Chapter 7
SEVEN
OCEAN
Finally, it was time. I went to get changed, Kaos shuffling after me, his anxiety flaring as I did up my buttons and added cuff links to the tuxedo we’d purchased for tonight.
He was quiet as he adjusted the camera in the button, checking the wires that led to the small battery pack hidden in my collar.
“There. I’m a proper penguin now,” I said, holding my arms wide. Kaos didn’t smile, even when I flapped my arms.
His hands were shaking as he applied the final bug—a listening device disguised as a plug earring. It didn’t have a long battery life, but I’d brought a pack of spares to swap out if needed.
I nudged him and went to leave the room, but his skinny arm shot out, gripping mine like a vise. Panic was rising through the bond, and I rested my hand on his forearm.
“Hey. It’s gonna be fine,” I said.
I’d been slowly infiltrating the Fairchild’s empire for ages now, running weapons and drugs for Jag, one of Thaddeus’s goons.
Last week, though, I’d finally got my chance to level up.
I’d been a runner, and some of the others had been planning to cut and run with the latest shipment.
They’d offered me a wad of cash to play along, but I’d brought it straight to Jag and told him.
They had been dealt with, and I’d been invited up to the Duchess Suite. Jag said I’d proven he could trust me with special shipments. Whatever that meant. Hopefully something we could use to bury all of them.
“Don’t go,” Kaos said, his voice so soft I almost didn’t hear him. He was looking at me with his large, dark eyes, and I felt my heart squeeze as I saw how haunted they looked. It was a reminder of our failure. He was the youngest of us, which meant we were supposed to protect him.
Instead, we’d driven him away, and left him vunerable to being kidnapped and trafficked.
“We’re not going to fail you again,” I told him. “It’s gonna be worth it, Kaos. To make those criminals pay.”
“It’s that…” His eyes searched mine. “You’ll see what I was. In the fight pit.”
“Kaos,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. “I know you don’t want us to see that side of you. But when you were like that? You were surviving. There’s no shame in that.”
He just stared at me. I slowly pried his fingers off my arm. He looked so lost, and it made my resolve harden. They’d done this to Kaos. Made him a ghost of a person.
We were doing the right thing. We would restore his faith in us, make things right again. Show him we could protect him.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow. Who else is gonna keep you out of trouble, huh?”
He didn’t say anything else, but his large eyes didn’t leave mine as I stepped out of the room.
Finch: You inside?
I tucked my phone back into my pocket, hoping he could feel my eye roll through the bond. It had been five minutes since he’d dropped me off.
“Relax, buddy,” I said, knowing my microphone would pick up my voice. “Same thing, different place. Chill, don’t draw attention, take the job.”
I straightened my tie, striding past the large ornate fountain that marked the entrance to the Crimson Palace Resort and Casino, and up the steps, dodging past the tourists that were lining up for selfies on the iconic brass thrones.
The noise levels rose as I crossed the marble floors of the circular lobby, sparing a glance at the cathedralesque mural spanning the domed ceiling.
The garden-side restaurant was busy, despite the late hour, and the slot machines were visible to my left, with their bright lights and noises seeking to hook people in.
Right next to it was the Dagger and Petal, a nightclub that had another line as partiers waited for the doors to open.
I walked leisurely into the next room, only to be stopped in my tracks as I saw the large banner that was spread across the ceiling.
On it, the Crimson Duchess lounged in a pastel bathtub, the water scattered with rose petals.
She gazed at the camera with sultry blue eyes, her lips parted in an expression that made my mouth go dry.
Holy angels above, they shouldn’t go hanging pictures like that in public places. Sure, her parts were covered—by strips of soaking wet, white fabric.
I swallowed and pulled my gaze down, trying to calm my breathing.
Get Treated Like Royalty, it read below, directing people to the luxury spa the resort hosted.
I found my eyes trailing back up the banner before I could help myself. What was one more look?
I shook my head and kept walking, feeling a bit warm.
I’d be meeting her tonight.
What were the chances she’d be as pretty in real life? They photoshopped the hell out of those pictures, didn’t they? Maybe she’d look different enough that I wouldn’t be thinking of that banner every time I looked at her.
I walked straight, following the signs for the entertainment suite, though I wasn’t headed for any of the shows advertised on the posters lining the walls.
Soon, the noise and the bustle faded behind me as I took several turns down corridors that started to look more and more drab.
The corridor abruptly ended at a heavy, metal door. I double-checked my instructions to make sure I was in the right place, then knocked on the door.
Right.
Time to see if Finch’s triple-checking had paid off. I held my breath as I waited.
After a moment, it opened, and a burly bouncer looked at me, one eyebrow raised. “Can I help you?”
“I have a reservation in the Duchess Suite.”
He grunted and grabbed a tablet from behind him, checking my name before waving me inside.
Another bouncer indicated that I should follow him.
I smoothed my hair back and smiled as he took me through security, despite my heartbeat thrumming in my chest.
Thankfully, they didn’t detect the bug that was pretending to be my earring or the tiny, concealed camera in my suit button. I hadn’t brought my gun, not wanting to seem like a threat. I gave an internal sigh of relief as he led me down a passage, noise and light spilling in from the end.
I fed my elation at the success through the bond before I stepped out into the Blood Well, blinking in the bright lights.
Though I’d heard it described, seeing it in person was something else entirely.
If I looked up, I could see the many levels of balconies overlooking the fight ring—the Sink—set into the floor below us.
We’d come out on Ringside, and people were already crowded around the railing, drinking and talking.
I hadn’t been prepared for how crowded it would be. This was an exclusive, illegal operation that apparently a lot of people were happy to partake in.
My disgust was visceral, and I swallowed it down as I felt an echo of anxiety from Kaos’s side of the bond. Both my packmates were on the other side of my comms, listening and watching the tiny, grainy camera feed.
I calmed myself, feeding positive vibes toward my packmates, though I doubted it would do much right now. Kaos had spent years trapped here, forced to fight in the Sink. He hadn’t escaped fully intact, but he’d stabilized enough when we’d formed a proper pack around him.
All our work had led us to this point. To me, walking into the den of vipers, trying to take them down.
We’d had a major setback when the trafficking ring in New Oxford had taken a major hit last year, a lot of our leads disappearing into prison cells overnight.
Still, we’d made it.
I followed the bouncer to a gilded elevator right next to the passageway. Here goes nothing, I thought as we stepped inside. The bouncer turned a key and pressed the button for the top floor.
I breathed.
It was a good night.
We’d made it here.
Everything was going perfectly.
The elevator gave a melodic chime as we reached our destination, and the door opened to reveal the Duchess Suite.
I stepped out of the elevator and found myself face-to-face with the Crimson Duchess herself.
Holy deuce.
Definitely no photoshop needed for her to look absolutely stunning. She took my breath away as her hooded eyes met mine.
She had glossy blonde hair that tumbled down her back, and a crimson dress hugged her curves.
Her dress exposed smooth, creamy skin. She wore glittering earrings and a heavy necklace with black gems that brushed the tops of her breasts.
Her large eyes locked onto mine as she smiled.
They were a storm, an indescribable color somewhere between blue and grey.
Yes, I was 100% picturing her in that bathtub right now.
“Good evening, Mr. Seo. I’m the Crimson Duchess, and welcome to my suite.”
Her voice was sweet, with a slight edge of smokiness.
Then her scent hit me.
Roses and vanilla. Rich and heady, like a forgotten garden at night, with a warm, inviting sweetness.
I’d never experienced anything like it.
It was like a star suddenly appearing in a group of cold, empty planets. Sparking sudden warmth, pulling everything into motion, lighting up the entire system with brilliance.
The instinct to pull her close, to dip my nose to her neck and drink in that scent, hit me like a truck, and I swayed as I just managed to resist. Other parts of my body were harder to shut down, and they’d woken up to drink in this stunning omega.
I shifted and adjusted my pants as my mind caught up with the implications of what I’d just realized.
Scent match.
Holy double deuce.
“Pleasure to meet you,” I said, taking her hand and pressing a kiss to it. “And please call me Ocean.”
Perhaps that was a mistake. Now that I was closer, her scent completely surrounded me.
I hesitated as I realized there was something strange about it, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what. I pushed the thought aside, raising my eyes to look at her.
As her luminous eyes met mine, I gave her a warm smile.
Her cheeks flushed a bit, and I felt a bit giddy with happiness.
Was she feeling what I was? Ready to find somewhere a lot more private so we could get to know each other better? To explore this scent match?
Though—Oh. I’d worn scent blockers tonight, so she would have no idea we were a scent match yet. Should I tell her?
“Ocean, then. I’ve heard good things about you,” she said, taking my arm and leading me inside.
“You have?” I asked, surprised.
She gave me an indulgent smile. “Of course. Jag was impressed with you. Most people would have taken that money and ditched, but not Ocean Seo.”
Her head tilted to the side, and I was high on the sound of my name on her lips. Appreciation was shining in her eyes, making my soul glow.
“Oh, well, that’s not what I’m about,” I said, and she squeezed my arm.
“Humble and honest. Here…” She indicated a seat in the secluded booth she’d led me to. I was hypnotized by the way the light shimmered through the waves of her hair as she looked back at me.
I thanked her as I sat down and was delighted when she slid in beside me, giving me a smile. “Can I get you a drink?” I asked, and she laughed, leaning closer.
“I think I’m supposed to ask you that,” she replied in a whisper, her fingers trailing along my sleeve, as if she couldn’t help herself.
I looked down at her hand, and then back up at her, getting lost in her blue-grey eyes. We were so close, and her eyes dipped down to my lips, making goose bumps pebble on my neck.
For a moment, she leaned closer, as if she was going to close the distance between us, but then she blinked, and the warmth in her eyes shuttered, her face becoming polite again.
She stood up. “Can I get you a drink, then?” she asked in a perfectly pleasant voice.
“Water’s fine,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.
Right, she was a duchess and the host here. She was just doing her job.
The thought pained me, though I wasn’t sure whether it was the fact she did this with other alphas or that she was only giving me a customer-service act.
It was obvious now, the way her expression was fixed, her movements practiced. That in itself wasn’t really surprising, but that’s what had been off about her scent.
It was flat, unvaried, too perfect—how did someone manage to get a customer-service scent?
But I’d seen a glimpse of the real her, hadn’t I? When she’d blushed? That moment she’d leaned closer?
Could she fake that?
I looked up as she set a glass of water in front of me. “Keep impressing Jag,” she said. “I’d like to see you up here more often, Ocean.”
My heart fluttered as she said my name again before she turned and left. Her scent was still here, but faded, and I missed it already.
I needed to hold her and make her blush and give me a real smile.
I needed to peel off that dress—
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out, trying to focus as I scanned the message.
Finch: What was that? Report.
Mission.
Right, I was here on a mission.
But my pack had surely felt that.
The pull of something beautiful.
My fingers were shaking as I typed out my reply.
Me: I found our scent match. It’s Laurel.