12. Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Vigo
I combed my hair one last time and stepped back to assess myself in the mirror. Tonight was significant. It would be our pack’s first official outing with Celeste, and every detail mattered. The club we’d chosen was exclusive - a place where we could claim privacy if needed, but still be seen by enough people to set the internet buzzing.
I’d gone with a sharp black suit, the kind that hit my bank account hard. The jacket was perfectly tailored, hugging my shoulders and tapering at the waist. I wanted to exude confidence, knowing that this would be one of the first public sightings everyone would see of us together. We had to sell that our relationship was real.
The photos of us would undoubtedly be splashed across the internet within hours, and we’d look great to all the eligible omegas. Also, a small part of me wanted Celeste to see what she was missing out on. It didn’t make sense, but for some reason I wanted her to be impressed. I wanted her to want me, to want us . It was completely nonsensical, but once again, I chalked it up to having an omega on the premises after a year of celibacy.
After a final once-over, I stepped out of my room and into the hall where the others were waiting. Liam stood with his hands in his pockets, his broad frame accentuated by a charcoal gray suit. His hair was styled back, but he let his stubble turn into a five o'clock shadow, giving him a roguish edge that somehow made our golden-haired pack member look even more impossibly perfect.
Dante leaned casually against the wall, but there was nothing casual about how he’d dressed tonight. His dark hair looked striking against his brown skin, and his dress shirt hid the tattoos that we knew covered his body. He rarely dressed up like this, but he looked like the ultimate tall, dark, and handsome alpha that women swoon over.
We hadn’t made many public outings since the Darlington Ball, and I worried we might be a little rusty. But the moment we heard the sharp click of Celeste’s heels echoing down the hall, the air shifted. Without thinking, we all straightened up, alpha instincts kicking in. When she turned the corner, the sight of her froze the air in my lungs.
Damn her. She looked just as stunning as ever, her hair styled in waves over one shoulder, her body wrapped in a silver shimmery dress that hugged her figure, emphasizing every part of her as she walked toward us. My eyes were stuck on her for longer than I realized, and I had to snap my head away from her to make sure my pack mates weren’t leaving their jaws on the floor. I immediately felt the alpha posturing in the room, and tried to tamp down on my instincts. She isn’t ours, I thought to myself.
When she spotted us, the mood was tense. She looked at us and put her hands on her hips, her small clutch shimmering in her hand.
“Really impressive, guys. I’m sure everyone’s going to be so convinced you like me.” Her eyes almost rolled out of her head, and Dante stepped forward.
“It’s a two way street, princess. I’m sure people are going to be wondering why you’re shooting death glares at us all night!” He spat out his words and I could almost see the hackles rising between the two of them.
“Alright, everyone take a breather. Remember, we are working toward a common goal here. We get our image fixed, and you get to keep your dirty company secrets hidden.” Liam’s voice interrupted the tension. He was our leader in many ways, and knew how to handle all kinds of personalities. We’d need his level-headedness tonight. “But she’s right, we can’t go out with her if we don’t make this look like it's a real courtship.” He had a point. I sighed and took a step forward, offering my arm.
“Here, let me help you. Those heels look dangerous.” I said, motioning to her designer shoes with a needle sharp heel.
“Thank you. They are only dangerous for alphas who don’t know how to behave.” Celeste responded, taking my arm and tossing her hair over her shoulder. “I do get a bit stabby if I sense one going feral.” She shot a look at Dante, who seethed as we walked by him to the garage.
“Watch it, omega.” I said, giving her a look. This woman was already pushing my buttons, and the worst part was that I wasn’t exactly hating it. I clenched my teeth as I tried to rein in my overly horny alpha instincts.
“Well, if this is how rudely you all act when you’re with an omega you are supposedly courting, then no wonder you’re having to blackmail someone into dating you.” She quipped, and I felt our hackles collectively rise. She was going to be so damn difficult to deal with. Liam shot Dante and I a look over her head, and I took a deep breath. I couldn’t let her see that she was getting to me. So I shut my mouth and helped her to the awaiting car.
It was strange, helping her into the luxurious black sedan as the beta driver opened the door for us. It felt like how a real date should feel, and as we went through the motions I felt the ache of need coming from deep within me. This was what I had been missing - taking care of an omega, treating her to a night out, making sure she was protected by my pack. But it shouldn’t be this omega. This woman was everything that was wrong with our society, and yet I still felt the tingle of excitement rush through my body when my hand grazed her back as she entered the car. I needed to keep it together.
We got in and closed the partition so that the driver didn’t have any suspicions about our “date.” It would be hard enough to act like we were into her in public, with all the cameras flashing. Liam and Dante were in their own row of seats while I sat across from Celeste. She looked out the window, ignoring our presence and generally acting like we didn’t exist. That was fine by me. I was just glad we got her out of the house. Elijah had planned to snoop around and see what he could find from her room tonight. We didn’t expect her to be stupid enough to leave her laptop out and unlocked, but one could always hope.
Celeste crossed her legs and rested her face in her hand, her elbow near the car window. The way she was facing me, I could almost see straight up her dress with how her legs were crossed. And I had to admit, her legs were sexy, smooth and absolutely killing me. I had to avert my eyes to stop myself from thinking about how great they would feel wrapped around my waist. She was the enemy, damn it! If my pack knew how hard it was for me to stay focused around her they would toss me out of the car.
The driver finally slowed down, and I could see the club nearing. There was a line outside, but we weren’t worried about that. We’d purchased a VIP table and tipped off the media that we'd be at this club tonight. I knew that photographers would flock to get a photo of the former enemies on an outing together, but what I didn’t expect was the sheer number of them. There were more paparazzi lingering around than there were actual patrons trying to get into the club.
The driver opened the partition as he pulled up. “You’re going to have to get out here. Any closer and they’ll swarm the vehicle. It’s a safety issue.” He added apologetically. Liam nodded and moved to open the door.
“We’ll call you when we’re leaving. Pull up around the back when you pick us up.” He said as the driver nodded. Liam and Dante looked at me, slightly concerned as the wave of photographers looked toward our black car. “Now.” He ordered, and Dante quickly flung the door open while we filed out. I held my hand out for Celeste, and she miraculously took it without a snide comment. As she stepped out of the vehicle, it was like a tsunami of people rolling toward us.
“Celeste! Over here!”
“Celeste! How did you find out the truth about Pack Lockwood?”
“Liam, Dante, over here!”
“Vigo, can you give us a comment on your relationship?”
Paparazzi continued yelling at us, trying desperately to get a reaction as their cameras snapped over and over, the lights blinding me as we tried to get to the club. It all happened so quickly that we instinctively formed a circle around Celeste, our bodies acting like a wall as we made our way through the sea of flashing lights and shouting.
I looked back at Liam, his face showing an outward facade of being in charge and relaxed. Only our pack members would know the truth through our bond, that he was feeling unease and shock at how crazy people were acting at the sight of us with Celeste.
“Do you think they’ll touch her?” I said under my breath to him, worried about how close the photographers were getting. They brushed up against us, and I was half concerned that they would reach through us and snatch at her to get a reaction. Celeste somehow looked unfazed, as if all of this was routine.
Liam’s smile was calm and confident as he answered through his teeth to me in a low voice.
“Let’s just get her inside, quickly.” He turned and waved at the photographers, who were inches away from us.
“Gentlemen, please give us some room to escort the lady inside.” His voice was loud, cutting through the chaos around us. “We are on a date, as you can see.” The paparazzi gave out a loud buzz of excitement at his admission of our date, but thankfully, they stepped back a little.
We reached the front of the club, where the security spotted us and quickly opened the door. I reached back to wrap my arm around Celeste’s shoulders, flanking her with Liam while Dante protected her from everyone behind us. Ultimately, we were able to get inside in one piece. The door closed, and the low lighting instantly felt better for my eyes.
Someone from the coat check spoke to us, but I turned to face Celeste. Her demeanor was calm and natural, as if we hadn’t been nearly trampled by people desperate to snap a photo of every conceivable angle of us. She reached into her clutch, pulled out a compact mirror and opened it, looking at herself briefly before snapping it shut.
“Is this normal for you?” I asked as the manager approached us. She shot me a look, then rolled her eyes.
“Welcome to the big leagues.” She replied, then breezed past us to greet the manager.
“Miss Harringday! Welcome back!” The tall man said with a smile. I could tell by the way they interacted that she was a valued guest. I felt a slight twinge in my stomach. Of course she would be a regular at this club. We’d planned the date thinking it would give us a great photo op, but also because we wanted to send a message to her. We wanted to show her that despite everything she’d done to stop our success, we still had value. But she’d been here before, many times. This ‘date’ wasn’t impressive to her. It was probably just another regular weekend outing in her eyes.
“I’m so glad you’re back. And with Pack Lockwood!” He said as he turned toward us, his hand out to shake each of ours. “I’m Ralph, I spoke with you on the phone. Come right this way. Your section is ready for you.” He led the way down the club hallway, where we could hear the deep bass pumping from the dance floor. We were brought up the stairs of a small staircase that opened up to a private balcony, which overlooked the venue. We spread out in the VIP area, looking down at the people below as they moved under colorful lights, where a massive chandelier hung down from the ceiling and cast the reflection of light all over.
“This is Robert, your private security for the night.” Ralph said as he motioned to a large bonded alpha at the door of our private section. “We’ve already set out your drinks, but the server will be with you shortly in case you need anything else. Enjoy.” With those parting words, Ralph exited our section and nodded at his staff. Robert followed him and closed the door, guarding it from the outside to give us privacy.
I looked at the rest of my pack, who were past the drama from our paparazzi arrival and now fully focused on how nice our section was. We had a great view, and the best part was that people could look up and see us, but not get too close. We’d specifically picked this club because of the clientele. Club Instinct was the playground of the creme de la creme in our society - full of anyone and everyone who could see us and verify that Celeste was actually out with our pack.
Dante sank into the plush, dark velvet couch, casually pouring himself a glass of vodka with a hint of cranberry from the carafes resting in ice-filled buckets nearby. He leaned back, stretching out as his eyes swept over the crowd below.
I shifted my gaze to Celeste, standing off to the side, her aloof demeanor grating on my nerves. I shouldn’t care, but I did. Most omegas relished being treated like royalty, and even though this date was staged, I wanted some kind of reaction from her. Maybe she’d been courted by so many packs that she was immune to all this.
I studied her closely - her posture, where her eyes wandered - looking for any subtle hint of what she might really be feeling. She was on scent blockers, which was a relief. Considering how stunning she looked tonight, things could’ve escalated quickly if she perfumed for some reason. Not that it stopped the irritation building in me, especially with the mated alpha bodyguard stationed just outside. Even that guy seemed to rub me the wrong way.
I didn’t want any other alphas near her. And I’d never felt quite this protective over anyone we’d courted before. I tried hard not to let the idea of the alphas in the crowd below bother me. At least she was with us, showing the world that we were a worthy pack. I’d been looking at her so long that I didn’t realize just how much I was gawking until my eyes moved back up and saw her looking at me with a cool glare.
“Enjoying the view?” She spat out, and suddenly my body was hot. Whether from anger or the desire to lift her push her up against the wall and show her just how dominant I could be, I wasn’t sure.
I stood up straight and walked toward her, stopping just inches from where she stood. I looked down at her eyes, which flashed with uncertainty for a moment, then went back to her defiant glare. With a loving smile, I draped my arm around her and leaned my head in. With my free hand, I pushed back her hair and leaned in until my lips were at her ear.
“Just observing how poor of an actress you are, sweetheart.” I whispered, then gave her a quick kiss on the temple before looking out at the crowd. I felt her stiffen beneath my arm. Celeste's breath caught for a moment, her defiance wavering.
“Poor actress, huh? Because you guys are totally nailing the ‘infatuated pack’ vibe.” She said sarcastically.
I looked back at my pack. She had a point - we did need to act like we enjoyed being here with her, or this charade wasn’t going to work. I chuckled, turning to let my gaze fix on the crowd. “Right, let’s have a drink, shall we?”
I reached for her hand, gently threading my fingers through hers. I could swear she let out a little gasp. Her pupils seemed to dilate, and I was more confused than ever. This woman acted like she was made of stone, but the tiniest things made her crack. What was she really feeling?
We reached the large couch, and I helped her take a seat in between Liam and Dante.
“Champagne?” I asked, and she gave a quick nod. We knew from our research that this was her favorite drink, although she was reported to imbibe in all types of alcohol. I popped the bottle and poured her and the rest of my pack a flute before sitting at the end of the couch.
“Cheers!” Liam said, his square jaw set into a grin, and Celeste scowled briefly as he clicked his glass with hers. “At least try to enjoy yourself.” He said to her, and she plastered on a much too large smile at him, giving him doe eyes as she grabbed onto his arm in an over the top display of affection. My cock twitched in my pants at the sight. Before I could think too much about it, the club’s DJ started to speak.
“Good evening everyone, we have some special guests tonight! The rumors are true - and we have proof right here in Club Instinct! Give it up for Celeste Harringday and Pack Lockwood!” His voice was drowned out by cheers as he pointed toward our VIP section. The crowd below gasped and murmured, their phones flashing as they tried to get pictures of us. “And to start off our evening, a very special performance by the Beta Burlesque Brigade!”
The lights dimmed and the stage was suddenly taken over by a group of scantily clad betas. They held out large feather fans as red lights lit them from behind. Sultry music began playing, and my pack moved closer to Celeste on the couch, trying to sell our date in case anyone was watching.
The burlesque troupe began to perform, and long ribbons unfurled from the ceiling as several more dancers dropped down, doing acrobatic movements as they all put on a show. Liam put his arm over Celeste’s shoulder as we sat back to watch.
I smiled to myself. Even if she hated us, this arrangement was already redeeming our reputation. And soon, we would be the most eligible pack in this province. Even if I was having trouble imagining anyone other than her in the middle of us all.