“Yeah.” He opened the door and led me through.
The front foyer was large, could have easily fit twenty people all jostling to remove their shoes so as not to dirty the gleaming tiled floor. Severin led me down a short corridor past the swooping staircase, to the kitchen. And what a kitchen. The room was enormous and made for cooking, and eating while visiting, which was exactly what was going on when we arrived. But the moment we entered, all talk and movement ceased. All eyes, five sets, were fixed on me instantly. I sensed the curiosity and the animosity of my arrival.
“You can’t be serious bringing her here?” This from a heavy-set woman sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen island. A woman I recognized from the gas station the other night. The one that threatened me.
I stared at her, too stunned to say anything.
Severin squeezed my hand. “Do you question my authority, Roz?”
The woman dropped her gaze, but not the sneer on her lips. “No, not your authority, Alpha. Your dick, maybe.”
That sent a ripple of snickers through the room.
I glanced at Severin to see his reaction, expecting anger. But he seemed unfazed. Amused even.
“My dick is not pack business.” And with that, he pulled me through the kitchen, out the patio doors, and into the backyard.
Several more people visited outside. At least another twelve. They also stopped what they were doing and stared at me.
“Why is everyone looking at me?” I quietly asked Severin.
“Because they see you.”
“Well, yeah, I am standing right here.”
He turned and regarded me with something akin to amusement. “They see you, Nina, for who you truly are.”
I didn’t respond to that statement. I wasn’t sure what to say. Could they see the fae in me? Was that a werewolf thing? Did Severin really understand that I wasn’t one hundred percent human? “I’m pretty sure I don’t know what you mean.”
He searched my face, tracing a finger down my cheek to my chin. He smoothed it there for a moment then dropped his hand, giving me a half-smile. “Let’s get you that shower I promised and some food.”
Not entirely sure what just transpired, I followed Severin back into the house. Although I felt like I was somehow on display, that Severin was parading me about in front of his pack, I couldn’t muster enough anger to make a scene. Being around Severin unnerved me but the closeness also had a calming effect. A sense of the familiar. As if my most inner being recognized his and approved of such a pairing.
It didn’t hurt matters either that I was quite eager to see that exquisite na**d form of his again. And if I had to be scrutinized by a bunch of werewolves for that to happen, then so be it. I was no wallflower. Intimidation didn’t work on me. If they truly did see me, then they’d know I wasn’t a woman to be trifled with.
***
Chapter 11
Severin’s exquisite shower was no boast. The enclosure could easily accommodate three people, and there were water jets coming from every angle. I took full advantage of that luxury. When I finally stepped out of the glass box, my muscles felt like warm moldable clay. I hadn’t been this relaxed and unguarded in a very long time.
He had laid out a soft white terrycloth robe for me, and I slipped it on and padded out of the ensuite and into his enormous bedroom. He was there waiting, full wineglasses in hand.
“I took the liberty of setting the table out on the balcony.” He handed me a glass. “The evening is gorgeous.”
I followed him out onto the balcony where there was an intimate table for two set with what looked like expensive stainless steel cutlery and fine china. He pulled out my seat for me, I sat, and he lifted the lid on my plate to reveal grilled salmon, mushrooms, and a rice pilaf. My stomach rumbled at the sight. “It looks amazing, thank you.”
“One of my pack is a gourmet chef. He works at one of the expensive restaurants downtown.”
“Really? Who else are you hiding in the pack?”
He cut into his steak and blood seeped out across the plate. “Two doctors, a lawyer, a professional hockey player, three actors, and a city official.” He popped the piece of meat into his mouth, smiling around it.
“Doctors, hey? They don’t work at my hospital, do they?”
He shook his head.
“Wow, that’s impressive.” I sipped the wine. “Are they all here tonight?”
“No.” He ate more food.
I leaned back in the chair and took it all in. The food, the house, him. The items were a lot to consider.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say your pack is very much like a mob.” I expected some surprise or shock on his face at my accusation, but there wasn’t any.
He just patted his mouth with the linen napkin and sat back in his chair with his wine and studied me over the rim. “Every member of the pack pays a yearly tribute to the Alpha. In turn, the Alpha provides protection and other benefits, some of them monetary.”
Surprise lifted my brow. “How much is the tribute?”
“Depends on the member’s financial status, but anywhere from a thousand to three thousand a year.”
“And how many in your pack?”
“That I can’t share with you, but let’s say anywhere from thirty to seventy.”
“Wow. And all that money goes to pay for this?” I gestured to the house, the private treed backyard.
“In a way. That money is invested in various ventures. Some of these ventures are very lucrative.”
“So it’s like shares in a company?” I smiled, finding the information all fascinating.
He nodded, and returned my smile. “You could say that, yes.”
I finished the wine and set the glass on the table. “Why are you telling me all of this? It’s obvious other members aren’t happy about my appearance.”
“Because I trust you, Nina.”
“Is it because I’m not human?”
The second the admission was out of my mouth, I knew that I had planned to reveal my true nature to Severin from the very beginning. Something about him was unsettling but at the same time, he instilled a sense of the old and familiar within me. As if we had done this dance before.
He gazed for a long moment, and then said, “That’s part of it.”
I couldn’t sit any longer. I pushed up from the table and stepped back into the room. Severin was there beside me, stopping me from leaving altogether.
“It’s okay, Nina. Your secret is safe here.”
“How long have you known?”
“Since the moment I saw you.”
I rubbed at a spot on my brow between my eyes. The headache was doing its damnedest to make a roaring comeback. I closed my eyes for a second then opened them to regard Severin. “How do you know? Do I look different?”
“You glow, like a firefly.”
“Is it because you’re a werewolf?”
He nodded. “We can see everything. The things that hide in the shadows, and those that hide in the light.”
“Like me.” I sighed.
“Yes, like you.”
I stepped around him to go to the bathroom to collect my clothes. “I have to go.”
He followed me in, and then grabbed my hand to stop it from picking up my shirt. “Stay. Please. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“It’s just that, I’ve never told anyone. For my entire life, my true nature has been kept a secret.”
“I know what that’s like, Nina. To not be your true self. To not share it with anyone. It was like that for us before we came out, so to speak.” He brushed his fingers through my hair. “I know how lonely that can be.”
“I’ve always been cautious when it came to men. I’ve always been afraid to do to them what my mother did to my father.”
His fingers brushed my ears then along my chin as he cupped my cheek in the palm of his hand. “You’ve definitely struck me, Nina. But I won’t grow old and wither to nothing like a human. You can’t hurt me in that way.”
I stared him in the eyes and saw the truth of his words there. For the first time in my life, I felt free to let my guard down and let my fae-ness show.
A smile spread across his face. The gesture was slow and sexy and made my skin tingle pleasantly. “There you are. There’s the real Nina.” He turned me toward the large mirror over the sink.
My skin glowed. A bluish light radiated outward from my body like a visible aura. The sight was beautiful. I was beautiful. My hair shone like polished onyx and my eyes like twin full moons. I smiled at my true nature. For the very first time, I wasn’t ashamed.
From behind me, Severin’s hands feathered down the length of the robe to the belt. Deftly, he unknotted it, then pulled apart the two halves. He pulled the robe over my shoulders and let it pool at my feet. My body was luminescent. In the mirror, I could see his eyes darken as he drank his fill of my na**d form.
“You are breathtaking.” He pressed his lips to the back of my shoulder.
I turned in his arms and wrapped mine around his neck. “Someone in this room has on too many clothes.” I traced the tip of my tongue along his bottom lip then nipped playfully.
Burying his hands in my hair, he tilted my head to one side and took my mouth with his. He sucked my tongue between his lips, playing and teasing and tugging. Heat filled my body, swirling like a typhoon, building into a tight ball at my very center.
His kiss left my lips swollen and achy. I wanted more, to kiss him until I went numb. But instead, he swiveled me around to stare into the mirror.
Pressing his lips to the sensitive spot between my neck and shoulder, Severin’s hand sought my flesh. He trailed his fingers over my stomach, and up toward my br**sts, until finally, gloriously, he molded them with his palms.
Staring at the mirror, I couldn’t tear my gaze from the image of us together, his hands on my body, flicking and pulling on my taut ni**les. I trembled against his body, reveling in my own pleasure. I hooked an arm around his neck to give him more room to maneuver.