Aurora’s POV
The tavern was unusually packed tonight, pulsing with a buzzing energy, and my hands were full as I rushed back and forth, delivering drinks to customers with a polite smile, even though I could already feel an ache spreading across my shoulders. I’ve never been worked to the brim like this; well, today marked my fifth day on the job.
As I returned the empty glasses to the service counter, I let out a heavy sigh, leaning against the wood. The bartender, a guy named John, flashed me a sympathetic smile. “Busy evening, huh?” he asked, wiping down a tap.
I rolled my eyes playfully. “As if you didn’t already know.”
John chuckled, carefully mixing a cocktail before sliding it across the counter. “The tavern always gets crowded like this during race nights, unlike how it was empty at the underground ring, though.”
I paused, remembering that Roland had mentioned the motorcycle events to me before, but I had forgotten to look into it. After serving my last table, the clock finally struck seven. I tucked my apron away and marched straight to the manager’s office to let him know I was clocked out.
The manager grumbled immediately, gesturing to the floor. “Aurora, look around. We have limited hands on deck tonight. I need you to stay.”
I shrugged my shoulders, not too sassy a thought, and retorted back, "If you have a problem with my hours, you should take it up directly with Orion.”
That shut him up instantly, and I turned on my heel, walking straight out the back door. The cool evening breeze collided with my bare skin, making me shiver before I spotted Roland leaning against the truck.
She looked like a beautiful badass, wearing an unbuttoned leather jacket that showed off a tiny crop top and her pierced exposed belly button, paired with tight leather trousers and boots. Her pixie brown cut was curly at the tip.
“Tonight’s race is going to be lit,” she grinned, tossing her head towards the passenger seat.
I nodded, climbing into the truck even though I didn’t understand a single thing about the racing. We drove down past the edge of the main town, heading deep into a secluded, guarded valley. In the distance, a thrumming of noise and wild cheers echoed through the trees. The moment we parked, Roland hopped out, carelessly threw her keys to a valet at the gate, and grabbed my hand to guide me through the throng.
I looked around, my jaw dropping. Thousands of people packed with buzzing streetlights making the arena illuminate; I had never watched a motorcycle race in my life. The air was thick with the scent of gasoline, burning rubber, and raw adrenaline.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of a dark corner under the concrete stadium steps. A group of people were openly sniffing a white powder, while others were injecting themselves, laughing hysterically in a dazed euphoria. I quickly looked away, keeping my eyes glued to the dirt path so they wouldn’t find my gaze offensive.
Roland noticed and offered a reassuring smile. “This is what some humans do before a big game. They take synthetic adrenaline to give themselves a massive boost but didn’t know that who they are competing with are shifters who already possess inhuman strength."
I blinked at her, leaning in close to her ear and covering the side of my mouth with my hand. “Is... isn’t that illegal here?” I whispered.
“Nothing is illegal here except what the Clan Leader explicitly makes illegal,” Roland revealed with a casual shrug. “As long as they don’t bring that trash around the underage kids or compromise our borders, Orion lets them have their fun. All of this down here? This is pure freedom.”
Woah. I was amazed by the raw, lawless structure of the territory.
Roland suddenly stopped, cracking her knuckles together as I stared at her in confusion. “What are you doing?”
“Preparing,” she responded with a wicked grin.
My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. “Wait... you race too?”
“Hell yeah. Track racing, underground fighting—I do it all,” she chuckled. “Even though I’m the clan healer, I’m still one of the leader’s guides, but as of now, I’m yours.”
My mouth fell open, nearly hitting the ground. I didn’t want to judge, but I honestly hadn’t realised a woman could enjoy something so violent and dangerous, like this.
Roland patted my shoulder, telling me she had to head into the registration tents to get her gear ready, leaving me with a queasy, excited smile.
As my eyes scanned through the roaring arena stands, my gaze suddenly stilled at the very front of the VIP observation deck. Orion was sitting there on a raised bench, looking devastatingly handsome, with Rook and Liam flanking his sides. I instinctively raised my hand to wave, but stopped when I saw a familiar frame of Josephine, sitting besides him.
I didn’t know about the seating arrangement but she was leaning close to his shoulder,while Orion’s expression was completely blank and unbothered, staring out at the tracks.
I felt a wave of anger brew in my chest; my teeth gritted together tightly. Even though I had literally just told myself that there was no label between Orion and me, the truth hit me like a tidal wave – Orion was mine. And that female was currently touching what belonged to me. She was sullen about what was mine.
Without thinking, I jumped over the lower wooden barrier and jogged straight towards the VIP platform. As I approached, Orion’s blank gaze suddenly snapped to me, a glowing golden ring in his pupils as his expression softened. I smiled at him then I walked past Josephine’s side, used my forearm to aggressively push her out of the way, and sat down squarely on Orion’s lap.
A loud, thunderous “Oooooh!” exploded from Rook and the surrounding shifters on the deck.
A sudden rush of heat hit my face, and I suddenly wanted to hide under the floorboards. Oh my god, Aurora, what did you just do?!
But the embarrassment didn’t matter so much because I just wanted Josephine away from him. I glanced over at her as she huffed in pure disbelief, glaring a hole into my skull before turning on her heel and stalking away into the crowd. Once she was gone, I awkwardly tried to stand up, figuring my petty work was done—but Orion’s arm instantly wrapped securely around my waist.
He pulled me right back down against his thighs, locking me against his chest. I swallowed bashfully, my heart racing. “Orion, let me go,” I mumbled under my breath.
Orion leant his head down, his lips brushing the sensitive skin of my earlobe before he bit down in a nip. “I don’t want to,” he rumbled against my skin, burying his face into the crook of my neck, breathing in with a deep inhale that made my knees melt.
“You look stunning with the way you claimed me," he mumbled, and I gulped.
When the crowd around us settled, a roaring engine cut through the noise. A man on a sports bike rolled to the edge of the VIP deck, revving his throttle. He popped his visor up, his eyes tracking me with a cocky smirk.
“Who is this?” the racer shouted over the engine, looking at Orion, who didn’t bother to give a response, likewise, others. “Is she new?" the human pressed when he realised the shifters weren’t going to respond. He turned his eyes back to me, trying to get me to look at him. “Hey, beautiful. Do you want to go on a ride?”
I turned my gaze away, leaning my back against Orion’s chest, wrapping my hands over Orion’s forearms in a display of rejection. Was this guy blind? He could clearly see I was locked in the arms of Orion, yet he was still trying to hit on me. I knew for a fact that if he were a shifter, he wouldn’t dare breathe the same air as me—but because he was a human guest, he didn’t understand much.
“I see you don’t want to answer me,” the racer trailed off, letting out a mocking laugh as he revved his engine again. “Tell you what, sweetie. Let’s make a wager. If I win the main circuit tonight...you have to tell me your name and give me your number.”
Orion’s chest vibrated against my back as I wanted to rub his arm to calm before I could even process, Orion picked me up with gentleness, setting me down on the seat. And in an instant, he vaulted over the railing, landing on the track below, and he strode towards his motorcycle, announcing to the race marshals that he was entering the grid.
The entire arena fell into shock because, according to what Rook whispered, Orion never joined casual races like this.
Orion kicked the starter of his bike, and the engine roared to life as the track marshals scrambled to clear the path, and the crowd suddenly erupted into a deafening frenzy.
“Orion! Orion! ”
I lunged forward against the railing as I began jumping up and down, cheering and screaming his name at the top of my lungs.
The gun banged and the bikes took off from the line. It was exhilarating as I watched, I didn’t know it could be fun and thrilling like this. The human racer was fast but orion was already a superhuman on his own.the race tried to come for orion but Orion didn’t stop, slamming and made the human lost control,
Orion didn’t look back and drove across the finish line victorious. The moment Orion took the engine off, I ran to him as he effortlessly picked me up while I was grinning happily.
***
I like possessive females? not only males can be possessive
I tried to do the motorcycle race scene - _ - I’m so sorry if there’s any mistake. I was half asleep