Chapter 178: A Little Bit of Heat.
Aurora’s POV
I sniffed, trying to pull myself together, and gave Annie a shy smile.
"He's taking me out," I let out suddenly.
Annie blinked. "Hold on. Who is taking you out?"
I glanced down, a bit shy.
"Alessandro."
Her eyes got big, like I just said the sky was falling.
"Awww….that is so…..romantic!"
She tapped my arm softly.
"Alessandro Vincenzi, Mr. Dark and Moody, is taking you out?"
I nodded, trying not to grin too much. "He called it... the impossible date."
Annie gasped, her hand on her heart.
"Okay, I need to know what that is." Tell me it's going to be a bang!"
I laughed.
"No clue. He kept it a secret. Just told me to be set for tonight."
"Oh wow, I really can’t believe that you're dating the same man who once looked at you like a bug in his drink," she joked, pretending to faint.
"How things change."
I rolled my eyes, laughing too.
"Thanks for that."
"No, for real," she went on, more serious now.
"This is big. And if it's the impossible date, you can't go in your usual outfit.
You need to show up like you're the dream he never knew he had."
I shot her a cautious look.
"Annie..."
She sat up, all excited and full of tricks.
"Take me to your room."
Now.
I'm picking your dress. Something hot.
Something wild. Something that tells him you should be sorry you ever looked away."
"Annie..."
"I mean it!"
You can't show up to this date dressed like a bookish girl. You'll be like the Queen of Hearts, and charm was born."
I broke into a laugh.
"You're nuts."
"And you adore me."
I sighed, big and loud, standing and reaching out my hand.
"Fine. Let's do this."
She grabbed it with style.
"To the clothes, dear Aurora. And don't stress… I won’t make you wear leather pants. Unless they're really nice ones."
I shook my head and smiled; we walked out of the hospital room together.
*****
Sneaking Annie into the pack mansion felt a little like smuggling contraband.
She gasped the second we stepped through the main doors.
“Okay, wait. Is this a mansion or a royal vampire lair?”
“Keep your voice down,” I whispered urgently, grabbing her arm and pulling her along.
“No, no, no. You don’t get to silence me while I’m staring at golden archways and chandeliers that look like they cost more than my life savings,” she gushed, her sneakers squeaking as I dragged her across the polished marble floor.
“There’s a fountain inside the house, Aurora. A fountain. With glowing stones.”
“Annie!”
I hissed, glancing nervously down the hallway.
“Humans aren’t allowed in here, remember? If one of the betas sees you, it’ll be a whole issue.”
Annie made a dramatic face.
“What, are they going to throw me in werewolf jail?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation.
“Or worse. You’re not supposed to be here.
So just move.”
She rolled her eyes but let me pull her through the corridors until we reached my wing of the mansion.
The second I opened my bedroom door and ushered her in, she stopped dead in her tracks.
“Okay. Wow.” Her voice was breathless.
“Okay. Wow. Aurora… girl.”
She moved in with slow steps, turning around as she saw the tall roofs, the big bed with soft covers, the old bookshelves, the nice, long wardrobe, and the balcony that faced the yard.
"This is not just a room," she said, her voice full of awe. "This is a whole house."
I laughed. “It’s not that serious.”
Annie turned and gave me a look.
“I have seen hotel suites with less personality. And you’ve been crying in here? Ma’am. If I had this room, I would never be sad.
I’d just… nap dramatically on that bed every time something went wrong.”
I snorted, and she clapped her hands.
“Alright!
Now, let’s find something spicy for your impossible date. To the wardrobe!”
She opened my closet doors and immediately gasped like she’d found buried treasure.
“Girl. You have clothes!
Why do you dress like a confused librarian when you own this much heat?”
I just shrugged my shoulder. “Just didn’t feel like wearing them.”
“Well, it’s time to wear them, Aurora.
Let’s see… No, no, hell no, burn this one. Wait, is this a cape?
Were you planning on being dramatic and mysterious or something?”
I rolled my eyes. “Just pick something, Annie.”
She was halfway through pulling out a short black dress that was way tighter than anything I’d ever worn when a knock came at the door.
I froze. “Oh no.”
Annie straightened.
“Are those your werewolf guards coming to throw me out?”
“Worse,” I said, already heading to the door.
I opened it slightly, peering out. “Rafael? Gabriel?”
Before I could even react, Rafael shoved the door the rest of the way open and walked in like he owned the place.
“Yo, Aurora. We came to tell you that Leonardo’s okay and to check on you…whoa.”
He stopped dead as he spotted Annie standing by the wardrobe, one hand still holding up a lacy red dress she’d just plucked from the back.
Annie, to her credit, didn’t flinch. She slowly looked Rafael up and down, raised one unimpressed eyebrow, and said flatly,
“Oh great. The infamous wolf-shaped STD.”
Gabriel, who had entered quietly behind Rafael, actually choked on his own breath as he tried to cover his laugh with a cough.
Rafael, completely unfazed, smirked. “I don’t think we’ve met, but I’m flattered you’ve heard of me.”
“I read a lot of cautionary tales,” Annie replied sweetly, hanging the dress back on its hook.
“You’re usually Chapter One.”
“Ouch.” Rafael clutched his chest, grinning.
“So feisty. I like that.”
“Too bad I don’t like recycled charm,” she shot back, flipping her braids and turning away from him.
Gabriel had quietly taken a seat on the edge of the couch, saying nothing.
But I caught Annie’s eyes flick toward him, just for a second. And something… shifted in her expression.
Her arms slowly crossed, and her sass suddenly simmered into something quieter.
I furrowed my eyes slightly, watching her.
“You okay?” I whispered as I passed by her.
She gave a small nod, but her eyes were still on Gabriel.
Meanwhile, Rafael, still grinning like a dog with a new toy, leaned in toward her.
“So… “What’s your name?”
“Annie,” she said, not even glancing at him.
He waited for more, but none came.
“And… Annie, are you here helping Aurora with her date outfit?” He said, throwing me a look.
“I am,” she replied coolly.
“Because unlike some people, Alessandro knows how to treat a woman.”
Rafael winced and laughed at the same time.
“Damn. Who gave you the silver tongue?”
“God. And a warning label.” She finally looked at him.
“Back off, dog boy. I bite harder.”
Rafael’s smirk slipped just a little, enough for Gabriel to quietly murmur, “She’s not wrong.”
Annie blinked, then slowly turned to Gabriel. Their eyes met again.
This time, she didn’t look away.
Oh goddess.
This just got interesting.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
