Page 2 of Abel

“I’m Zane.You are?”

Esme instantly relaxed and extended her hand.“Hi.”Pointing to her name tag, she managed to barely whisper.“Esme.”Her gaze remained riveted, unable to tear itself away from her mate as he finally settled into a seat three tables distant.

The man across from her cleared his throat.“Are you distracted tonight?”

“A little.”She answered honestly.Finally looking over at him, she offered a slight smile.“Let me be blunt, I’m only here—”

“Let me guess, someone told you to come, so you did.”She nodded and he laughed.“Always the same thing, every time I come to one of these.I’ve wasted more time talking to females who are only here on a bet or a dare, or because someone told them to come.One time, just one time, I’d like to meet a girl who is actually looking for a quality male.”

Esme blinked.Unprepared for the unexpected hostility, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.However, she quickly formulated a plan.With a nod towards Zap at the neighboring table, she addressed the situation, her tone carrying a mix of regret and determination.

“Well, I apologize if I’ve inconvenienced you,” she began, her words tinged with sincerity.“But it’s important to remember that there are other women here genuinely seeking love.For instance, take Zappina; she’s here with a sincere hope of finding a connection.”

The man’s nose crinkled with distaste, transforming his once-handsome features into a mask of arrogance and disdain.He let out a snort, his words dripping with condescension.

“Hmph.Lower myself to a pixie?I’m of noble blood; neither you nor she even begins to approach my standards.”

Esme’s once-pleasant smile twisted into a venomous snarl, and she leaned in closer, her eyes gleaming with a dangerous edge.

“Well, it’s fortunate that you’ve recognized your own worthlessness,” she hissed, her voice dripping with hostility.Her index finger pointed menacingly to the exit, her words laden with an unsettling promise.

“Do you see that door over there?”Esme’s tone grew icier, and in an instant, her she-wolf surged forward, a flash of primal fury that sent shivers down his spine before she reverted to her human form.

“I suggest you run, not walk, far away from here,” she continued, her eyes ablaze with an unsettling hunger.“It’s getting late, and I’m famished.If, by some misfortune, our paths cross again, rest assured, I’ll savor the exquisite pleasure of tearing your heart out while it’s still beating.”

Esme punctuated her chilling words by snapping her teeth together, a stark reminder of the potent forces he had dared to provoke.The man’s face drained of color, and he pushed his chair back in a panicked rush before bolting for the exit, leaving the scent of fear lingering in his wake.

Esme’s lips curled into a smile, and she reclined in her chair, savoring the moment of solitude at her table.It was a brief respite in the midst of the bustling chaos, and she relished every second of it.She allowed herself to soak in the tranquility, knowing that, as the bell chimed to signal the partner switch, she had navigated the challenge with great satisfaction.

* * *

A soft chuckleescaped Abel’s lips as his gaze remained fixed on the flustered man who hastily retreated from Esme’s table.The corners of his mouth curled upward as he observed the scene unfold before him.His wolf, a primal force within him, surged with a sense of pride.That fiery woman was his mate, after all.

As he continued to watch, his curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn’t help but wonder what the man had said to ignite Esme’s anger.However, his musings were interrupted as a woman seated across from him reached out and touched his arm.

“What’s so funny?”The woman asked.

“Oh.”He rubbed the back of his neck.“Nothing, sorry.You were saying?”

The bell’s chime provided a welcome distraction, rescuing him from the impending conversation with the woman seated across from him.He couldn’t help but acknowledge that she likely possessed many admirable qualities, but his presence at this event was strictly for business, a fact he was determined to adhere to.

Yet, deep within, an inner turmoil raged.His wolf, a persistent presence in his mind and heart, vehemently disagreed with his rational intentions.It tugged at his instincts, urging him towards a different path, one he had consciously chosen to avoid.With a resolute shake of his head, he tried to silence the inner voice.Abel pushed aside the yearning that his wolf’s longing gaze held.Swallowing the inexplicable pull, he excused himself and moved to another seat, determined to stick to his original purpose, even as his inner self wrestled with a gnawing desire.

Two more seats… Only two more seats separated him from the woman who had once held his heart, a heart that had been trapped within the ethereal confines of Elysium after the brutal act of fratricide committed by his own brother, Cain.She had been his entire world during those tumultuous times, a source of solace and affection that transcended the boundaries of life and death.

Before, he had been blissfully ignorant of her lineage, of the notorious King Lycaon, her father.The stories whispered across the realms had always carried an eerie weight—the King’s impudent act of testing Zeus’s omniscience by serving the god the flesh of Lycaon’s own son, Nyctimus, in a twisted feast.In response, Zeus, the formidable god of gods, had cursed Lycaon, transforming him into a wolf and exacting a fearsome vengeance by slaying all forty-nine of the King’s remaining sons, only to resurrect Nyctimus from the ashes of tragedy.

As he drew nearer to Esme and his past, the pain within him deepened.Memories of their connection in Elysium clashed with the grim feat of Lycaon binding the remainder of Abel’s soul to a wolf, giving Abel a half-life between a dead man and vicious animal, creating a tangled web of emotions that threatened to consume him.

A blazing red-haired woman across from him tilted her head.“You are lost in thought.”

Abel shifted uncomfortably in his seat, the words catching in his throat.He cleared it, trying to shake off the haunting memories.“Sorry,” he finally managed, “my mind’s taking a trip down memory lane.”

Her gaze, like sylvan emeralds catching the light, brightened as she curled her lips into a knowing smile.“The past troubles you,” she observed, her voice a soft murmur of understanding.

A laugh escaped him, tinged with both amusement and disbelief.“You’re a psychic, aren’t you?”He asked, genuine curiosity in his tone.

She nodded gently, her gaze flickering between Abel and Esme seated nearby.“Your wolf,” she began, “he’s restless, yearning for his mate.”Her eyes locked with his, a searching intensity within them.“Why do you deny her?”

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