Chapter 25
CASPIAN.
I stood in the middle of the receiving area in the hotel we checked into earlier in the city, less than an hour away from the Black Shadow Pack territory. Alpha Jacob offered a place for us to stay in his pack house, but knowing Riley was one of the guests, I wanted a way out whenever we needed it so he could never have a chance to corner Andrea.
My Beta stood beside me as I waited for Andrea to come down from our room. I let her use our room to fix herself while I suited up myself in Beta Paul’s room.
“Wow!” Beta Paul exclaimed as he stared at something behind
- me.
I didn’t waste any moment and turned in the direction he was staring at, and my jaw dropped open at the sight in front of me.
Walking down the stairs to the center of the hotel lobby, Andrea was clad in her black off-shoulder evening gown. She had her straight dark hazelnut hair tied up in a high ponytail, which just accentuated her high cheekbones. She was like a walking doll. All grown up right before my eyes.
I took a deep intake of breath as I moved swiftly towards the end of the stairs, laying out my hand for her to take.
The moment her hand clasped mine, she let out a shy smile and peered at me through her long eyelashes.
Fuck! Whether she was doing it deliberately or not, she was succeeding in seducing me.
I leaned and brushed my lips against her cheek before snaking her arm into mine, “Maybe it’s a good idea to skip the party tonight. Andrea, you look really beautiful. I don’t want to share you with anyone,” I whispered against her ear, and she answered by smiling before brushing her lips against mine, kissing me softly before pulling away.
“My attention is all yours, Caspian. I promise…” She let her finger brush against my lips, removing any traces of her lipstick.
*****
The party was in full swing, and as much as I wanted to have a moment with Alpha Jacob, I couldn’t take him away from the other guests that were grabbing his attention at the moment. I already talked with Gavin and told him about the blood pact. H e would be the one to tell his Alpha so he could make time for me tonight. Or if not, tomorrow at most.
Riley, on the other hand, was nowhere in the Pavilion, and I was hoping that he had changed his mind and canceled at the last minute.
OD
“I thought you had no plans to drink tonight.” I chuckled as I looked at Janna as she sipped the white wine while her eyes were fixed on the dancing couple in the middle of the
ballroom. She was staring at Aaron and Jenny, and just by looking at her, I could see jealousy flaring in her eyes.
I shook my head as my gaze wandered around the ballroom. Alia took Andrea away from me moments ago, and now I am starting to miss her.
My eyes found her in the other corner, and she was glaring at me. A scowl was evident on her face.
‘What did I do to deserve that scowl?’ I asked her from across the room through our mind link.
‘I was just gone for a second and you’re all over Janna already?’
“Am I? It doesn’t look like that to me.’ I chuckled as I responded, amused at how possessive my little minx could be. I was not even standing too close to Janna at all.
I saw her roll her eyes at me, still looking annoyed, but my attention was caught by the noise on the other side of the ballroom. Someone just growled, which was not really
advisable at parties like this, so my brow arched up as I looked at the crowd parting
My gaze fell on Riley. He has arrived. He stopped on his track, but his eyes were on his Gamma, Sebastian. I followed his line of sight and saw Sebastian with a deadly expression on his face.
“Mine…” Gamma Sebastian’s voice came out low but full of authority. And the crowd started murmuring as my eyes darted to where the Gamma was looking.
His eyes were fixated on Aaron and Jenny in the middle of the dance floor.
Fuck! Was he mated to Aaron’s girlfriend? This would be a fucking mess.
Jenny left Aaron in the middle of the dance floor and went out with Sebastian. The crowd wasn’t moving as all eyes were on Gamma Aaron.
I sensed Janna’s body stiffening just beside me as she looked a t the scene in front of us. And then her eyes snapped to the other side, where Andrea was gearing up to walk towards Aaron, much to my annoyance, but Janna made her move and walked faster.
In seconds, Janna was already standing in front of Aaron.
My eyes were flaring with jealousy as I looked at Andrea. I knew she and Aaron had only met during Alia’s union, but I couldn’t stop thinking that she liked him more than she liked me.
ANDREA.
Alia and I were chatting on the other side of the ballroom when I saw Caspian walking towards the refreshment area where Janna was standing. It didn’t slip my eyes when he started talking with her, but it seemed as if Janna wasn’t listening
Jealousy coursed through my body at the attention he was giving her, and I couldn’t stop myself from snapping at him when he tried to reach me through our mind links.
And then, everything after that went in a blur.
My heart began to pound as soon as I saw Riley walk in. I thought he would not show up tonight.
And then there was Aaron. He was dancing with his girlfriend when, all of a sudden, Sebastian, Riley’s Gamma, came and
claimed Aaron’s girlfriend to be his mate.
When I saw Aaron’s girlfriend abandon him on the dance floor, my heart ached for him, and all the murmurs and whispers around him irritated me. They felt bad for him, but they couldn’t keep their mouth shut and instead kept on feasting o n him being left alone.
I reached for the hem of my gown and was about to go to him s o I could take him away from the dance floor when I saw Janna already striding towards him. I let out a sigh of relief as Alpha Jacob’s sister took Aaron’s attention and asked him for a dance. At least one more female here has the heart to help Aaron out of this mess.
I turned back and faced Alia again when I felt a presence behind me.
“May I have this dance?” His breath brushed against the skin o fmy neck, sending shivers up my spine, but I couldn’t let go of
the fact that he was flirting with Janna.
I turned my body around to face Caspian. I rolled my eyes at him, not saying anything as I crossed my arms across my chest.
He wasn’t smiling either. Instead, he laid out his palm for me t o take. I wanted to turn him down, but my traitorous body had another plan. My hand went up to his, and before I knew it, he was directing us in the middle of the dance floor.
The music was upbeat, and Caspian started our dance by twirling me around before snaking an arm into my waist, pulling our bodies closer as he guided my arms to coil around his neck. And then he started swaying his body, taking me with him.
I couldn’t keep a smile from forming on my lips as I felt our bodies move in unison. I didn’t know Caspian could dance. And he was dancing gracefully.
He was mesmerizing me, and I forgot that we were in the middle of the crowd dancing and that somewhere in the crowd was a set of eyes throwing piercing gazes at us.
“So tell me, are you relieved Aaron’s girlfriend found her mate? Making Aaron a free man?” Caspian asked without smiling. I wondered how he could keep a straight face while asking me those questions.
“What?” My brows furrowed as the music suddenly slowed
down.
“Do you like Aaron?”
“Yes. He’s really… Wait!” My eyes widened as I looked at Caspian as he gritted his teeth while his hand was holding my waist tightly, a little too tightly for comfort. “Just as a friend. I never liked him in any other way, or whatever you were thinking.”
Caspian’s hold on my waist loosened as he let out a breath and closed his eyes for a moment. His hand reached for the nape of my neck and slowly guided my head towards him. I closed my eyes as I leaned my cheek into his torso while sliding my hands down from wrapping around his neck to his chest. His chin rested at the top of my head as we hugged each other in the middle of the ballroom, letting ourselves get lost in the
music.
My whole body felt warm and I hope this moment never ends.
“Caspian…”
“Hmmm…”
“Who’s Janna to you? Do you like her?”
D
“Same way you feel about Aaron. Just a friend.”
“But she’s too beautiful. I don’t think any man can resist her…
“I can. Because I already have my eyes set on one female…”
I smiled at his words. Was it bad if I assumed I was the female he was referring to?
I was lost in the moment when I felt my neck starting to burn, and just as I was about to tilt my head to see if it was Riley looking at us, Caspian curled a finger under my chin and tilted my face up instead to look at him. And before I could grasp what he was about to do, his lips had already found mine.
My eyes grew wider at his aggressiveness, but instead of pushing him away, I found myself tipping my toes as I kissed him back, coiling my arms around his neck again and letting his lips dominate me. He has kissed me numerous times these past few days, but I still couldn’t get enough of these.
He was giving me butterflies in my stomach, and he was making me lose my sanity every time. I wish I could give him more than these kisses, but I know better.
A low growl reached my ears and snapped me out of my happy place. I pulled away from kissing Caspian as fear coursed through my body. What have I done? I forgot Riley was here, and he would definitely make a scene now. And the last thing I wanted was to attract attention.