I waved to Lucian, to our steak dinner. “Performing open-heart surgery, obviously.”
He rolled his eyes. “Very clever.”
I rolled mine, too, pushing my seat back. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
Hopefully, Ethan would miraculously vanish by the time I returned.
As I walked past him, I said, “Feel free to make yourself scarce by the time I-” I let out a surprised gasp as Ethan grabbed my arm with an urgency that shocked me.
My eyes widened as he leaned in and sniffed my neck. “What the hell?”
“Where have you been?” he asked sharply, his eyes snapping to mine. “Who were you with?”
“Excuse me?”
Lucian rose from his seat, and his voice cut in, cool and calm. “Ethan, let her go.”
But my brother’s grip only tightened. There was something feral in his eyes. What scent on me was making him this way?
“Tell. Me,” he ground out.
“Where she goes or who she spends her time with is none of your business, Lockwood,”
Lucian said, his voice firmer.
Ethan’s gaze snapped to him, and he growled, sounding more agitated than usual. “It is when it involves my sister.”
The audacity stunned me, and I ripped my arm out of his grasp. “You’re unbelievable. You’ve ignored me for years, and all of a sudden, now you care?”
“I care about who’s around you,” he said, eyes flicking back to my neck. “She must have hugged you for the scent to stick like that. Who were you with?!”
What the fuck?
The only person who had hugged me today was Maya, and what the hell did that have to do with Ethan?
He leaned forward again as if to grab me.
But before he could touch me, I shoved him back with all the strength I could muster.
His eyes flared as he stumbled backward, feet lifting off the ground for a heartbeat before he crashed into the empty table behind him.
My eyes widened, too, at the fact that I’d just sent a full-grown Alpha flying when opening a jar of pickles was my Achilles heel.
Ethan stared at me with shock, and I looked down at my hands in equal measure.
My pulse thrummed, my breath caught. I was buzzing.
“What. The. Fuck. Sera?” he snapped, straightening. The entire restaurant was watching us, intrigued by the spectacle we were making.
“You are one of four people who have absolutely no right to pry into my life. You’re not my brother, and nothing-abso-fucking-lutely nothing-I do concerns you. Next time you see me in public, I’d thank you kindly to mind your fucking business.”
RIA
Ethan’s mouth opened-then closed. He inhaled sharply, and I saw his wolf flare in his eyes. His jaw clenched, his eyes darkened, and he turned on his heel and left.
I stood there long after Ethan disappeared through the doors. Long after our spectators returned to their meals.
Lucian didn’t speak for a long beat. He simply placed a hand gently on my arm.
“I’m fine,” I whispered. But I was shaking-this time from something else.
“I felt her,” I said, turning to him. “My wolf-It was faint, but… she stirred when I pushed him.”
I looked down at my hands in awe. “That was strength.”
Lucian beamed, proud. “Now that is worth celebrating.”
***
We left the restaurant and went to a bar about ten minutes away from what Lucian pointed out was Maya’s apartment building.
Alcohol flowed freely, with Lucian calling toast after toast. My cheeks flushed warm, and the adrenaline had softened into something almost giddy.
I hadn’t drunk like this in a long time, and I felt deliriously happy.
“Okay,” Lucian chuckled, taking my glass from my hand. “I think it’s time we cut you off.”
“No,” I whined, holding my head up with my hands; it felt too heavy to hold on my own.
“We’re celebrating.”
“Let’s not overdo it, yeah?” he said, brushing hair away from my cheek. “I have a feeling that when it comes to you, we’ll have more reasons to celebrate.”
“I don’t get it,” I mumbled, my words slurring. “Why do you treat me so well? What do you get out of this?”
Lucian didn’t answer right away. He leaned back, studying me with a look that made my stomach flutter-or maybe that was the alcohol.
I blinked once, twice, but the edges of the world had started to blur. The background of the bar melted into something syrupy and drowsy.
My head dropped to the side, and the last thing I felt was Lucian’s hand-steady, careful- catching my head before the darkness swept me into sleep.
And, through the haze, I heard the words but barely comprehended them. “I want you as my Luna.”
SERAPHINA’S POV
I woke with my mouth dry and my limbs heavy, like I’d been asleep for a thousand years, and barely managed to claw my way back into the world.
The faint scent of saffron and eucalyptus filled the air-soothing, grounding.
Not my apartment.
I blinked against the soft morning light streaming in through parted drapes and slowly sat up, clutching the edge of the couch. I recognized that scent, associated with my new friend and formidable trainer.
I was on Maya’s couch.
Relief hit first. No unfamiliar sheets. No morning-after regrets. I was fully clothed, my shoes were neatly placed by the door, and a blanket had been tucked over me.
No smeared lipstick, no taste of another’s mouth on mine. Nothing to indicate I’d done anything reckless.
“Oh, thank fuck,” I whispered.
I rarely let myself indulge in alcohol as much as I did last night. After what happened with
Kieran ten years ago, I rarely let myself get inebriated, wary of making yet another devastating mistake.
But then, inexplicably, underneath the relief was… disappointment?
I couldn’t understand the feeling. I guess with everything that had passed between Lucian and me, a part of me had wanted… something to happen.
Lucian had looked at me last night like he saw me-really saw me. Not as Kieran’s ex. Not as the tragic, estranged daughter of the Lockwood family.
But as a woman. One who was changing. Growing. Becoming.
And I liked it-I fucking loved it.
I leaned back against the couch cushions and exhaled. Maybe I’d let Maya get too into my head and imagined the whole thing. Maybe the warmth in Lucian’s gaze was just his kindness, his steady loyalty.
Maybe I was projecting hopes onto the only man in my life who hadn’t treated me like an afterthought.
I mean, how desperate did I have to be that I was wishing I had a drunken one-night stand with him?
The front door creaked open before I could spiral too far.
Maya stepped in, balancing two cups of coffee and a paper bag. The bag carried the same logo as the restaurant we were at last night. I guess she really was a regular there.
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