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The tiny planeshook around him and Draven placed a hand on the roof to steady himself. His gums tingled with need. It wasn’t that he hadn’t fed himself properly, but when Flora was near her blood called to him and his fangs itched to lengthen and sink themselves into the neck of the one woman he should be keeping at arm’s length.
It wasn’t that Draven didn’t want Flora. Holy fucking shit he did. She was the only thing that consumed his thoughts. Not the fact that he could lose everything. Not the fact that the moonstone was within reach. Only Flora. Her deep blue eyes, and golden blonde waves that begged him to tangle his fingers in and crane her neck so that he might taste her intoxicating blend of sweet and mint. And if that wasn’t enough to drive him mad, the knowledge of how soft and supple her thighs were beneath his hands and the sounds she made as she took her own pleasure… Goddess, he might go mad by the end of this.
But Flora wasn’t his. Even though the idea of claiming her excited his wolf to the point of wagging his tail like a goddamn puppy, the truth was she could never be his. Not when he was fighting for his place in the pack. Even if the pack saw past the blood that ran through his veins and accepted him as their heir, they wouldn’t accept anything less than a full-blooded bitch at his side.
That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to enjoy the moments with Flora he had. Especially if it kept his moody ass wolf happy. He’d been pacing in Draven’s chest the entire time they prepped for their trip to Lune. It wasn’t until he had eyes on her on the plane that he finally settled. Draven still wasn’t sure how he continued to have access to his wolf’s presence, but he had a hunch it had to do with the stone around her neck.
She’d been giving him the silent treatment, and he didn’t push her to open up. At least not yet. This trip would be an uncomfortable one for her if he was going to make her see that she didn’t need to be a vampire in this life or any other. It would be fun though, and the excitement in his chest at fulfilling his promises to her drove him absolutely wild. He’d need to figure out what was tethering her to the idea she needed to be immortal, and he didn’t believe for a second that it was the vampires at the castle. She was a means to an end for them, that’s how it always was with the vampires. So why was Flora so desperate to give up her humanity?
Try as he might, it wasn’t something he understood. He’d never been given the choice. From the moment he took his first breath, he’d always been destined for immortality. He’d grown up watching his mother and father’s temples line with silver hair, and crows feet form at their eyes—albeit slower than any other human. It was an outward sign that they would leave him. Everyone he’d ever love would leave him eventually.
But it wasn’t just the fact that he’d end up alone that made him long for mortality. Being a vampire changed who you were on a visceral level in the same way being a wolf did. His wolf side at least connected to the world around him. It was primal and instinctive, but it grounded him. The vampire side did the exact opposite, forcing the impulsive and intrusive nature of the beast to the forefront and going against every part of him that felt human. His vampire side was selfish and crass. It didn’t live for the moment, but instead created moments to be lived in.
Draven didn’t know how other vampires did it. He fought tooth and nail to ensure he didn’t lose sight of what was important.
Family.
Pack.
Draven walked up the aisle of the plane and lowered himself into the seat next to Flora. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and she leaned against the window snuggled into one of the oversized sweaters he’d ordered for her. Her eyes were closed and for the first time since they’d stepped on the plane, her heart beat steadily instead of erratically.
The plane shifted, taking a large circular path before straightening out and descending.
“Should we wake her?” Mateo asked from across the aisle.
Draven stifled the snarl his wolf forced from the back of his throat. He wanted nothing more than to put Mateo in his place for the way he doted on Flora, even if it was in a platonic nature. Still, he couldn’t fault him. There was something about her that drew them in. Even Kade hung on her every word.
She was a means to an end, he reminded himself.
Draven leaned over and inhaling her intoxicating scent, whispered in her ear, “Flora.”
Her crystal blue eyes fluttered open, and Flora straightened in her seat. The calm expression she’d worn moments before was replaced by sheer panic. Her eyes darted around the plane as her hand simultaneously shot out and gripped Draven’s forearm.
“Hey, hey.” He softened his voice and he dropped a hand to her thigh and gave her a soft squeeze. “You’re okay. We’re still on the plane.”
Flora tilted her head up, her doe eyes wide. “Are we there?”
He shook his head, wishing for a split second he could take away whatever it was that paralized her.Fuck he needed to knock that shit off. Draven pulled his hand away from her thigh and relaxed back into his own seat. “Almost. We’ve begun our descent.”
“Oh. Okay.” She fell back into the seat, and her gaze fell to where she still had a death grip on his arm. She snatched her hand back and held it to her rapidly beating heart. “Sorry.”
“It’s fine.” It was more than fine, but he wasn’t going to tell her how much he liked her hands on him. “Are you going to tell me why you are so afraid to return home?”
He didn’t think it was possible, but Flora’s heart beat faster in her chest. “Are you going to tell me why you’ve been avoiding me?” she countered.
He chewed his lip to hide the smile that threatened to curl his lips. “The world doesn’t revolve around you, Flora.” His words were harsher than he’d intended, but it was better that way. He needed to keep her at arms length and not let her know how much her smart mouth made him itch to go to war with her.
“No, but the expectation of common decency isn’t too much to ask.” She lowered her voice to barely a whisper so even with their enhanced hearing he doubted Mateo and Kade could hear her. “Considering you’ve seen the most intimate parts of me I don’t think a ‘Hey how are you?’ is too much to ask.”
Draven winked and blew her a kiss. “Hey, how are you?”
Flora pinned a heated glare in his direction. She was cute when she was flustered. Hell, she was cute all the time. She opened her mouth like she was going to give him hell but instead a sigh fell from her lips. “It’s just…I don’t like flying.”
Lie.Well mostly. There was a hint of truth. He’d known from the way her heart beat out of her chest during take off that flying wasn’t something she enjoyed, but beyond that she was hiding something.
“Neither does Kade.” He let her lie slide for the time being. Despite wanting to keep her at arms length he wanted her to remain human more. The more he saw of her the more it was solidified that she didn’t need to be changed. She was perfect the way she was. Which meant she needed to trust him or at the very least trust his men to keep her safe.
She whipped around and looked at Kade who sat catty-corner to their row. Though he tried to remain unfazed, it was the way that Kade gripped the armrest of the seat that gave him away. Draven was sure if his second had access to his wolf, his claws would be sprouting, offering him additional grip.
