AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Everyone in here is curious about me, yet no one has the balls to actually ask,” Hunter mumbled after the sixth person bid them goodbye and wandered back into the crowds without commenting on his presence.
“It probably doesn’t help that you’re so skittish,” Odin told him.
He’d listened and stuck close to his side without argument, but Hunter noticeably bristled every time someone stepped too near.
“What was that you were saying about my pissed-off expression earlier?” Odin teased. “You look like you’re going to bite whenever anyone so much as moves past you.”
“I’m not the one who wanted to come to this thing,” he reminded tersely.
He sighed and angled his body closer when a group of boisterous men in glittering silver masks walked by them. “Relax, Huntsman. I’ve got you.”
Hunter snorted. “Literally anyone could come up and stick a knife in my side.”
“You think so?” He waited until he had his full attention and then aimed his chin over Hunter’s shoulder.
Loni nodded back at them from where she stood less than five feet away. She’d kept close but had successfully blended with the rest of the groups around them so she didn’t stand out. Hunter most likely had forgotten she was even there.
“No one is going to hurt you,” Odin said. “Besides, look who you came with. If anyone is at risk of being assassinated, it’s me.”
“You think I don’t know why you want Moon to spread that rumor about us?” Hunter hissed. “I’m not an idiot, Snow. You’re forgetting I grew up in this world, too. You’re purposefully making me a target. Anyone who’s even slightly irritated with you could come for me at any minute.”
He hadn’t bothered trying to hide his intentions, so it wasn’t surprising that Hunter had figured it out. Although… “It’s more complex than that, I assure you.”
“Enlighten me,” he drawled, in a tone that insinuated he didn’t think there was anything Odin could say to convince him. “You kept me hidden all this time just so I would heal, and now the real fun begins. Isn’t that what you told me?”
Yes, that was precisely what Odin had said that first night Hunter had finally woken up.
“Is this it?” Hunter swept out an arm, almost knocking over a waiter carrying a tray full of ban but gave no reaction. “Is this meant to be fun?”
Odin gave the waiter a warning look when he turned to scold Hunter, and even though he was wearing the mask, it was obvious the man knew exactly who he was.
He raced off without a word.
“You’re forgetting your place, Huntsman,” Odin stated.
“I don’t mean fun for me,” Hunter shifted on his feet, turning to face Odin fully. Finally, he pulled his arm away from him, breaking all physical contact between them. “You aren’t having fun either.”
“Careful.”
“Being here is like torture, isn’t it?” He had the good sense to at least keep his voice down, but Odin found himself tensing at Hunter’s words anyway. “Why force yourself when—”
A hush fell over the room all at once, and Hunter took notice, silencing himself.
On the left side of the room, another set of stairs led up to the second floor, and everyone was currently turning that way. They stared as if entranced at the man who appeared there, a mixture of fear and excitement filling the room, potent enough that Odin could almost taste it on his tongue.
He scowled, but it wasn’t like he remained unaffected.
Isa Frost was beautiful.
The Dominus of the Frost family stood at the top of the landing, surveying the mass below as if he were an emperor gifting his subjects with the honor of his presence. He was dressed in all white with notes of silver and ice blue, his platinum blond hair kept short on the sides and a little longer in the back and on the top.
He was wearing a mask like everyone else, but it did little to conceal his identity when he made such a grand entrance—which was no doubt the point.
Isa was considered cold and quiet, but he’d always been the attention seeker of the two of them, a fact he’d easily hidden behind the more boisterous Odin when they’d been younger.
Odin had let him.
He now had the crowd's full attention as he leaned against the banister and stared at them.
