WILLA

After grabbing a bucket of pink, white and blue paints, a few wall designs, and some curtains, Verah and I wandered over to the dress section.

She was going to the spring dance too, though she hadn’t told me who with. I didn’t mind. All that mattered was that she was going. And I wouldn’t be alone.

"Where the fuck is she?" A low growl snapped me out of my thoughts.

I frowned, gaze snapping forward. A guy stood in the middle of the mall. He wore stonewashed skinny jeans, white graphic tee with a wolf design across the back. I recognized him instantly, even without seeing his full face.

That ash-blond hair, almost silver under the mall’s bright lights. The broad set of his shoulders. The ridiculous height. Azrael Paxton. One of the alphas who’d come to rescue me. Alpha of House Lucien.

I couldn’t make out much of his features from this angle, just the sharp line of his side profile, but he was good-looking enough to fit right in with the rest of them. I’d started to think the house alphas were picked more for their faces than their actual strength.

He dragged a hand through his hair, the other one gripping his phone so tightly I could see the veins standing out on his left forearm.

My stomach tightened as my eyes traced the veins standing out on his forearm.

Veins shouldn’t look that fucking hot. But right now, they did. They looked like the next best thing and my fingers itched to touch them.

I breathed in slowly, clutching the peach dress against my chest. Should I approach him? I still hadn’t thanked him properly for going into the Forest of Death after me. Only Dash, Eric, Lance, Elliott, and Kol had been around afterward.

Would he even recognize me?

Of course I snorted. Verah and Elyse were popular. Besides, he would’ve already heard about me—the girl with three, now four, forbidden mates at the academy.

"Does it even matter if he doesn’t?" I muttered under my breath.

"What doesn’t matter?" Verah called from the dressing room.

"Nothing," I said, draping the gown over the lounge chair behind me. I started toward him.

"Where are you going?" Verah asked as I stepped away.

"Restroom," I lied, eyes locked on Azrael.

"Okay!" she answered. "I’ll need help with the zipper soon."

I didn’t respond. I just kept walking. As if he sensed me coming, he turned, his gaze locking onto my face.

I stopped dead, swallowing hard.

He was good-looking from a distance, but up close it hit differently. I hadn’t been ready to see him again—not like this, not when I wasn’t possessed and half out of my mind.

My mouth went dry. I stared like an idiot, completely unprepared.

Calling him good-looking was an understatement. He was tall and athletic, broad shoulders filling out his simple tee, high cheekbones and a sharp jawline that looked carved from stone.

A straight nose, piercing ice-blue eyes... everything about him belonged on a Vogue cover, even in ordinary clothes that somehow looked runway-ready on his frame.

Those eyes lingered on me, and my heart slammed against my ribs. My lips parted, but the words stuck somewhere in my throat.

Say something. Anything. But my brain had gone completely blank.

He frowned, one thick brow lifting in quiet question.

"H... Hi," I lifted my hand, but a cool, sultry voice cut through the awkwardness before I could say anything else.

I glanced behind me just in time to see her— Iris. She flicked a brief look my way before striding forward. Her shoulder deliberately brushed mine, hard enough that I staggered a step before catching my balance.

She splayed her pink-manicured fingers across Azrael’s chest and spoke loud enough for half the store to hear.

"Hi, baby," she murmured.

Baby?

I thought she was dating Kol. I blinked, frozen, as the two of them interacted right in front of me. Azrael didn’t correct her. Instead, he leaned in and brushed a kiss across her cheek.

Nausea surged up my throat. I forced it back down, jaw tight.

Were the boys just passing girls around to each other now? Because that was exactly what it looked like, and the realization only made the disgust twist harder in my gut.

"How long have you been waiting?" Iris asked.

Azrael scowled but said nothing. He simply slid his arm around her waist, the kind of possessive hold that screamed he was into her.

Iris melted against him, arms wrapping around his body like it physically pained her to stand on her own.

They both turned away from me like I wasn’t even there. But before they left, Iris glanced back over her shoulder and gave me a slow once-over. Her lips curled in open disgust.

A scoff sounded behind me. I turned to find Verah standing there, arms crossed.

"That’s Azrael," she said, even though I didn’t need the reminder. "Also known as the Angel."

She leaned into me and whispered, "More like angel of destruction. That’s what he does wherever he goes."

The Angel? Maybe in looks. But the coldness rolling off him? Not even close. Still, I could definitely see the destructive side in him.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating.

Verah pointed toward Iris. "And Iris is his sister in everything but blood."

"Really?" I murmured.

"Really," Verah said, grabbing my hand. "Now let’s check out the rest of the outfits."

I stumbled along beside her, Verah’s words still spinning in my head. I hadn’t felt sibling vibes from them at all. If anything, it looked like they were fucking. I’d never seen two people who weren’t blood-related radiate that much sexual tension before.

It shouldn’t concern me, but it did somehow.

"Try these on." Verah shoved five dresses into my arms, including the peach one I’d set aside earlier.

She nudged me into the dressing room and stood guard outside. The second I slipped out of my clothes, another thought hit me.

If Iris was Azrael’s unofficial sister... did that mean she was still dating Kol?