7: Just a glance

Raegan

I tilted my head to the side without thinking about it, and he grunted his approval of the action. I smiled a little, and my eyes fluttered closed while he wrapped both hands around my hips and pulled me closer to him.

I gasped as I felt those sparks shoot from where his hands met the thin fabric of my gown to my spine.

"I could get used to this," he murmured against my skin.

"I could too," I admitted. I immediately flushed at my admission. It was like my brain had lost the filter between thought and voice.

"Yeah?" He whispered, settling into the crook of my neck.

I took in a deep breath and decided to follow through on telling the truth. I nodded.

"Good," he smiled and placed a kiss where he was before pulling his head back.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and turned towards him a little to take in a deep breath of his scent as the door beeped and opened. Shawn leaned towards me, kissing me once on each cheek as I did the same to her. Morgan squeezed my hand twice and winked at me. Cris looked at the king disdainfully, then at me, then at the king's hands on my hips before he bowed his head and departed.

The doors closed, and the king huffed.

"I don't think the Gamma likes me," he muttered.

His words caught me off guard, and I looked up at him, furrowing my eyebrows. "Do you care if he likes you?"

He tilted his head to the side, "No, I don't think I do."

The wolf who was wearing the mouse mask barked out a laugh. He wasn't wearing his mask anymore, and I wasn't sure when he took it off, but as I caught sight of him without it, I felt my heart start racing in my chest. He was a very pretty man. He had defined features and a strong jaw, and his nose had a curve in it that told me it had been broken before. Probably multiple times, considering how many scars littered the bare skin that he had on display.

"Be honest, Coal," the Mouse raised his eyebrows and looked at the King, "you couldn't care less if the Gamma likes you; you care more about how much he likes the lovely Miss Raegan." He looked at me and winked.

My cheeks heated up, and I looked at the ceiling quickly. The King's Second laughed loudly while the King tightened his grip on my hips and covered more of me with his arms.

"Mine," he snarled at the Mouse.

I rolled my eyes and looked at him, feeling incredibly less amused by his display of possessiveness.

"Chill out." I glared at him and tore myself from his grasp before putting a few feet of space between us.

He huffed out angrily and went to grab me. I moved my arm before he could, and he glared at me before grumbling something I couldn't understand under his breath.

The Mouse laughed along with the Second.

The guards who'd joined us shifted on their feet, and the king cut everyone in the elevator a cold glare. I raised my eyebrows, rolling my eyes once more and leaning back against the elevator wall as the door beeped once more before parting and letting in the dim light of the next floor. The second bowed to the king, taking her male's hand into her own and departing, and then the mouse followed suit, departing with his own mate closely tucked into his side.

When the doors closed, the King looked at me and slowly approached me. He watched my every movement and eventually stood directly in front of me, his chest nearly touching mine with every rise and fall of his breath intake.

"Raegan, I am bewitched by you," he whispered, his eyes scanning every small crevice of my face.

My heart raced in my chest once more, and I felt my wolf stir once more at the proximity of our mate. His scent enveloped me in a warm cocoon where nothing else existed but him and me. The smell of roses and honey filled my lungs and nose, and I grew lightheaded.

"You... you don't even know me," I whispered, looking at his lips, "respectfully."

He smiled. "I know." He bent forward and placed a kiss on the top of my head and then took two steps back. His eyes were shifting from black to green back to back, and I knew his wolf was watching me.

He swallowed, and his eyes traveled down my body, a frown coming to his lips. "You can't sleep in that."

I looked down at myself and saw the remains of my silk gown. I pouted and bunched some of the fabric in my hands. "I didn't even get to show it off," I muttered sadly to myself.

The king didn't say anything to that, so I looked up at him. "I can go back to my room and get a pair of pajamas--" I started to say, but he shook his head quickly.

"The only way you're going on that floor is with me at your side, and I don't really feel like going back down there tonight," he said quietly, his eyes drifting down to my ruined dress once more. He sighed, "You can wear my clothes to bed tonight."

Butterflies started to flap their traitorous wings in my stomach, and I inhaled sharply, "I have pajamas; I can go get them."

He took in a deep breath. "With respect, miss, I want you to smell like me. Letting you wear my clothes to bed is the least asshole-ish way to do that."

"It's still a move an asshole would make."

He shrugged, "If you knew I was planning on going to breakfast with someone who looked at me the way the Gamma looked at you, you'd be making asshole moves too."

"Possessive wolf," I growled, baring my teeth at him. The action shocked me. I wasn't prone to exhibiting wolfish behavior.

He growled back and bared his teeth at me as well.

"You can't just send me away because you don't like the way my friend looks at me." I folded my arms across my chest, looking up directly into his dangerous amber eyes. Even in anger, I couldn't ignore the suffocating alpha aura he radiated.

He stepped forward, closing the distance between us, and I could feel his heat radiating toward me. "Haven't you been letting me scent you for the last hour and a half?" His voice was low and husky, wolf's light flickering in his eyes.

My heart raced, but I refused to back down. "Touché."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a dangerous smile, then he sighed deeply, his fingers lightly brushing my cheek. "Look, I know it's weird. I've never felt this... this primitive urge before." His laugh was deep and sexy. "I swear, I'm not usually a prick." His fingers slid to my chin, lifting it gently. "But right now, the wolf inside me has only one thought—to soak you in my scent, to let every male who comes near you know you've been claimed."

My breathing quickened, my body betraying my rationality. "Okay," I reluctantly agreed, my voice shakier than I'd hoped. "I'll wear your clothes to bed, but!" I raised a finger against his chest, feeling the strong beat of his heart. "I want this possessive Alpha male wolf bullshit over with in the morning."

His eyes darkened, his arm wrapping around my waist, pulling me closer. "So you wouldn't make the same moves if our roles were reversed?" His lips were almost against my ear, his breath making my knees weak. "Wouldn't your wolf howl to stake her claim if other women approached me?"

I bit my lower lip, trying to maintain my anger despite the heat pooling low in my belly. "Don't push it," I warned, though the threat in my voice was weakened by desire. You're already in the doghouse, and we met less than two hours ago." I warned, though the threat in my voice dissolved into a soft gasp as his lips grazed the sensitive spot below my ear.

"Tonight is yours, princess," he murmured against my skin, his hands sliding down to grip my hips. "But don't think this game is over." His teeth gently nipped at my earlobe, drawing a moan I couldn't suppress. "We're just getting started."