002

Raven's POV

I couldn't concentrate, even with the man swaying me to the tune of the soft music. One of his hands was hovering over the small of my back, the other was gripping my left hand. 

I could feel his presence all around me, and yet I had eyes only for that alpha staring at me from the other end of the room.

His eyes seemed to trail us like an observant hawk, monitoring every single step I took. I could feel the green-eyed intensity of his stare on me, even when my back was facing him.

The man dancing with me slipped his hand up my back, and I flinched.

"I'm sorry—" he apologized, leaning back a bit. "Did I startle you?"

He sounded worried, perhaps a little scared. Most men I met were like that. They were scared of my hard exterior, my unapproachable demeanor and boyish stature; some of them even saw it as a challenge. But that man—Alpha Jaxon—there was something different about him. I noticed it back in that tool shed and even now, in this stuffy banquet hall.

Alpha Jaxon didn't stare at me as though he was scared or challenged, no. 

He looked at me as though he could bring me down with nothing more than a stare and a few words.

And by the Goddess, that thought terrified me shitless.

"No," I replied the man, giving him a tight smile. "No, you didn't. I'm fine."

I heard him sigh audibly. "I'm glad." He murmured, then paused. I watched as the blue in his eyes deepened, and almost instinctively, I knew what would come next.

I began to slowly back out of the circle of his arms, when I felt another man's hand on my back.

"Permit me to interrupt this dance, mister." The new man remarked. 

I snapped my head backwards and caught the gleam in those dark green eyes. It was Alpha Jaxon.

My dance partner looked up and saw Alpha Jaxon. His expression hardened, but he obviously knew better than to challenge the alpha. 

"I'll see you around," he murmured to me, then turned and walked away.

Immediately, my head snapped in Alpha Jaxon's direction. The pompous smirk was gone now, to be replaced by something that looked to me like anger.

"Shall we?" he murmured. Then without another word, he grabbed my hand and practically yanked me towards a corner of the room.

Alpha Jaxon turned me around faster than I could react. The music had changed to an even slower waltz, and he pulled me closer by my hand. A soft gasp slipped from my lips as my chest hit his, as his hands slipped around my waist and settled somewhere above my behind.

He was just a man, I reminded myself. 

Just another egocentric alpha.

And yet, as his heart thudded underneath mine, I felt completion. We fit together so perfectly; his hands on my body, my fingers splayed on his shoulders. 

My eyes roamed the room behind Alpha Jaxon's back, looking for Yara, aching for her approval. I found her by the bar, an innocent smile on her face. She urged me on with a wave of her fingers, giving me permission to continue my dance with Alpha Jaxon.

If only she knew the spark between myself and her betrothed.

I closed my eyes in bliss and let the waltz lead us back to the centre of the room. Alpha Jaxon's chest rumbled as he spoke:

"What was a daughter of an alpha doing in a tool shed?" He asked.

I stiffened. "My position as an alpha's cub does not in any way forbid me from pursuing my personal interests, Alpha Jaxon."

I felt him smile at my cutting tone. "I never thought I would miss your sharp tongue, but here I am—"

"—missing it," I finished for him, my heart jumping to my throat.

We waltzed in silence for a few more minutes, then Alpha Jaxon spoke up again. "Raven, you look even more beautiful in a dress." He paused, then added under his breath. "More beautiful than I'd imagined."

My mouth turned to bitter ash. "I suppose you'd done a fair bit of imagination since the first time we'd met."

Alpha Jaxon chuckled, the sound moving from his body into mine in waves. "To be fair, you were putting on workman's clothes when I had seen you. All that was left for me to do was imagine how you'd look in a dress. And you didn't betray my imagination, Raven."

I smirked, feeling a small sense of satisfaction at his compliment. "Trust me, alpha, you won't be seeing any more of me anytime soon."

"Why?" He asked, his breath ruffling my hair.

"I'll be on my way to Stormgate by the crack of dawn tomorrow." I informed him.

I felt him go rigid, then he stopped dancing suddenly. I leaned backwards, slightly surprised at his abrupt stiffness. My news seemed to have struck him speechless.

"What are you going to do at Stormgate?" He asked, his voice hoarse all of a sudden. To other people on the dance floor, nothing was amiss. And yet, as we both stood there, it felt as though something had shifted between us for the worse.

Suddenly I began to regret sharing the news with him.

"Stormgate? Stormgate pack?" He gesticulated wildly, a worried look on his face. "Isn't that the pack of Alpha Malachi? That is no place for a woman to be—"

"I barely know you!" I snapped. I took a step back, feeling my anger burst to the surface. "What I do with myself is none of your business, Alpha Jaxon!" The last two words were said with so much contempt that I saw the worry slip from his face, replaced by anger.

"Raven, what the fuck are you going to Stormgate for?" He asked, a roughness to his voice now.

I grimaced. "It is none of your business!" I snapped, then turned to leave.

And as I turned, he reached out to me. "Raven!" My name slipped from his lips like a prayer, as his fingers wound round my wrist.

His hand was extremely warm, almost hot to the touch, and I knew his wolf was slowly rising to the surface. Any more push from me and he would morph in the middle of the dance floor.

"Raven, look at me." He ordered. 

I didn't want to turn around and look into those eyes again. This man, Alpha Jaxon, had already done enough damage to my psyche. Even his hand on my skin was making hot bursts of desire erupt within me.

"Look at me, Raven." He repeated in a much calmer voice.

Slowly I turned around to meet his gaze. In that intense moment, our eyes locked, and the world around me shifted. A hot spark surged between us, electrifying and undeniable. It was as if the party around us had faded into insignificance, and there was only him and me, bound together by some unexplainable force.

"No," I whispered, terror numbing my skin. "No!"

He had felt it too: that spark of connection. I could see it in his eyes, could see my soul mirrored in his gaze. His grip tightened around my wrist, and I saw him mouth those dreaded words.

"Raven, you're my mate!"

"No!" I repeated, my voice louder this time. I yanked my hand from his grip and swivelled around, looking for an escape. Yara was nowhere to be found, but I could see my father approaching us. There was the familiar look of contempt in his face as he came closer, his stare full of accusations.

The air around me seemed to grow tighter, pressing against my windpipe and chasing all rational thought from my head.

I needed to get the hell out of there.

Alpha Jaxon took a step towards me. "Raven—" He started, but I stumbled away from him.

"Stay away from me!" I screamed, then turned and ran.