“It’s not ideal, but it’s urgent. We need that magical boost. Our familial blood, the alpha line, is tied to the magic stronger than others. Will that be a problem?”
I nodded too quickly. “No. No problem. I appreciate your faith in me.”
Lucien clapped me on the shoulder and left me there, staring at the wall.
No problem?
I was so fucked.
By the time I made it back to the table, I could already tell something was wrong.
Seraphina was leaning forward in her chair like a lioness stalking prey. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows were drawn in feigned curiosity, but the tension in her shoulders gave her away. Her voice, deceptively sweet, floated just above the clinking of silverware and background brunch noise.
Maggie sat across from her, stiff-backed, chin tilted. She was trying to keep her expression calm, but I saw her irritation in the way she tapped one finger against her thigh, and her smile was a little too still.
She was being cornered. I slowed my approach, catching just enough to know I was already too late.
“…I mean, it’s just odd, right?” one of Seraphina’s friends-Callie, I think-said, twirling her straw in her water like she was trying not to choke on her own smugness. “You’re not from here, no family in the pack, no pack ties. And suddenly Roman’s bringing you around like…what? Like you’re his?”
“I don’t need ties to the pack,” Maggie said calmly, but I knew her tells by now. Her right shoulder had drawn slightly inward. She was guarding. “Roman’s capable of deciding who he wants without an approval panel.”
Seraphina laughed. “Maggie,” she said, too brightly. “Don’t be naïve. Roman’s not just anyone. He’s the future of this pack. You think this is some fairytale? You think he’s choosing you because of love?”
My jaw locked.
“Maggie doesn’t need to explain herself to you,” I said, sharp enough to slice clean through the noise.
Seraphina’s head snapped toward me. Her fake-smile slipped.
“She doesn’t need to explain anything,” I continued, sliding into the seat beside Maggie. “But since you’re all so invested in my love life, let me clear things up.”
Maggie’s hand was in her lap. I found it under the table and laced our fingers together. Her pulse jumped.
“I’m not using her,” I said, staring Seraphina down. “Not for politics. Not for appearances. Not for anything other than the fact that she’s the love of my life.”
A few gasps. One quiet scoff. Seraphina looked like I’d slapped her.
Maggie stiffened, but I kept my hand over hers, stroking the back of her knuckles with my thumb.
“She’s the best damn thing that’s ever happened to me,” I said, and it wasn’t just for show. Every word was true. “So if anyone here has a problem with that, I suggest you figure out how to keep it to your fucking self.”
Callie opened her mouth. I didn’t let her speak.
“If anyone questions Maggie again,” I said, voice dropping to a quiet threat, “they can challenge me formally.”
That shut everyone up.
I turned toward Maggie. She looked stunned. Lips slightly parted, eyes wide. She was gripping my hand like I was the only steady thing in the room.
I tucked her hair behind her ear and murmured, “Come with me.”
I stood and pulled her with me, threading through the crowd until we found a quiet alcove tucked behind one of the curved staircases. The house was loud, but here, the world slowed just for us.
She still hadn’t said a word.
I tilted her chin up gently. Her eyes met mine-bright, unreadable, maybe still trying to catch up.
“You okay?” I asked softly.
She nodded a little too quickly. I could feel her pulse where I was touching her.
“Thank you,” I said, voice barely above a whisper. “For enduring all of that. For me.”
Her brows furrowed slightly, like she didn’t understand why I was thanking her.
“Thank you. For defending me.” And then her lips were on mine.
It wasn’t practiced or perfect. It wasn’t for show. Gravity dragged us together. Maggie curled her fingers into my shirt like she needed something to hold on to. I pressed my palm to the small of her back and pulled her closer.
The kiss shifted-slow to aching, tentative to hungry. Her mouth opened for me, and I was gone. Every time she made that soft sound in the back of her throat, it took every ounce of control not to lift her up right there and?-
Her shoulder blades met the wood paneling beside a guest room door. Keeping my mouth on hers, I fumbled behind her for the door knob and pushed the door open. We stumbled inside.
She was breathless. Hair a mess. Eyes wide and wanting.
I kissed her again, and this time, she kissed me back like we’d been waiting for this all our lives.
Maggie
I didn’t even have time to blink before my back met the wall. Roman didn’t touch me, but the heat of him pressed in like gravity, and I realized I’d followed him in here with no idea what was about to happen.
There was no hint of teasing mischief in his eyes. That sharp, smug edge he wore like armor?
Gone.
What was left was darker, and it told me that whatever this was, it wasn’t pretend anymore.
My breath hitched. My spine locked. I couldn’t seem to find air, but I couldn’t make myself look away either. Roman stared at me like he’d made up his mind. And whatever he’d decided, my body had already agreed.
The silence stretched on, and something built in the space between us.
He raised his hands slowly, giving me time to stop him.
I didn’t.
His fingertips brushed the fabric at my hips, then his touch became firmer, more certain. His palms settled there, and I felt my knees nearly give. Roman looked at me like I was the only thing in the world he wanted to touch. To feel.
The back of my head pressed harder into the wall as I tried to remember how to think.
But thinking was impossible with Roman looking at me like that. Suddenly, it felt like I wasn’t just a pawn in his pack’s games or the convenient roommate he tolerated because he couldn’t be bothered to get a real girlfriend.
He looked at me like I was real to him. And it terrified me more than any fight, any stare-down with Seraphina, any rule we’d already broken.
Because I didn’t want to stop him. I didn’t want to go back to the table and pretend we hadn’t just stepped into something irreversible.
His grip on my hips tightened, and he searched my face to see if I’d flinch.
I didn’t.
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