Chapter 18 Eighteen
The party roared on around them, loud and reckless, but the space between Koda and Harper felt strangely still—like the eye of a storm. Lights flashed in erratic colors, washing over their faces, yet neither seemed aware of anything beyond the other.
Koda watched Harper with an intensity he didn’t bother hiding. There was something different tonight. Not just the dress clinging to her frame or the way her hair was pulled back, exposing her neck—but the way she carried herself. Guarded. Alert. Like someone who expected the world to strike at any second.
Harper, on the other hand, was painfully aware of him. Of how close he stood. Of the heat radiating from his body. Of the faint, dangerous pull she refused to name.
“Do you want to dance or something?” Koda finally asked, his voice low, almost casual, as if it didn’t matter either way.
Harper shook her head immediately. “No.”
He didn’t push. He just tilted his head slightly, studying her. That only made her more uncomfortable.
Behind them, near the drinks table, Molly watched everything unfold with narrowed eyes. Her perfectly painted nails dug into her cup as jealousy and fury twisted together inside her chest.
“She really thinks she belongs here,” Molly muttered.
Darcel scoffed beside her. “She’s bold, I’ll give her that.”
Becky leaned closer, eyes sharp. “Bold doesn’t mean untouchable.”
Molly’s lips curved into a slow, cruel smile. “Exactly. Tonight, we remind her who she is.”
They huddled closer, whispering rapidly over the music. A plan took shape—mean, humiliating, effective. By the time they pulled apart, all three were smiling.
Across the room, Harper shifted her weight, scanning the crowd. She felt it then—that prickling sensation crawling up her spine. The feeling of being watched.
Koda noticed immediately.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she lied, forcing a small shrug.
He frowned, unconvinced. “You sure?”
Before she could answer, he held out his hand. “Come on. Just one dance.”
Harper stared at his hand like it might bite her. She sighed. “One. That’s it.”
The corner of Koda’s mouth lifted, victorious.
He led her onto the dance floor, where the crowd parted almost instinctively. Music slowed slightly, the beat deeper, heavier. Koda placed one hand on her waist, hesitant at first, like he was testing a boundary. Harper stiffened, then reluctantly relaxed.
They moved—awkward at first, then smoother. Her steps followed his without her realizing when it happened. Their bodies aligned in a way that felt… wrong. And right.
Too right.
Koda’s jaw tightened. Every instinct screamed at him to pull her closer. To claim. To protect.
Harper felt it too—the strange pull, the warmth spreading through her chest. She hated it. Hated how safe she felt for those few seconds.
Then it happened.
Molly nodded once from the sidelines.
Becky “accidentally” stumbled into a table, knocking a drink straight into Darcel’s waiting hands. In one smooth motion, Darcel flung the contents forward.
Cold liquid soaked Harper from shoulder to waist.
The music stuttered. Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Harper froze.
Laughter followed.
“Oh no,” Molly said loudly, fake concern dripping from her voice. “How clumsy of us.”
Harper’s dress clung to her now, see-through in places, sticky and humiliating. Heat rushed to her face as whispers spread like wildfire.
Koda moved before anyone else could react.
He stepped in front of her, shrugging off his jacket and wrapping it tightly around her shoulders. His eyes burned as he lifted his head, locking onto Molly.
“Get. Out,” he said, his voice cutting through the noise like a blade.
Molly blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I said get out,” Koda repeated, this time letting his wolf bleed into his tone. The air shifted. Wolves nearby stilled.
Kai appeared instantly at his side. One look at Harper’s soaked dress, and his expression darkened. “You really messed up,” he told Molly flatly.
Molly’s confidence wavered—but only for a second. “She doesn’t belong here anyway.”
That was the wrong thing to say.
A low growl rumbled from Koda’s chest. “She belongs where I say she does.”
Silence fell.
Harper looked up at him, stunned—not just by his words, but by the way he said them. Like it was a fact. Like it was already decided.
Kai grabbed Molly’s arm. “Party’s over for you,” he said coldly, dragging her and her friends toward the exit as the crowd parted once more.
When they were gone, the music slowly resumed, but the mood had shifted.
Koda looked down at Harper. “Are you okay?”
She nodded stiffly, swallowing. “I… yeah.”
“Come on,” he said gently. “I’ll get you somewhere quiet.”
As he led her away, unseen by them both, a pair of glowing eyes watched from the balcony above.
And somewhere deep within Koda’s chest, something ancient stirred—awake now, and hungry.
They arrived at a room tucked away from the noise of the party. The moment Koda pushed the door open and guided Harper inside, the music outside dulled, like the house itself had swallowed the sound.
He stepped in after her and closed the door.
The click echoed.
Harper turned slowly, taking in the room. It was large, darker than the rest of the house, lit only by a standing lamp near the bed. The décor felt… strange. Too controlled. Everything was neat, sharp, perfectly placed—yet the energy in the room felt heavy, almost restless, like someone trapped inside their own skin.
“Which room is this?” Harper asked, her voice quieter than she intended.
“My room,” Koda replied calmly.
That single answer made her stomach tighten.
“Come on,” he added, nodding toward a door at the side. “You need to clean up.”
Before she could protest, he led her to the bathroom and opened the door. Steam from an earlier shower still lingered faintly in the air.
“I’ll wait,” he said, then closed the door behind her.
Harper let out a shaky breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
She turned on the tap and splashed cold water over her arms and neck, wiping away the sticky remains of the drink. Her reflection stared back at her—pale, tense, eyes too alert.
“Get it together,” she muttered.
She looked up again.
Her breath caught.
Behind her reflection, standing just over her shoulder, was Koda.
But not the Koda she knew.
This version of him wore a slow, crooked smirk—one that didn’t reach his eyes. His gaze was darker, sharper. Predatory. The air around him felt wrong, charged, like something dangerous had stepped too close.
Harper spun around—
Nothing.
The bathroom was empty.
Her heart slammed violently against her ribs. She blinked hard, staring at the mirror again.
Just her.
No one else.
Her skin prickled with unease.
She hurried out of the bathroom, pulse racing. “Did you just peek in the bathroom?”
Koda looked up from where he was standing near the bed, brows pulling together. “What? No. Why would I do that?”
His face was serious. Confused. Normal.
Harper swallowed.
“Nothing,” she said quickly, though her voice wavered.
Then what did I see?
“You’re shaking,” Koda said quietly. He stepped closer, gentler now. “You have to relax, okay?”
Before she could respond, he guided her to sit on the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped beneath her weight, the closeness suddenly overwhelming.
This is it, Harper thought. Talk. Focus.
She opened her mouth to bring up the plan—to talk about her mother’s wedding, about sabotaging it, about everything—but Koda wasn’t listening.
His attention was fixed on her lips.
She noticed the shift instantly—the way his breathing changed, the way his jaw tightened like he was fighting himself.
“Koda—” she started.
He leaned in and kissed her.
It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t planned. It was sudden and intense, stealing the rest of her words. Harper froze for a heartbeat, shock rushing through her—
Then instinct took over.
She kissed him back.
The kiss deepened before either of them realized it had.
At first, it was clumsy—uncertain—like two people testing a line they both knew they shouldn’t cross. But the moment Harper’s fingers curled into the fabric of Koda’s shirt, something shifted.
The air grew heavier.
Koda’s hand came up slowly, almost hesitantly, resting at her waist as if he was asking permission without words. Harper felt the warmth of his touch seep through the thin fabric of her dress, sending a shiver up her spine. Her heart hammered wildly, not with fear—but with something far more dangerous.
He kissed her again, slower this time, deliberate. Like he was memorizing her.
Harper’s thoughts blurred. The room, the party, the plan—everything faded into the background. All she could feel was the steady pressure of his lips, the way his breath mingled with hers, the way being this close felt wrong and right at the same time.
Koda pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against hers.
“This is a bad idea,” he murmured.
She should have agreed.
Instead, she whispered, “Then why does it feel like this?”
His jaw tightened.
That was all it took.
He kissed her again—harder, need edging into restraint. Not careless, not crude, but charged. Like he was holding himself back from something deeper, something he didn’t trust himself to name.
Harper responded without thinking, rising onto her toes, closing the distance completely. Her hands slid up to his shoulders, steadying herself as the world tilted slightly beneath her feet.
Something ancient stirred between them—unspoken, unseen.
For a moment, neither of them moved. They just felt.
The tension was unbearable.
Then—
A shout.
“HEY!”
Another voice followed. Louder. Panicked.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON DOWNSTAIRS?!”
The sounds came from outside the room—chaos bleeding back into reality. The music cut abruptly. Feet pounded against floors. Screams echoed through the house.
Harper froze.
Koda broke the kiss instantly, his eyes flashing with alertness. The shift in him was immediate—like a switch had been flipped.
“What was that?” Harper breathed.
Koda turned toward the door, every muscle tense. “That’s not party noise.”
Another scream ripped through the house.
They exchanged one look—heated, confused, unfinished.
Then Koda grabbed her hand.
“Stay close,” he said.
They rushed out of the room together, stepping into a hallway filled with shouting, panic, and running bodies.