Erin’s POV
My breath caught in my throat as our eyes locked across the crowded club. Even from this distance, Derek’s presente left me dizzy and off balance
His steel gray eyes held mine with an intensity that made my skin flush hot despite the club’s air conditioning. A shiver raced down my spine, part ferror. part something far more dangerous–desire.
The moment shattered when someone tapped my shoulder, breaking the invisible thread that seemed to connect us across the room.
I blinked rapidly, feeling as though I’d been yanked back into my body from somewhere else. I turned to find a bartender looking at me expectantly, his face blurring slightly as my wolf reluctantly retreated.
“What can I get you?” he asked, raising his voice over the pounding music that suddenly seemed too loud.
“Water is fine,” I replied, my voice sounding foreign to my own ears. My fingers trembled as I clutched the edge of the bar, desperately trying to ground myself in reality.
Amy appeared at my side, rolling her eyes dramatically. Her familiar scent helped push back the lingering traces of cedar and leather that had filled my senses moments before.
“Water? I think you should have a real drink tonight,” she said, nudging me playfully.
“But I don’t drink,” I protested. I’d never wanted to dull my senses before, never wanted to risk losing control.
But tonight, with the weight of rejection crushing me and Derek’s eyes still burning into me from across the room, losing control suddenly seemed like sweet relief.
“Come on,” Amy insisted, her eyes sparkling with excitement. “You just went through your first full transformation. You’re a real adult werewolf now. You can
have some fun in your life.”
2
She squeezed my arm. “Forget all about Derek and Bradley drama for one night. Let’s have some drinks, okay? Then we’ll dance.”
‘I’ll make sure you get home safe,” Jack promised, appearing behind Amy.
*No need,” Amy said with a mischievous grin. “I already got permission from my parents. We’re going straight to my place.”
I hesitated, glancing back toward the VIP section. Derek was still watching me, his expression unreadable. Maybe Amy was right. Maybe I deserved one night to forget about these things.
“Fine,” I conceded. “One drink.”
Amy whooped in delight and turned to the bartender. “Three Wolf Bites, please!”
The bartender nodded, quickly mixing a clear liquid with something that glowed slightly blue under the club lights.
When the drinks arrived, I stared at mine suspiciously. The scent was potent–sharp alcohol mixed with something herbal that made n
“Bottoms up!” Amy declared, raising her glass.
I took a tentative sip and nearly choked as liquid fire scorched its
down way
my
throat.
se tingle,
My wolf recoiled violently, like an animal caught in a trap, howling her displeasure through every nerve ending in my body. The sensation was so foreign, so unexpected, that for a moment we were both paralyzed by it.
“My throat is burning! I gasped, eyes watering, the words scratching past my raw throat.
“You’ll get used to it,” Jack assured me with a knowing smile, taking another sip of his own drink. His eyes reflected blue in the club lights, making him look
almost feral.
Chapter 29
I took another sip. This time, I braced for the burn, and it felt different. The liquid hear spread through me, and my wait based her frans
curious.
By the third sip, she had stopped protesting quite so loudly, instead watching with wary fascination as our shared senses began to blog at the ade
By the time I finished the glass, a delicious warmth had spread through my limbs, melting away the rigid control I’d maintained for months. The cher à jarring sensory assault softened, the harsh edges blurring into something almost pleasant.
The music no longer felt too loud, and the mixture of unfamiliar wolf scents became less offensive. In fact, there was something oddly freeing about being surrounded by so many wolves, all letting loose without worrying about Pack politics.
Another?” Amy asked, already signaling the bartender.
“I shouldn’t,” I said, but my protest lacked conviction. The second drink went down easier than the first, and the third easier still.
‘Let’s dance!” Amy grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the crowded dance floor.
“Hey! What about me?” Jack called after us.
“Do you need a special invitation, omega boy?” Amy teased, her eyes sparkling.
As we pushed through the throng of bodies, I caught the glares of several higher–ranking female wolves, their disapproval hitting me in waves of sour- scented hostility.
Several male wolves, on the other hand, watched with undisguised interest, their gazes sliding over my body like physical touches that made my skin prickle.
Chapter Comments
Visitor
never actually mentioned her going through her first transformation
Visitor
and she turned 18 6 months ago
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