Kim doesn’t slow her steps, but she does turn her head to glare at me when I make it to her side. “Can you even help being insulting?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Do you think he likes you calling him Kitten?” Not only does she sneer the word, but she rolls her eyes, too.
“I happen to know he loves that I call him Kitten. Why the fuck would I want to insult him?” I’m already rethinking my decision to go with her.
Kim stops in the long hall and tilts her head just enough to make it clear she thinks she’s looking at me like I’m an idiot. I grit my teeth, telling myself this chick just got dealt a hard blow and she’s probably just lashing out. “He’s a man, and you call him Kitten like he’s some helpless little creature.”
“Ha! Gunnar helpless? Now that’s funny. You know nothing about him or me.” I return her glare, looking her up and down. “You have to be one of the most self-absorbed, shallow assholes I’ve ever met. And that’s a big deal coming from me. I dine on the sins of jerks like you.”
“You what?” She takes a step back from me like I just told her I have herpes or something.
“You know what? Fuck you. I came out here to try to cheer you up, to say that maybe he would change his mind, but with judgmental people like you, why would he? It’s pretty clear you’re way too human for me.” I give her a double finger salute and head off in the opposite direction of where she’s going, but I turn a corner before I make it back to Torin’s room.
I’m so mad right now I don’t want to be around anyone. “She’s lucky I didn’t rip her face off,” I grumble, while walking down yet another hallway. That’s the last time I try to be friendly with that chick.
* * *
I’m millingaround a ballroom in my jeans and a tank top, knowing I’m way underdressed for the event, but not giving a fuck. All the women around me are either decked out in gowns or something I would wear for hunting. I’ve gotten a few looks, but nothing more than I’m used to.
Calix, Grim, and Gunnar are equally out of place. None of us guessed we would be attending a party this evening—well, I didn’t, at least.
I got here early enough to see someone removing the small, ornate throne-like chair that was sitting next to the larger one Torin is now poised in. Louise’s chair. It made my heart ache for him.
I glance around the now full room, wondering if anyone here is still considering challenging him. From the heavy scowl on his face to the balled up fists on his thighs, I don’t think it would be a good idea. He’s a far cry from the man who was pleading with me for death just a few nights ago. In his place is an angry man who looks like he would like to beat someone to death just for the fun of it. Everyone has kept their distance. Even Kim.
I saunter up to his dais and plop myself on one of the steps. “This is not at all what I thought a shifter party would be like.” I roll my head back so I can see Torin. He’s upside down, but whatever.
Torin places his elbow on the arm of his chair and uses his hand to cover his lips. “Pretty fucking lame,” he murmurs, but his face is still curled into a sneer.
I face the crowd again and watch Calix as he extricates himself from a group of particularly talkative shifters. “Can we go home now?” I half whine when he approaches.
“Home is pretty far away,” he teases, and gracefully lowers himself to sit beside me.
“You know what I mean.” I lean over and nuzzle against him until he lifts his arm to accommodate me. I look over the crowd and open my senses. The sins waft over to me just as if I were at Rumors or any other club I use for hunting.
Lust, jealousy, even a little wrath. I follow that thread and it leads me back to a man with light hair and small features. His face is a mask of calm, but inside he is fuming with rage. Grim wanders over, and I lean a little closer to Calix to keep the man in my sights. The very first stirrings of hunger awaken within me.
“I’ll be right back.” I kiss Calix’s jaw and trail my hand over Grim’s chest as I saunter across the room. I don’t need to get much closer, but my guys are too distracting, so a little distance from them is good. I can feel their eyes on me as I walk, so I put a little extra sway in my step. It would be easier if I was wearing heels, but I manage.
I stop when I’m on the fringes of the group the man is standing in. Without being too obvious, I look at his aura, noting the muddy color. This isn’t his first bout with wrath, he’s a vengeful man.
As the thought forms, so does the realization that he is a man, not a shifter. I scan the room again. How many humans are here tonight? Why are they here? Does Torin know?
He must; they all must. I would have known sooner, too, if I’d actually been paying attention. I give a few people who look at me a fake smile and move a little closer to him, curious why he would be among a wolf pack.
The man closest to him drops his hand on the angry man’s shoulder. “Hopefully it won’t be too long now. The morning period is over, so things will get back to normal.”
The angry guy shrugs the other man’s hand away. “Don’t act like you know shit about it. You wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me.” Oh, juicy. I move even closer, pretending I’m making my way across the room.
“I’m just saying your turn will come. Now that he’s back, they can change you,” the other man soothes, trying to console his friend.
“Yeah, and maybe if I hadn’t brought you here, I would have already been changed instead of you!”
“Considering I’m already a wolf, maybe you should think about who you’re talking to.”
Fury fills my senses. I watch a vein in the pissed off human’s neck pop out, and his face goes all purple. He looks like he’s about to have a stroke. I wiggle my fingers through the air, feeling the wrath dance along my skin, and giddy excitement fills me. I forgot just how much I like this. I embrace the dark feeling of rage and drag it inside. It fills me in a way that makes me feel like I’m bathed in a warm glow.
