Chapter 5 5

"Make me," I whispered past his grip, and he groaned. I lifted my thigh, rocking my hips against him as I leaned into his hold. His breath came through as shaky rasps against my skin as my fingers danced up his impressive biceps.

"Kai."

A warning voice broke through, and he glanced over at Derik. His body shook, and he looked down at me, closed off from the desire this time. I fought the urge to sulk as he let go of my throat and the promising storm of pleasure.

"Don't tempt me, human," he said, before climbing off me and moving away. He didn't even fight me when I sat on the other end of the bench seat.

I looked out the window, my hands shaking as I stared up at the blood moon. It would be there for twelve hours. I shivered and leaned my head against the window, my eyes closing.

I had no idea why I felt the way I felt, but if I could bait the alpha into holding me like that again, I couldn't help but be tempted.

I chewed my lip as a thrill rushed through me at the idea of it. Was I broken?

Maybe. I was winter born, after all. I wanted the alpha to break me-well, I wanted him to try-and I wanted to be consumed by that fire in his eyes.

I glanced over my shoulder as Nikolai was glaring at Derik, who was scowling back.

It took me a second to realize they were communicating.

"Can you talk to each other in your minds?" I asked, and Braxton paused his caressing of Portia as the other two turned their eyes to glare at me. That seemed to be their go-to though, so I brushed it off.

"Stop playing with fire, little girl. You've had your fun, but fall in line before we get to the city or we will have to show you that your kind of defiance won't be tolerated," Derik warned, and I knew he meant it.

"We are werewolves, not equals. Your little game just then could've gone horribly wrong, and you don't understand how badly yet-but maybe you will before the night is finished," Derik continued, and I shuddered at his words.

I didn't bother responding; instead, I looked back out the window, watching the Grasslands turn into the Water area.

The city was in the middle of Werewolf Territory, surrounded by the Water area like a moat, stretching into the Grasslands and extending into the Forest area.

Beyond that was Vampire Territory, and I had never been brave enough to find out what that meant.

I had never seen the city either though. Villagers weren't allowed. The alphas didn't come to the villages unless it was for offerings.

The wolves swarmed the city, the howls reaching into the carriage as we arrived.

I shivered as it reached inside me. A huge wall surrounded the city, and the giant black gates opened for us. I stared out at the lake that was surrounded by trees and rocks.

A cold pit dropped in my stomach as I stared through the darkness, the red of the moon stretching across the black lake. I frowned at the feeling as it sank further, cold and hard.

I narrowed my eyes through the darkness and swore my eyes found a shadow.

One that stared back.

4. The Shadow

"Wait...can we stop?" I asked breathily as the feeling tightened inside me. I had no idea why I felt it so strongly, but the shadows felt wrong. They didn't match the trees.

"Why?" Nikolai asked.

I didn't have an answer. I held my hand against my chest as the cold spread, and I shivered hard.

The shadow moved quickly from one tree to another, and just as I was sure I was making up shit in my head, two red eyes flicked open, staring at me from miles away, but it was like they were right there.

I gasped, shoving back from the window, my heart skipping as fear closed around me. I fell to the floor of the carriage, blinking hard, trying to get the image from my head. Those eyes.

"I saw... There was something out there," I breathed.

Nikolai looked at me like I had taken crazy pills. So did the other alphas. Maybe I was delusional. Maybe it was the reflection of the water and the blood moon making the eyes seem red.

"It's a full moon, wolves will be everywhere tonight," Derik said, an edge to his voice.

I nodded slowly and climbed back onto the seat, yanking the curtain across the window.

"What do you think you saw?" Braxton asked warily, and I shook my head.

"Nothing. It was...just a shadow." I inhaled deeply and tried to convince myself that's all it was.

I held my arms across me as we were taken through the gates and through the city.

It was less modern than I had expected- the paths were stone in the ground, the buildings all stone, wood, and glass.

All of the streets looked similar until they came to the mansion. It was huge, with a sprawling lawn that was hosting multiple orgies as wolves ran, nipping and chasing each other.

I tried to keep my eyes inside my head as we were let out of the carriages and led up the stone path toward the mansion.

Some of the people in the orgies paused, looking at the offerings with interest before going back to the entanglement of bodies they were in.

I looked straight ahead, the situation finally weighing on me.

It was just sex, but it was about to change everything. Fear tightened inside me, coiling around my stomach as I tried to keep my shit together. I didn't want to be the scared little virgin, but I was.

I knew it was going to hurt, and with all the games with Nikolai, I had forgotten why I was there. I remembered now as we were ushered into the foyer of the mansion.

It was grand and beautiful, nothing like my village at home. There were dark wooden floors with a double staircase on either side, leading up to a dark hall that led somewhere I didn't even want to guess.

I looked around at the big statues-all wolves-that surrounded the marble foyer.

Mom was right; it was more luxury than I'd ever see again. The wall lamps were made of glass and lit the place enough to see we were being led into a seating room.

The offerings from the other villages were already there, and after a quick count, there were about thirty of us.

Could werewolves really fuck ten girls in a row? I shuddered. Mom had said I would go last, and I hoped that was true and my theory about being tired worked out.

We were all in white: the Grasslands in the silk nightie, the Forests in long flowy white gowns, and the Water group in high-waist flowy skirts with a crop. All white for purity.

I huddled with the others as the alphas stood in the doorway, barricading us in. Not that it was a bad place to be barricaded in.

It was warm, with a bright fireplace and multiple plush seating options: couches, chairs, cushions... Even the rug looked comfier than my plain old seats at home that hadn't been repaired in way too long.

I was terrible at sewing. And a little lazy. Hope that wasn't going to be an issue for tonight's festivities.

That had me smirking. The idea of lying there like a dead fish while the alpha tried to get a rise out of me had me almost laughing out loud.

I held it in by some miracle and looked up, my eyes clashing with Nikolai's.

I stowed my threatening smirk to harden my stare as he stood at the front of the trio.

"Offerings of Wolf Territory," he said, and everyone stepped back in the large room.

I stood my ground, not letting him intimidate me. He was using my body; he wouldn't have my mind or my will.

He noticed.

"One by one you will be taken through the door at the back. Once you pass through that door, everything you see and do will be private information. Tell no one," he said.

Everyone turned to look at the door, every girl looking paler as the full weight of what we were there for hit us. The solid, dark wooden door with a silver wolf head on it seemed more dramatic than it needed to be.

"Stay in this room no matter what. The rest of the mansion is off limits. Step foot outside this threshold and you'll regret it," he promised, and it made me want to put my toe across the line just to see what they would do.