“He said your control gets… frayed.”
Jared laughed. “That’s one way to put it.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice. “It’s like being hungry. For everything. Food, drink, touch… The more you deny it, the stronger the urge gets.”
“Does it affect everyone the same way?”
“Depends on the wolf. Younger ones, like me, we tend to get restless. Antsy. We want to run, to hunt, to… play.” His gaze swept over her again, lingering in a way that was appreciativebut not aggressive. “The elders, they get more grumpy, more stubborn in their ways. And the Alpha…”
He trailed off.
“And the Alpha what?”
Jared hesitated, glancing across the room. “Let’s just say it’s a good thing the Alpha has an entire territory to run across tonight. Otherwise, this much energy contained in one building… it could get messy.”
She followed his gaze. Adrian stood near the huge stone fireplace, talking with Coleman and Irene. Even from across the room, even surrounded by people, he seemed isolated. His shoulders were rigid beneath the dark sweater he wore, and he held himself with a tension that was visible even at a distance. His attention wasn’t on the people around him, but on something else entirely. Something he was trying to hold back. Something that fought for release.
As if he felt her stare, his head turned, and their eyes met across the crowded room. The noise, the people, the entire world seemed to fall away. There was nothing but the fierce, golden intensity of his gaze, a look so full of possession and hunger it stole the air from her lungs. His jaw tightened, and a muscle jumped in his cheek.
Jared’s words came back to her:The more you deny it, the stronger the urge gets.
Adrian was denying it. Denying it so hard she could feel the strain of it from across the room.
A small, reckless part of her wanted to walk over there, to see what would happen if she pushed against that rigid control, if she offered him an outlet for all that contained energy.
Instead, she looked away, breaking the spell. She turned back to Jared, forcing a smile she didn’t feel. “So you said you like to hunt? What do you hunt out here?”
He seemed to sense the shift in her mood, but he let her change the subject with an easy grace. “Deer, mostly. Sometimes wild boars get too close to the territory. We’re the apex predators here, but we try to be responsible about it. The pack has a deep respect for the balance of the forest.”
“It sounds… wild.”
“It is.” He leaned in again, and this time she felt a prickle of awareness, an instinctive warning. “But a pack needs its den. A place to come back to after the hunt. A place to be safe.” He looked at her meaningfully. “It can get lonely out in the wild. Even for a wolf.”
She was spared having to respond by a commotion near the fireplace. Adrian had moved away from Coleman and was now speaking with Elder Howard. The elder’s posture was stiff with disapproval, and even from here she could see the anger in his gestures.
“They don’t like you being here,” Jared said quietly.
“The feeling’s mutual.”
“It’s not about you personally. Not really. It’s about tradition. About change.” He grimaced. “Howard believes that any deviation from the old ways will bring ruin. He’s been preaching that sermon since I was a pup.”
“He’ll change his mind when my security measures stop someone from draining the pack’s bank accounts,” she said, with more confidence than she felt.
“He’d rather be poor and traditional than wealthy and modern.” He paused, then added, “Adrian’s different. He’s willing to take risks for the pack’s future. Even if it means bringing a pink-haired human into the heart of our territory.”
“Is that why you’re talking to me? Because the Alpha took a risk?”
He had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. “Partly. But also because you’re interesting. You’re not like any human I’ve ever met. You’re not scared of us. You don’t flirt or simper or try to impress us. You’re just… you.”
Before she could reply, a presence loomed behind them. She didn’t have to turn around. She could feel Adrian’s approach like a change in barometric pressure—a sudden stillness in the air, a drop in temperature, the electric current of contained power.
“I need to speak with Harper,” he said. His voice was level, but the growl was there, buried just beneath the surface like a fault line.
Jared stiffened, every muscle in his body going rigid. “Alpha.”
When she turned, she saw the unspoken challenge pass between them. Adrian’s jaw was tight, his eyes fixed on Jared with a predatory intensity that made something deep in her own DNA want to run and hide. Jared, to his credit, didn’t back down completely, but he lowered his gaze in a clear gesture of submission.
“Of course,” Jared said. He set his empty beer bottle on a nearby table. “Harper. It was nice talking to you.”
“You too,” she managed, her heart thumping a frantic rhythm against her ribs.
