5. The Wolf’s Hunger

Leon

The night was already running hot.

Luna Noir throbbed with its usual pulse, music vibrating through the obsidian walls, supernatural auras winding through the air like smoke, scents sharp and heavy with desire. My wolves worked the floor, the vampires stalked the balcony, and everyone knew their place.

Except my wolf.

Except tonight.

Tonight, the pull inside my chest was a feral, living thing.

Because he was here.

Edric.

Human. Soft. Breakable. Innocent to the point of infuriating.

And still…

Still he had my wolf pacing inside my skin like a caged storm, snarling every time someone even breathed too close to him. It made no sense. No human should have been able to affect an Alpha to this degree. But when Edric danced…

I clenched my hands.

Even the memory of it was enough to unravel the discipline I had built over centuries.

And when he entered the main room tonight…

Late, hair damp as if he had rushed, chest rising with nervous breaths….

My wolf rose so fast inside me that I nearly staggered.

He’s here. Ours. Take him.

I swallowed hard against the instinct, pushing back the urge to storm across the room and drag him into my arms. I focused on the crowd, the dancers, anything else…

But my eyes found him anyway.

Black pants hugging his hips. Shirt too thin, too innocent, too tempting. And that damn scent… warm skin, faint soap, the sweetness of a human heartbeat.

My wolf was instantly wild.

When he stepped behind the curtains toward his dressing rooms, I followed.

No hesitation.

No thought.

No restraint.

Just instinct.

Just hunger.

Just mine.

The hallway to the dressing rooms was dim, lit by violet glow-strips that cast long shadows. I heard the sound of his footsteps inside, soft, light, and unaware. My wolf pushed against my ribs.

Go inside.

Edric opened his closet, humming under his breath, the sound delicate, unguarded. He hadn’t sensed me yet. Humans never did. Another reason they didn’t survive long in supernatural spaces.

But Edric…

He was surviving.

Thriving.

Unknowingly seducing every creature in this building.

My patience snapped.

I moved.

In one stride I crossed the room and slammed the door shut behind me. Edric’s head jerked up, eyes wide.

“Leon?” He breathed, surprised. “Wh…”

I didn’t let him finish.

I grabbed him by the waist, lifted him clean off the ground, and pushed him against the wall. The sound of his gasp shot straight through me.

His legs instinctively wrapped around my waist for balance, soft thighs clamping around me. The heat of him pressed against my front and my wolf roared with pleasure.

Good. Hold him. Want him. Take him.

“Leon…!” He tried again, voice breathless.

“No preamble,” I growled, my mouth already at his neck. “I warned you last time.”

My lips brushed his jaw, tasting salt and heat. Edric shivered so hard that his hands flew to my shoulders, fingers digging into my shirt.

Before he could think…

Before I could think…

I crushed my mouth to his.

The kiss hit like fire. A violent, hungry claiming that I had no right to take, yet couldn’t stop. His lips parted on a startled sound, and my tongue slid against his, tasting him, drinking him. His breath hitched, caught, melted into mine.

His legs tightened around me.

His hands fisted the fabric at my shoulders.

His heartbeat pounded desperately against my chest.

My wolf rumbled with pure, savage bliss.

More. Take more. Ours. All ours.

I deepened the kiss, teeth grazing his lower lip, swallowing every sound he made. His body arched against mine, warm and trembling, and the scent of his arousal spiked, subtle but devastating.

My control slipped.

Then shattered.

I pressed him harder into the wall, hips pinning him, mouth devouring him. He gasped against my lips, breath faltering. I only kissed him harder.

Mine.

Mine.

Mine.

Until…

Edric’s breath hitched too sharply.

His fingers tightened on my shoulders.

He let out a small sound.

Not desire.

Airless.

Strained.

I froze.

My lips still pressed to his, still hungry, still wanting…

But suddenly aware.

Suddenly too aware.

His chest heaved against mine, struggling for breath. His eyes fluttered as though dizzy. His pulse raced too fast beneath my mouth.

Human.

Fragile.

Breakable.

I tore myself away from him, chest heaving, a growl stuck somewhere between anger and panic. I set him down gently, too gently for an Alpha, but his legs wobbled and he caught the edge of the bench for balance, cheeks flushed, lips swollen from my kiss.

My wolf whined at the loss of him, furious and needy.

Edric looked up at me, still breathless. “L-Leon…?”

I stared at him.

Too long.

Too hard.

Because I didn’t understand what I was feeling.

Possessiveness was normal.

Jealousy was normal.

Dominance was normal.

But this…

This instinct to protect him

 …to cherish him

 …to never harm him

 …to never let him go

This wasn’t normal.

Not for a human.

Not for a dancer.

Not for someone who shouldn’t matter.

My voice came out low, rough, unsteady.

“You belong to me.”

His eyes widened, lips parting. “I… I…”

“No one touches you,” I growled, stepping closer again, unable to stop myself. “No one even looks at you the way that vampire did last night. No one. Do you understand?”

Edric swallowed, still pink and shaking. 

“Y-yes… I understand.”

I should have stopped.

Should have walked away.

But I didn’t.

My hand rose on its own and cupped his jaw. The warmth of his skin against my palm nearly undid me. My thumb brushed the corner of his kiss-swollen mouth.

His breath caught again.

And so did mine.

My wolf purred.

Mark him.

Now. Right now.

Sink your teeth in. Make him ours.

My jaw clenched so hard it hurt.

I dropped my hand abruptly.

Turned away from him.

Created space, the first space I had allowed since walking in.

“Don’t let anyone touch you again,” I said, voice flat, emotionless armor sliding back into place. “Not a patron. Not a dancer.”

He nodded quickly. 

“I won’t. I promise.”

Good.

But the sound of his voice, soft, trusting, human, scraped down my spine like a brand.

I turned toward the door, needing distance, needing air, needing to get my wolf under control before I did something irreversible.

“Leon?” He called softly.

I didn’t look back.

If I did, I wouldn’t leave.

“Yes?” I answered without turning.

“Are you… angry with me?”

A knife to the ribs would have hurt less.

“No,” I said quietly. “I’m angry with myself.”

“And why?” He whispered.

My fingers curled around the doorknob.

Because the scent of your breath when you kiss me makes my wolf howl.

Because I want to mark you so badly it’s tearing me apart.

Because you’re human and fragile and you don’t understand how dangerous I am.

Because the one thing an Alpha should never crave…

 …is exactly what you aren't.

I forced the truth into one simple line.

“Because I lose control around you.”

Silence behind me.

Then the softest breath.

“Leon…”

It was almost enough to break me.

Almost.

I stepped out.

Closed the door.

And the moment I was alone in the hallway, my wolf lunged upward, slamming into my consciousness with a ferocity that nearly drove me to my knees.

MARK HIM.

The words echoed inside me like thunder.

Mark him. Bite him. Claim him. Bind him to us. Ours. Ours. Ours.

I slammed my fist into the wall, the stone cracking beneath my knuckles.

“Stop,” I hissed.

No.

“You’ll kill him.”

No. Protect. Hold. Keep. Make him ours.

“He’s human.”

Doesn’t matter.

“He won’t survive a mark.”

Then make him strong enough to survive it.

I swallowed hard, breath shuddering.

This wasn’t simple possessiveness.

This wasn’t lust.

This wasn’t jealousy.

This was rare.

This was dangerous.

This was… impossible.

“Why him?” I whispered to the empty hall.

My wolf only gave one answer.

Because he is ours.

And gods help me…

I wasn’t sure I wanted to fight it anymore.