~ Savannah’s POV ~

“Thanks,” I say as I take the bottle of moonshine in my hand.

This is probably not a good idea, but I’m kind of intrigued. I bring the bottle close to my mouth and take a little sip. At first, the drink tastes kind of bitter. But the aftertaste is actually sweet. It’s kind of nice and warm, but also a little too strong for me. I can’t help but cough as the alcohol burns through my throat.

“Ugh!” I groan.

The brothers erupt in laughter as I give the bottle back to them.

“So, what are you studying in college?” Harlan receives the bottle and takes another sip.

“Fine arts,” I say excitedly. “I’m always interested in art,”

“That’s cool, do you wanna be an artist?” he says as he gives the bottle back to me.

“Yeah, right, as if I have the option to do that,” I scoff and take another sip. I thought this time it’ll go easier on my throat, but no, I still choke on the bitter taste.

“Why not?” Logan asks.

“Because that’s just a hobby, as my dad would say,” I shrug. “My duty is still to lead the pack,”

“You can lead a pack and be an artist too, why the hell not?” Logan argues.

“That’s what I keep telling him!” I groan in agreement. “But you know how it is, he’s a conservative guy. He doesn’t believe I can do both,”

Or either one. Maybe.

“So, have you painted anything recently?” Harlan asks.

“Nope,” I shake my head. “Not in the last… few months,”

“Why not?”

“I dunno, I don’t have anything that captures my eyes…” I shrug. “I don’t feel so inspired lately. Things have been kind of… blah,”

Not to sound whiny or anything, but that’s the truth. My life has been pretty tame and lame. The most exciting thing that’s happened as of late is Derek, but even that, I can’t really talk about, I have to keep that under wraps. So yeah… I’ve got no muse.

The brothers exchange a look as if they don’t believe me.

“What?” I ask.

“How’s a pretty girl like you have no muse?” Logan asks back.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What my brother is trying to say, is that I’m sure a beautiful girl like you has lived quite a life,” Harlan smiles meaningfully. “Many suitors. Many stories. Many muses…”

“Ha,” I blurted. “You must have me mistaken for someone else,”

Logan and Harlan exchange another look.

“Princess, you’re acting like no one’s told you you’re beautiful,”

I don’t know what’s happening to me, but my cheeks feel hot. My face is flaring beet red. All because these guys are saying I’m beautiful?

“It’s true, you’re stunning,” Harlan adds. “I mean, surely you’ve heard that before,”

I find myself alternating between looking into Harlan’s icy blue eyes and Logan’s dark amber eyes.

“Um, no…” I trail. “Not really,”

“Okay, I gotta ask,” Logan shoots point blankly after taking a big swig of the moonshine. “Are you asexual or something?”

“A what?” I gape.

“Logan,” Harlan scolds.

“‘Cause how is it possible that no one’s told you the obvious?” Logan continues.

“Uh, well…” I find myself stammering. “My boyfriend and I just started dating and—”

“Woah, woah, woah, hold up,” Logan cuts me off. “So you have a boyfriend?”

Logan’s eyes are narrowed at me and Harlan also turns his eyes at me, waiting expectantly. I swallow hard and nod.

“Where is he?” he presses.

“He’s not… invited to the party,” I pick my words carefully.

“So he’s not an Alpha?” Harlan guesses.

I nod my head again.

“And that’s why it’s a secret,” I say warningly. “This conversation does not leave the lake, okay?”

I don’t know why I just told them about Derek. I shouldn’t. This should be a secret. But somehow, I feel like they can just read through me.

“Ha, I knew it,” Logan says suddenly.

“What?” I ask.

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?” he smirks, cocking his head to the side.

That smirk… for some reason it’s making my stomach do the summersaults.

“So this boyfriend of yours, he’s never told you that you’re beautiful?” Harlan interjects.

I shake my head in response.

“Not in those words per se…”

“Who the hell is this guy anyway?” Logan asks.

“His name’s Derek Thompson and his dad works for my dad…”

“So he’s a lower ranking wolf from your pack?”

I nod my head again.

“Thompson, huh?” Harlan turns to his brother. “Don’t think I know them. Do you?”

Logan thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head no.

“His family’s also not from around here,” I explain. “They used to belong to another pack, but they’ve moved here now. His dad’s serving as the Gamma chief…”

“A Gamma?” Harlan cocks his head to the side, holding back his judgment. “So, why is this guy the one?”

I can’t help but smile at the thought of Derek being the one.

“He’s very kind. He’s very cute. He makes me laugh… and he’s the first guy that sees me for me, you know? Not as Alpha Savannah Wilcox or whatever,”

Logan blurts out a laugh and I shoot him a deadly glare.

“Are you laughing at me?” I ask him.

“I can’t help it. You’re such a cliché,” Logan answers, still chuckling. “The Alpha girl falling for the low-ranking guy her father disagrees with. How very Romeo and Juliet,”

“I am not a cliché!” I snap at him. And how dare he? The audacity!

“Hey, it’s okay, it’s your life. Do whatever you want,” Logan raises his hands in surrender.

I do not like to be called a cliché. I believe I’m the opposite. A cliché will be me picking one of the lame Alpha guys at the party and marrying them. Choosing Derek is me breaking the cycle, not choosing the cliché option.

“How long have you two been together?” Harlan asks, diverting my attention away from his crass brother.

“Just a little over a month. He’s also my first boyfriend, so everything’s kinda new to me, and we’re taking things slow…” As I’m talking about this, I realize that the brothers are staring at me with some kind of a look. “...Why are you guys looking at me like that?”

Logan’s eyes light up and he turns to Harlan, smacking his brother on the arm and saying, “Bro, I think this girl’s a virgin,”

“No, she’ can’t be,” Harlan shakes his head. Turning his face to me, he says, “You’re not a virgin. You can’t be,”

“What does that supposed to mean?” I narrow my eyes at him.

“Means he thinks you’re too pretty to be a virgin,” Logan answers.

I am trying my best not to squirm or blush bright red, but it’s useless. Again, my entire face turns bright pink. Desperate to cover it up, I take a big swig of the moonshine before saying, “Well, I’ll have you know, I’m not gonna be a virgin for much longer. Derek and I are just waiting for the right time…”

“Shit, you really are a virgin?” Harlan gapes. Logan’s eyes also shoot up to look at me.

“What?” I look at the two brothers. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

The two brothers don’t say anything for a while. Harlan is in full-on shock and Logan only shakes his head in disbelief.

“Yeah, you should wait, princess,” Logan says as he takes a sip of the moonshine. “Take as much time as you need. It’s very important to get to know the guy who’s gonna penetrate you,”

“Ew!” I cringe at his choice of words.

“That’s exactly how a virgin would react, you see that, Harlan? Take notes,” Logan laughs away.

I am so mortified and absolutely embarrassed at how the conversation has gone this way. When I agreed to ditch the party with the Kaiser brothers, never in a million years did I think that the topic of my virginity would ever come up or that I would be teased like this.

Oh, Moon Goddess, what have I gotten myself into?

“Can we please talk about something else?” I laugh nervously. “Literally, anything else,”

“So, when’s the right time for the two of you then?” Harlan asks, still not dropping the subject.

“After my eighteenth birthday,”

“Isn’t that today?”

“My eighteenth birthday is actually next week,”

A beat. Some kind of awkward silence hangs in the air.

“Well, if you need any pointers, I got your back,” Logan says teasingly.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll manage,” I roll my eyes at him.

“Just sayin’, you’re talking to a guy with a lifetime of knowledge,”

“I’d rather shoot myself in the foot,”

“How’s that rejection taste like, Logan?” Harlan laughs.

“Oh, you’re saying no right now princess, but watch… someday you’re gonna be begging for me,” Logan smirks menacingly.

“Ha! If that day ever comes, you shoot me in the foot,” I say to Harlan.

“Deal,” Harlan gives his hand to me and I shake it.

For a split second, when our hands touch, I feel another charge of electricity coursing through my veins. Harlan probably feels it too because his eyes shoot up at me. I find myself staring back at him and my heart starts racing in my chest.

Quick, I need a diversion!

“I’m thirsty!” —is what ends up coming out of my mouth.

I turn around and grab the bottle of moonshine from Logan’s lap.

“Ha,” Logan mutters under his breath. “That’s what she said,”

I almost spit out the drink in my mouth.

“Woah, slow down,” Harlan pulls out a handkerchief for me. “You’ll spill everything,”

“That’s what she said also,” Logan says triumphantly.

Harlan doesn’t want to laugh, but it is hilarious and he can’t help himself. They all break out in wild laughter after that. And as for me, I can’t help but giggle a little too.

At this point, I already lost count of how many sips of moonshine I had already. I’m definitely feeling a buzz. My head and my body feel lighter, and somehow I feel like dancing. Or touching. Hmm. I wonder what it’ll feel like to touch Logan’s arm? Or Harlan’s face…?

“So, I’m guessing you’ve never been kissed by an Alpha before, right?” Logan’s voice suddenly pulls me out of my train of thought.

“Uh… Right,”

“How about two Alphas?”

I look at him like he’s crazy, but he keeps a straight face. I turn my face to Harlan, looking for some help, but he’s not helping either. His blue eyes stare deeply into mine. Blue on green.

Swallowing hard, I turn back to Logan, and he’s leaning closer and closer! His dark amber eyes darken as he stares at my lips. The two of them are so close to me, their scents are filling my nose and it’s so intoxicating. Even more than the moonshine! And as they come even closer…

“Guys, I have a boyfriend!” I yell out loud.

Logan and Harlan break out in another wild laughter as they pull away. I can’t help but sigh in relief, but also… a part of me wants them to stay close.

“Ugh, you two are the worst,” I say, groaning aloud as I shake the empty bottle of moonshine in the air. Yup, apparently, we’ve drunk the whole thing. And it seems that my mouth has no more filter because the next thing I say is, “I wish I can see Derek right now…”

“Why don’t you just do that?” Harlan asks.

“He’s on the other side of town and I have to be here, entertaining guests at my party slash auction,” I sigh miserably.

“Well… If you want, you can always sneak out. We can help you,” Harlan offers.

My eyes shoot up immediately.

“Really?” I ask. “You guys would do that?”

Harlan turns to his brother and says, “What do you think, Logan? We pay this guy a visit?”

Logan grins knowingly and stands up, lending out his hand to me.

”Ready to ride, princess?”

*

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- - - - - To Be Continued - - - - -