497- The Red Dress and the Crimson Fangs
POV Thalyndra Moonclaw:
"Holy shit! We're in their territory."
"In one of them? It seems so."
He took a deep breath and rolled his neck from side to side, stretching his spine, preparing for the conflict that would come at some point.
"I'm not afraid for myself, but for you. Stay close—I can't stand the thought of you getting hurt."
"Nothing will happen to me, don't worr..."
He grabbed my arm firmly, not enough to hurt, making me look at him.
"I'm serious, Ferinha. I don't know what I'll be capable of if you suffer even a scratch. I'll lose control of my beast. I may be strong, but I'm not completely in control yet. I'm a young wolf, just recently gaining enough experience." He swallowed. "When I say to stay close, it's not just for your safety, but for everyone present."
I immediately understood what he meant. That's why I nodded, agreeing.
"Either way, know that no one here is innocent," I warned. He smiled, full of disdain.
"I won't feel guilty about their deaths."
"But then...?"
"I'll feel guilty about what you'll have to watch me do. We're already aggressive by nature—now imagine an uncontrolled wolf."
I tried to picture the scene, but it seemed so brutal that my brain couldn't envision it, not in a slightly softer and healthier way, at least. So I let it go.
I set the empty glass on the counter and looked at my reflection in one of the liquor bottles. My hair remained impeccable, tied in a low ponytail with some loose strands. The makeup was light—nothing too striking or exaggerated, except for the red lipstick in the same shade as my dress, which Aurelka had made me apply.
I took a deep breath, filling my lungs with air, and prepared myself. Anton stared at me with a raised eyebrow, keeping his whiskey glass in one hand.
His beauty was disconcerting.
"What are you going to do?"
"Why?"
He gestured toward me with his free hand.
"Every time you make that look, it means you've decided to do something very violent..." He ran his tongue over his lips, as if savoring the idea. "I don't know if I feel worried, excited, or both."
"You're completely insane," I whispered.
"For you." He winked.
After our abrupt encounter in the forest a few nights ago, we hadn't touched on the subject again. We learned to deal with it naturally, in our own way. One day, he was eating me out like I was the most precious dessert on the face of the Earth. The next, we were talking at breakfast at his parents' house as if nothing had happened.
At first, I could barely look at him, but things started to become so... natural that I learned to handle those two facets of ours.
The Eldorians knew something was going on between the two of us, but they were polite enough not to ask. Except for Aurelka, Myrion, and Lana—they always knew everything. The siblings had no secrets among them, and if Aurelka knew, consequently, Lana knew too.
"So?" he insisted.
"I'm just going to dance a little—it's been a long time since I've heard human music."
"I thought you liked Eldorian music." He raised an eyebrow.
"And I do, but..." I sighed. "I just want to have some fun. I'll be right in your line of sight."
Fun wasn't really my goal, but rather to draw attention and try to discover something. I had no idea what his and Myrion's plan was, and I wouldn't wait for them—I would execute my own.
I pushed the empty glass toward the waiter, requesting more drink. He served me with the same willingness as before—nonexistent—and turned back to his things.
With a full glass in hand, I moved toward the center of the hall. I took a sip, as if the alcohol could help me. I swayed my body slowly, to the rhythm of the music. No one else was dancing, although it was an appropriate space for it.
I closed my eyes and let the rhythm guide me. I focused on the heat of Anton's gaze, which pulsed over me, sending shivers down my spine, and I ignored the others.
None were important except his.
I smiled with closed lips and inhaled deeply. I opened my eyes again and fixed on Anton. He stared at me with so much... depth that I felt the air tremble, as if a dome were created around us, keeping only him and me inside it.
My smile widened. Even from a distance, I could hear him gasp.
I spun my body, looking away, without stopping swaying to the rhythm of the music. As I turned again, I ended up bumping into someone and knocking my glass against a man's arm, spilling drink on him.
"Oh, I'm sorry," I pleaded, although I didn't care one bit.
He glared at me with hatred, ready to tear my head off for that affront.
Before I could intercept, I felt someone's presence behind me. Giving in to my instincts, I turned in time to see a second man approaching me with his arm extended, his eyes fixed on me. He didn't seem friendly, nor amicable, coming in my direction.
I prepared for the confrontation, but it wasn't necessary. Anton appeared right behind him, towering over him with authority, and grabbed his arm, forcing his hand aside. He knocked a syringe full of liquid to the ground. With hatred, his eyes gleaming in disparate colors, appearing more animal than man, the Eldoria heir smiled, and then something I had never seen happened. Dark veins appeared on his face. He elongated his fangs and bit the man's arm, sinking them into the skin.
I parted my lips, confused and shocked, trying to understand what I was seeing, but finding no answers.
The man began to tremble and roll his eyes, struggling. I might have thought it was from pain, that he was kneeling before a more powerful alpha, but that didn't seem to be the case.
Anton released him and he fell to the floor like a weight... dead.