Chapter 66 - What’s the occasion?

EMMA

The wooden floorboards of the dressing room create flat spots on my backside. I hug my knees closer to my chest and the numbing cold seeps into my body. I stare at the row of dresses. I’m having a stare-down with a lilac off-shoulder dress and I think I’m losing this battle.

Hadrian bangs on the door of the dressing room. “Emma, come out already. You’ve been in there for over an hour.”

*Shoot.*

I scramble to sit on my knees. “I’m not ready!” I shout back. Five dresses are lying in heaps around me. The floor is covered in tulle, chiffon, lace and satin.

“Goddess help me.” Hadrian mutters from the other side of the door.

The sound of mangled metal reaches me and annoyance bubbles in my chest. Hadrian comes into the dressing room with the broken door handle in his hand.

“Stop breaking things!” I lean down to pick up the discarded dresses.

He finds me hunched down on the floor, only wearing my robe. “Are you hurt?”

I scowl at him and gather the dresses close to me. “No, I can’t decide on what to wear.” I get up from the floor with four dresses in hand. I drag a trail of fabric behind me.

Hadrian walks up to the other side of my closet. He deftly walks around me and my heap of dresses. He picks out a pair of jeans and a warm sweater and throws them at me.

I catch them and the dresses fall to the floor.

I clutch the fabric hard. “I cannot wear that.”

Hadrian scowls back. “They’re your favorite clothes.”

I get the dresses from the floor and lift them in the air. “This is a date, I should wear a dress.”

Hadrian scrunches his nose and crosses his arms. “From who?"

“Those are date rules.”

“I don’t like these rules. I don’t want to wait until seven to be with you.” He emphasizes his point by wrapping an arm around my waist. “I don’t want to wait until the end of the night to kiss you.”

His hand runs up and down my back. “And I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with what you’re wearing.”

I have an urge to put my foot down and throw a tantrum out of principle, but the fabrics in my hand are comforting and inviting. Then he tells me these things and I can’t stay mad. *Urgh, he’s so infuriating sometimes.*

He leans in to whisper in my ear. “Now put on the jeans before I smack your ass.”

————————

Hadrian guides me through an extent of halls until we reach a winding staircase. I’ve never been in this part of the palace before. The stairs are made of red marble and reach high through the ceiling.

“What is up there?” My eyes follow the length of the stairs. It disappears into darkness and I can’t make out what is up there.

“The roof.”

I cross my arms and shift my weight from one foot to the other. “Is this another walking on a ledge situation?”

“Definitely not.” Hadrian gestures for me to go up the stairs.

I blanch. “You want me to go first?”

Hadrian smirks. “Yes.”

I let my arms drop and hang my shoulders. “But you always go first,” I say with a pout.

Hadrian watches me with a challenge in his eyes and a hint of playfulness. “Walk that fine ass up that stairs, Sweetheart.” He smacks his hand against my backside.

I narrow my eyes at him when I figure out what he’s trying to do here. I focus on a point behind him in the hallway and widen my eyes. “What is that?”

Hadrian raises an eyebrow at me but turns his head to look. The moment he looks away, I sprint up the stairs as fast as I can without tripping. Which, granted, is not as fast as I would like.

Hadrian catches me when I’m ten steps in. His arms are like metal bars as the wind around my waist. He pulls me close and leans in until his lips run over the shell of my ear. “Fight back more, Sweetheart. It only makes me harder.” His voice is raspy and seductive.

I shriek as he hauls me up the stairs. Winding stairs turn and turn and the world spins before my eyes.

The stairs seem endless, but then there is the fresh outside air. The hint of pine hits my tongue. The sky is dark and lights from the city are visible in the distance. Stars are scattered in a disarray of twinkling lights in the dark sky. Glass lanterns create a path over the roof and lead to a heap of pillows.

Hadrian drops me down and I fall down on the cloud of pillows. I look up at him with the stars as his background. There is a playful glint in his eyes and his hair is disheveled.

His smile is dazzling and it distracts me from the sky full of stars. Hadrian sinks on the bed of pillows with me and kisses me roughly.

I moan when his touch envelops me and I wind my fingers through his hair. One hand slips under my sweater and connects with the bare skin of my back. I mold my body against his and his erection presses hard against my thigh. I gasp and look at him with wide eyes. “The roof?”

Hadrian kisses down my jaw and sucks on the pleasure point below my ear. “Definitely the roof.” He whispers against my skin. Hadrian works his mouth down and I expose my neck further for him.

“Shit.” Hadrian jumps and backs off. He reaches a hand to his mouth.

I gulp when I notice the bloom of a red welt on his bottom lip. The effects of silver burning his skin have become all too familiar. I reach for the silver chain around my neck. He must’ve accidentally touched it just now. “Maybe I should take it off.”

Hadrian shakes his head. “No, keep it on, it protects you.”

Hadrian sits down next to me. He takes my hand and places his lips to my finger as if I’m his designated ice pack or something.

*Well if it helps.*

Hadrian places a blanket over me when I shiver. After a minute he lets go of my hand and leans on one elbow to look down on me. His hair whisks through the wind. “Why are you not more scared Emma?”

I raise my eyebrows. “Should I be?”

He grimaces. “Yes.” He places the weight of his hand on my waist and it calms me. “You accused me once that inflicting pain and despair is in my blood and that couldn’t be more true.”

I frown and place a hand over his. “I said it because I was angry.” I run a thumb up and down his hand.

“But it’s the truth, there hangs a curse over my bloodline.”

“Curse?”

He leans down to kiss my shoulder. “We’re not the only ones with supernatural abilities in this world. Witches I believe you would call them. Some wolves can cast spells too.”

I listen to his captivating voice, it’s low and raspy. It travels through my body to my soul.

Hadrian pulls me closer to him until I’m engulfed in his presence. “The Blood Moon pack was never the strongest. My great-grandfather Alpha king Maxius was greedy for power, but the White Moon pack stood in his way. The wolves from the White Moon pack were universally known for their supernatural abilities.”

“This is the same pack that my mother talked about.” She said that our ancestors stem from the White Moon Pack.

Hadrian nods in agreement. “My great-grandfather exploited their abilities and they gave us super strength during the Blood Moon. He called it the greater good. We would be stronger against foreign threats.” Hadrian scoffs and the wind takes it away.

“He used his new-found power to eradicate the White Moon Pack and created this kingdom.” Hadrian gestures to the city of Sanguinem. Lights flicker from the bustle of the streets.

Hadrian looks out on the city and I follow the profile of his face. “Before he killed them all, they cast a curse on his bloodline. *‘All that is good will be destroyed by his own hands.’*” Hadrian turns to look at me and his amber eyes swirl with intensity. “We’re made to self-destruct.”

I’m not unfamiliar with being at the center of pain and suffering. I’m trying to find happiness in a world where everything is designed to cause me agony.

He watches me when he says the words. “We have a monster inside us that always wants to take over. It’s why my sister and father pride themselves on their self-control. It’s the only thing that keeps the monster at bay.”

I shiver because, yes, that is frightening. How far will the monster destroy if it gets a chance? At any moment the monster can decide to come out and snap my neck.

My gaze is pulled to the wide sky. Meteors fall from the heavens in a fascinating display. They shine brightly before they disappear. It makes everything so grand all of a sudden. The world is nothing compared to the universe.

“I thought we could watch the meteor shower together. It could be our thing.” Hadrian says and he rubs his neck. He clears his throat and I notice a smile tugging at his lips.

*Our thing. He listened.* I give him a bright smile and notice the tinge of red on his jaw when he looks away.

And even after everything, if I peel away all the bad things surrounding him. I see someone who I love. I see someone I dare to take a chance on.

*I’m in love with a werewolf that could snap my neck in a split second. What is wrong with me?*

——————

We watch the meteor shower in mostly comfortable silence. That is until…

“So there's a gala tomorrow,” Hadrian says and avoids my eyes.

I pull my gaze from the sky and direct it towards him. “Gala?”

“It’s like an evening of festivities.”

Gala, banquet, ceremony. What is the difference? Something always goes wrong.

“Why do you always spring these on me at the last moment?” I complain with a groan. “What is the occasion this time? The sacrifice of virgin blood to the Moon Goddess?”

Hadrian rubs harder on the red tinge of his neck and how can this man be a ferocious beast? “No, it’s uhm my birthday.”

I freeze and everything stands still for a moment. The earth stops spinning, the meteors stop falling. “What?” I shout. “And you're only telling me this now!”