Chapter 10 Zera #3
“But I do mean it,” he said, his head tilting as he appraised her. “It’s a real shame to waste such beauty for something so fleeting.”
He reached for a strand of hair that fell into her eyes, but she swatted his hand away. One of the many women nearby gasped, unable to fathom standing up against him. It was probably stupid of her, but she wasn’t about to let this incubus get any closer to her.
“Ooh, you are a delightful thing, now, aren’t you?” He chuckled and ran a hand through his ridiculous hair. “Such a waste, indeed.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” she spat, and he arched a gray brow.
“And why’s that?” he asked.
“Among the many criminal organizations you control, one includes the murdering of my kind,” she hissed, not bothering anymore to keep to her cover.
He already knew who and what she was. “You’re a pixie murderer, and the only thing keeping you from killing me for my pixie dust is this stupid neutrality thing. Unless these laws don’t apply to me?”
The grin vanished from Kraven’s face, melting into a scowl as he stepped within a hair’s breadth from her. His eyes flickered with anger, the amusement replaced by a dangerous glint. Zera stood her ground, refusing to let fear swallow her whole. She had come too far to back down now.
“I only provide what is craved.” Kraven seethed, his voice dripping with venom. “If there were any other way of supplying what my customers desire, I would do it. But as it so happens, there is no such alternative. That’s the way of life. Supply and demand.”
Her throat went dry, and she was suddenly unable to speak.
Kraven gripped her arm with an ice-cold hand and added, “You are no exception, and when the clock strikes midnight, I won’t be able to stop every single one of my hit men from coming after you.
You’ll be just another supply of pixie dust, a means to an end.
I wish it were different, but that’s how it works. ”
She gulped, getting the message. As long as there were those who sought out the illegal drug, there would be fae monsters like him profiting from it, and there was nothing she could do about it.
“Excuse me,” she muttered, yanking her arm from Kraven’s icy grip. “I need to find my husband.”
“Of course,” Kraven replied smoothly, as if he hadn’t threatened her life only a moment earlier. “But remember, Charlotte, I’ll be watching like a seductive shadow under the steel titan’s watchful gaze.”
She furrowed her brows in confusion. What did that even mean?
She hoped it wasn’t another one of those incubus powers.
Still, she shivered at the promise of being watched and at the way he said her cover name as if he had just whispered a threat into her ear.
Zera forced herself to maintain composure, refusing to show any sign of weakness or fear.
She knew that if she let a sliver of doubt enter her mind, Kraven would exploit it ruthlessly.
As Zera navigated the crowded gala in search of Maverick, she could feel the weight of Kraven’s gaze on her back.
It was as if every step she took, every breath she drew brought her closer to her death.
The air seemed thick with danger, and Zera knew that her survival—and that of Maverick—hung by a thread.
“Where are you, you bloody stubborn faeboy?” she whispered on a shaky breath.
It wasn’t only Kraven’s eyes she felt on her.
Everyone around her kept glancing at the giant clock on the back wall, ticking down the seconds to her doom.
Why had she and Maverick come here? They hadn’t gotten any closer to finding out where Gareth was hiding or where they might be able to find him.
This had been a total disaster, and now she was entirely alone, surrounded by monsters who would kill her for her pixie dust as soon as the clock struck midnight.
Shouts and screams echoed from the glass balcony doors, and she picked up the pace. Fae shoved their way inside, escaping whatever madness had erupted outside. Zera’s heart raced, and she knew that Maverick was somehow involved in this commotion.
“Excuse me!” she called out, pushing her way through the panicked crowd.
It was like treading against a current. She finally reached the balcony, the brisk night air hitting her face as she pushed her way onto the stone terrace.
Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Maverick standing at the center of it all.
There, amid the chaos, Maverick stood in full werewolf form, his giant black wolf towering over Sebastian.
His venomous teeth were inches away from sinking into the neck of the vampire, who hissed against the alpha’s grip.
Shit. Maverick was about to break the law of neutrality. What would happen to him if he did so? Just by being in this mansion, they were magically bound to obey. She didn’t know what the consequences would be, but she knew they would be life-threatening if he killed the vampire.
“Stop!” she screamed, her voice barely audible over the shrieking wind and the gasps of the onlookers.
Maverick’s wolf eyes, swirling with rose gold, jerked to her, and the fear clouding her mind began to dissipate as she realized that this must be Kraven too.
He must’ve manipulated Maverick’s emotions back in the ballroom, causing him to lose control.
This wasn’t the Maverick she knew. This was the puppet being controlled by a ruthless incubus.
“Please, Dane. Don’t do this,” she pleaded softly, her eyes locked on his while she prayed he would still respond to her, even though she was forced to avoid using his real name. Since Kraven already knew their true names, though, what did it matter?
The massive black werewolf chomped his giant snout, pawing Sebastian like he was merely prey. And if what Maverick had told her about alpha-born werewolves was right, he was just that. It didn’t matter how powerful of a fae one was or how immortal. His bite could kill.
Finally, something flickered in Maverick’s werewolf gaze, and the snarling beast hesitated for a moment, as if considering her words. She could see the conflict within him, the struggle between his innate ferocity and the man he truly was.
“Remember why we’re here?” she asked, raising her hands as she carefully approached him. “You’re my husband. We’re here to enjoy a gala. That’s all.”
The alpha werewolf’s stormy eyes looked down at the vampire, as if to accuse Sebastian of taunting him.
She took another step forward and a deep breath. “Yes, Sebastian said some stupid things. But he didn’t mean any of it. Right, Sebastian?”
“R-Right.” Sebastian nodded profusely.
Another step, and she closed the distance between them. She carefully stroked Maverick’s wolf behind the ears, his soft fur hot and comforting to the touch. It was like being curled up with a blanket next to a roaring fire.
“See? All is right. Now, let’s let everyone get back to enjoying the party,” she said, her tone soft and reassuring.
Slowly, agonizingly, Maverick’s wolf form began to shrink, and the fur receded back into his body as he stepped away from Sebastian.
His suit hung in shreds, barely covering his body as bits of muscle reformed, reconstructing his human figure.
Maverick’s eyes, once wild and feral, regained their familiar storm as he stood before her in his true form.
Maverick released a low growl as he fought against the lingering instincts of his werewolf self, struggling to regain control.
With turmoil etched on his face, he battled between human reason and animalistic instinct. She reached for his hand and grasped it. His fingers trembled, but he finally held her hand, the beast within subdued.
Sebastian shuffled to his feet, brushing off his suit as he shot Maverick a dirty look. “I’ll be seeing you later, Dane.”
Maverick’s grip tightened on her hand at the threat, but he didn’t move when Sebastian backed away into the throng of spectators who had gathered to witness the near-violent spectacle.
“Zera,” Maverick whispered, his voice hoarse and filled with regret. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you in there. This is all my fault.”
“It’s okay. Kraven manipulated us both. He was testing us, testing you,” she whispered urgently. “But we should be careful. He may know about our mission now.”
She was beginning to understand why everyone in the ballroom seemed to orbit him. He was a power to reckon with.
Maverick glanced around the crowded balcony, as if assessing their situation. Dozens of bystanders kept an eye on them under the guise of enjoying the night air.
“We need to get out of here,” he said, his jaw set. “But you won’t like it.”
She followed his gaze to the corner of the balcony where a vine-covered trellis met the side of the building. “Um, no. I’m not going to climb down that rickety old thing. Especially not in this dress!”
“Oh?” Maverick cocked an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips as he took in her appearance. Guess he was back to his bloody faeboy humor.
“Would you rather take your chances with another round of Kraven’s games or trust me to keep you safe?” His voice held a teasing edge, but the undercurrent of concern was unmistakable.
Zera rolled her eyes dramatically but couldn’t suppress her own smile. “Fine, but if I tear this gown, you’re on seamstress duty.”
He chuckled, the sound rich and grounding. He reached out, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face with a tenderness that belied his brute strength of moments earlier. Maybe there was more to this conceited faeboy wolf after all.
“Deal,” he murmured. His hands found her waist, lifting her effortlessly onto the trellis, as if she weighed no more than a feather.
She grasped the wooden lattice, her heart fluttering—not out of fear from the descent, though from the breeze she felt the height and didn’t dare look down, but from the proximity to Maverick.
“Look! They’re getting away!”
The angry voice of someone from the balcony snapped her out of the moment. Maverick looked over his shoulder and quickly leapt onto the trellis beside her, making the whole thing quiver under the weight.
“Come on, we need to go. Now!” he growled, beginning the descent at a dangerously fast pace.
That was when she made the mistake of looking down. She gulped. The darkness below her seemed to go on forever.
“Right,” she breathed, the dizzying drop making her head spin.
But she trusted Maverick.
Closing her eyes, Zera took a deep breath, steadying herself as she began to climb down.
The trellis creaked with every step, the wood groaning under their combined weight. Zera’s chest heaved with every breath as she focused on her grip and each foothold, desperate not to slip.
“You’re doing great.” Maverick encouraged her, his voice steady and comforting as he climbed down below. “Just a little bit farther.”
If anything happened, he would catch her. He’d saved her time and time again, and she trusted he would do it again.
Finally, they reached the ground safely, their hearts pounding to the beat of the fae above them rushing to the edge of the balcony to see their demise.
Vampires hissed, their fangs glinting in the moonlight, and witches muttered curses under their breath, as if they all were hoping to get a chance to stab a pixie once midnight struck.
Zera’s legs trembled as they landed on the grass, but relief overwhelmed her. The sooner they got out of there, the better.