Minutes later, the blonde-haired Prince Charming walked out of the building, looking smug in a Tom Ford suit, the door shutting behind him.
He glanced around in confusion, his eyes trying to see through the darkness outside, searching for whatever excuse had lured him outside.
I wondered what Darius had told him.
Just as he turned to head back in, I stepped out of the shadows, seizing him by surprise.
I grabbed his arms from behind and slammed him into the brick wall, pressing the side of his face against it while locking both his arms behind his back.
"Ow!" He groaned in pain. "What the fuck? Who are you? What do you want?"
I ignored him, pulling him back only to slam him into the wall again.
The crack of his nasal bone breaking was satisfying.
"Oh, fuck! You're going to pay for this, whoever you are! I'll sue..."
I wrenched him away from the wall, turning him to face me. His eyes widened in recognition, even through the pain.
"Hey... wait. Aren't you the CEO of Wrath Properties?" His voice broke. "What do you want with me, man? What'd I do to... ohhh, fuck, my nose!!!" he cried out as he struggled against my hold.
Fucking wuss.
Blood spilled from his nose, running down to his chin, feeding the predator in me.
"Why are you doing all this, man?"
"You touched someone that doesn't belong to you," I growled, the beast inside me, coaxing me to give in and let it out.
"Who?" he asked weakly, thinking as he tried to pull free. "Lyla?"
The sound of her name on his lips only agitated me further, and I sent a punch to his face.
He stumbled back, falling on his ass and groaning.
"She never told me she had a mate. How the fuck was I supposed to know?"
"I don't care," I growled.
He spat blood onto the pavement, glaring at me. "Well, I'm sorry. I don't know how the fuck werewolf stuff works. Jeez, you people are such freaks. Glad I wasn't born or turned into one," he muttered.
The moment he finished the statement, I drove a kick into his stomach. He let out a pained gasp, his hands clutching his torso in pain.
"You were saying?" I asked coldly.
He groaned raspily. "Nothing. I didn't know she was with you, alright? I'm sorry, just... j-just leave me be."
I crouched down, forcing him to meet my gaze. "When you walk back into that hall, if you so much as talk to her or even glance in her direction, I will kill you."
My eyes wandered to his hands, the same ones he'd used to touch her. For a brief moment, I considered breaking a few fingers. Or maybe even the entire hand, just for the hell of it... just to make sure he never forgot this lesson. But I let the thought go and straightened to my full height.
"Get out of my sight."
He struggled to his feet, shooting me a final glare before returning to the hall with a limp, banging the door behind him.
I let out a satisfied breath, rolling my shoulders to shake off the rage.
After a few minutes of breathing in the fresh air, I walked back into the building like nothing had happened, making my way back into the main hall when someone stepped in front of me. Rayna. One of my past flings.
She smiled seductively. "Hello, Zephyrus."
"Rayna," I responded flatly.
Before I could move around her, she grabbed my hand and dragged me into the nearest room.
My jaw ticked in annoyance. "What are you doing, Ray?"
I had to get back inside to check on Lyla.
She ran a finger down my chest, her smile stretching. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
I caught her finger, shaking my head in disapproval. "No"
"Why not?" She asked, still talking in that low, seductive tone of hers. Rayna was a Lycan, just like me, though she belonged to a different pack.
"Go meet your mate. I'm here with mine."
Rayna cocked her head, feigning innocence. "'You're here with yours?'" she mimicked. "Didn't seem like she was here with you. From what I saw, she had her hands all over that young oil magnate."
"Enough," I cut in angrily.
Rayna purred in amusement as she slipped her finger from my grasp. "Look who's getting mad."
The room she'd pulled me into was a dressing area, filled with mirrors and plush sofas. I exhaled and lowered myself onto one, undoing the top button of my tux.
Rayna stood before me, hands on her hips, a teasing smile plastered on her lips. "Relax, Zephyrus. It's not cheating... You're not married yet, after all."
She leaned in, placing her hands on my thighs as she bent forward, her face inches from mine.
"I'd love to suck your cock right now," she whispered. "Are you really going to say no?"
Her hands inched lower as she sank to her knees, fingers running over my belt. She glanced up, her gaze locking onto mine. "I know you. I know exactly how you like it. Now, let me..."
Her head rested on my thigh. "...please"
†††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††
LYLA
Zephyr was nowhere to be found, and neither was Charlie, the guy I'd been dancing with.
I looked around the hall again, already suspecting Zephyr had something to do with his sudden disappearance.
Politely excusing myself, I slipped away from Darius, a dashing man who had asked me to dance just as Charlie left to answer a summons.
He was hesitant to let me go, and that only heightened my suspicions.
Darius might not have realized it, but I'd seen him and Zephyr talking just minutes ago. If he was trying to keep me distracted, then Zephyr was definitely behind Charlie's absence.
Brushing off Darius's attempts to keep me on the dance floor, I made my way toward the exit Charlie had used.
And then I saw him, walking back into the hall, looking like absolute hell.
His face was bruised, blood ran from his nose, and he walked with a limp that was hard to miss.
Gasps and whispers filled the room as people turned to stare.
"Oh my God, Charlie! What happened? Are you…"
"You stay the fuck away from me" he hissed furiously, under his breath. "And tell your psycho husband to do the same."
Before I could utter a response, he brushed past me, storming off, leaving people staring and murmuring after him.
Rage boiled inside me.
Zephyr.
He did this.
I had to find him and give him a piece of my mind.
My Louboutins made loud click sounds as I hurriedly headed for the exit, but I ignored the angry stares thrown my way as I stormed through the main hall, heading outside through the second exit, until a voice froze me in my tracks.
It was unfamiliar, yet something about it drew me in. Perhaps it was because of how desperate and seductive it sounded.
"Please," the voice purred.
Curiosity, the same thing that had gotten me in trouble the last time, pulled me toward the sound, and I found myself inching closer in its direction.
The door to one of the side rooms was slightly ajar, leaving just enough space for me to see inside.
Zephyr sat on a sofa, his expression unreadable. And in front of him, a red-haired woman knelt between his thighs, her chin on one of his legs. It was a shamelessly inviting posture, her head close to his private area.
I couldn't see her face, but the way she looked up at him made my blood boil even hotter.
Another feeling was present amidst the anger. Jealousy.
I wanted to walk right in, push her off him, and yell at them both. But there was every possibility she was a werewolf like him, and, well… let's just say I wasn't exactly in the mood to end up with claw marks all over my face and body.
Not that Zephyr would ever let that happen. No matter how much I grated on his nerves, he always protected me.
I heard the soft sound of his belt being unbuckled and immediately turned away from the sight, not wanting to see what would happen next. Carefully, I backed away, making sure my heels didn't make a sound and give me away.
Once I was far enough, I turned and walked back into the main hall, leaning against a cocktail table.
I shouldn't care. I shouldn't feel jealous. But how dare he mess around with other women when he was supposed to marry me? And at the same event where we were both present? And yet, he dared to call me disrespectful on one of the days we had a spat?
I stopped a passing waitress, snatching a flute of champagne from her tray before downing it in one go. The waitress's eyes widened, probably at the classless behaviour, but I couldn't bring myself to care.
I was ready to leave. This whole event had been a mistake. I never should have come.
The only reason I agreed in the first place was to get under Zephyr's skin, to frustrate him, to push his buttons. It was why I'd worn this dress, why I'd danced with Charlie. But now, the tables had turned, and I was the one infuriated.