CHAPTER 253: CHAPTER 253 - PUBLICLY SHAMING, PRIVATELY ANTICIPATING

As I backed off, I placed my arm out in such a way that could potentially slightly block hers from grabbing at my waist, if she was at all able to control herself when hitting such a roadblock... and I held up my phone.

"Now. I want you to look directly into the camera. No, not at me - at the lens."

Her eyes blazed with intense focus. Even wearing ridiculous accessories, she was magnificent. Beautiful... and... very distracting.

"Now you’re going to speak. Tell anyone who sees this that you’d been a bad wolf."

The change was devastating - her expression became so much more contrite, and I caught that on camera. But when she spoke the words, it was a lot more defiant.

"I was a bad wolf."

Voiced like she was trying to hide that she felt bad. Because part of her still thinks she did nothing wrong? Or she thinks she would not have done anything more than what happened.

Lowering my phone and removing the second glove, I pressed it into her other hand. Her skin was so warm at her fingertips and I could feel her pulse jumping where I let mine press onto hers.

"But now you’re being a very good one. So lets not terrorize the fairly innocent, hm?"

"...The photographer at these shoots isn’t doing what you just did to me... right?"

My brow jumps and I smirk. But I don’t respond any more than that before I pull my hand away. Vrika was finally satisfied with the result of something I’d done today.

That feral-scented territorial aggression had faded from her. And behind her, Ellie was finally getting to her feet... looking like she was still trying to decide if what she was watching was romantic-

Or possibly the start of some ’slasher’ horror. Practically the same face that Mira made, when she thought she knew too much... well, when I was telling her too much. I’m doing that again by smiling satisfied over at her, aren’t I?

Doing so also seems to be ruining my hard work. Clearly attention starved already, the Alpha starts to glare at the ground.

"We can talk more where we talked last, Ms. Voss. I’ll be there in an hour and a half? Please find something else to take care of until then. Again, do not harm my friends."

Over my shoulder I wave at them both as the shop door chimes once more. Leaving on such a mercurial note... with Kyrie forced to be the one that handles all the clean-up for the situation she exacerbated...

Puts a skip in my step as I flee the scene, down this alley and that.

⧖ ☾ ❄ ☽ ⧖

The warehouse, despite being so large, felt more intimate somehow knowing that she was on her way. Scent neutralizer, cold shower, and a change of clothes later... I’d been here fiddling with my phone for thirty minutes already.

"Somehow I kind of expected wrong again. That she’d be chomping at her bit, here before I even was."

Her last text was that she would be here soon. I suppose I did ask her to go busy herself, but... I sighed as I stood rather near the spot where I’d materialized my container for her to see very early this morning.

My outfit was looser and more comfortable than the stylish one I wore all day, at least. No tights. Just the jogging outfit I bought, because... well because after eating and getting cleaned up there was still going to be time left - so I ran around for a bit to blow off steam.

Vrika paced restlessly in my mindscape now that we weren’t moving about, still agitated from the scene I made at the store. The wolf had been constantly sending me its impressions of Kyrie’s disheveled appearance, hence the cold shower.

My fingers unconsciously smoothed down the top of my head for the hundredth time. I’d removed the wolf ears before we left the store, but I could still feel phantom pressure where the headband had sat on me.

Still see the look of startled interest on Kyrie’s face when I’d placed them on her...

"Note to self, do not play games that you did not intend to finish then and there. They are fun at the start, but haunt you later..."

But even as I told myself that, I knew it wasn’t entirely true that I had no intention to keep going at the time. However, the way she’d responded to it all... it wasn’t so much a game to her as a requirement.

I feel like I’m the one taking advantage now. I have *too* much power over her after what we did. Yet... why is she so late?!

The sound of the door unlocking finally echoed through the warehouse. I turned toward the entrance, watching as Kyrie strolled through the doorway and stopped a few feet in as the hydraulic system closed the door.

She smelled clean... and of peach blossoms and strawberries underneath her usual natural wintery perfume. Her hair was held back by a simple flat red headband. And she’d found a white blazer somewhere - probably kept one in her car.

But the rest of what she was wearing wasn’t quite so professional? Not like usual. A sleeveless dark top with a twist halterneck, tucked into a white skirt that hugged her waist and flared with little waves at the end just past her knees.

Much more fashion than business function. Like a woman going on a date. I suppose every scheduled meeting is a ’date’, but really... she...

"You finally came."

I immediately wanted to take it back. Technically she was only four minutes late. I was the one who was a half hour early. After a whole fifteen minutes of solid jogging...

"Did you think I wouldn’t show up?"

Her voice had something underneath it. Fatigue, maybe. Or the lingering edge of whatever had driven her to storm into that store like a vengeful ghost.

My phone chimed and vibrated. I wasn’t going to look away, but multiple messages...

BK: [Okay, this is probably going to get me fired. But I just want to let you know that about twenty minutes ago she made me find your location.]

BK: [And then she drove in a hurry from the park by the lake to that warehouse. Really sorry for telling her, hope you don’t have any of those dangerous items out and about.]

"You went... to the park first...? Is that what you thought I was inviting you for again?"

Her eye turned to pinpricks as she paled, then her whole face flushed as red as her headband.

"Damnit, Claire..."