Chapter 2: Kiss Me in Front of Him

Elvira's POV

After Reign said "find me," he didn't let go right away. His hand was still hooked around my waist, his palm pressed against me through the thin black dress, his thumb moving slowly along my side. He didn't rush me. He just waited in silence for me to respond.

I raised my hand and brushed his collar, my fingertips sliding along the open neckline and finding a stretch of taut, burning skin. Reign's breathing grew heavier than before, and the hand at my waist tightened in response, though it still hadn't crossed any line I hadn't allowed.

"The Alpha of Greyrock," I said, "and all he does is steal men someone else paid for?"

"If you want something, you can tell me directly."

"I want him on his knees."

Reign leaned down close to my ear, the scent of fir cutting into my breath. "He gets on his knees for money. If I get on mine, what are you going to pay with?"

I hadn't expected that answer. I looked up at him, and Reign was already looking back at me. The want in those grey-blue eyes was thick and completely unguarded, yet he was still holding onto that last thread of patience, waiting for me to close the distance myself.

Footsteps came from the entrance. Black Pine guards pushed through the crowd and stopped a few steps away. They saw me held in Reign's arms, saw my hand still resting inside his open collar, and for a moment no one dared to speak.

The lead guard hesitated before saying, "Miss Elvira, Lord Callier has ordered us to bring you back."

"Tell him I'm not going back tonight."

"Lord Callier said he's willing to let tonight's matter go."

I almost laughed at that. At the Silver Moon Banquet, Callier had held Leah in his arms while the entire pack talked about me, the Luna with no mark. Now that I'd touched another man, he was putting on the face of someone who'd been betrayed.

I hadn't even responded when the familiar scent of Black Pine cut through the venue. Callier was still in his banquet suit, his tie perfectly straight, but his expression was nowhere near as composed as usual. His gaze landed on Reign's hand at my waist, then moved to my slightly flushed lips and the loosened strap of my dress.

"Elvira. Come here."

Reign didn't stop me, and he didn't let go either. He just looked down and waited for me to choose.

I leaned closer, my lips nearly grazing Reign's jaw. "Callier's here. You still planning to hold back?"

Reign's palm moved slowly up my bare back and came to rest at the nape of my neck. His rough fingertips dragged across sensitive skin, and I felt a faint shiver move through me. He caught my reaction and said quietly, "Keep pushing me, and tonight won't stop at a kiss."

"I didn't come here for a kiss anyway."

Callier caught every word. His voice dropped hard. "Enough. You're really going to sleep with my friend just to spite me?"

I looked at him. "You can hold Leah. Why can't I sleep with your friend?"

The eyes watching us from all around stripped away whatever was left of Callier's composure. He stepped forward and reached out to pull me back. Reign only lifted his gaze, and the weight of a Greyrock Alpha's presence pressed down and forced Callier to stop.

"She's not your property," Reign said.

"She's worn Black Pine's moonstone for three years. She's my promised Luna."

"You refused to mark her for three years. Now you're claiming her over a necklace?"

Callier ignored Reign. His eyes stayed fixed on me. "Come back with me. I'll complete the marking tonight."

That was the promise I had spent three years waiting for. Now that Callier was finally willing to give it, it wasn't because he loved me. It was because another Alpha's hand was resting on my waist.

I slipped off the last silver chain on my wrist and tossed it into the wine glass at Callier's feet. The moonstone sank into the red wine, and the splash stained his pant leg.

"Too late."

Callier's expression darkened. "You'll regret this."

"That's my business."

I turned back, hooked my fingers around Reign's tie, and pulled him toward me. Our lips were only a breath apart, and I stopped there on purpose, feeling his breathing grow heavier and heavier.

"Kiss me in front of him," I said.

Reign steadied the back of my neck. "You sure this isn't just for his benefit?"

"Are you scared?"

He didn't ask again. He lowered his head and kissed me.

This kiss was harder than before, and more direct. My lower back pressed into the edge of the bar, and Reign got his palm there in time to cushion it. His other hand pulled my waist in tight, holding me firmly against him. The scent of fir filled my lungs, moving through the press of lips and teeth and settling over every inch of bare skin. I had only meant to watch Callier lose control, but once Reign actually kissed me, I quickly forgot who was standing behind me.

When Reign pulled back slightly, I grabbed his tie and chased after him, catching his lower lip between my teeth. I felt his body go taut all at once, and the hand at my side pressed in harder.

"Don't stop," I said against his lips.

Reign kissed me again. His hand slid down along the fabric of my dress and stopped somewhere dangerous enough to matter but careful enough to leave me a way out. That restraint was more tormenting than if he'd actually crossed the line. I had to grip his shoulder just to keep my legs steady.

Callier finally broke. "Elvira!"

Reign ended the kiss, his forehead resting against mine, his thumb brushing across my wet and reddened lips. "He's still watching."

"Let him."

"What happens next?"

I looked past Reign's shoulder. Callier was standing there rigid and unmoving. I had spent so long wanting his mark, and now all I wanted was to wash every trace of his scent off me as fast as possible.

I looked back at Reign and pressed my palm flat against his chest, where his heart was still pounding hard.

Callier reached toward me again, his voice scraped low. "If you leave with him, by tomorrow the entire North will know what you two did." I looked at that hand — the one that had taken mine at countless banquets and never once been willing to truly choose me in front of the Moon Stone — and felt nothing. Not even a flicker. Reign didn't block it for me, and he didn't push me either. He left the choice where it belonged.

"Let them know." I said it, then reached up and wiped the bead of blood my bite had left on Reign's lower lip. The moment my fingertip touched it, he caught my wrist and, with everyone watching, lowered his head and pressed his lips to my fingertips. It was a light touch. But the way it landed on Callier's face made it heavier than any insult could have been.

Callier released an Alpha command, the familiar scent of Black Pine bearing down on me by force. "Come back." For three years, I had always instinctively yielded under that kind of pressure. But this time, my wolf lay still inside Reign's scent of fir, and instead of lowering her head, she bared her teeth at Callier for the first time.

I broke free of the command that no longer had any hold on me and moved to Reign's side. He looked down at me, his palm settling on my lower back, but he still didn't take that final step for me. "Be sure," he said. "Once you get in my car, I'm not going to treat tonight like some scene you get to forget once you sleep it off."

I didn't answer right away. Instead, I took the keycard from Reign's hand — the one that had originally belonged to the young wolf — snapped it in half in front of Callier, and dropped it into the wine glass at his feet. The plastic card hit the red wine and splashed up onto Callier's sleeve. "I don't need to pay for anyone tonight."

Reign understood my answer. His arm came around my waist from behind, and his lips stopped just behind my ear — close, but deliberately not landing. "Then how are you going to pay me?" he asked. I turned my face, let my lips graze his jaw, and kept my voice low enough to be a dare. "Show me what you've got."

"Take me with you."

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