CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Desire’s easy. Control isn’t. Especially when someone else reaches for what you crave.
The world was ending, and we were having a shifter shindig around a bonfire. I guessed we couldn’t spend all our days crying in the corner or pouring over battle plans. Sometimes, we needed to remind ourselves what we were fighting for.
“This is different,” I muttered as Hudson snaked his arm around my waist and dragged me closer to his side. The fire blazed high against the indigo sky, smoke twisting into the cool night. The scent of charred meat, whiskey, and wet earth was welcoming.
Norbert offered me a plate. “Well done, just like the lady ordered.”
Hudson’s nose wrinkled at my charred meat. “A burger with no taste left.”
I took the plate. “Thank you.”
Norbert winked and sauntered off to dish out more food. Getting my meat looking edible was an accomplishment at a pack social.
“We don’t all have the stomach of an ox,” I grumbled before biting into my perfect burger with a groan. When had I last eaten something warm? Yesterday? No, we had a salad, much to Dave’s dismay. He had an aversion to anything that grew, not breathed.
I paused on my third bite and side-eyed Hudson, who was staring at my mouth. His eyes flashed gold in the moonlight, the embers from the fire sparking behind him.
“What? Did I dribble some juice?” I swiped my chin with my hand.
“No,” he growled.
“Then why are you looking at me like that?”
He grinned and leaned down, pressing his lips to my ear. “Later tonight, I want to hear you moan like that when you have my?—”
“Hudson,” a sultry voice cut in, interrupting wherever that delightful thought was heading.
I tensed, and Hudson sighed against my neck. Was it too late to pick option C and opt out of the apocalypse to disappear into some secret part of the world? Just the two of us?
“Smile,” he reminded me. “And maybe don’t kill her.”
I huffed. “No promises.” We both turned to see Mercy, the alpha cat shifter who held the belief she was the one and only rightful woman for Hudson. I felt sorry for her. To continue to hold a flame for a guy who never once looked at her the way he looked at me several times an hour? That must hurt.
“Principal and consort,” Hudson snapped.
The titles made my skin itch, even if he was using them to remind a woman with wandering eyes of her place before she incited my inner beast.
Mercy Stephenson stood tall, her long blonde hair gleaming, her dress short enough that I’d be able to see her nether regions if it weren’t for the shadows. Which meant my mate, with his superior eyesight, could see her underwear—if she was wearing any.
“Hudson,” she purred, ignoring me entirely. “We were just discussing the latest warding failures on the northern border. It’s so good you’re finally here. The pack needs you.”
Her hand twitched, and I willed her not to make a move. Indigo lifted her head inside my mind.“You brought snacks.”
Fuck.
Hudson snorted.
Hahaha, real funny. Taunt my dark side with a hankering for souls.
I glared at her fingers as they snaked out.Don’t do it. Don’t touch him.
Her eyes shot to mine, and her lips lifted in a victorious smile. She was doing this publicly, hoping I’d keep myself in check due to the pack’s heavyweights in attendance. It would also make me look weak.
Well played—ifshe was dealing with sane, elemental Cora. An appalling decision, since Indigo, the beast with no qualmsabout polishing off a soul for dessert, was more in control right now.
I glanced at Hudson and willed him to stop this car crash before it happened.
