Page 20 of Wolf Queen Ruin
That troubled me.
At least, that’s what I told myself as I imagined how she might look in the midnight-blue gown I’d picked out for her, with its strategic slit allowing access to concealed weapons.
The thought purged my mind of everything else, pulled me up short, still several feet away from the front door.The thought had also forced me out my door over two hours early.
Come on, Damien.Don’t be a fool.
I gathered my wits enough to finally knock on the door.
Felix himself answered, wearing a fitted tuxedo.
“Ah, Mr.Cross,” he said.“Luna’s just finishing up.Come on in.”
He led me into the Repository’s eclectic interior—part medical facility, part mystical laboratory, part architectural fever dream.The building hummed with the distinctive vibration of active magical wards, layered with a complexity that spoke to Felix’s considerable power.
Luna said he was a shifter, but I sensed so much more about him.
“I still can’t believe you and Luna are going to one of Selene’s balls.How exciting!”he said with a wide smile.“What is it that you two are after there again?”
Before I could respond, a door opened somewhere up the stairs, and the sound of heels clicking against tile flooring approached.
“I don’t understand why these things can’t be flat—“ Luna’s voice cut off abruptly when she saw us down below.
At the sight of her, I found myself rendered completely speechless.
The midnight-blue gown I’d selected clung to her figure like it had been painted onto her skin, the fabric shimmering with subtle enchantments woven into the material.A strategic slit revealed her leg up to mid-thigh—practical for movement but devastatingly elegant.
Her blonde hair was swept up, revealing the graceful line of her neck and shoulders, and her eyes—those perceptive, challenging eyes—were accentuated by smoky makeup that made them appear both more mysterious and more penetrating.
“You’re staring,” she said, a hint of vulnerability beneath her characteristic bravado.“Is something wrong?I’m not used to dressing like this.”
“I…” I struggled to recalibrate my thoughts into something resembling coherence.“Nothing’s wrong.You look…formidable.”
One corner of her mouth quirked upward.“Formidable?That’s your go-to compliment?”
“I meant it as the highest praise,” I said, finally finding my equilibrium.“You look like exactly what you are, someone no one should underestimate.”
Her expression softened.“Good.You don’t look too shabby yourself.”
She floated down the steps, and I held my arm out toward her without even realizing it.
She smiled as she took it and leaned up to whisper in my ear, “Those pretty panties you picked out for me?Awful trip to Wedgie City.”
“I apolo—“
“So I’m not wearing any,” she whispered.
If I’d had a heartbeat, it would have sputtered and died.
Troubling.
Fucking troubling.
Chapter six
Luna
“Ilookridiculous,”Imuttered, tugging at the midnight-blue gown that shimmered like starlight whenever I moved.“Like I’m playing dress-up in someone else’s life.”
