“I’ll get makeup all over it,” I said lamely, my words unconvincing even to my own ears.
“I don’t care.”
“I’m not cold.”
“You’re barely dressed.”
I frowned. “Do you make it a habit of criticizing what women choose to wear, Matthew?”
He dropped his hand, the sweater now trapped in his clenched fist. “We don’t like how they were looking at you,” he muttered.
I glanced around, expecting to find my sister. But Marcus and I were still alone, and when I looked back at him, his eyes were glowing.
I gave Marcus and his fucking wolf a tight nod of my head before attempting to walk away. And as expected, Marcus’s hand curled around my wrist.
“Joanna,” he whispered, “the full moon is less than twenty-four hours away. Every wolf who finds you attractive is praying for a chance to fuck you. Please. At least give them a reason to pause.”
With that, he threw the sweater onto the countertop and stormed out of the kitchen.
I grabbed it on my way out, cursing while I draped it over my shoulders and secured it with a knot.
“Damn, newbie!” Lamar exclaimed when he saw me.
I kept my head down, pretending not to notice.
Lamar looked at Marcus, who had taken a seat on the couch next to an alpha male with long dark hair. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”
Marcus gave him a friendly grin. “Be nice, and I’ll consider sharing.”
Lamar leaned over the couch to dap Marcus up. “Bet.”
I rolled my eyes.
Werewolves didn’t steal from one another, but they obviously didn’t mind passing their humans around. And Marcus played the part with that comment a littletoo wellfor my liking. Those words were so wrong coming from the lips that, just moments ago, were begging me to be careful… I felt dirty.
I shrunk away from anyone who could sprout fur and introduced myself to the other humans at the party.
There were five of them: two men and three women. All of them had been to Club Luna at least once. And after talking to them, I determined that only one of them knewwhatour hosts were.
Of course, Vince didn’t come out and say that he was a wolf groupie, but his mocha-colored eyes gleamed bright with awe whenever Silas walked by. We watched as Latoya and Heather giggled their way down the spiraling staircase.
“Is that… really your sister?” he asked as I was about to walk away. “How long has she been friends with Silas and Lamar?”
My eyes darkened. “I wouldn’t know,” I spat. “Thought she was dead for a while.”
I stormed off, hurrying to the table bearing the colorful charcuterie board. As I pretended to scan the arrangement, my mind replayed all the slipups I’d made since walking through the fucking front door.
I was a hunter. Emotions were a liability.
And still…
Shit.
I am calm, peaceful—
No, the fuck, I wasn’t.
I snatched a plate off the table and began piling on some fruit.
