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Good.
Shadowing his second and the vampire toward the end of the great hall—Ava was steering her toward the offices—he used his predatorial instincts to sneak up on his unwitting prey.
When he’d gotten within pouncing distance, he changed tactics.
Chapter Three
Heavily booted feet stomped the ground behind her, jolting Cortana out of her skin as she pivoted around with her enhanced speed. In less than a millisecond, her dagger was held against the throat of the perpetrator.
Riaz. Again.
Except this time, she’d threatened the werewolf alpha with bodily harm in front of sixty of his packmates. The dagger was neatly tucked under his chin, the blade biting deeply without breaking the flawless ebony of his skin.
The air had gone deadly quiet, and even Ava had gone supernaturally still beside her. And Riaz, the sadist, was smiling like the fool he undoubtedly was.
“Jumpy little thing, aren’t you?” he asked. “I did promise to announce my approach, Cortana.”
“Do you have a death wish?”
Cortana narrowed her eyes while she holstered the dagger. The sounds of conversation ignited around the hall, a few chuckles interspersing the playful banter. Even Ava sniggered beside them.
“Riaz doesn’t know the meaning of self-preservation, Cortana. It’ll be woefully apparent if you stay more than a day.”
“Lesson learned,” she mumbled. “Count me glad he won’t be on the scouting mission.”
A wolfish smile slanted over Riaz’s mouth before he inclined his chin. “I’ve had a change of heart. Ava, I’ll take over from here.”
Ava’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You … take over introductions and the tour?”
“I am the alpha, am I not?”
He obviously failed in his attempt at being sanctimonious, if his beta’s snort upon departure was anything to go by.
Cortana remained unimpressed. She shot him an expectant look, letting her gaze rake down his body. While she’d meant it to illustrate her imperviousness to his charms, she couldn’t help the heat that surfaced in the wake of her leisurely appraisal.
Built for sin, the man was a distraction of the most delectable variety. His skin, the color of deepest chestnut, was without blemish. Underneath his black Henley, his well-defined musculature hinted at a body forged in battle and built to the Spartan physical ideal. Trying not get lost in eyes of a golden russet brown, Cortana lingered on his strong, refined features. Handsome would be a misnomer; the man was positively devastating. A bewitching smile twitched over ripe lips, begging for her touch to verify if they were as soft as they appeared.
Riaz radiated joy. The effect was only overshadowed by the way he exuded confidence in a way that wasn’t at all artificial.
“Are you just as slow in wolf form?”
Clutching at his heart dramatically, Riaz shrugged off her criticism like water rolling off a duck’s back. “Come along; let’s give you the grand tour.”
She caught up to his retreating form as he strode toward the waiting hallway. “I’m eager to scout the Citizens facility. Perhaps the tour can wait until we’ve completed a base level of reconnaissance?”
Studying her as if she’d grown another head, Riaz recoiled. “Kick up your heels for five minutes. We’ll get there.”
“I prefer my heels well-grounded.”
And she did. Though she had a soft spot for the fancy footwear, she’d eagerly wear combat boots when the situation called for them. In fact, she had nearly one of every color she’d ever require, though the custom ordered lilac might see less use than those of a more natural variety.
Riaz, in the meantime, was unrepentantly staring at her blood red heels where they paced beside him. “Planning on skewering someone with those?”
“I can think of a few who might deserve it.”
Rounding the corner of a wider corridor, doorways buttoned in on both sides. Lights illuminated several offices, but Riaz paid them no mind as he marched toward the one at the end of the hall. Curiosity awakened, Cortana peeked into each, noting that most of them were empty.
She gazed up at Riaz. “Will you introduce me to your betas?”
