Fun Night

Ethan Blackwood is the infamous Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack, he is feared and respected. A Billionaire aristocrat with businesses straddling both worlds in technology, real estate, private security, even a chain of luxury hotels which also double as pack safehouses.

To everyone who isn't a wolf, Ethan is the dark prince of society. Handsome, impossibly rich, and constantly in the gossip columns. Women fall over themselves for him. Three engagements broken, each more scandalous than the last.

He is a ruthless Alpha, respected for his strength but also feared for his temper. He doesn’t hesitate to destroy rivals, but is fiercely loyalty to his pack. In public he is controlled, calculating, and commanding but his private side is darker, haunted by the weight of his role and the vow he made never to choose convenience over destiny.

Though surrounded by attention, he is profoundly lonely, secretly craving the bond only a mate can give.

He made a vow long before he became the alpha of his pack, to only settle with his fated mate. No Luna chosen for politics, no compromises. He would rather live alone forever than betray that vow. He is cynical about love, and use women and scandals to shield himself from loneliness. Sabotaging relationships on purpose, both to keep his vow intact and to stop himself from caring too much.

ETHAN

The mansion buzzed with music and laughter, champagne flutes clinking as the wealthy mingled. To the humans, it was just another glittering social event. But we weren't here for fun.

I had worn a dark unremarkable jeans and a simple fitted shirt to blend in with the crowd. For tonight, I don't want to be a walking headline, we have come for work, there has been suspicious rogue activities lately too close to my territory, and we needed to observe and confirm whispers of any rogue activity slipping too close to the city.

Jason and Liam stood firmly at each of my side. To the human world, they were my inseparable friends, the men I vacationed with, partied with, even scandalized the tabloids with. But to the Pack, they were far more, bound to me by loyalty, blood, and battles fought together.

Jason, my Beta, is sharp-eyed and calculating, always watching the edges of a room the way a wolf watches the tree line and Liam, my Gamma, had the easy smile of a charmer, distracting humans effortlessly, though beneath that charm lay a predator’s reflex.

“Any sign yet?” Jason murmured, swirling his untouched drink.

“Nothing,” I said, scanning the crowd with a calm patience. My eyes landed briefly on a group of businessmen near the bar, then on a gaggle of overdressed women gossiping loudly. Harmless humans.

And then noticed a drunk female moving toward me like she was walking underwater, determination clashing with unsteady steps.

Liam shifted beside me, instantly alert about to meet her half way to stop her. She cocked her head in a funny way as if Liam just materialize out of thin air.

Jason snorted, half-smiling. “Looks like trouble.”

I curved my lips faintly. Trouble was nothing new. Women approached us all the time, bold or drunk or both. I usually let Jason or Liam run interference. But I saw something in the way that she looked at me, let's see where this leads and with a small gesture of my hand, I stopped Liam.

“Let her come.”

If she wanted to throw herself at me, who was I to deny her? It would be a harmless distraction. Maybe even a fun night.

She stumbled to a stop in front of me, blinking up with wide glazed eyes. For a moment, she just stared, ​

"Hi," she said in a whisper. "I'm Ruby. And this is going to sound crazy, but... I have to kiss you."

Jason raised a brow. Liam smirked. But I leaned down curious.

"Oh you do?" I asked half jokingly, with a drunken determination that surprised me, she reached for my collar and her lips crashed clumsily against mine, and for a fraction of a second, I froze. I’d had women kiss me before, dozens, maybe hundreds, but this was different.

Not because of passion. She was drunk, her movements unsteady, tasting faintly of champagne and daring. But there was something raw and innocent about it.

Her lips were trembling slightly, but soft and sweet. she kissed me like she had chosen me above everyone else in this glittering room. And for this reason, I let her.

Jason’s low chuckle reached my ear. “Here we go again. Another scandal brewing.”

She pulled back just then but only far enough to whisper against my lips, her breath warm, and her words reckless. “Let’s go somewhere quiet.”

My eyes darkened. No woman had ever offered it quite like that before, unguarded, and without realizing who I was. Just a drunk little dove stumbling into a wolf’s den. Shadow, my wolf rumbled in approval, eager and curious.

Beside me, Liam’s voice was tight with caution. “She’s drunk, Ethan. What if she has ulterior motives, or changes her mind?”

My lips curved into a charming smile. “Then we’ll settle it with money.”

Jason burst out laughing, shaking his head. “You’re impossible.”

I ignored them both and slid an arm around Ruby’s waist, I could feel how unsteady she was, the sway of her body pressed against me. She leaned into me instinctively, like she’d found an anchor without realizing it.

The Alpha inside me stirred restlessly, amused and intrigued. It had been a long time since something or someone felt new.

“Come on, sweetheart,” I murmured, guiding her gently but firmly off the dance floor. Her hand clung to my shirt, trusting without thought.

As the crowd swallowed us, Jason and Liam exchanged a look. They both knew where this was heading. Another night, another headline and a woman whose name I probably wouldn’t remember by morning.

Before disappearing entirely into the hallways beyond, I sent a quick mind-link to both Jason and Liam

'Stay alert and don’t miss anything.' and they both responded instantly.

'Yes alpha.'

She clung to me like I was the only solid thing in her spinning world, her soft body pressed against me as I led her through the crowded exit. She stumbled once on the stairs, but my hand tightened on her waist, steadying her effortlessly.

When the valet brought the sleek Maybach around, I opened the door and guided her inside. She collapsed into the seat with a drunken giggle, her head lolling back as she smiled seductively at me, bright, dazed, and utterly unguarded.

I sat beside her, giving the driver a quick order. “Blackwood Hotel.”

The car purred to life, the city lights streaking by. She turned to me with glassy, eyes, and leaned forward.

“You’re… so handsome,” she whispered, the words tumbling from her lips like a confession.

Before I could respond, she grabbed the front of my shirt and kissed me again. She was a bold and seductive woman. I was trying to hold back, but when I kissed her, it was nothing like the first. This one was desperate, urgent, and hungry. Her lips moved against mine with surprising boldness, and I felt my restraint unravel. Heat sparked through me as my wolf surged with primal satisfaction. I kissed her back, deep and consuming, my hand sliding to the back of her neck to steady her trembling eagerness.

​By the time she pulled back, gasping softly, my breathing was heavier than I liked to admit.

​"Careful, sweetheart," I said, my voice husky, brushing my thumb along her jaw. "When you start something like that, I might not want to stop."

Her answer was a dreamy smile and a nod, eyes half-lidded with intoxication.

I frowned, something about her responses nagged at me, too simple, too easy. She clung to me, kissed me and nodded when I spoke, but… does she understand what she was doing?

My body burned with desire and I can smell her arousal but I have lived long enough, bedded enough women, to know the difference between a willing partner and a drunk fantasy.

Still, when she pressed her lips to mine again, more insistent this time, it was hard not to imagine what the night could bring.

Jason’s earlier laughter echoed in my head, Liam’s warning lingered, but I brushed them aside for now. Whatever this night was, I decide when it ends.

I’d take her upstairs first and if she truly meant it, then perhaps tonight would be one of those nights worth remembering.

We walked through the hotel lobby hand in hand. The receptionist didn't even bat an eye, simply thinking, 'Here we go again, another one for the night,' before returning to their work. By the time the elevator opened to my penthouse, she planted another kiss on my cheeks, dulling my senses and filling me with want. I wanted to exercise some restraint, but she was making it a little too hard. She was just too sweet, and irresistible. A part of me echoed a warning, not to cross the line. No matter how far we went, I would ask before moving forward. I would never take what wasn't freely given, and if she showed the slightest bit of resistance, I would end it immediately.