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"If you tell me information on where my brother is, you'll both be free." He looks between us, his eyes dark. "Otherwise I'm going to take Dove upstairs and I'm going to fuck her."
***
One night, Dove sneaks away.
Deep in an un...
Leaving the clamouring heat of the dining room for the composed coolness of Ciella's gallery is an immense relief.
My hands are still shaky as Varian and I walk side by side, slowly and purposefully as we observe the extravagant works of art hung above the wainscotting on the wall.
It feels strangely calming in his presence. Sure, I can feel the weight of his power pressing insistently against my skin, thumping at my temples and thrumming along my pulse. But it feels oddly...right, to be near him.
"That was quite the show," he muses, the lilt of humour in his voice not lost on me.
"Glad I could entertain," I mutter gruffly.
The sickening thud of the fork entering Claude's muscle is a sensation I'll never shake. Even now it makes my stomach churn and my breath quicken.
I shouldn't have done that. I don't know what came over me.
"Claude won't harbour any resentment toward you, if that's what you're worried about."
I huff. "Oh, quite the contrary."
Looking up I see Varian staring down at me instead of all the incredible paintings on display. We walk by one depicting a fight between two wolves in their beast form, tearing at flesh, teeth white and stark beneath veiled moonlight.
I wouldn't be surprised if one of those wolves were Varian's ancestor...
"Does it bother you that Claude desires you?" He asks calmly.
"I've had people desire me before..." I tug the sleeve of my dress down my wrist, bundling the edge in my hand.
I hope he doesn't inquire into who I'm mentioning, exactly.
His smile is dark and provocative. "I don't doubt it."
"But never someone so powerful," I say quickly, trying to bury my tracks preemptively. "I mean, what if he forces me-"
The room seems to chill as a sternness haunts his tone. "He won't. I won't allow it, Dove."
I nod numbly. I hadn't even realised we've stopped. The painting before us is a landscape painting of this city but from many years ago. The structures look primitive and underdeveloped, nature still pressing in around them.
"Why are you here, talking to me right now?" I ask softly, watching him adjust the lapels of his jacket.
"There was actually something I wanted to ask you about." He runs his hand over his jaw.
"What is it?"
"I wanted to ask you and your family to stay with me a week. Eden can stay with Ciella, and you and your father may stay here, or with me, or wherever, as long as it is in my pack."
The way he looks down at me as almost as unsettling as his words. A heavy implication hangs stagnant in the air, suggesting he's not just asking us to stay within his pack lines for a holiday.
"Why? is something going to happen?" I pick anxiously at the skin around my nails.
"Nothing I can speak of," he responds tightly, cautiously. "I just hope you take my offer."
"I can't...my father would murder Eden and I if he knew anything about this. He has strong feelings about you and your pack," I admit sheepishly.
I probably shouldn't have imparted that information, but he doesn't fazed. He knows what pack I belong to, and what we're taught about him there.
"And you won't stay here without him?"
I shake my head slowly. "No...I won't."
If something truly is going to happen, I can't leave my father. He would never agree to come here, especially without proof that he's in danger.
Taut lines of tension form on Varian's forehead as he stares ahead. "I cannot force you, I suppose."
"If you're planning something, you can tell me," I prompt quietly, glancing down the empty corridor to ensure we are alone.
He most definitely cannot, but these days I'm not sure how loyal I am to Matthias. He has not displayed any loyalty to me, but if Varian's plan involves him, I'm sure I would be tempted to divulge it.
"Is there any reason why you didn't tell my driver your address?" Varian asks, veering our conversation off in an entirely different direction.
"Why are your harping on this?" I exasperate.
He shrugs smoothly. "I'm curious."
Maybe he already knows about my connection to Matthias and this is a test. He doesn't look at me with ire or disgust, but he seems like the type to adeptly conceal his true emotions at his leisure.
"I...it's none of your business, Alpha. I am trying to be respectful, but you are making it difficult."
I start back off down the hallway, passing casual glances at the expansive landscapes and imposing portraits propped on the wall.
"No need to be respectful." He's at my side again in a second. "I can handle disrespect."
"I just want to know your motivations," I admit.
I've reached the end of the gallery so quickly I'm forced to turn. Varian stands before me in all his form, so broad and towering I'm not sure I can navigate past him without making this awkward.
His expression settles into something solemn. "Something big and terrible is coming. It would...please me to know you were safe."
I raise a skeptical brow. "Why?"
He angles his head, a puzzled, thoughtful expression mounting his face as he pulls his gaze over me. I go stiff, feeling the physical tracing of his eyes over every inch of my figure.
"I think I want to fuck you," he muses calmly.
My eyes widen and I nearly choke on my own saliva.
"You...you what?"
"I find you frightfully beautiful and compelling and I want to inflict so much pleasure upon you that you can never take another lover without thinking of me," he murmurs, his hands gliding into his pockets.
Words that would make me flush to say seem to come to easily to him. He doesn't make any move to touch me, wanting me to hear his desires without taking action.
"You're very forward, Alpha." I rub my arm, feeling tiny bumps gathering on my skin.
When Matthias first showed interest in me, I couldn't believe an Alpha desired me. Eventually I got used to his affections, but with Varian it feels different. Having his sole focus on me brings a tidal wave of implications, each as dark and forbidden as each other.
"It doesn't occur to many males in this pack to keep their thoughts to themselves. Slow seduction is fun, but avoiding the truth isn't," he says smoothly.
The brazenness of males here is a well-known fact, displayed predominantly by Claude. And by how Varian touched me in a room full of people.
"Absolutely not." He takes a step forward, tension pulling taut between us. "I have no intention of taking you to my bed tonight, Dove. In fact, I may not ever see you again beyond this night, although I'm choosing to believe that fate will bring up back together."
"So?"
"So consider this slow seduction." His eyes drop to my lips, watching my teeth pull at my lower lip. "When I see you again, we'll discuss this further."
I shake my head. Ciella may be his friend, and she may be in a relationship with my sister, but that doesn't mean I have to see Varian again. If so, I hope our encounters will be fleeting.
He's too dangerous to become acquainted with...
"No, we will not. We will never see each other again, and you will keep your seduction to yourself," I snap.
As tempting as Varian is, I can't get wrapped up with him when I'm already too close to Matthias. Either finding out about each other would lead to a volatile explosion with me in the centre.
"We'll see." He smiles playfully.
"What you'll see, is that I'm not a body for you and Claude and whoever else in your pack to do what you please with," I growl, shouldering past him. "I'm my own person who likes romance, and love and all that...not blatant seduction by powerful men."
If Matthias has taught me anything, it is that I'm done being used. I like sex, and I enjoy feeling desired, but only on my terms now.
He follows closely behind. "Don't forget you let me finger you to climax in front of all my friends."
"That is...unrelated," I throw back over my shoulder.
"You can have both, Dove," he insists.
I whirl around and he nearly runs straight into me. He's only being so insistent because he likes watching me squirm, but I can't help but fall straight into his trap.
"None of this matters since we shall never cross paths again," I remind him coldly. "I'll be seeing Ciella on private occasions only."
"Are you willing to make a bet on that?"
"I am, in fact," I say decidedly. "I am almost certain that we shall never see each other again, and what happened in the past is behind us."
After this dinner, I'll be returning to my father, who is none the wiser about my dalliance in Alpha Varian's pack. I can go back to working for Matthias, and avoid all further conflict on the matter.
Varian doesn't seem as convinced as he watches me thoughtfully. "I very much look forward to the next time our paths cross, Dove."
"Goodbye Varian."
He doesn't follow my determined walk back through the gallery, but his eyes never life from me until I'm gone.
💛••💛
As always, you can read this book 16 chapters ahead on Inkitt and 10 chapters ahead on Radish!
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