to put the questions aside for the moment and just let myself enjoy being with Chase.
It was a bit startling, this feeling of contentment that was floating through my body, calming me after the storm Dimitri had created. I’d only just met Chase, obviously. We hadn’t had the chance to talk at all yet, so our connection had been purely physical. It felt like something more, now, something that tugged deep inside me and made me want to get to know him outside of our hormones.
I slid my hand into his and lifted it to my lips, watching the way his eyes lit up as my mouth grazed over the back of his knuckles. The instant lust that had flared to life between us was still there, but it was tempered now. I smiled and crooked my head. “I believe you still owe me a
dance,” I murmured softly, peering up at him through my lashes.
He chuckled and moved our linked hands to his mouth. “I think you’re right,” he said, mimicking my move.
I gasped in delighted surprise, when he placed a hand on my hip, spun me out then pulled me back as quick as a flash. I was laughing when he kissed me then pulled me out of the alcove and towards the dance floor.
We danced to every song that came on, laughing and spinning around the dance floor, completely oblivious to the world outside. I laughed so hard my cheeks began to ache. When the music switched to a slow song with rich melodies and soulful lyrics, Chase pulled me into his arms, holding me tight as he began to sway.
“It’s even better, you know,” he murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
“What’s even better?” I asked, knowing full well what he meant. I just wanted to hear it from his lips and see it in his eyes, an echo of what I was feeling. I’d told Emily earlier that I understood what kind of guy he was, but I’d been dead wrong. He might be a Playboy, with those golden curls and eyes and shoulders that made you feel delicate and feminine, there was no doubt he made girls and guys go weak in the knees.
Maybe it was foolish to believe that what we had was different, but there was nothing usual about the way we were reacting to each other, so why would I believe, even for one second, that he’d be the same guy with me that he’d been with others?
I wasn’t stupid. I knew hormones and physical attraction and perfect nights could influence your perception. I wasn’t about to become a love stricken little girl with hearts in her eyes who thought that they could change the guy. I didn’t want to change Chase, I just wanted to get to know the guy who lived beneath the façade. There was more to him than he showed most people. He’d given me a glimpse tonight and awoken a new desire in me. I smiled up at him, soft and knowing, and pulled his head down to kiss his beautiful lips.