Allure of the Wolf (Seraphine Thomas Book 2) (28 page)

“I’m not pointing fingers then…”

“But why didn’t we police him better?” she finished for me. I nodded. “There are more wolves than cats and he has an ironclad alliance with Vlad. What we didn’t know was Bernard Dorcus was doing something to Vlad, drugging him maybe, into turning a blind eye as to what was going on in the pack until it was too late.”

“So Vlad should really be the one cleaning up this mess.” Interesting.

“Perhaps. Might be something to suggest to your vampire friend.”

“I think I know his answer if I did,” I sighed.

“He’ll help if you take over the pack?” I nodded. “We all would if you did. If there’s no other strong, moral leader, there would be chaos, and the potential of a different pack taking over the prime Chicago turf is too great and we can’t have that.”

I swirled my drink and stared out at the dance floor full of naked bodies grinding together. “So I keep hearing. The devil we know and all that.”

“Exactly.”

“Ooh, my eye candy’s back,” I chuckled, catching sight of the fine ass… Except he turned around, and I knew the person that ass belonged to. The guy walked towards us,
excited
to see me—I mean standing proud and slapping against his stomach as he moved. “
Shit
.”

“You know him?”

“Yeah, I do,” I muttered behind my drink. I didn’t get to say anything else because he was close enough then where he would have heard me even over the music. I glanced at Simone as if looking for a way out but she only smiled as she sipped her drink.

Wench.

I glanced back just as he stepped up to us. “Alpha,” Jesse greeted as he bared his throat to me and
rubbed
himself against my hip.

“What are you doing, Jesse?” I asked, watching his dick move against my body in a
very
suggestive way I just couldn’t take my eyes off of. For one, he was a big boy in the right places. Two, who said
hi
like
that
?

Simone threw back her head and laughed, which didn’t help matters. I looked to her for help but she only blew me a kiss. “Have a
wonderful
full moon, my friend.”

“Umm, thanks?”

“Was I not forward enough, Alpha?” Jesse asked, and I felt his hand on my knee. My head snapped to it and I was so shocked that was the
only
explanation I had for not reacting to what came next.

Namely that he uncrossed my knees, pulled me to the edge of the table, and started rubbing himself
between
my legs.
Holy shit!
I felt my siren’s power flare, his audacity waking her up in a
big
way.

“What are you doing, little wolf?” I purred, trying not to moan as I set down my drink.

“Offering myself to you, Alpha,” he hedged, tilting his head so he could look at me while keeping his neck bared. “Am I doing it wrong? Isn’t this how I ask to be an Alpha’s moon mate?”

What?
Well
shit
. This was a new one for me too. Was it? I wanted to smack myself in the forehead. That explained Simone laughing at least. I glanced around and saw practically
everyone
staring at us, no one dancing or talking anymore as if dying to know what I’d do.

Fuck. I hated being the center of attention.

“You’re playing a very dangerous game doing this so publicly, little wolf,” I warned… Well, my siren actually. I didn’t mind her taking over this situation when we were aligned.

“You would never have accepted me privately,” he mumbled, leaning in closer. “I can be good, Alpha. Really good.” The closer to my face he moved, the further back I leaned until I was resting on my hands behind me on the table. “Are you denying me?”

“No, simply haven’t decided yet,” I teased with a smirk. “I need more information.”

“Anything. I will tell you anything, Alpha.”

“How old are you, little wolf?”

“I’m legal. I got into the club.”

I reached up and grabbed his thick hair in a flash, smiling when he gasped, his eyes going wide as he jaw went slack. “You make it sound like that means twenty-one and you can drink but you can be eighteen to get in the shifter clubs. I’m not an idiot.
How old are you?
”

“Twenty. I just turned twenty, Alpha,” he moaned as his hips moved faster.

“Jesus, you’re young.” I let go of his hair and his eyes filled with hurt. He went to move away but I squeezed my thighs against his hips. “I haven’t made my decision yet.” I leaned in until my lips were pressed against his ear. “Everyone’s watching, Jesse. You made this a really big deal by doing this here. I don’t like that.”

“I’ll make it up to you. I just want to be your moon mate. You don’t have one this full moon.”

“How do you know that?” I demanded.

He didn’t answer, instead moving his hand to my breast and pinching my nipple. I moaned and let my head fall back. Damn man knew my weakness.

“Now bite the other one,” Riley instructed from off to my right as he cupped my breast. My eyes flew open as I stared at him, not having seen him slide into the booth next to me. Jesse did and I gasped. “Good, Sera likes that. Now lick away the sting.”

My siren felt a thrill go through me for two reasons. We could have some extra fun
or
there was a way out of this that wouldn’t be our fault.

“You should have been more careful before offering yourself to me, little wolf. I’m not alone this full moon. You’re not
just
offering yourself to me.” Jesse glanced up at me as he lapped at my nipple with questions in his eyes. “Riley’s here too and he likes men. Have you ever been taken by a man?”

“No, Alpha,” Jesse admitted as his eyes filled with heat even as his body twitched against me.

I gave him a knowing smile. “Do you want to be?” He gave me a quick nod. Then it hit me. I rolled my head to look at Riley. “
You
set this up.”

“I did.” He gave me a shit-eating grin. “I saw the way you were looking at him when he was at our house and thought we could have some fun. I like Jesse and he’s told me he’s interested in being with men.”

“You forgot one thing,
dear Riley
,” I purred, gesturing for him to lean in. He did and I pressed my lips against his ear. “The kid is
twenty
and denying him in front of all these people while he’s under my
protection
is a
huge fucking ordeal
. I don’t like being backed into a corner or handled. Don’t
ever
make me a spectacle like this again. This wasn’t a favor. You just played me.” I bit his earlobe hard before pulling away, letting him see the anger in my eyes.

“I didn’t think of it like that,” he muttered. “I just wanted us to have some fun.”

“We can have that in our living room after you ask me,” I hissed under my breath. “You just told a man to come over here and hump me.” Jesse stopped and was frowning at me while everyone was watching. “Keep going. You’re still auditioning.” He got right back to it, teasing and pleasing me. “Riley, see if you’d like to play with this little wolf while he steps up his application.”

“Of course, Alpha,” Riley agreed, smiling like I’d forgiven him.

I hadn’t. We had an audience. I wasn’t going to throw a fit while we had witnesses.

Later I would fucking beat him though.

I waited until Jesse was done using his teeth on my nipples and pushed on his shoulders, he got the idea and kissed down my body until his face was between my legs. Yeah, I liked this audition. Riley found one of the single use packets of lube that was everywhere around the club and moved behind Jesse, but after that, I stopped paying attention. All I knew was whatever he was doing… Jesse liked it.

After I came, I pulled Jesse up to me, smiling at him. “All right, little wolf. You can be my moon mate.” I licked up his neck as I stroked him for everyone to watch. After I accepted him they went back to whatever they’d been doing. Shit, if that was all it had taken to stop being on display, I would have done that
first
.

I really needed a manual to being a paranormal.

Riley took Jesse while Jesse screwed me so really it was like Riley was doing us both. Jesse was one happy wolf from the noises he was making in between kissing me. Hell, I was a happy wolf too. I enjoyed every second of it, biting back screams as I finished. They were next and they slumped over me. After a few moments, they moved off me but Riley came to kiss me.

I flinched away. “No one’s watching now so I don’t have to be nice for the audience. Go play with someone else this full moon and catch a cab home.”

“Sera, I’m—”

“An ass,” I interrupted, sneering at him. “I’m a wolf but I’m also FBI, Riley. For god sakes. I might have to arrest someone here one day! I have enough on my plate without all these eyes on me, so thanks for that. I came out to have some fun with
you,
and I was willing to let go the fact you didn’t tell me I’d be
naked
as if that wouldn’t stress me out, but setting up my having to accept or deny Jesse in a club full of strangers was just heartless and selfish because you wanted him.”

“It wasn’t like that,” he murmured as he moved away.

“Oh? Tell me you didn’t know he was going to be here tonight then?” He flinched and I had my answer. Yeah, I’d figured that one out. There was no
way
it had been a coincidence. “And not coming right out of the locker room? Or having him stand with his back to me so I’d stare at his ass?”

“
Yes
, okay? I set it up, but so you’d have fun and let go,” he growled, sliding out of the booth and getting to his feet. “You need to let go and have fun, let your wolf be who she is.”

“I
need
supportive people who don’t keep pushing me to be who they
want
me to be,” I rasped, hurt as if he’d slapped me as my chest constricted. I sat up and slid off the table. “I am who I am, Riley. I can’t just change that because I’m a wolf or it’s what you want. Anything else you want me to change? Be Alpha. Fuck whoever you want me to. Anything else?” I stared into his eyes and saw there
was
something else. “Don’t even tell me. I don’t care.”

I walked to the locker room as slowly as I could, acting as if I was going to get cleaned up and not that I was hurt or crushed. This wasn’t the first time Riley had maneuvered me to where he’d wanted me. He’d done it the night I’d accidentally sirened him, being a waiter and the entertainment at Vlad’s so I’d see him sexually in the hopes I’d want him, want to
be
with him. Granted that was nothing like this and I’d not given it a second thought because it had seemed harmless at the time.

Now I wasn’t so sure. He was pushing me so hard to be Alpha, sure I understood from his perspective, especially after knowing his past now. But it just all seemed so underhanded that I didn’t know how much of it I could trust.

Or him. I didn’t know if I could trust the man who lived in my
home
.

I turned on one of the showers and quickly cleaned up before grabbing my phone out of my locker. Fuck it. I hadn’t liked leaving it in there in the first place but since I’d thought this was my date night with Riley I’d been willing to.

Now I wasn’t.

“Are you mad at me?” Jesse mumbled when I stepped out of the locker room, having been waiting for me.

“Not happy with you, but you listened to Riley who lives with me,” I sighed, running my fingers through my hair. “I would have thought to trust him if I were in your shoes too. Just know going forward I don’t like being put on the spot. You knew I wouldn’t have done this if we were in private, Jesse. You should have gone with that and talked to me on the side.”

“So you didn’t want me?” He hung his head, and I could
feel
his perceived rejection, the smell permeating the air.

“I did, but you’re young and I’ve too much to handle without worrying about games. I don’t like being pushed. Just don’t do it again.” I leaned in and kissed his cheek. “It wasn’t a pity fuck, okay? I like you enough that I wasn’t willing to deny you in front of all these people. That speaks
volumes
because normally I would have done it solely because it pisses me off when people put me on the spot.”

“I’m really sorry, Alpha,” he whispered, rubbing his eyes. That was the other reason I’d given in. Jesse had been so abused and used in his life, he couldn’t take it from one more person.

And Riley had pretty much set him up to fail walking into a trap with
me
on the other end. That wasn’t fair to Jesse which was another
extra
reason to be pissed at Riley.

“I know you are.”

“Can I still be your moon mate?”

“Maybe later. I’m not really in the mood anymore,” I admitted. He nodded and wandered off, leaving me alone which I was grateful for.