Chapter 44
Felix's head snapped around to follow the voice, unintentionally moving away from me in the process.
Although I was no longer required to worry about managing his presence alone, something worse seemed to have taken its place.
I was having trouble breathing as I sensed the air becoming more tense and intense due to Derrick's intense feelings for me, which were always so simple and pure for him. Other than the reality that I was keeping hidden from him, there was nothing complicated about how he felt or that seemed to be getting in the way of him having me.
I pulled myself out of the shade of Felix's body and against the wall once again. He would have an easier time of it the farther I managed to go from him. My unclaimed body was mocking Derrick's basic need in the face of a man who couldn't control his impulse to show off, and his wolf was on the verge of going feral.
Felix was a mere mortal, unaware that he had placed himself in the middle of two fierce creatures.
All I had to do was walk in the direction of my partner, proving to him that I knew he was the one for me, and this would all end, allowing him to take me on our date as he had promised. I watched my partner across the corridor, unable to move, but Felix would soon be a distant memory once I was in Derrick's arms.
I felt butterflies in my stomach when I saw the possessive sparkle in his eyes. I wanted him to lose control of me, to show me how much I meant to him and how protective he could be, even if it meant losing his life.
I was ecstatic with the experience, but it was also hazardous and extremely self-centered.
Derrick detested how close the man was to me, and if Felix had any common sense, he would have seen that it was time to go on.
I briefly closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, which was a poor idea given how close Derrick was to me and how his aroma was clinging to my skin. Felix turned to face my mate, sensing the power disparity between them, and his anxiety was evident in the way he had begun to pull away from my body.
He raised his hands in the air to appear peaceful, but when people realized they wouldn't get their way, they always had to say foolish things.
"I wasn't doing anything that she didn't want." The air filled with tension, and I felt Derrick's violent thrill as though it was my own.
I mistakenly believed that Felix was the source of my dread, but it was actually his ignorance.
Felix turned to face me and winked at me, setting off an atmosphere that ignited with the challenge of his words.
With a snarl that filled the corridor, Derrick's grip on the lovely bouquet of flowers turned deadly, and I heard the stems break under his hand.
Felix was oblivious to the cry for death he had made in such a straightforward manner, and he had no idea what he had just started with the alpha wolf in front of him. He had treated me disrespectfully, so I wasn't sure which was worse—he had also treated my friend disrespectfully.
"What the fuck?" Derrick was howling like a wolf, which startled Felix.
"Derrick don't—" His eyes darted to me at the mention of his name, and I stiffened against the wall once more.
My hands flattened against the painted surface; I was locked to my location while he peered at me since I had already decided not to move to him.
His gaze eventually locked upon my entire figure, darkening with more than just wrath.
His eyes were molten hot, and I could feel my heart stop beating in response to the way his body responded to seeing me in this state of hunger.
My clothing was a lethal tool fashioned just for him, a cheaply constructed item of clothing that defied reason.
I had merely aroused his wolf's thirst by defending another man when a severed sound, somewhere between a growl and a groan, flooded into the air and twisted between us.
Derrick looked at me with a hunger that was not only evident in his desire to have me but also in his strong need to correct Felix.
"What did you just say to me?" Derrick's voice buzzed through me, a tad louder than a whisper. Felix's tone seemed to take him aback, which only served to highlight the fact that, although he had gotten away with similar actions in the past, this time he had faced my friend head-on and was not going to win.
I knew Derrick was a haughty man with a massive ego when it came to matters of the heart from the brief time I had known him. Violence would always be his first resort when it came to protecting me, rather than using diplomatic language. He was a wolf now, whose mate had been touched and threatened, not an alpha or a king. Felix's tone betrayed his viciousness, and now his only option was to retract his statement and issue an apology.
"Don't worry about it; have fun with your girl." He began to walk away, showing that his ignorance knew no bounds, but it was too late for that now.
I stepped forward, Derrick, pushing myself away from the wall, but he was not looking at me. I blanched as a territorial growl tore from his throat, and now my horniness was going to cause the slaughter it craved.
"Don't worry about it." Derrick's voice resonated, and I shuddered at how cold his words were. "You're telling me not to worry about the fact that you had your hands on my girl even after she told you not to touch her. What were you planning on doing to her if I hadn't shown up?" This time, he took a step away from me and in the direction of the man who ought to have been punished.
As I listened to him, my heart was pounding, and even though I could feel something growing between my thighs, my mind would not leave Derrick, who had been here longer than I had assumed.
I moved a few more steps in his direction, but his gaze remained fixed.
"Look, no hard feelings, man." Felix let out a frustrated exhale, as though it wasn't his fault that this was all occurring in the first place.
When I got to Derrick's side, his other hand was clenched into a fist, and he had a death grip on the poor roses.