"I take it by the hatred in your eyes you know who that is." Ben chuckled.

"Of course I do." Idris said without removing his glare. "But how do you know who he is?"

Ben scoffed, "The same way you do."

Idris turned his attention then towards Ben, with narrowed eyes, his irises almost completely black.

"Hey, woah!" Ben rose his hands, palms up before Idris could say another word, "Nothing wrong with a little stalking." He smiled. "She is your mate after all so I can't blame you. I'd have done the same if it was Camilla."

"But she's not your mate Ben–"

"I know, I know, but she is friends with Camilla and when Camilla mentioned Alix had a boyfriend...well, I couldn't resist." He smiled meekly, "Ah ta ta– but before you say anything else, don't you wanna know what our innocent love rival is doing here?"

Hell, Idris grunted, because no matter how annoying Ben was, Idris couldn't resist but look to his side where Henry was sitting, however, instead of focusing on the man that Alixandria claimed to be her soulmate, he turned his attention to the person sitting right beside Henry, or rather the woman sitting rather intimately close to him.

Idris felt his blood boil and his fangs close to retracting.

"Looks like loverboy isn't so innocent after all, oh and look..." Ben nodded behind Idris. "Guess someone else might have figured that out as well."

Idris felt his frown fade away when he looked over his shoulder to see Alixandria was watching Henry with fury in her eyes. Shit, he knew any second she'd stalk over and he understood now why Ben had called him over.

If Henry even tried to lay a hand on Alixandria, Idris wouldn't hold back. Alixandria was within her right to be furious and yet...what she did next had taken him aback.

~

I stayed hidden, watching Henry talk to whoever this woman was. She looked to be lustfully gazing at him when he spoke and a part of me wanted to break his teeth in, but then there was also another part of me. A part that sort of didn't care.

"Let's go ask him what he's doing here!" Camilla was about to march forward when I stopped her.

"No, maybe he text me. Hold on." I pulled out my phone and sure enough I had a message from Henry.

I'll be home late. Lot's of work today, sorry love :(- Henry

Lots of work, huh?

"Unless her name is Work, I think he's lying to you." Camilla ground her teeth together.

I could feel rage boiling within me. How could Henry do this? Perhaps I deserved this. I didn't necessarily have a clean slate either. Although I couldn't decide if I was mad because I had caught him or because I knew I should be. Although it stung seeing this. Especially when her hand not so subtly landed on his thigh as she laughed at something stupid he probably said.

"Alixandria, hey." Camilla hugged me. "What do you wanna do?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

I took a deep breath, "I need a drink."

"On it."

I moved with her to the bar. I doubted Henry would see me here anyway, he was too preoccupied eyeing the long haired brunette at his side.

"Here." Camilla handed me a small shot glass. Now I could really care less about the consequences of consuming so much liquor, and as I gulped it down and the heat filled my belly, I found myself in need of something.

Another heat was taking over me, and I knew exactly what my body was trembling for...

Idris...I wanted Idris, right now.

I wanted to continue what we had started, I wanted to dance with him, I wanted to see him smile, and relish in the way his eyes burned when he looked at me.

"Are you sure you don't want to confront him, Alix?"

"Positive." I shook my head. "I just want to have a fun night with you. Let's leave the boyfriend drama for another day."

Camilla pursed her lip as if she was having a hard time debating if I was right, but ultimately, she nodded her head with a 'eh, why not' look.

"Okay," She smiled. "And I know exactly how to take our minds off our idiots."

I rose a brow and then followed her gaze over to the men sitting at a table right behind us. To my surprise they had already been eyeing us and I turned away red as a tomato, as had Camilla and we started to giggle.

"They're not Idris or Ben, but they're pretty sexy no?"

"Camilla!" I groaned, but chuckled. She wasn't wrong. These men were not as hot as Idris...or Ben, but they were ruggedly hot in their own way; pierced and tattooed, looking like rockstars fresh off the stage.

"Come on," She stood me up by grabbing my hand. "I need to distract myself from Ben and you need to distract yourself from Henry..."

Not just Henry, I thought. I still couldn't place why exactly I wasn't as angry as I should be and instead my body and mind kept going back to Idris. Camilla must have noticed the slight pout on my lips when she added, "And Idris I take it?"

"Ugh, when did our lives get so complicated?"

"When two cavemen with minimal communication skills decided to fall in love with us." She rolled her eyes, but I caught the slight sadness in her tone, however, before I could ask about it she quickly put on a smile and tugged me back towards the venue. "Athena is starting, come on!"

She took my hand, weaving me through the crowd, making sure to pass right beside the men and not so subtly giving them a flirtatious bat of her lashes. Okay, Camilla was clearly way better at flirting then I could ever be.

As we moved to the venue, it had become so packed we could barely move, but being short had some advantages, like being able to weave through a crowd inconspicuously.

Before I knew it, we were somewhere in the middle of the crowd. The lights flashed sporadically in an array of colors before the room fell into complete darkness and the crowd began to woo in ceremonial joy, and as a single stroke of a guitar suddenly struck through the cheers, the lights bounced around once more as the band was now on stage.

Beside me Camilla hollered toward the singer at the stage that had taken the mic and in two drum beats the song began. The crowd clapped along, and even though I didn't know the song, I joined along the madness as well.

This was all so new and exactly what I needed. A distraction for my mind and my body, and yet as the music roared and the crowd jumped, the heat expanded to the point where I wanted to be free of the confines of my clothes.

I wasn't sure if the heat was coming from around me or within me, but as I moved, I closed my eyes, imagining Idris was here and that his arms had wrapped around my waist and pulled me flush against his strong chest.

I needed warmth. Fire craves fire, not the ice that wrapped around my waist. I blinked back, finding a set of arms wrapped around me and looked over my shoulder to find a set of sea blue eyes gazing down at me.

"Mind if I join you? My friend seems to have left me for your friend." It was one of the guys that had been eyeing Camilla and I.

A sudden burst of heat radiated all over my body...it was almost unbearable... a familiar heat and it took me but a moment to recognize what it was.

It was the pull.

It must have been reacting, because I kept thinking about Idris.

I looked away from blue eyes, to see Camilla was indeed wrapped around the arms of the brown eyed man. Perhaps she had a point about distracting ourselves, because if I let this heat consume me, if I let the pull take control, I was sure I was going to find Idris and finish what we had started.

But Idris's last words rang within me...he wanted me, but all to himself and I couldn't blame him.

If I wanted to be with him, then I'd have to do the right thing and end things off with Henry...and Henry—ahh, no! I needed to stop thinking.

Turning my attention back on the blue eyed man, I nodded my head and let him join me for a dance. His hands remained on my waist, but I scooted out a bit not wanting him to be pressed too close to me. I didn't want him getting the wrong idea.

He seemed to understand and I appreciated that he hadn't pressured me to do anything I didn't want to. So as the band played, we jumped and sang, he spun me around. At one point Camillas' partner had lifted her on his shoulders, while me and my partner danced like idiots, and I felt the heat within me settle...still warm in my belly, but far less noticeable.

The tempo of the music changed but the rhythm was much the same. The pump of my heart jumped like my feet. The sweat in the air created a heat as we all danced and sang along. The hands by my waist suddenly disappeared and I turned to see my partner had all but vanished. Camilla came over claiming her partner had done the same.

Perhaps they had gotten tired or found another partner to dance with.

We got more drinks and continued to dance, however every time a partner would appear to dance with us they would suddenly disappear into the crowd. But by then I was too drunk to care. Wooh! I hadn't been so drunk in a while, my heart issues or panic attacks had always interfered, but perhaps I was finally getting better?

~

"Well shit," Ben cursed, rubbing his jaw. "I wasn't expecting that."

Idris took a long sip of his drink. He couldn't help but agree with Ben. Why hadn't Alixandria stormed over and confronted Henry?

"Don't worry man, I'm sure she had a reason."

"What reason could she have for not confronting the man she refused to leave."

"Maybe it's something she's not ready to admit?"

"Like?"

Ben shrugged his shoulders, "Just ask her about it." He smiled repeating almost the same advice Idris had given him. "But for now, we have bigger issues."

"I don't care." Idris threw back his whiskey until his cup sat empty. He kept wondering why Alixandria hadn't confronted Henry? Was she afraid? Did she not care? Why wouldn't she when she had claimed so adamantly that Henry was her soulmate—

"Come on, don't be that way. Look, Alixandria may not have vocalized what she's feeling, but just because she didn't show it doesn't mean she doesn't feel it."

"So you can make sense."

Ben chuckled. "She's your mate Idris and right now, your mate and mine are being followed by two guys that look like they walked off the tattoo table."

"What?"

Ben stood up from the table, standing beside Idris, "Alixandria will come around Idris, the bond is undeniable, but for now I'm not gonna wait around and let some creep grope up on my woman, are you?"

"You're an idiot Ben."

"But I'm still lovable right?" He smiled childishly. 

~

As Idris watched Alixandria, he realized Ben was right. Seeing Henry with another woman must have set something off inside her.

She may not have confronted him, but from the moment she had spotted him with another woman, she'd become more rambunctious, and although Idris had been concerned about how she might be feeling, he also couldn't stop himself from smiling every time his eyes caught her on the dancefloor.

As the band played loudly, Alixandria lost herself to the music and Idris had the privilege of watching how with every beat of music, thump of her fist, bounce of her body, she let go and let out a different version of herself.

A version he had a feeling had been hiding underneath whatever it was that cuffed her to her past and watching her laugh and smile brought a different warmth to Idris's chest... until the man beside her took her hand and moved her toward him.

Hell no, Idris grunted. He'd already removed that walking tattoo off of her, and now another appeared.

He'd wished many times that it was him that held Alixandria as she danced. He'd been so close to just giving in, but he knew it would only make things worse.

So instead he did his best to stay in control while he covertly removed the men that were enthralled by her and 'sent' them home. He couldn't help but admit that compulsion was a handy gift.

The next man that placed their hands around her was abruptly removed and made to leave.

Ben followed, pulling the man that had approached Camilla by gripping the back of his shirt and compelling him to leave.

As the main band continued to play the crowd grew thicker, Idris stood almost directly behind Alixandria, her warmth was so close, he wasn't sure how Alixandria was able to resist the pull, until he noticed how suddenly her fists clenched and how tightly she shut her eyes, as if she were trying to control herself and he knew she was feeling it...the pull.

He felt as if her heat had exploded from around her into an electric pulse that netted around him and compelled his body to take her around his arms. Hell, his foot had moved forward without thought, and he knew that if he didn't leave now that any second she'd be in his arms.

It took all of his mental and physical strength to move back and as he searched for Ben to tell him they should leave, Camilla abruptly turned to look behind her and caught Ben standing feet behind her.

Shit, Idris smirked because Ben had been caught, and he knew now that he'd have to make things right with his mate.

Immediately Ben uncrossed his arms and towered over Camilla who raised her chin up to meet his gaze defiantly, and barely a word was said before the sensation of fire on Idris's skin began to peel his eyes away from the pair and down towards the 5 foot 2 inch beauty that glared daggers up at him.

Shit.