Jessamine
I really shouldn't be out of my quarters by this time, but then, I take this walk on every other day.
What walk, you might ask.
The walk in which I stalk Alpha Kier. And it really isn't a walk. I'm mostly hiding behind pillars and walls.
Now, it's a wall. He's standing on the balcony, one hand against the railing and another nursing a bottle of liquor that he brings up to his lips every now and then, drowning out whatever sorrows plague him.
Alpha Kier is strong, brutal and wicked to most. But only I have ever seen the side to him that is neither of those things. The first time I had seen him, I was much younger and it had been my first day here.
I got lost on this floor and stumbled upon a figure in the shadows. I found him in this same spot, gazing at the stars. A single tear had rolled down his cheek, and that had been all of the grief he had been allowed to feel before the mantle of Alpha had been passed on to him, right after his father's brutal death.
A beheading. A death even more shameful than that of a cast out.
I blink, thoughts clearing and only then do I notice that Alpha Kier isn't by the railing anymore.
Fingers suddenly grab mine and I scream as I am pulled out of my hiding spot.
Alpha Kier tilts his head to the side and his unruly flaming hair falls over his forehead, nearly veiling the stunning hazel of his eyes. "You've been following me."
The strong smell of alcohol teases my nostrils and I breathe it in regardless. "Why do you drink by the balcony every night?"
He stares at me for a moment. "Do you watch me every night, Lady Everhart?"
Lady Everhart? That's a first.
"Yes," I admit, eyeing his warm fingers that are wrapped around mine. "Don't let go. Your touch feels good."
He lets go abruptly, muttering incoherent words under his breath. "Have you always been this uncouth?"
My brows arch. "Uncouth is hardly the word. I'm as decent as they come."
I really shouldn't be talking to him like this. But then, I've never been a woman who felt fear. What's the worst that could happen? Be tossed in the dungeons? Been there, done that. Don't ask why. It had something to do with my big mouth though.
"Decency is not following a man about at odd hours in nothing but a flimsy nightwear."
I look down at the only nightdress I own. "You like it? I wore it specifically for you, Alpha."
He exhales slowly. "What do you want from me, Lady Everhart? You wish for me to bed you? Is that it? Might you be on heat?"
How wonderful. He thinks I'm hovering around him because I want to get in his bed. He doesn't seem to run out of ways to belittle my feelings and degrade my character.
But then, it's not his fault. He doesn't know anything about me, other than the regular. He'll find out eventually, after he makes me Luna.
Now though, I'll creep into his head and thoughts.
"Maybe," I say, leaning into his space. "Would you bed me if I was on heat? Take me to your room like you took Moira? Kiss me like you did her? Undress me like you've been dying to since the ball?"
His eyes drop to my nightdress and Alpha Kier pulls away from me. He pauses suddenly, and his fingers wrap around my neck, slowly. He peers deeply in my eyes, and his pupils expand. Words tumble out of his mouth in layers and something in me shifts as he speaks. "You will stay away from me, Jessamine Everhart. Whenever you see me, you will feel fear. Have the words ring over and over in your head that trying to seduce me will have me crushing your windpipe, and the rest of you."
I don't know why, but compulsions from Alphas don't work on me like they do the other Omegas. Usually, there are two kinds of people Alphas can't force into doing their bidding. The first, other Alphas. The second, the people they're in love with.
I'm not of Alpha blood. I don't even have a wolf. I'm as weak as they come in comparison to others. And I'm pretty sure Alpha Kier isn't in love with me yet, though he'll grow to soon enough.
His words roll off me, taking no effect, and in response to his threat, I grin. "Does the thought of crushing my windpipe bring you pleasure?"
Alpha Kier blinks, surprise shinning in his eyes at his stark failure in getting me off his back. "What?"
I raise my hand to his, placing my fingers atop his that are on my neck. "I've heard a lot of gossip in the training halls. They say some men like to choke their women in bed. Do you maybe like that too?"
He lets go off me so fast, you would think I had a plague. "Stop talking nonsense around me. Stop following me. The next time you--"
I lunge for him, throwing my arms around his torso.
Why did I suddenly feel the need to hug him? Well, Moira's walking up the stairs, and she's looking in our direction. Seeing us like this...
Alpha Kier freezes, his muscles tensing as I caress his back. I peek around his back and sure enough, Moira is staring at us. At me. A wolfish smile stretches on my lips and yellow flashes in her eyes.
Yeah, she's going to kill me if she ever gets the chance to.
She turns away, running down the steps and I don't get enough time to watch as Alpha Kier grabs my arm and hurls me away from him. "You will keep your hands off me!"
I pout. "No."
He growls and takes off down the hallway. Of course, I follow him. His growls become louder, bouncing off the walls.
I ignore the warning growls, dashing ahead to block his path. He starts to walk around me but I push a hand out, halting him with my fingers splaying on his tanden. His taut muscles quiver under my touch and my stomach falls.
"Twelve years. I've followed you around for that long. Yet, you only notice me today, why?"
Alpha Kier flinches and I can feel his heartbeat take an abnormal spike. "I don't know."
"You're lying," I tell him, raking my nails up his chest and down his stomach. "I'm starting to get to you, am I not?"
His jaw clenches. "I'm not playing this game with you." His breathing is harder, and something flashes in his eyes. "Move."
From his chest, I trace a path down his stomach, stopping shy of his belt's buckle. Truth? I don't know what a man looks like below his waist. Or what it should feel like. Lovette used to say that 'male parts' move when they're aroused.
I'm pretty sure if I try to explore further down and Alpha Kier doesn't crush my fingers to stop me, there's every possiblity that I just might flee in fear.
"It doesn't have to be a game," I whispers, fingers curling around the belt. "It can be very real," I murmur, tugging him closer.
Only Goddess knows what I'm doing, because even I don't. I don't even know what in the world it is that I am saying. Words just spill from my lips and my voice changes to that of a siren's when I'm talking to Alpha Kier.
Hazel eyes flick to my lips and I suddenly feel the urge to make them more inviting and less dry. I lick my lips and Alpha Kier grabs my finger.
Then he twists it the wrong way. Pain shoots through my arm and up my hand and I stifle a scream.
"Touch me again and I'll do more than break your fingers."