Chapter Twenty Nine
Bile swirled in my stomach, lurching into my throat with a vicious burn that had me downing the rest of my drink in a single gulp.
I couldn't look away, couldn't tear my eyes from the scene in front of me as my wolf clawed and bit at the surface. My instincts were screaming at me to fight, to let my claws come out and show Lyra and everyone else who Dax really belonged to.
Holding back hurt, like fighting against a shift. It felt twisted and unnatural. Mates were for life, not until you got bored. Fated or not, the wolf inside yearned to defend that claim.
Lyra was smirking at me.
I could see the sick gleam in her eye, the self-satisfaction of triumph that she had come out on top as though she hadn't ensured it by preying on Dax's duty.
I stared through her - glacial. She, of all people, wouldn't see me crumble.
But the stem of my glass still creaked under my fingers, poised to shatter.
I knew it didn't matter to him. I knew he was playing the part I had told him to play. Dax had hesitated in our conversation, the reluctance and conflict clear on his face, in the tension he carried in his shoulders. This wasn't what he wanted.
Those feelings were new - the acceptance of the bond, the longing for something with me.
It had only been weeks since he had held Lyra against him and uttered those words in this very room for the entire Council to hear.
I reject you.
We had gotten past that. Learned. Grown.
He saw me and I believed that. Believed him.
I still believed him.
But that didn't soften the blow.
It built in my chest, a lead balloon inflating until it took up all the space to breathe. It crept down my neck in burning tentacles of ice, chilling me to the core until my fingers went numb.
The heat hit me, burning me from across the room.
Dax.
Lyra was too busy bathing in flattery to notice his dark chocolate eyes searching for mine. His face was straight, stoic but his eyes softened long enough to give me a glimpse of the emotions swimming within.
Guilt. Regret. Apology.
I didn't need his pity. I didn't want it.
I needed a stronger drink.
Turning on my heel, I left him to his pity party and made a beeline for the drinks table.
Rows of glasses lined the table in various shades of reds, pinks, yellows and golds. I could barely name two but I didn't need to know what they were, only that they could dull the war inside me.
The Council had pushed me around like a pawn, counting on me to stay quiet and do the right thing, make the moral choices. I was done playing their games.
It was time to make my own rules.
I plucked a glass of something gold from the table and took a gulp as my eyes wandered until I found him.
Lucien leaned against a pillar like he was born to decorate decadent spaces, polished and tousled at the same time. His allure was wasted in a room of werewolves but it was exactly what I needed.
His crimson eyes flickered towards me as I approached, a feral glint to his grin as he noticed the drink in my hands. Talia hovered behind me, fighting the furrow in her brow as she watched me warily.
"Trouble stalking across the ballroom," Lucien drawled, looking me up and down. "Should I be worried?"
I swirled the drink in my hand and let the ghost of a smirk tilt my lips. "Depends. How fast can you run?"
Lucien raised an eyebrow. "Oh darling, I don't run. I recline. Preferably somewhere warm, soft, and making delicious little noises under me."
I heard Talia cough behind me.
"Are you always this easy, Lucien?" I asked, looking at him over the rim of my glass as I took a sip.
"Always? No. For you? It's an honour."
I let out a mock sigh, a small pout on my lips. Lucien's eyes twinkled with amusement. "And here I was thinking I would get a chase tonight."
Lucien pushed off the pillar, taking a step into my space. "You keep saying things like that and I might think you're flirting."
"You keep looking at me like that and I might start."
Watching surprise flicker through Lucien's eyes was like taking down a fresh kill - clean, sharp, and exhilarating.
It didn't last long, morphing into seductive deviousness. "If you're here to seduce me, just say the word. I'll lay down and let you ruin me."
I could practically feel Talia roll her eyes.
"I'm just here for a drink," I answered but instead of raising my own, I brushed my hand along his and swiped the glass from his fingers.
He watched with fascinated amusement as I took a sip of the deep maroon bloodwine. It was sharp and earthy with a coppery tang. Not my taste but new and interesting and most importantly, it had Lucien's eyes lighting up with awe as I handed the glass back to him.
Lucien took the glass, holding it like he was half tempted to raise it in my honour. "I didn't peg you for someone who stole drinks."
I stepped in, close enough that I could feel the faint chill of him on my skin. "I didn't peg you for someone who'd let me."
His smirk sharpened, voice dipping into something rich and sinful. "I'd crawl on my knees if I thought it'd make you moan."
"What is going on?" Talia asked from behind me.
I let my fingers dance over the lapel of his jacket. "You're assuming I make noise."
Lucien made a sound somewhere between a growl and a strangled groan. "Darling, I don't assume. I discover. Thoroughly and repeatedly."
"It's not often I get a vampire offering himself up like a treat." I smirked at him, revelling in how he had to drag his eyes from my lips.
Lucien stepped in closer, the air around us charged. "I'm offering my hands, my mouth, and at least three unspeakable things that might get us banned from this building."
Talia choked on her drink.
I tilted my head, pretending to consider his offer. "Would those things involve that clever tongue of yours, or is it just for show?"
His fingers brushed against my cheek as he brushed a soft curl behind my ear. "Careful, Snow Queen, I'll start thinking you actually want to see if I can thaw you."
I leaned in, breath caressing the underside of his jaw. "And if I do?"
Lucien stilled for half a beat before he chuckled darkly, smooth a silk. "Watch out, little wolf. I bite."
"I'm not scared of teeth," I said, letting my eyes drop down to his mouth. "I'm just deciding where I want them."
"Oh dear goddess, please get a room," Talia begged in horror.
Lucien looked like he had been handed the finest vintage. I felt dizzy and free. I wasn't sure whether it was the alcohol or the giddiness of being so blatantly desired.
My nails dragged lightly against his shirt as I toyed with his opened collar.
"Fuck, you're dangerous," he breathed, his hand hovering above my waist.
My lips curved, ready to drive him crazier when a shadow broke the energy that sizzled between us.
Dax.
He strolled over, muscles coiled and face stoic but his eyes held murder. "Kiera, I need a word," he said, voice barely restrained. "Now."
I barely gave him a glance as my hand stilled against Lucien's chest. "We're in the middle of something."
Lucien was ready to combust, the amusement buzzing along his skin, not hidden as he turned his eyes to Dax. "We were just getting to the part where Kiera tells me if she prefers being pressed up against walls or laid out on tables."
Dax's jaw clenched, hands fisting at his sides.
I raised an eyebrow at Lucien. "Why not both?"
He hummed, the sound rumbling under my hand. "A woman after my own heart - and stamina."
"Kiera," Dax rumble, my name a lethal warning.
I sighed, staying a breath away from Lucien as I turned, slow and deliberate. "What is it you need?"
His eyes glowed amber, nostrils flaring. His voice was strong but hushed. "We should talk. Privately."
I blinked up at him, the picture of innocence as my head tilted to the side. "You mean like how Lyra talked to you with her tongue?"
"Holy shit," Lucien said through a choked laugh and Talia hissed a gasped breath.
Dax stepped closer, head dipped and voice hushed enough for only us to hear. "I don't know what this is, but it ends now."
I met his eyes with a challenging smirk. "Oh, I've barely started."
His jaw ticked. "You're trying to provoke me."
I turned fully to face him, feeling the loss of Lucien as he leaned back against the pillar to escape the blistering heat that hissed and spluttered as Dax and I stared each other down. "Good. It's working."
Dax huffed a controlled breath through his nose. "You're playing a dangerous game."
I dropped my voice low, just for him as I matched his warning. "And what are you going to do about it?"
His jaw worked, hands flexed, eyes glowing a burning amber. For a moment, it looked like he would push me up against the pillar and show me what happened when you played with fire.
But then his shoulders straightened, a good soldier standing to attention before he turned and stormed away.
Talia blew out an unsteady breath, shaking her head as she watched Dax disappear. "I knew something happened between you two but what was what? Who are you?"
The heedlessness swirling inside me wasn't alcohol - it was pure satisfaction.
I drained the last of my drink, smiling into the glass.
Let him burn.
Tonight I wasn't playing their game. I was rewriting the rules.
Phew...things have been getting hot...
But it was so satisfying getting to make Dax jealous and feel a fraction of what Kiera's been feeling.
What did we think of Kiera taking control and letting herself have some fun with Lucien?
Thanks so much for reading and sticking with me through this story!
But the heat is about to get a whole lot different in the upcoming chapters. We've only got 11 left ??