Four

Shay told herself it was curiosity that made her walk behind Ivan Belov. Strategic curiosity.

If he wanted to taunt her or to start some kind of psychological game, Shay needed to know what kind of opponent she was dealing with.

That was reasonable, right?

The vampire walked without looking back, hands tucked casually into the pockets of his jacket, posture loose and unhurried.

Shay followed in silence as Belov walked to one of the side paths that curved behind the main building. The landscaping shifted gradually from manicured garden to a narrow path leading to tall trees. It was far enough from the main courtyard that voices became faint. Far enough that the cameras were less obvious, though Shay knew better than to assume they were gone.

Ivan walked into the woods, then stopped beside a very old stone fountain. Without turning around, he pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it. The first inhale was slow and controlled. Only then did he turn to look at Shay.

"Why did you follow me?"

Shay blinked, completely confused by the question, "Uh... because you motioned me to."

The corner of Belov's mouth twitched faintly, something close to approval flickering there before it disappeared.

"Okay," he responded. Nothing else.

This place felt isolated, as if they were miles away from anyone in the world. The air was cooler here, shaded by the tall trees. And Shay could feel the temperature difference radiating from the vampire's body, even from several feet away.

After a few more seconds of Belov smoking in silence, Shay started feeling like an idiot for coming here. He was completely ignoring her.

"I’m so intrigued by you," Belov finally admitted. Shay stopped wanting to leave then.

She wanted to sway closer to the guy, but she locked in her body to keep it still. Controlled. Belov noticed it and decided to be the one to get closer this time. He took a couple of steps forward, and then he had to lean lower to reach her until they were almost nose to nose.

Belov was about seven inches taller than her. And a lot bigger.

"Are you intrigued by me?" Belov asked in a whisper, his eyes roaming across Shay's face until they settled on her eyes.

"A little," Shay responded in a mumble. For the first time in probably her whole life, maintaining eye-contact felt difficult, especially when Belov finally touched her.

His fingertips touched just under her chest… then he gently pushed her back.

She didn't know what was happening, but she allowed Belov to lead her until her back hit a tree trunk. Shay swallowed in nerves and willed her instincts down. The ones that were yelling at her to stop this madness.

She was acting like... prey. She was allowing herself to become prey. Everyone in her pack would be enraged and disgusted if they knew this was happening with a vampire.

But Shay was a flawed individual. So, instead of running or fighting for dominance, she looked up and found Belov's gaze again.

Waiting for his next move and wishing it was a fun one.

"Do you even know what you're asking for with those eyes, Hart?" he growled in a low tone. Dangerous. Especially when he lifted his hand and grabbed Shay's jaw to move her face up. His fingers were cold.

"No, I really don't," Shay admitted, in complete honesty. She was acting by instinct—not her wolf instinct, definitely—but some kind of instinct.

Probably horny instinct. Needy-virgin instinct, probably.

Belov took a deep, aggravated breath and let go of her face, then took a few steps back again, looking annoyed.

Shay wanted to ask him to come back and hold her face again, but that would be insane.

"Go away," Belov ordered, his voice colder than his fingers had been, then he threw his consumed cigarette away. He reached to get another one, "Go join your dog friends, Hart. You shouldn't have come here."

"But you motioned for me," Shay repeated, making the vampire roll his eyes at her in even clearer annoyance,"Why are you pissed all of a sudden? You're the one—"

"Oh my god, you are so annoying," Belov snapped, "You have no business being around me. Go away. Shoo, dog! Shoo!"

Shay's mouth fell open in offense.

"What did I do?" she demanded, clenching her fists with frustration. She hated doing things wrong, "I was just following you."

"You are a fucking newborn baby," Belov said, angrily, "A dumb baby. You don’t know anything about life. Or men, apparently. You give me sex eyes and don't even know it. You put me and yourself in danger and don't even know it."

"Wha—sex eyes!?" Shay repeated in mortification, shaking her head and taking a step back. "No, I didn't."

"Go away, girl, you're boring me," Belov muttered, "Next time, just listen to your friend and don't let me take you anywhere alone. You don't even know all the things I could d—whatever, just leave."

Shay didn't want to leave.

She was... intrigued, like Belov said. Now more than before.

Because this was the first time a man had expressed some sort of attraction for her back. Even if it was a tiny amount. And she knew that would never happen with another werewolf, absolutely never.

But maybe vampires were different. He was not able to feel her Alpha energy, so he didn’t feel threatened.

"You really need to fucking leave now," Ivan growled out, but his voice came out deeper than before, his Russian accent more marked and... his eyes turned darker.

His fangs started growing, just like when he was drinking blood earlier.

That's when Shay's mind started clearing and she finally came to her senses. She was being preyed upon by a vampire.

Belov was not just a hot man, he was a fucking creature who craved blood. And when those darkened eyes moved down to Shay's neck, her wolf instinct took over.

Shay stopped backing down then. Her body locked in, her hands already tingling with the need to shift and a growl began on her chest. She was ready to fight.

"I hate wolves," Belov spat out, and before Shay could do anything else, he ran away.

It was so fast, for a second Shay thought he had simply disappeared, until she saw a blurred figure running deeper into the woods.

What the fuck had happened? Shay didn't understand