When The Moon Hides Her Crown - Chapter 27: Chapter 27

SERAPHINA
“What?” I snapped, stunned into disbelief. “You think I’m following you?”
Ronan didn’t blink. He leaned back against the tree trunk, ankle over knee, fingers lazily flicking ash off his cigarette. “I don’t think, I observe. Lately, you’ve been showing up in places I don’t recall inviting you.”
My mind went blank for a moment as the imagines of him and his wolf chasing me in the forest, hunting me instead of his assigned prey and poking his nose in my business in every possible point flashed in my mind. I locked eyes with him, barely controlling my frustration, “Are you high or something?” I raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s you who is always following me. You are the stalker and bully here. Please, I didn’t even see you here. You’re not that hard to ignore.”
His mouth curved around the cigarette, slow and devilish. “Mm, that’s not what it looked like when you nearly dropped your plate after spotting me.”
I gritted my teeth, heat crawling up my neck. Was this man for real? “That’s because I didn’t expect to find a parasite parked under my tree.”
I did not care if he got offended or worse at this point. I just wanted to shut this Alpha’s mouth and wipe that arrogant smirk on his face that screamed that he was a celebrity chased by a fan girl.
He chuckled, low and husky. Then he pushed off the tree with lazy grace, flicking the cigarette away like he was done with it, along with everything else. Except me.
He closed the distance in slow, deliberate strides towards me.
“Careful,” he said, his voice lower now, like gravel dragged across velvet. “Parasites tend to get under your skin,” he paused for a moment, his eyes brushing over my lips for a moment before continuing, “Next thing you know, you’re itching to find them again.”
My hand shook slightly at his meaningful comments, “You really think highly of yourself, don’t you?”
His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “No, I just know the effect I have on arrogant little Alphas who talk too much and look too long.”
My heart gave a violent lurch, but I didn’t blink.
“I wasn’t looking,” I said flatly.
“Mm,” he mused, sliding more closer. His gaze dipped to my lips again like it didn’t care whether I noticed. “That’s why your pupils dilated the second you saw me.”
Something inside me snapped, “I was surprised. You’re like a rash, showing up where you’re least wanted,” I growled.
He grinned, devilish and maddening. “And yet...here you are. Still talking to the rash.”
I clenched my fists, “Yeah, I should have walked away the moment I caught sight of you instead of wasting my time having this unpleasant chat. My stupidity, I stayed to spoil my mood and appetite. Now it's time to fix that mistake,” saying that, I reached out to grab my plate of food. Then, without asking, without even attempting to get my permission, his hand reached over and stole the largest piece of steak off my plate.
I stared at him, stunned. “Are you serious right now?”
He bit into it slowly, jaw working with the kind of deliberate care that made it feel obscene. His tongue flicked to his bottom lip, licking the juice. “Hmm, medium rare. Bold choice for a champion.”
My eyes narrowed to slits. “Touch my food again and I’ll break your fingers.”
He swallowed, unbothered. “Didn’t know Alphas cried over a stolen steak. Guess your appetite is bigger than your bite.”
I met his challenging gaze. “I don’t bite without purpose. But when I do...I draw blood.”
His gaze snapped to mine, the smirk vanishing, replaced by something quieter. Sharper. “That supposed to scare me?”
“No,” I said, voice cold as frost. “It’s a warning. Never touch or steal my food,”
He leaned in, licking his bottom lip as he swallowed. “You owed me a meal. For the emotional distress of being called a parasite.”
My fists clenched at my sides. “You’ll get a punch in the face, that’s what you’ll get.”
“Promises, promises.”
Silence hung between us. Not empty, electric.
For a moment, neither of us moved. The wind whispered between the trees. The distant voices of Alphas laughing around the banquet faded like background noise.
Then he said, “Funny thing about you, Seth. You walk like a ghost, fight like a wolf, but talk with confidence about everything like someone who’s been hiding something.”
That landed like a punch to the gut because it was too close to the truth.
I swallowed the burn in my throat and shifted my weight. “While you talk like a man who needs to be heard, but has nothing new to say.”
He gave a short laugh, inching so close that our faces came dangerously close. He stared down at me, unreadable, the fire between us flaring brighter with every heartbeat.
“Careful,” he murmured, his voice a dangerous purr. “Keep talking like that and I might start enjoying our little chats.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and gave him a tight smile. “That would be your first mistake.”
Then I turned on my heel, grabbed my plate—minus the steak—and walked away without another word.
But even as I crossed the clearing, I could feel his gaze like heat on my back.
Still watching. Still dangerous.
Worse...still intriguing.
That’s when something else caught my eye. My spine stiffened.
A little ways off, at the large dining table I spotted Reed and Cassius sitting around Finn with their friends. Laughter echoed from their little circle of followers, but it wasn’t the light, easy kind. No, it was sharper. A little too loud. A little too pointed. I think I heard my name too.
In the middle of it, hunched and trying to smile was Finn.
His shoulders were curled in, eyes darting as Cassius clapped a heavy arm around his shoulders. Reed leaned in, grinning as he whispered something in Finn’s ear that made Finn’s smile disappear.
Not teasing. Not harmless.
Bullying, masked in brotherhood. Since the Alpha instructors were gone, no one was watching us. Reed’s evil smile and Cassius' dirty teasing brought the memory of them intending to violate me in the forest. My blood heated at that memory and just as I was a little distracted by my emotions, I ended up colliding chest-first into another body.
Hard.
I looked up and nearly cursed myself.
It was Alpha Asher.