Lucien's POV
"Fucking Vie," Rhys grumbled.
I pulled the girl's arm from around me as I straightened.
"Give us a minute, ladies," I said.
One of them gave me a kiss on the cheek, and smiled. I inhaled her scent deeply, my face lighting up.
She smelled delicious, like a dessert after a scrumptious meal.
Exactly my type.
I could be drinking her blood, but instead I had to figure out what was going on with Aramis...again.
"Don't keep us waiting," she winked.
I kissed her hand, my fangs barely bruising her skin. "I won't."
She giggled, sashaying her hips as she walked away with her friends. I waited until they were out of earshot before turning to Rhys.
"She still isn't replying to his texts?" I asked.
He nodded, glancing at his book. "It's your fault, you know that?"
"How's it my fault?" I asked.
He dropped the book, his gaze on me. "You introduced her to him, didn't you?"
"Hey, I was only looking out for a friend," I paused. "He's the one who wanted a strong Luna."
No one ignored Aramis.
I sighed. "I'm scared of what he'll do to her."
Rhys paused, eyes on me. "What do you think?"
I moved closer. "You don't think he's gonna…"
He leaned back. "I've said too much."
My pulse raced as I felt the anger slowly rising. I hated when they kept things from me. I tried not to let it affect me, but it did.
Rhys sighed, reading my thoughts. "Look, I didn't want to say anything before because Aramis didn't want me to but…"
"But…" I prodded.
He looked around, making sure Aramis wasn't in sight.
"Vie came onto me the other day," he said.
My jaw dropped as I stared at him. "What?"
He sighed. "They had a huge fight, and she asked to meet up."
I inched closer. "Then, what happened?"
"She trapped me and tried to shove her tongue down my throat."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"Why the hell would she do that?" I asked.
It didn't make any sense.
"I know, I've been—"
When Aramis is more attractive.
He paused, raising a brow. "Really?"
"What?" I blinked.
"You know I can hear you, right?" he asked.
Oh, shit.
"Sorry."
"I'll have you know, people do find me hot," he said.
I touched his frazzled blue hair. "Do they?"
"I'll do horrible things to you," he threatened.
I moved away from him quickly. "I'm just saying, you could pay more attention to the way you look."
"Hmm." He pointed to a girl.
"You," he called.
"Me?" she asked.
He waved her over and she ran towards us. His eyes remained on me, ignoring the girl's red cheeks and slacked jaw.
"Do you find me attractive?" he asked.
"Extremely," she gushed.
His lips curled up. "More than Aramis?"
His eyes never left mine. I turned to look at the girl.
"You're way hotter," she said without skipping a beat and I knew she meant it.
Rhys raised a brow, a smirk on his face and I rolled my eyes.
"You can go," he said.
"W-what?"
He spared her a glance. "Leave."
She turned away without a word, and he grabbed his book. I stared at the girl's hunched back as she walked away disappointed.
"See? That attitude doesn't get you laid," I pointed out.
She must have thought Rhys called her to make a move on her. I'd known him for a long time, and had never seen hook up with a girl or a guy.
"That'd be a problem," he said.
I knew underneath the nonchalant attitude was someone who cared about his looks, his popula—.
"If only I cared," he finished.
Oh, why do I bother?
"Have you seen her since then?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Who?"
"Vie!"
He shook his head. "I haven't."
"That's why Aramis has been grouchy all summer," I said.
I paused. "You think that's why she's been ignoring his texts?"
"What?"
"Maybe she thinks you narced on her and is scared of facing him?" I asked.
He blinked. "I did narc on her."
I caressed my temple. "You shouldn't have."
Vie was a sweet girl. I had no idea why she came onto Rhys but I knew she must have had a reason. Still, she should have known better than to do that to Aramis.
Aramis was ruthless. Even I tried to stay away from him when he got mad. He'd make sure he would stop at nothing to ruin her. And if it was what I was thinking, then it was too late.
Rhys scoffed. "I told you she wasn't the right person for him."
My eyes narrowed. "You knew what Aramis would do to her if he knew, yet you told him."
His lips curled up, which told me I was right. He knew.
"Why?" I asked.
He shut his book and smiled. "I was bored."
"What?" I asked, bewildered.
He shrugged and turned back to his book. Sometimes, I found Rhys more scary than Aramis. No one knew what was going on in his head. He kept to himself most of the time, and was always busy with a spell or another.
It could have been a drunken mistake, or maybe he'd lied about what happened. No one knew what took place with him and Vie that night.
But one thing was sure, Vie was caught in the middle of it all. I never should have introduced her to Aramis.
Aramis wanted a strong Luna, one who'd stand by him and strengthen his pack one day when he became the Alpha. Vie was a candidate in a very short list of powerful Lunas.
I thought I was doing a good deed by matching the both of them, but I should have known better. Now, Vie was ruined because of me.
Rhys flipped a page. "Don't beat yourself up about it, Lucien."
"You're right," I chuckled anxiously.
I haven't eaten much lately. Is it about time to go on a hunt?
Rhys' brows raised as he stared at me. "You're scrambling."
"What?"
"You do that when you don't want me to read your thoughts," he pointed out.
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, waving the girls over.
He said nothing, his eyes boring into my soul.
"See, this is why I don't do relationships," I changed the subject, ignoring the itch in my throat as I grabbed one of the girls.
"It'd be a great disservice to everyone to get tied down by one person," I said.
"Hmm," he gave me one last look and went back to his book.
I heaved a sigh of relief and pulled the girl closer to me. I pulled her hair behind her ears, exposing her neck.
"Let me give you some advice my friend," I said to Rhys.
I stared at the girl's pretty neck, at her racing pulse and met his eyes.
'You need to get laid.'
I bared my fangs as I dug into her skin. The scent of her blood caressed my nose, sending chills down my body. I held her closer.
She moaned in my ear, her warm breath soothing my hot skin.
I pulled out my fangs and shut my eyes in ecstasy. She tasted exquisite.
"My turn," a girl said, pushing the other girl off my lap.
"Ladies, there's no need to rush," I smiled.
"There's enough of me to go around."
Rhys rolled his eyes as he shuffled away from me. I glanced at him.
I shouldn't let my guard down around him.
"You sure you don't want in on the fun?" I asked.
"I'm good, thanks."
"Last chance," I sang.
I licked my lip as I stared at her neck. My mouth watered when I saw her pulsing veins.
She inched closer to me, an expectant smile on her face.
"Have a feast," she said.
I grabbed her neck. "Oh, I plan to."
I grazed her skin, biting into her soft flesh.
"Lucien," Rhys called.
"I knew you couldn't resist," I said.
"No, look," he said, pointing in a direction.
I craned my neck, following his gaze and sighed. I stood and pushed the girl off me.
"Hey," she grumbled.
"Oh, no."
Standing a few feet away from us was Vie. In her front was Aramis, staring at her. The air shifted as they looked at each other. The music stopped as everyone turned to look at them.
It was finally happening.