Dangerous Interest
NOAH
“Noah.”
A hand lands on my shoulder, dragging me out of sleep.
I groan and roll onto my stomach, pulling the pelt higher over my head. My tent is barely large enough for me to stretch out in, and Trixie crawling halfway inside leaves almost no room at all.
“Go away.”
“Derek’s asking for you.”
That gets one eye open.
“No.”
Trixie lets out a quiet laugh. “Come on.”
“I’m sleeping.”
“You were sleeping.”
“And now I’d like to continue.”
She grabs the edge of the pelt and tugs it away from my face.
“Asshole,” I mutter.
“Derek is drunk.”
“Exactly why I’m not coming.”
The rogue gang has been drinking around the campfire ever since they got back from yet another successful theft from a nearby pack. Their voices have been getting louder for hours, mixed with drunken laughter, shouting, and the occasional moan I’ve been doing my best to ignore.
I know exactly what happens when they drink this much.
And I want absolutely no part of it.
“Trixie, I’ve been telling you people this for two fucking years. I don’t want to join your orgies.”
“I know.” She bites back a smile. “We keep hoping you’ll change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
“Yeah, yeah. You say that every time.” Trixie shifts farther into the tent until she’s practically lying beside me. “Seriously, Noah. Just come sit with us.”
“No.”
“Derek keeps asking where you are.”
“Tell him I died.”
“He’ll come check.”
“Tell him you buried me.”
“Noah.”
There’s something in her voice this time that makes me look at her properly.
Her smile has faded.
“He’s really drunk,” she says quietly. “And this time, he’s not letting it go. If you don’t come out, he’s going to come get you.”
My stomach tightens.
Trixie glances around my tiny tent. “And knowing Derek, he won’t bother opening it first. He’ll tear the whole thing down.”
I close my eyes. This pathetic little canvas tent is the closest thing I have to a home. It barely keeps the rain out, one corner has already been patched twice, and I spent half a day stitching the entrance back together after Blair drunkenly tripped through it last month. I really don’t feel like rebuilding it because Derek can’t take no for an answer.
“Just come sit with us,” Trixie says, nudging my leg. “You don’t have to do anything. Just let us look at your beautiful face while we’re having fun. That’s all.”
I glare at her. “You’re disgusting.”
“You love me.”
“Debatable.”
She crawls backward out of the tent, laughing. “Better hurry.”
I lie there another few seconds before swearing under my breath and throwing the pelt aside. I pull on my shirt, drag my pants over my hips, and crawl outside.
Firelight flickers between the trees ahead, illuminating the small clearing where the gang has gathered. All twelve of them, sprawled around the campfire with bottles and dented metal cups scattered everywhere. Most of them are already naked.
Wonderful.
Trixie walks ahead of me without the slightest concern, dropping onto a blanket beside Blair.
Blair’s eyes sweep over me, and she gives me a tipsy little smile. “Well, look who decided to join civilization.”
“This isn’t civilization.”
She grins. “Fair.”
“There he is,” Derek calls from across the fire. “About fucking time.”
He sits on a large tree stump he calls his throne, waving me over with one hand while moonshine sloshes from the cup in the other. Judging by the amount they’re going through, you’d think stealing food and alcohol was some historic military victory.
“Come here, Noah.”
“I can hear you perfectly well from here.”
A few of the others laugh.
Derek doesn’t. “Come here.”
I glance at Trixie. She gives me an apologetic look that clearly says I warned you.
Fucking great.
I walk closer, stopping a few steps away from him.
Derek studies me for a moment, then smiles slowly. “You’re always hiding in that tiny tent.”
“I was sleeping.”
“You’re always sleeping when we’re having fun.”
“Funny coincidence.”
Another couple of rogues laugh.
Derek leans back against his so-called throne, his eyes moving over me in a way that puts me on edge.
“I’ve been thinking about you.”
“Sounds like a waste of your time.”
He lets my comment slide. “I don’t think you’re as asexual as you claim to be.”
The laughter around the fire dies down slightly. I fold my arms across my chest.
Derek takes another sip. “I just have a hard time believing any werewolf could be asexual.”
“I’m not exactly a normal werewolf,” I say through a clenched jaw.
Two years after coming of age without a wolf, I still haven’t fully accepted that I’ll never shift. If I could, I wouldn’t have to rely on rogues to survive.
Derek tilts his head.
“Even without a wolf,” he says. “You’re still a man with a dick.”
“And?”
“And I think you’re lying.”
True. But how else am I supposed to get them off my back?
I sigh. “Why would I lie about not wanting to fuck?”
Blair snorts behind me.
Derek points at me with his cup. “I think you’re a fairy and you’re ashamed of it.”
My stomach drops.
If only he knew.
“I’m not ashamed of anything,” I snap.
His eyes narrow with drunken interest. “Then why don’t you give me a kiss?”
A few of the rogues laugh around the fire.
I stare at him. “What?”
Derek sets his cup down and gets to his feet, his mouth pulling into a crooked smile.
“You heard me. I feel like trying something new tonight.”
I step back.
“No.”
“Come on, Noah. One kiss.”
“I said no.”
His smile fades.
For a second, neither of us moves.
Then he reaches for me. I turn my head away, but his hand closes around the back of my neck. He yanks me forward and presses his mouth against mine.
For one stunned second, I freeze.
Then anger surges through me. I shove both hands against his chest and wrench myself free.
“What the fuck?”
The clearing goes quiet. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand, my heart pounding.
“Don’t fucking do that again.”
He licks his lips, his gaze heated. “Can’t promise that. I think I liked it too much.”
I turn to leave. “I’ve had enough.”
“Stay,” Derek says behind me.
I look back.
“Or I’ll come after you.” His gaze drops over me. “And if I do, I might want more than another kiss.”
My stomach tightens. Derek could overpower me without even shifting—I don’t stand a chance against him. With him this dunk, it’s not worth testing his limits and whether he’d act upon his threat.
I turn back toward the fire. Derek drops back onto his throne.
“Come here, Blair,” he orders.
Blair swings her hips past me, her bare breasts bouncing as she shoots me a lustful glance. When she reaches Derek, he jerks his cock out of his pants and grabs her by the hips.
“Now sit on my cock, baby.”
He pulls her over his lap, facing away from him. As she starts lowering herself, she keeps her eyes locked on mine.
“No, baby.” He adjusts her hips while watching me. “I want to imagine I’m fucking Noah’s ass.”
I feel my face flush as he pushes his cock into her ass. She moans, though I can’t tell whether it’s from pleasure or discomfort. My skin crawls knowing this whole performance is meant for me.
It only takes Derek a few hard thrusts to finish. Blair wobbles away from him, and he gestures toward me.
“Bring me more moonshine, Noah.”
I snort. “You still haven’t had enough?”
“Not even close.” Derek holds out the empty cup. “Let’s drink until we pass out! We’re finally getting out of this shithole.”
I freeze. “What do you mean?”
He gestures around the camp with the cup. “Look around. Barely anything worth hunting, nothing worth taking unless we cross a border. I’m sick of living off scraps.”
He’s not wrong. No pack wants this stretch of no man’s land. Most days, even finding enough game to feed everyone is a struggle.
“So where exactly are we going?”
Derek’s grin widens. “We’re taking Bloodmoon land.”
Everything inside me goes still at the mention of my former pack.
“Their new Alpha is fucking pathetic,” Derek continues. “I can’t pass up an opportunity like this.”
Something cold settles in my stomach.
New Alpha.
It has to be Adrian. He could’ve taken over the pack by now.
My mate.
Panic claws up my throat.
Two years ago, I ran away.
Now Derek wants to take me straight back to him.
