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A pang of hunger rumbled in her stomach as the wind caught his scent. Her fangs sharpened in her mouth. With a start, she realized that though she’d taken Riaz’s blood only days ago, she hadn’t had a substantial meal in some time.
Compounding how delectable his blood was and the way her body yearned for him, it’d be a miracle if she could stop herself from draining him dry. Cortana knew all too well the risks of taking blood from someone she loved—and what happened when her inhibitions were released.
She laid it out for him. “I need to feed.”
One look at him confirmed he knew she wouldn’t be taking his blood. Annoyance had shadowed his gaze. The pair of them continued to walk toward the pottery shop despite Riaz’s near-silent growl of irritation.
“And you can’t take what you need from me?”
“You’re not my blood type, wolf.”
She could almost hear the thoughts in his head: he’d made it clear he thought that it was his responsibility to keep her satisfied—fed—and she was refusing to accept what he proposed. The problem was that she couldn’t—not without endangering him.
He swallowed audibly. “Do you need to go back to the den? To … feed?”
“No, I can wait.”
She could almost feel the relief translate through their joined hands. Seconds later, Riaz stopped walking. “We’re here.”
Deep brown eyes regarded the pottery shop off the main drag.
“We’ve been taking the pups and new arrivals here on a regular basis every year since it was built and opened in the seventies,” Riaz explained. “It’s important to have time with them as their alpha, and it’s become something of a time-honored tradition. Fortunately, it’s changed owners several times, so we don’t have anyone too suspicious.”
Riaz’s smile turned sad. “We brought Benny here about a year ago. He painted five of them. Five. That kid was always trying to prove himself, didn’t matter what it was.”
He hummed, the sound somber, and shook his head. “The pottery I’ve created here takes up a sizable shelf in my den. Ava keeps telling me to sort through it, that one day, it’s going to give out and everything is going to break. She has no idea that I’ve reinforced it three times to make sure if doesn’t collapse.” He smiled, playfully tugging her toward the entrance. “Come on, Pet.”
Stepping through the open doors, Cortana’s attention snagged on the multitude of blank white pottery options lining the wall. There were the typical small pots, coasters, and plates, but what fascinated her were the artsy animals that sat just beneath them.
Immediately, she was drawn to the sculpture of a howling wolf.
“No kids today?”
Cortana looked up to see the brunette shopkeeper grinning, and Riaz returned the expression. “Nope, just one slightly troublesome date.”
“Good,” the shopkeeper pointed to one of the open tables. “You can sit there. I’ll grab you some paints and you both can choose a ceramic.”
“Thanks Emily. As always, you’re amazing.”
There was no contest: Cortana took the howling wolf ceramic. Riaz, on the other hand, leisurely perused the collection, mumbling to himself while she strode over to their table. The only other painters were a family of four with two kids under the age of ten, and it seemed they were almost finished.
When Riaz finally sat down beside her, he wore a mile-wide grin.
“Which one did you choose?”
He plunked it on the table. “The bat.”
Snorting, she bit her lips. “I can’t imagine why.”
“I see you’ve selected the grandest of all beasts.” Then, his expression darkened. “If you paint it any color other than brown, I’m going to be crushed.”
“Guess I better put back the turquoise and lime green.”
Ten minutes later, they were both deep into their craft. Cortana had grabbed a subtle brown color to paint her ceramic wolf, taking great pride in making sure the tips of his paws remained white.
Beside her, the massive werewolf alpha was sitting in a plastic chair that creaked whenever he moved, delicately painting brown eyes on a ceramic bat. His every attention was fixated on making it perfect, and occasionally, she saw orange flare behind his gaze. Something about the ancient immortal using children’s paint brushes made her heart leap, and she giggled at the scene.
It instantly caught his attention, and he turned to face her. His eyes widened in surprise before pointing to her cheek and saying, “You’ve painted yourself, Cort.”
