C20 Twenty

Selena's POV

Back at the Alpha house, the halls smelled of polished wood and faint incense. Moonlight streamed through the tall windows, catching the dust in silver strands, and casting everything in an almost dreamlike glow.

I tried to tell myself I was calm and collected. Like nothing from the lake had happened.

"Selena, Adrian," Elder Jafer's voice broke through my thoughts, firm and commanding. "Let's discuss what occurred earlier with the... cake and the priestess."

I swallowed, acutely aware of Adrian's presence beside me, tall and tense, his hair from the lake was still slightly damp and clinging to his forehead.

He didn't even look flustered.. typical Alpha, completely in control but I knew he was vibrating with the same unspoken frustration that I felt.

Jafers wife, Martha, chimed in, her voice a bit softer but sharp, "If truly there is a traitor amongst us, we must tread carefully. Secrets... have a way of spilling as the walls always have ears ."

Adrian's eyes swept across the elders, dark and unreadable. "For now," he said, voice controlled, deliberate, "everything stays low and quiet . Whoever is behind this knows I'm onto them and would try to keep his or plans at bay for now or risk being exposed . That's enough leverage for now."

Everyone nodded in agreement, murmuring softly.

Everyone, that is... except me.

I opened my mouth to challenge him, to argue that keeping the traitor close to silent was risky as they could be cooking up a bigger storm right under our nose, but my words caught in my throat.

I turned to leave, needing space to breathe so I went to the balcony and tried to keep my thoughts as well well as my sexual urges at bay before I lost my mind.

The tension in the air was thick, like a storm about to break.. I needed to release so bad I thought I would go mad before I went back to the human world.

And then I saw them.

Leila and Adrian.

My chest constricted.. My pulse spiked as my gaze froze on the scene before me.. Adrian leaning down, lips brushing hers in a deliberate, teasing kiss and she kissed him back with so much force I could have sworn I heard him moan.

My stomach lurched. Why did it hurt this much? I whispered to myself, and heat pooled low, irritably, maddeningly, in places I wished it wouldn't.

I wanted to step closer, confront him, demand answers.. but something held me back. Pride. Dignity. Or maybe it was just that subtle pull of the lake, still lingering like a phantom around my nerves.

Quietly, I slipped backward, intending to leave unnoticed.

"Godmom," a familiar voice murmured behind me, soft but firm. I froze.

Raymond.

He appeared effortlessly, tall and shadowed by the moonlight. "You're still here? It's late," he said, hand extending. "I can take you back plus I have something I'd like to tell you."

I hesitated. Safe, reliable Raymond.. always there. Always calm and always sweet.. less annoying and troublesome like a certain alpha I knew.

Just as I was about to accept, the air shifted and my pulse jumped.

"Not that simple," a deep, commanding voice said, and I spun around.

Adrian.

He stood there, his eyes blazing like twin storms, his hair plastered to his face, while his chest was rising and falling with controlled ferocity. "You're coming with me," he said.

I frowned, confused. "Excuse me?"

"The priestess's task isn't complete," he said, voice low, dangerous. "And neither is our... situation."

I opened my mouth, but Raymond spoke before I could. "I guess you're a bit busy.. I'll see you soon Godmom," he said, gentle but firm, giving me that soft, protective smile.

I glanced between the two of them, heart pounding. "Yes," I said softly, finally, and followed Adrian, leaving Raymond in the shadowed hallway.

The door closed behind us with a muted thud, and before I could protest or gather my thoughts, Adrian spun me around and pushed me to the nearest wall.

The moonlight caught him at the perfect angle, casting shadows across his strong, wet features.

"Are you mad?" he asked in a low, teasing, dangerous voice, heat radiating off him like fire.

I shot him a look that could kill. "How dare you speak to me that way!"

A slow smirk curved his lips. "The lake... its effect hasn't completely worn off yet. And now you're just going to walk out, or... are you planning to lay down with him to relieve yourself?"

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" I shoved at him with more force than expected. "I know you're stupid, but that... that's low. Even for a stupid person like you! He's my godson, Adrian! My godson! Not... not.."

His smirk widened, dark and almost victorious. "And I'm your son, Mother. Yet... here you are, getting... flustered and your arousal is everywhere ."

I shoved him again, teeth gritted. "Go to hell!"

He laughed, low and dangerous, leaning just slightly closer, enough that I could feel the heat of him, the weight of him. "If I go to hell how do you plan on getting yourself together ," he murmured.

I crossed my arms, cheeks burning. "You're impossible!"

His eyes glimmered, wolf-like, teasing, and I felt that pull again, the lake, the bond, the way my body betrayed me every time he drew near.

"Impossible? Maybe. But you..." he traced a finger along my jaw, not touching, just close enough to make me shiver, "you make it easy to want what I shouldn't."

I gritted my teeth, stepping back.. but not far enough. "Stop it. I'm not... I'm not your plaything. Not your..." I swallowed hard, voice dropping as heat pooled low again. "...Not anything you can just claim."

"Plaything?" His lips twitched. "No. Not a plaything. Something...I enjoy seeing you this frustrated and in need of my help it makes me feel so."

I shook my head, cheeks flaming. "Alive? You call this alive? You're drenched, sticky, wet... and ridiculous!"

"Ridiculous?" He leaned close, that smirk threatening to break into something hotter, something I knew would melt me on the spot. "Maybe. But your heartbeat.. right now.. it tells me otherwise."

I froze. The words hung in the air, charged with danger and unspoken heat.

"I..." I started, but his hand shot out, fingers grazing my shoulder. Not enough to touch me fully, just enough to ignite every nerve.

"Shh," he whispered, low, commanding. "Don't argue. Not now. Not when we're... this close. You need me to feel better and I on the other hand can get better with any woman I deem fit."

Issa growled low in my chest, protesting his teasing, his closeness, his touch.. but, Selena. Don't.

"I said go to hell, Adrian and what makes you think I can't have any man I want," I snapped, though my voice quivered, betraying how much I wanted to reach up and drag him closer.

He chuckled, that dangerous, knowing chuckle, leaning just slightly, enough to make my pulse stutter. "Go to hell... then come with me anyway. That's how this works. You can fight me, bite me, yell at me... but in the end..." His gaze locked on mine, smoldering. "...you'll follow while I'll push you away like the vintage whore you are."

I clenched my fists, shoving against him again. "You are... unbelievable! And also... the most arrogant, infuriating.."

He cut me off with a wink, dark, wicked, and infuriatingly perfect. "Infuriating? Good. I need someone to match me."

I groaned, gripping the wall behind me to steady myself, because gods help me, my body refused to behave rationally. Heat pooled low, and the throb in my veins made every step, every movement, every word with him impossible to resist.

"And don't even think about playing the hero," he murmured, voice low and dangerous, like a warning. " Whatever the priestess wants, whatever the lake... it's all tangled in us. And yes... it's very, very unfair to you which I don't apologize for."

I shook my head, flustered, cheeks hot, yet I couldn't stop myself from sneaking another glance at him. "Unfair... is an understatement. And... you..." My voice caught. "...You're impossible."

He leaned in, so close that the heat from his body pressed against mine, the scent of him.. wet, powerful, intoxicating.. overwhelming my senses. "Exactly. And that's why you won't walk away. That's why..." He let the words linger, teasing, leaving me trembling with frustration and longing. "... you were peeking at me and Leila wishing I was kissing you instead of her so you could finally get that heat cooled down."

I swallowed hard, pressing both palms against his chest to create some semblance of distance. "Fine. Adrian do whatever you wish to do with whoever you wish to do it with I don't care."

He laughed, low, dangerous, wolf-like, that smirk tugging cruelly at the corners of his lips. "With pleasure... Mother."

And just like that, the words hung in the air between us, hot, impossible, charged with the tension of everything the lake, the priestess, and our bond had stirred.

I wanted to hate him. I tried to. I really did.

But my heartbeat, my wolf, my very being... refused and I was too horny for this stress.

This was going to be a long night.