Alaric laughed under his breath, a low sound that blended with the hum of voices around us. He poured himself another drink, his fingers already steady despite how much he had had. I tilted my glass and let the liquid slide over my tongue, the burn spreading down my chest.
We stayed like that for a while, just drinking, the noise of the bar slowly creeping back in. The music from the corner, the sll of roasted at, the sound of mugs clinking. It felt almost normal, like old tis, before everything had turned into war and betrayal.
Alaric stretched his long legs under the table, leaning back like a man who had finally found a place to breathe. "This is good," he muttered, swirling the drink in his cup.
I nodded, my eyes drifting across the room. Two n at a nearby table caught my attention. They were hunched close together, whispering, but the more they drank the louder their voices got.
One of them had a small book in his hand, the leather cover worn at the edges. He flipped through it with an exaggerated grin, showing sothing to the other. Their laughter broke into the air.
I tried to ignore it, but as their whispers grew louder, bits of their conversation reached .
"... says here if you touch her like this she won’t be able to resist you..."
"... who writes this stuff? But damn, imagine if it works... I can’t wait to try it... I might as well beco the king of debauchery."
I raised a brow, my curiosity piqued. Without even realizing it, my body moved on its own. I set my glass down and stood, my boots light against the wooden floor. Alaric raised his brows but said nothing, watching as I walked toward the group.
The n didn’t notice until my shadow fell over their table, then, imdiately they froze. Their laughter died in their throats. The one holding the book looked up and his eyes widened, the other scrambled to his feet, bowing his head so fast it almost hit the table.
"Alpha..." he stamred.
I cleared my throat lightly, stretching my neck to glance at the book. They quickly turned it so the cover faced down, but I was faster. I reached out, my fingers closing around the worn leather flipping the book open, and drawn images of a woman in certain positions welcod my eyes.
I coughed, my throat bobbing up and down.
I glared at them. "So this is what you are reading?" They both lowered their heads.
I cleared my throat. "Both of you are soldiers right?"
They nodded their head.
"And this is what you read in your spare ti? And soone wants to beco the King of Debauchery?..." I flipped the book glancing through it.
"Damon, take the book, maybe it can help us win over Ember." Beowulf’s voice dripped with mischievousness.
"Are you trying to say I’m not skilled enough?" I spat back at him, feeling my ego bruised.
He sighed in exasperation. "No one is perfect, as they say one can not know it all, and considering it has been a century since you last got active... I an except that one ti with Ember, you can be considered outdated."
My fingers clenched tightly around the book.
"I’ll be confiscating this book." I took the book but another hand was pulling it back. My icy eyes stared daggers at one of the n.
The man released it instantly like it burned him. "Alpha... this is my only treasure." He cried with his head lowered.
I dropped a coin on their table without a word, the tal clinking loudly in the silence.
The n murmured their thanks, heads still bowed, but I was already turning back to my seat. The book felt light in my hand, but the weight of what I was thinking made my lips curl. A mischievous smirk ford before I could stop it. ’Now,’ I thought, sliding the book onto our table, ’I’ll see how you will resist .’
Alaric’s whistle cut through the noise. He leaned forward, his green eyes gleaming with wicked amusent. "Well, well," he drawled, wriggling his brows at like an idiot. "I see soone is trying so hard to win a heart."
I shot him a look, but it only made him grin wider. "You should see your face, Damon. The big bad Alpha sneaking over for an adult book." He poured himself another drink, still smirking. "If the pack could see you now..."
"Keep running that mouth and I’ll shut it for you," I muttered, but there was no heat in my voice.
He chuckled and raised his glass again. "To our Alpha finally learning how to please a woman."
I shook my head, trying to fight the corner of my lips from twitching. "You’re drunk."
"And you’re pretending you’re not," he shot back easily. "I bet the book holds unimaginable tales, seeing how you just snatched it like a starving wolf."
"It sure does." I tapped the book with my finger. "A treasure precisely... this must be from the human world..."
Alaric snorted into his drink, nearly choking on it. "You’re serious. Moon above, Damon, I think you’re actually planning to use it."
"Shut up, it’s called confiscating," I muttered, but I flipped the book open under the table, scanning a few pages. The illustrations made my eyebrow arch higher. ’Interesting,’ I thought, hiding the faint heat creeping up my neck.
Alaric laughed louder at my expression, his voice echoing off the wooden beams. "Oh, this is gold. I wish Theo were here to see this."
I ignored him and kept reading, though the alcohol in my veins was making the words blur slightly. Still, the idea of Aeris’ face if I tried half of what the book suggested sent a strange thrill through . For the first ti all evening, sothing like anticipation sparked under my ribs.
"You think she would want to try it with you? Tsk tsk... You still have a long way to go before reaching this point." Beowulf scoffed.
"Shut the fuck up, what do you know?" I snapped back at him.
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