Page 55 of The Hunt of Night

“Says who?” Raiden chimes in, leaning back in his seat as he drapes his arm over the back of my chair. She catches the movement, gulping as she turns to the vampire, which clearly sets a level of uncertainty running through her.

“Says me.” There’s a slight falter to her voice.

“And?” The corner of his mouth confirms he loves the reaction he’s garnering from her by simply staring her down.

Flustering, she pushes up from the table and folds her arms over her chest. “Someone better step up to a duel.”

I frown. “Wait, you want to duel for Cassian, right?”

“You’re playing dumb again,” she snaps, loud enough to draw a few stares from others around the dining hall. Perfect, what we need more than anything else right now is a growing audience. It’s exhausting.

“Who else are you going to be able to duel for him if not me? Come back when the new moon comes,” I grumble, slightly excited by the fact that I can get my hands on her. It’s a pity it’s not today, I need something to exert all of this pent-up stress on, and she would make the perfect target.

She shakes her head, a glint of something in her eyes as a sneering smile spreads across her face.

“No. Not when I can duel with the wolf instead.”

23

ADRIANNA

“Is this a joke?” It has to be.

Glancing around the hall, I look for a sign that this bullshit is just for shits and giggles, but I come up empty-handed. The scrape of a chair along the floor has my gaze whipping back to the table to find Cassian rising from his seat.

“Unfortunately not,” he grunts, resignation in his tone, and I shake my head in disbelief.

What in the actual fuck?

“You’re not going to fight her,” I blurt, watching as the bitch steps back with a wide grin. She’s far too pleased with herself, leaving me desperate to wipe the damn look off her face.

“I will when she calls it,” he states, cracking his neck from side to side as I continue to shake my head. Surely it’s going to fall from my shoulders any time, but I can’t seem to stop.

“I refuse,” I declare, standing with him, and he offers me what can only be described as a softening look. For him, at least. The corners of his eyes relax, the tension slipping from his features as the tips of his lips curl up.

What the hell is going on right now?

“It doesn’t quite work like that, Alpha. You’ve done a few of these now to know,” he muses, unclipping his cloak from aroundhis neck. Brody takes it from his hands without a word while Cassian casts a look of disdain toward the bitch interrupting our lunch. “Let’s take it outside.”

“Let’s take it nowhere,” I retort, scrambling for a way to make this stop, but he starts toward the door without a backward glance.

Half of the hall rises to do the same, confirming we have a bigger audience than I realized, and I sigh.

“What are you panicking for? He’s got this,” Raiden states as Kryll slips his arm around my shoulders.

“That’s not my concern,” I grumble as we hurry to catch up with everyone.

“Then what is?” Kryll asks, intrigue flashing in his eyes as he peers down at me, and I gape at him, unable to find an answer.

“I don’t know,” I finally admit as we step outside, and Brody suddenly appears in front of me.

“Oh, you don’t want your wolf to get injured?” he fake pouts, stroking my arm with fake concern, and I snatch my arm back out of his reach.

“Not my wolf,” I mutter, the words heavy on my tongue as Brody snickers.

“If you say so.”

Glaring at him, I feel my blood simmer with annoyance. “Your charm doesn’t shine through when you’re being an ass.”

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