12. Chapter Twelve

When Riaz realized he'd lost track of Cortana, his wolf's claws raked down the inside of his skin. The beast took to figurative pacing, peering through his eyes to try to locate the woman. Almost frantic, he scanned the crowd and scented the air to pinpoint her location.

There.

His relief at finding her was instantaneously bittered when he discovered whose company she kept. The wolf beneath his skin took control, closing in on the pair with murderous intensity. Wolves darted out of his way after once glance—their own animals warned them of the oncoming storm.

But Riaz didn't pause to make reparations. The only thing he cared about was ripping Cortana from the loose circle of Gadriel's arms.

Mine.

Loosening a snarl low enough to make fur stand on end, Riaz barely stopped himself from cuffing his beta around the neck and forcing him to yield. Instead, he watched as the other man smirked, the mischievous glint in his eye shining in light of Riaz's territorial response.

While Gadriel might have guessed Riaz's interest in Cortana, his beta couldn't have known that the mating instinct had already taken root in his mind, and it cost him dearly to control the urge to rip him limb from limb for daring touch what was his.

Wisely, his beta immediately adopted a hands-off policy, bending down in a sign of submission and backing away. Cortana, confused by the chain of events, whipped around to pin Riaz with a blasé look.

"Playing the Big Bad Wolf tonight?"

For a moment, Riaz didn't trust his voice, knowing the wolf still held a modicum of control over his vocal cords. Swinging his blazing orange gaze back to Cortana, the tension ebbed from his shoulders.

"He asked for it."

"And how is that?"

Riaz didn't answer. Instead, he tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her into the safety of his embrace. Cortana went willingly, but leveled him with a suspicious eye, the question remaining.

He stiffened as Gadriel's scent hit him once more, this time in lingering traces on Cortana's skin. Unable to help himself, he casually ran a hand along her arm, one side of her waist, then trailed a finger down her neck. Had she been a wolf, she'd have immediately recognized his intent, guessed his play.

Despite being a vampire, she cunningly put two and two together. "Did you just scent mark me?"

"And what if I did?"

"Nothing will happen between us, Riaz," she avowed. "Barring my momentary lapse in judgment earlier, I have no desire for a relationship."

Though the words were a metaphorical knife to the heart, Riaz didn't betray the sentiment. "Who said anything about a relationship? Perhaps I was only trying to offer up a vein for your enjoyment?"

Rolling her eyes, Cortana's mouth twitched in the hint of a smile. "You and I are complete opposites, wolf. You're the last person I would drink from."

"I'm flattered you have such strong emotions for me."

"Don't embarrass yourself."

"I'm a grown wolf. I can deal with embarrassment. Just dance with me and I can deal with anything."

It was the truth. Riaz only had eyes for her tonight. While Cortana was almost a foot shorter than his six and a half feet, she fit perfectly into him as though custom made for his arms.

The passage of time started to be marked only by the music changes, a wild variation from sweet romance to blaring rock music filling his ears and vibrating in his chest. Through it all, she never shimmied out of his embrace. Closer and closer they swayed, contenting in the other's company. Being in Cortana's proximity somehow seemed to soothe an ache he wasn't aware he had.

Riaz longed to taste her lips once more, to capture the raspberry sweetness he'd only just sampled. But here, surrounded by pack members far too curious for their own good, it'd likely end in disaster.

"When is your birthday, Cortana?"

The vampire tilted her head back to gaze up at him, the dreamy, far-away look being chased away by her answer. "Why does it matter?"

"Curious wolves want to know." He grinned, then shrugged one shoulder. "It's me. I'm curious."

"Why do you want to know?"

"I'm taking a page from your book and planning," he said. "Huge celebration. Gigantic."

"I've celebrated my birthday four hundred times, and it's always the same. Why should this year's be any different?"

"Because I've never celebrated with you. When is it?

"February thirty-first."

His wolf howled, barring teeth over the fact that she hadn't answered him. "Your sense of humor leaves much to be desired, Pet. Perhaps that's what I'll get you for your birthday."

Laughter, pure and rich and unbridled, left her berry-red lips and instantly captured his every attention. He wanted to remember this moment forever, the thick brunette braid trailing over her shoulders, the silky glow of her skin, her soft body in his arms. For a moment, he had the irrational thought that he was holding the embodiment of the moon in his arms, so powerful was her call to the wolf.

Seconds later, after her humor had been sated, she affected a concerned tone: "Then perhaps I'll get you one of those dragon costumes. So you can skulk around like Smaug and lord over that hoard of paper that you call an office."

Mockingly snapping his teeth at her hand like a mutt, he was about to tease her back when Ava's voice caught his ear.

"Alpha, your presence is humbly requested by none other than our birthday boy."

Shooting Cortana an apologetic smile, he extracted himself from their embrace, though it sent a shock of sadness straight through him. She waved him off like it was nothing for them to part company. Following his beta, he left his mate among the wolves.