Klaus had a hand wrapped around my hip. His grip was tight as we moved through the party. I needed to stop being so jittery or he was going to get suspicious.

Fuck.

He pulled me in front of him, just as a waiter barreled past us, narrowly avoiding a collision. A group of witches were smirking at us, not even bothering to hide what was clearly their doing.

"I hate these things." I groaned. "I'm going to get something to drink."

"You will not leave my side. Remember how easy it would be to fashion a white room here."

"Fuck you."

He leaned in. "A little louder, would you? Did Elijah not tell you what the plan was?"

"He said-" His grip tightened. "Fine. Whatever." We were only supposed to be pretending, right? And doing so badly?

They wanted people to think Camille was who Klaus was obsessed with, not me.

Even though he wasn't.

I only had his kids, he didn't care for me. "It wouldn't ruin everything for me to get something all by myself."

His jaw twitched.

"I'll allow it, but do not stray far."

Rolling my eyes, I removed his hands. "I won't."

"If you do..."

"I understand. I'll be back."

Now was the moment of truth, deep breaths Maverick. I walked away from him, toward the food table. In order for this to work, I'd need to get out of Klaus' sight.

My heart raced, pounding against my ribs. This was such a bad idea.

A horridly awful idea.

Why was I doing this?

I could just tell Klaus about Dahlia, that she was here and that Marcel was working with her, plotting against him.

But there was something that was bothering me. Something she said yesterday, when Marcel snatched me, just before she allowed my escape. That's why I was doing this.

Why I had to.

I caught the eye of one of the wolves, simply raising a brow at him.

My target.

He glanced around, before beelining toward me. I quickly ducked into the nearest hall, where we might have a little bit of privacy. This was going to take a lot of finesse.

Far too much.

"Fucking bitch." The blonde wolf growled. "You made a mess in my pack. Jackson is beside himself, you made him exile Hayley."

"Oh no." I held my hands up. "Although, I bet if you were the alpha, I wouldn't have been able to make such an accusation."

He blinked.

"I've heard about you, Jackson's second in command. You know, before Klaus needlessly slaughtered my original pack, I was set to marry their second too." I approached him slowly. "I know that job can be very demanding."

"It is." He swallowed.

"And I'm sure that Jackson doesn't appreciate you, doesn't give you what you so rightfully deserve."

His eyes darkened and I knew I had him.

"I see no mark on your neck. Surely by now you should have received your mate." I laid my hands on his chest.

He slammed me against the wall. "What is this?! You think you're gonna get into our pack that way?"

"Oh no, but I've been terribly lonely here, trapped with no real wolf to satisfy me. That half breed could never hold a candle to an actual, full blooded werewolf." Inwardly, I cringed. Stupid wolves and their overly inflated egos. "Please."

C'mon Klaus, your paranoid ass has to be listening for me.

Don't make me use the bond.

He leaned in close. Fuck it all. I met him in the kiss, allowing him to do most of the work. It was nothing like when I was with Klaus. There was no electricity in my veins or butterflies in my stomach, this guy was sloppy, needy.

My mark burned.

Holy hell.

That really was awful.

The next thing I knew, the wolf was ripped away, and he hit the wall opposite me.

Klaus was fuming, chest heaving. "And what, pray tell, were you doing?"

Maybe this was not the best course of action.

The wolf was on his knees, cupping the back of his bleeding head.

Someone came barreling into the hallway. It was the guy who'd been with Hayley at the first party. "Oliver, what did you do?"

"Jackson, she came onto me, I swear!" He pointed an accusatory finger at me.

Huh. So that was Jackson.

The very same Jackson who was the alpha.

Good to know.

"I think an example needs to be made." Klaus had Oliver by the back of the neck before I could blink. There was something murderous in his eye.

"No, wait." He didn't deserve to die because I'd used him. I set my hand on Klaus' arm. "It was just a kiss."

"I have a better idea." He shoved Oliver toward Jackson. "I need to ensure everyone knows not to touch what is mine."

"But Elijah said-"

"What he said went out the window the moment my neck began to burn." Klaus leaned in. "I'm going to make you scream my name."