Chapter 9 Faye #2
Kady and Sabs soon appear with our drinks. Despite its name, the Sparkling Squirrel tastes like pink lemonade and is delicious. As well as the cocktails, Sabs has ordered way too many shots.
After taking a few, we’re all breaking out into fits of giggles. Even the alphas don’t seem as intimidating anymore.
Before I know it, Kady surprises us all by ordering us to the dance floor. Downstairs, we join the throng of students. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many people in my life, let alone packed tightly into such a small space.
Sabs leads us into the middle of the floor, my inhibitions lowering as she twirls me around. I’m not much of a dancer, but Sabs has a way of bringing people out of their shell.
Delilah gets lost in the music, singing and swaying. I can’t hear her well over the loud music, but from the snatches I hear, I can tell she has an incredible voice.
After an hour, we decide to head on up to the bar to catch our breath. Just when I’m feeling mellow and content, that’s when I smell it… Him.
Blood orange and gingerbread.
I can pick it out over all the other smells in the room. Even the music seems to fade into insignificance. The girls are too busy admiring a beta’s lizard-like body paint to notice.
I sway slightly, not just from the alcohol but because of the alpha swaggering toward us. When his golden, amber eyes burn into me, I have to bite my lip to stop from moaning.
“Laz!” Sabs spots him. She’s even louder than usual after having a few drinks.
He ruffles Sabs’s hair. “Looks like you’ve all been having fun.”
“Stop it! You’ll mess up my hair!” She bats him away. “I didn’t think you were coming tonight. Aren’t you too cool for these kinds of things?”
“I changed my mind.” Laz’s twinkling eyes meet mine. “Maybe I wanted to look for an omega to bite?”
I can tell he’s joking from his tone, but I want the floor to swallow me up. Before my face turns beetroot-red and I can stammer an apology, Sabs steps in.
“If I saw a random alpha hanging around our house, I’d have sucker punched him.” She bumps him with her hip. “Faye let you off easy.”
He holds my gaze, and my knees weaken. Has he got even hotter since I last saw him? He’s opted for a bold costume, dressed as a lion with a giant, fluffy mane around his head that blends in with his auburn hair. It’d look ridiculous on anyone else, but it looks great on him.
“I do want to apologize, Faye,” Laz says sincerely. “I’m sorry. I never meant to scare you.”
“I wasn’t myself that day,” I mumble, staring at my feet. I’m not sure it even comes out as actual words, more a jumble of syllables. “I’m sorry for saying—”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Laz rushes to assure me. “I promise, I won’t come to Stella House again. Only drop-offs at the gate with Margie from now on.”
“Good.” Sabs punches his shoulder playfully. “I don’t want my older brother around, cramping my style.”
“Who says I cramp your style?” To her squealed delight, he pulls her into a headlock, giving me an insight into what life in the Maverick household must be like.
“They’re always like this,” Delilah tells me.
A gentle chuckle comes from behind me. “So this is where you are.”
I’ve been too pre-occupied to notice the subtle scent of crisp rain and parchment creeping up on us, but now that it hits me…
I whip around, almost slapping him in the face with my hair. “Ren?”
“Wait.” Laz drops Sabs mid-fight, turning his attention to us. “You two know each other?”
“We’ve met.” Ren pushes his glasses up his straight nose.
“When?” Laz demands to know.
“What is this? Twenty questions?” Sabs huffs. “Faye, this is Ren. He and my brother are half of the Silverwood Pack.”
Laz and Ren are in the same pack? Now I’m definitely going to be imagining how it would feel to… No!
I fiddle with my bunny ears and avoid looking at them, but I can feel both of them watching me.
“I didn’t think you went to parties, Ren?” Delilah asks.
He hangs his head, antlers protruding toward me. “Not usually.”
“I’m surprised he left the greenhouse to come tonight,” Laz snickers.
“He’s basically been camping out in there when he’s not making a mess in the kitchen.
You should have seen the state of it the other day.
He was blending and crushing herbs like a nutty professor.
I found him crashed out on the counter with his head in a pile of rose petals. ”
Ren catches my eye then looks away. Is Laz talking about the blend he made for me?
“Not everyone takes such a lackluster approach to their studies, Lazlo Maverick,” Kady teases. “Do you even know where the library is?”
“You insult me!” Laz clutches his chest like he’s wounded. “Why do I need to go to the library? All I need is my graphics tablet.”
“Laz studies design,” Delilah explains for my benefit.
“You should speak to Faye about herbs, Ren,” Sabs gestures to me. “She’s studying health botany with Professor Grub.”
Laz raises a eyebrow. “Oh, is she now?”
Ren shifts from one foot to the other, ignoring him.
“If Ren’s struggling, you’ll help him out. Won’t you, Faye?” Sabs is definitely a little drunk, slurring her words. “Faye worked in her grandmother’s teashop forever and knows everything about plants.”
“Not everything,” I mumble.
The girls tease Laz about his costume while Ren steps closer. I can feel the heat rolling off his body.
“I am struggling with an essay for my health botany elective,” Ren admits shyly, fidgeting with his watch. “If you wouldn’t mind taking a look?”
“I mean, I guess I could.”
Ren’s face lights up. “We could meet at the library tomorrow at 2? Drinks on me?”
I find myself nodding in agreement.
Laz points to the crowd. “Look who decided to join us.”
I don’t need to look to see who it is. A familiar dark and dangerous smell makes its way toward us like a shark zigzagging through the water.
It’s him.
“That’s Damon Cross,” Delilah whispers in my ear. “Moody AF. Not a people person. He and Laz are total opposites.”
“What animal are you supposed to be, Damon?” Sabs meets his grumpiness with her usual sunshine energy. “You could have at least tried to make an effort.”
Damon grunts. He’s clearly a man of few words and looks as if he’d rather be anywhere but here.
His lips are turned down in a scowl, and his gaze strays to the exit.
He’s not dressed up at all, wearing a plain black T-shirt and jeans.
My inner thighs clench. Thankfully, he can’t read minds.
Otherwise, he’d know I’ve been sleeping with his hoodie every night since we met.
In truth, I’ve been hoping not to see him again because I don’t want him to ask for it back.
Since building my nest, it’s become a staple item.
“This is Faye.” Sabs introduces me. “Our newest Stella.”
Damon barely looks in my direction, acting as if we’ve never met before. While that’s better than me having to explain how he saved me, it still stings. Maybe he forgot.
“Where are your ears?” Laz turns to Damon in mock-horror. “Put them back on!”
Damon glowers as he begrudgingly pulls a fluffy headband out of his pocket and puts it on, giving him adorable brown ears.
“Aw, look!” Laz tweaks them. “You’re a cuddly teddy bear now.”
A giggle escapes my lips before I can stop it. The sight of this huge man in tiny ears is too much. Damon glares at me, his green eyes narrowing into slits, as he pulls them off, instantly turning into a grizzly bear.
Delilah tsks. “Spoil sport.”
“Where’s Cole?” Kady looks around. “I didn’t think your leader would let you loose without them.”
So there are four of them. Ren, Laz, Damon, and Cole. The Silverwood Pack. Something about the name makes my heart flutter.
“He’s busy.” Damon scowls. An angry vein pulses in his forehead. “And we were leaving.”
A group of nearby betas giggle and primp their hair while looking in the guys’ direction. A flash of powerful jealousy blazes through me.
Hands off!
Mine!
I chew my lip and tell my instincts to quiet down. Who am I kidding? Alphas like them would never be interested in me, especially dressed like I am.
Laz’s amber eyes twinkle in my direction. “We could stay for one more drink?”
He’s Sabs’s brother, so that makes him off limits.
Right? My tongue suddenly feels too large for my mouth.
It’s already been hard enough to be in their presence for a few minutes.
How can I possibly be around them for the rest of the night without making a fool of myself?
Perhaps alcohol doesn’t mix well with my suppressants as warm tingles spread up my thighs.
“No way! This is a girls’ night!” Sabs pushes him away, to my relief. “Damon says it’s time for you to go, so go!”
When I find Ren’s sexy, smoldering stare lingering in my direction, I shift my gaze to the dance floor. Practically panting, I force myself to think about the most unsexy things I can, like crushing beetles into powder and cleaning toilets.
“Text me when you’re home, okay?” Laz ruffles Sabs’s hair again. “I want to know you all got back safe.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Sabs rolls her eyes dramatically. “We already have three dads. I don’t need another one!”
“And don’t go walking around alone,” Damon snarls.
“We’re not stupid.” Kady puts her hands on her slender hips. “And we don’t need an alpha to protect us.”
I know exactly who Damon’s comment was aimed at, and as the three of them walk away, I can’t deny that part of me wants to leave with them…