Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
Cyrus
A s soon as I heard the music fade out then a separate beat begin, I hurried from my office to find my beta and omega to join them for the show. I’d seen Ax dance more times than I could count, but I loved the looks on Issa’s and Amir’s faces as well as their increased scents when they watched one of their alphas shake his ass and rip off his shirt.
“Perfect timing,” Amir said, lifting his head for a kiss when I bent forward.
Issa was nestled between his knees. I knew we should probably tell her she still needed to wait tables while Ax was performing, but she wasn’t the only server in the room who froze to watch the show. Nearly every single person was zeroed in on the stage as first one dancer then another came out, the routine a little different than usual.
Oh, they still made sure the crowd got rowdy, still circled their hips, but it looked as though Ax was utilizing the skills of each individual dancer for this one .
Finally, Ax came out on stage. Or rather leapt out on stage, his legs spread into splits, the move uninhibited by the short ass shorts he was wearing, the outline of his junk prominent against the material.
“Holy shit!” Amir said before putting his fingers to his lips and whistling.
Issa winced and elbowed him playfully in his stomach, but she was grinning just as wildly.
My eyes scanned the crowd, my own smile widening at the reaction of our patrons. They always tended to go wild for the dance review, but seeing an alpha’s cock, balls, and knot on display like this was abnormal for our club.
Oddly enough, though, even as prominent his lower half was in those shorts, it didn’t look vulgar.
As I continued to look over the crowd, watching for anyone who might need a drink or refill of some form while all my servers were ogling the dancers, my eyes fell upon someone staring directly at Issa. Not the stage. Not the show. Not even the gorgeous omega at her back.
He was staring at my beta.
As the lights flashed, a beam ghosted over his face, and I realized I recognized him from a day we’d gone out with Enzo’s brother’s pack and their omega.
Issa’s fucking former alpha.
Before I could take a step forward, Issa’s hand landed on my arm. Turning my head down to her, she shook her head at me with a crease between her brows. Amir was unaware of the tension in the air, his eyes locked on Ax as he danced across the stage.
The rest of the place was completely unaware there was a dead man sitting among them.
Clenching my teeth, I swallowed back the growl that swelled in my chest and did my best to control my hormones. But when Amir’s head whipped in my direction, I knew he’d caught the change in my scent.
I smiled at him, hoping it looked genuine, then turned and pretended to watch Ax. When Issa was no longer watching my every move, I pulled my phone from my back pocket and shot a text to Enzo.
Antonio is here.
Are you fucking kidding me?
In the bar. In Issa’s section.
No more bubbles danced across the screen, and when I saw his head towering over the mostly beta crowd and storming in our direction, I gave him a shake of my head in hopes of getting him to reel in his rage before he got close enough to our beta and omega. Anything that happened needed to happen away from them and without witnesses.
But one way or another, that mother fucker would pay for how he’d treated Issa in the past then daring to breathe the same fucking air as her now.
His pace slowed and he was no longer shoving people out of his way, but his brows were furrowed so deeply a shadow was cast over his eyes that bounced between me and Issa.
As soon as he was close enough, he leaned and muttered, “Where?” so Issa wouldn’t overhear him.
I leaned in and told him the section and table number, his burnt wire scent telling me the exact moment he caught sight of the cocksucker who’d drugged and abused our beta.
None of us gave two shits that she was technically bonded to him at the time or that we didn’t know she even existed. We knew now, we knew what he’d put her through, and the fact he was here was more than enough to dole out a little back-alley punishment.
“Let your brother know. I’m sure he’d want in on this, too,” I said, leaning away from Issa .
But the way she kept glancing at us with a worried frown on her face showed she knew exactly what – or rather who – we were discussing.
Enzo leaned against the bar and turned his body away slightly, blocking Issa’s view from his phone as he shot a text to his brother and the head of a criminal empire. Not only was Issa his sister-in-law, but this cocksucker had threatened their omega. Seven alphas out for blood against one piece of shit who was currently glaring at my beta.
Or was he glaring at Amir?
Either away, the urge to cross the bar and pluck his eyeballs from his skull was not only strong but surprising. I was the voice of reason. I was the calm alpha. I was the one who kept the other two from sinking into rut or bloodlust.
But in this moment, I was struggling to keep my alpha instincts at bay, to refrain from storming across the room and putting Antonio down like a rabid animal.
Nah. That would be entirely too easy of a death for him. That mother fucker deserved pain. Lots and lots of pain.
Glancing up, I realized Ax’s eyes had found us and his usual flirty smile was forced as he worked through the last of the song.
Well, shit . I was having a hard enough time controlling my own instincts while hiding from our omega there was a threat in the building. But if Ax caught wind of Antonio’s presence, there might be no stopping him.
“We should send Issa and Amir home,” I muttered to Enzo.
He nodded once and stepped away, heading to the bouncer at the door. He then moved to each of our security spread throughout the room. Problem was, he didn’t exactly tell me his plan, whether he was telling them to keep an eye on Antonio, to keep an eye on Issa and Amir, to kick the asshole out…
The moment the song ended, and Ax stepped out of the spotlight, I smiled at Amir and guided Issa toward the end of the bar where the servers waited for their drinks. “Get your stuff and head home with Amir.”
Her brows slammed together, and she looked over her shoulder, searching until she found Enzo stalking toward us, his anger evident on his face and in every step through the club.
When she swung her head toward me, her eyes were wide, her bottom lip trembled, and her warm, summer scent carried a bitter edge to it.
“You can’t…I’ve already caused problems here once. If you guys…you can’t…”
Gripping her by her shoulders, I pulled her close and rubbed my chin over the top of her head, letting a purr rumble from my chest. An alpha’s purr worked best on omegas, but it always seemed to comfort her when her anxiety kicked into overdrive.
And this was absolutely one of those moments. The man who had made her life hell for years was in the same fucking room as her. And since she’d been brought up by fuckhead alphas, she truly believed the fight that had occurred between Ax and the alpha who’d insulted and manhandled her was her fault.
Because alphas were king dick and all that.
Fucking assholes.
My calm exterior was completely at odds with the rage burning through my insides. I was doing my best to keep the bond locked down so she and Amir wouldn’t feel it. If Amir’s omega reacted, any alpha in the club might react to him. And that would result in a lot of dead fuckers if they dared touch any member of my pack, my family.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest and jutting her chin forward.
Her attention caught on something over my shoulder and her eyes widened.
“Ax! Stop!” she screamed.
Fuck!
So much for handling this quietly.