Page 179 of Kingdoms of Night

We had a few mortals in our lab, but not many. They were just too susceptible to—

I winced as a horn blared overhead, the sound vibrating the air and stirring the hairs along my arms.

“What the…?” But I didn’t need to finish my question, as I already knew the reason for the alarm. “Shit.”

That sound indicated a breach in the compound walls.

Which meant evacuation was imminent.

There were just too many Infected. Once they caught a scent, they stopped at nothing to achieve a taste. And it seemed that it didn’t matter how many walls or layers existed between us and them; they could still scent us. Almost as though they were wolves themselves.

Of course this has to happen today of all days.

I darted back into my bedroom to grab my escape bag and carried it into the bath area, where I kept my suppressants. I should have just taken one when I’d woken up with a headache. Instead, I’d wasted time being mad at my wolf and debating the need for another dose already.

Stupid, Riley.

There wasn’t time now for a safe injection, so I packed away the supplies and returned to my room to look for something to wear.

I dropped my towel and grabbed a shirt just as the door to my quarters burst open.

Jonas stood on the threshold, his light blue eyes landing on my naked form in an instant.

Nudity didn’t usually bother me as a shifter. But an inane part of me jumped into action as I tried to cover myself with the shirt in my hands.

Jonas either didn’t notice or didn’t care. “We need to go.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” I snapped. “Taking a nap?”

He arched a light brow in response, his silence saying everything and nothing at the same time. He never reacted to my snarky remarks or incessant need to push him away.

Always patient.

Always brooding.

Alwaysstaring.

I forced my hands to move as I grabbed a pair of black pants to go with my blouse and then opened a drawer for undergarments.

Jonas watched my every move, his nostrils flaring.

“Stare much?” The taunt slid from my mouth on instinct, my penchant for provoking him shining through. I harbored this intrinsic need to irritate him as much as he irritated me, which wasn’t fair to him at all and probably made me a brat. But he provoked my wolf. So I provoked him.

He responded to my antics as he usually did—with a grunt—and pushed off the door frame to move into my room.

I took an involuntary step back, my wolf immediately submitting to the Alpha prowling toward me.

Except he moved right past me to pick up my bag and headed for the door without a word.

My nose twitched, telling me he hadn’t gone far, just to the hallway to wait. This must have been his version of privacy.

Good.

I needed space.

Because the alarm did nothing to cool my desire for him.Why does he have to be so big and Alpha-y?

Oh, right.

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