The fire was strong and the drinks were stronger.
I hadn't seen Kaison in hours since he left me in the forest, only later asking Elion to go get fetch me. Was it obvious I was angry? I was always angry at him for one thing or another. And now it seemed I was angry at him for leaving me when all I wanted was for him to leave me alone.
Clarisse had left me alone however. She had flitted away, thankfully choosing someone else to go threaten. She was dancing and twirling, her red hair looking golden in the firelight. She looked so beautiful, I was so jealous.
Everyone was enjoying themselves and I wasn't, at my own wedding. I felt the mate bond snap and tug, almost a little painful pull of my heart and I sighed for the thousandth time that night. I could tell Kaison was close but maybe I hadn't fully understood the bond because I miscalculated just how close he was.
"Let's dance." I heard his voice behind the tree I was leaning on.
I jumped a full centimeter in the air, my drink spilling on my hand. I hissed at the liquid making contact on my skin. "Stop sneaking up on me like that!"
His right eye twitched, but thankfully he kept his comments to himself. I noticed how he said Let's dance, didn't even ask me, just ordered me about. There was something about these wolves and thinking they were bigger than everyone else. They were, but they could at least be humble about it.
"I'm fine here, thank you very much."
"I wasn't asking, Amara." For some reason, Kaison liked saying my name. It sounded like a lyric in his mouth but he only ever said it when he was annoyed at me. Which was all the time.
"Well, maybe that's why I don't want to." I lifted a shoulder, ignoring the way his eyes darkened. "Maybe if you asked nicely, I'd want to dance."
He let out a long sigh like I had just asked him to climb a mountain barefoot. Honestly, men. His jaw clenched, the movement defining his diamond cut chin. Dark brows and even darker shadows made him look ferocious. But there I was, tapping my feet, a brow raised waiting for him to tack on a please to a request. Surely, it wasn't that hard.
"Do you want to dance with me?" He added 'with me' after a short pause.
I stalled, tapping my chin with my index finger. I laughed when he growled impatiently. "Yes, Alpha, O great one, I will dance with you."
"You are too sarcastic for your own good."
"Some people tell me it's my most redeeming quality."
"People lie."
"And werewolves don't?"
Kaison pressed his lips together, choosing not to answer my rhetorical question. I raised a brow questioningly when he began shrugging off his jacket. The first two buttons off his shirt had disappeared and I saw a sliver of bronze chest. My cheeks heated as I got excited over – a brief flash of skin?
When would this horrid night end?
Kaison handed the long, heavy black jacket to me and I gratefully accepted it. My once pretty dress was smudged and ripped in several places, courtesy of the Alpha standing in front of me and I wasn't ready to freeze my little butt off. It was impossible not to sniff his scent as I put the jacket on, he smelled like pine and woods.
"Thank you." I smiled wide at him. "You see what I did there? Manners."
He rolled his eyes – that was new – and drawled. "If I knew asking you to dance would give me a pounding headache, I wouldn't have bothered."
"First dance, right?" I grabbed onto his arm, noting the way he unconsciously flexed. "Lead the way, precious Alpha."
If I wasn't leaving, I would annoy him to death. That was my new plan. With the creature in the woods at the back of my mind, Kaison led us to the middle of the dancing where the throng had made space. The music suddenly shifted to a slower tune and I internally groaned.
"I should warn you–" I blurted. "I don't know how to dance. I will step on your toes."
"I don't doubt it." He murmured. His right hand came to clasp my left, his other hand winding itself around my waist.
I didn't think this through, and I don't think he did either. The position was indecently compromising, my entire body pressed up against his. Our fingers intertwined, he pulled me closer until my chest pushed up against his. I was feeling every single muscle and contour of his body against mine.
When he spoke again, his voice was darker. Deeper. "Just follow my lead."
I nodded, too overstimulated to speak. I was going to blame it on the mating bond and whatever voodoo the moon had cast on me. Because with the way I was feeling, I was certain I could burn down the whole castle with the heat pulsing through my veins. And Kaison could feel it too.
I could tell because he wouldn't look at me. I bet he was counting down the seconds until he could toss me aside. Might as well use this opportunity to gather information. "They say I'm not the first human Luna."
His entire body stiffened. From head to toe. It was a while before he gritted out, his eyes coal black as he looked at me. "You shouldn't ask questions about things that don't concern you, Amara."
"This does concern me." I argued, and mistakenly stepped on his foot. At least he was still in shoes. I had discarded mine several hours ago and I had never felt so much bliss in one single moment.
Kaison looked down at our feet and back at me with a scowl. "Where did you keep your shoes? Have you been barefoot this whole time?"
"What, did you think I ran through the forest with those uncomfortable shoes?" I scoffed, turning my head away from him. God, he was getting on my nerves.
I was about to tell him just that when I was suddenly lifted up, I squealed, and was dropped on Kaison's shoes. So I was now standing on his dirt smudged boots. I glanced back up at him and he glared back down at me. "You're being less awful lately."
"Should I drop you? I assumed you'd had enough blisters for one night. Except you want to run through the forest again?"
The creature came back to the center of my mind full force. The dark cloak that smelled like death and dirt, the soulless eyes and the almost calm acceptance that I would have died. I was closer to death than I had been all week. I shivered involuntarily and Kaison's grip tightened around me.
"Are you okay?" He sounded so stiff, I wasn't sure if he was actually concerned. Or if he was scared I was going to faint and he would have to deal with it. "I'm not going to hurt you. I wasn't going to hurt you then, either."
I blinked up at him and suddenly, in the middle of the fire roaring and the guests dancing. Even though I barely knew this man who I just got married to. Even though I was clearly the prey of at least everyone here, I wanted to kiss him.
I glance at his lips and back up at his eyes. I wondered what it would be like to lean up into him and press my mouth against his? Would he taste like woods and pine? Or would he just taste like Kaison? I was staring so hard I noticed he did the same for me. Did he want to kiss me too?
I was attracted to him; who wouldn't be? But I felt something that was even worse than lust or attraction. I had never felt that with any of my previous relationships. All of them were just meaningless ways for me to pass the time. They usually didn't want anything else from me, and I was happy to leave it at that. Feelings made things complicated, because they made sure they hurt you by the end of it.
I had suffered hurt before, many, many times from even the people I had thought I was closest to. The easiest thing to do was guard my heart, build a brick wall around it. That's why this feeling of something more had me frowning, halting our movements.
Kaison stopped moving as well and dropped my hands like they were hot coals. A flash of emotion crossed his face, and I couldn't tell if it was self disgust or just plain disgust.
Right. I was a human. Lowest of the low. Just when I thought we were getting along. This was what happened when you let your feelings lead you. I was glad I hadn't listened to my intrusive thoughts and kissed him.
There was no future for me here, in this place. I would leave, sooner or later. And I wouldn't let him stop me this time. Because I had to remember I hated him, no matter how attractive he made kidnapping and forced marriage look.