Chapter 78
SEVENTY-EIGHT
LAUREL
I wove through the crowd and slipped out of the side door, walking down a corridor. I was meeting Finch in a room back here. It was dimly lit, and I stopped short as I saw Finch’s striking frame reclining on a large chair. His round glasses were glinting in the low light.
He stared at me, then furrowed his brow.
I walked over and handed him the phone.
Finch took it without comment and plugged in Kaos’s duplicator.
I fell silent, folding my arms as he waited for it to do its work.
My eyes wandered to his stiff shoulders, breathing in his persimmon and lime scent.
It was sharp and charred, bleeding stress and anger.
The tension radiating off him was making my head pound, putting every one of my instincts on edge.
A shudder went through me, tingles that zapped my body, lingering in my neck and making my scent glands prickle painfully.
My bond mark felt hot and started throbbing.
I wrapped my arms around myself and focused on my breathing.
Finally, he stood, unplugging the phone and holding it out to me.
I froze again, and he stepped closer, crowding me, his expression stormy. His gaze was fixed on the collar around my neck. “I hate seeing that on you.”
I took a step back, but he followed. “Yes, well, it’s hard to be a convincing bride-to-be if I refuse things like this.”
His eyes raked my body, alight with intensity. “You’ve got their scent everywhere,” he said, his mouth turned down in a frown.
“Not everywhere,” I said, my thoughts going to Kaos’s claim between my legs. My cheeks heated as his pupils dilated.
His fresh, delectable scent of persimmon and lime was swirling between us, and part of me loved how it mixed with my own scent, making something completely new. Finch closed the distance between us. He lifted his arms, caging me in as he breathed in and out, his eyes perusing my body.
“Is that right?” he said, his voice a low purr.
I looked up at him, my face feeling like it was on fire.
I was here. Pressed up against him.
Completely at his mercy.
Did he even have any?
Did I want him to?
But he couldn’t just act like he suddenly had a claim on me after everything he’d done. He’d bonded me with the hubris of thinking he’d be able to resist this pull.
He thought he could fight thousands of years of evolution.
Finch seemed to think a lot of things, and he was wrong about most.
He leaned closer, rubbing his neck against me and causing his fresh scent to sparkle in the air as it marked my skin.
Heat flooded my cheeks, rushing to my core as I let out a little whimper. He growled in answer, his hands coming to rest on my hips, but I’d already let this go too far. I didn’t have the luxury of changing or showering before I’d have to face the Lucas pack again.
“Fuck,” I panted, pushing back against him. “Finch, stop. You can’t scent-mark me here.”
He didn’t let go, and I pushed harder, looking up at him. Something was off about him. I took in the wild look in his eyes, the way his scent was tinged with intensity.
“Finch,” I said frantically, tugging him to face me. “Are you near a rut?”
He didn’t seem to hear me, his eyes fixed on my lips as he dipped closer.
Shit.
I grabbed his shoulder, digging my thumbnail into the pressure point below his collarbone. He flinched, and I took the chance to dart under him, getting some distance between us.
He turned, his expression dark and the wildness still present.
I panted, trying not to think of how close his lips had come to mine. “Finch,” I said, throwing a pen at his shoulder. He blinked, some sense dawning on his flushed face. “Are you near a rut?” I asked again.
He straightened and looked away from me, brushing off his suit stiffly. “No. I don’t rut,” he said, and my mouth dropped open.
“You sure?” I opened my handbag and grabbed my scent blocker. “You just scent-marked me! What was that about?”
He crossed his arms, looking like I was forcing him to chew glass as I waited for him to speak. “My apologies,” he said finally. “It seems my instincts got the better of me.”
“Well, don’t do it again. I found it rather distasteful,” I said with a touch of bitterness. No, I definitely wasn’t ready to move on and leave the past in the past.
I doused myself with the spray, ignoring the little part of me pouting at the fact we were getting rid of his smell.
“Right, if we’re done, then?” I said, not looking at him as I walked to the exit.
He followed me out, and we both stopped short as we came face-to-face with Soren Rosania.
Soren took in our flushed faces and the scent blocker choking the air around us. His face split into a delighted grin. “My, my, what do we have here?” he said, eyes darting between us.
I felt my face go hotter. “Hi, Soren,” I said. “Thanks for coming tonight.”
He waggled his eyebrows at me. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said cheerfully, throwing his arm around Finch’s shoulders. “I wanted to see how my dear friend Daniel is getting on here at the Crimson Palace.”
He dragged a stiff Finch away from me.
THE DUCHESS
My heart was pounding, and I felt a bit shaky, having to take a few deep breaths before entering the ballroom again with my demure smile.
I wound through the crowd, slipping into place beside Dax. He wound his arm around me, tucking me close. I leaned up and distracted him with another kiss as I slipped his phone back into his pocket.
“Nice one,” a voice murmured in my ear, and I turned to see a beautiful woman with long hair beside me.
It was Jade, done up in what must be an expensive blonde wig and a black cocktail dress.
I’d pulled her into a hug before she could protest, so relieved to see her.
I didn’t bother asking her how she got in; Jade went where she wanted.
She was surrounded by a cloud of perfume, which would hopefully cover some of my scent blocker.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” I said.
“I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been trying to find you for ages. I even got hit on by this older dude—I mean, he was hot, but then his flirty talk morphed into, like, breeding kink stuff, and I noped out of there.”
I laughed and suddenly felt a bit lighter after all the tenseness of the evening so far. “Don’t worry, stick with me, and I’ll fend off all attempts to breed you. Promise.”
Dax slipped his arm around me again, examining Jade closely. “A friend?” he asked me.
“Yes. This is—”
“Shannon,” said Jade, nodding toward Dax. “Laurel and I go way back.”
“And these are my fiancés,” I continued. “Dax, Prince, and Madison.”
“Charmed,” replied Jade, looking at them all politely.
“I don’t remember you.” Prince’s eyes were assessing, raking up and down Jade’s form.
“I’m not surprised,” Jade said. “Doubt you went on a lot of shopping trips with young Laurel. Besides, didn’t you only start paying attention to her when she grew breasts?”
“Shannon,” I said, but luckily, Prince laughed.
“Come on, Laurel, let’s have our dance,” he said, taking my hand and leading me to the dance floor.
Despite being close to him, I felt far away.
Surrounded by a bubble they couldn’t touch—the feel of Finch pressing against me, Ocean’s pride as I took him in the pens, and the claim of Kaos aching between my legs.
He was listening to this, ready to appear at a moment’s notice.
I’m sure he’d be more than willing to help rid me of every trace of their scent once this night was over.
Prince faced me, his eyes hard as the music switched.
“Hey,” I murmured, standing on my tiptoes so my face was close to his. His arm wound around my back, so I was completely pressed to him, trying to get more of his scent back on me. “I missed you, you know,” I said, pressing my lips to his.
He let out a growl and pulled me closer, his hand tightening on my waist as his tongue brushed against my lips.
It was very…moist. His face had flushed when we pulled apart, his pupils blown.
We started moving, hands resting on each other as we went through steps we’d practiced since we were little.
“You were gone for five minutes,” he said.
“I meant when you went to Boston,” I said, lowering my eyes. “It wasn’t the same after you left.”
That was true, but only coincidentally, because Jule had presented shortly after.
“I’m sorry, Laurel. I had to go,” Prince replied, tilting my chin up. “It wasn’t safe for me to stay here. Julius had started to notice your father was favouring me. He was going to be a problem.”
I restrained a sneer.
He ran away because he was afraid of Jule?
He was more of an idiot than I thought. Jule didn’t give a shit if my father liked Prince better.
“And we both know what Jule—Julius—was capable of,” Prince continued, his face darkening.
“Is,” I corrected.
Prince blinked at me. “What?”
“What Julius is capable of. He’s not dead,” I continued firmly.
Prince chuckled, and I gritted my teeth as we spun around. “Well, yes, we all heard your little meltdown at the funeral,” he said. “So you still believe it?”
“I know what I saw.”
Prince raised his eyebrows but let the conversation die as we finished the dance.
Then we were seated, and it was time for speeches. I tuned out, seated at the table at the front, as my father started.
Someone nudged my elbow, bringing me back to the present. “I think we lost you for a bit there,” Dax said, giving me a smile.
He reached his arm around my shoulder, fingers brushing over the knife wound Madison had given me.
I stiffened, my breath coming out of my nose in a rush as I tried to cover the pain.
I could feel Kaos’s anger sharpen in the bond, responding to my pain.
He could hear all this, and was recording it, too.
Dax chuckled and pulled me closer. “Shhh,” he whispered, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “I didn’t have time to say the other day, but you did so well during your punishment, princess. All is forgiven, all right?”
I let him hold me, no other choice in the room full of people.
“You know what I think, Laurel?” Dax said under his breath. I shook my head, my polite smile making my cheeks ache. “I think you’re smarter than people realize. I can see it in those eyes.”
He nudged my head around so I was facing him. Fine. He wanted to bait me? I wasn’t afraid of him, not with Kaos so responsive in the bond. I was facing away from the crowd and let my mask fall, letting him see the hatred and disgust I really felt toward him.
“There you are. The real Laurel,” he said, the corner of his mouth tugging up into a smirk. “I thought so. Let’s have a talk while it’s just you and me, hmm? There’s something that’s been bothering me since that night.”
“I’ve got nothing to say to you,” I said lightly, my smile returning.
“Let me tell you a story,” he said, drumming his fingers on my arm.
“See, there’s this pretty little omega. Such a shame that they’re overlooked and undervalued by their father.
But they’re sharp. They know what to do to survive.
They keep their ear to the ground and play the game from the shadows.
Clever. Careful. Every move is calculated. ”
He paused, drawing circles on my skin.
“Would that clever little omega really forget that we supply this place with rut rage, hmm?”
I stayed silent, taking a sip of my drink. His voice had lowered, a dangerous edge coloring it.
“I know you lied to me, Laurel. So, how about the truth? Why did you swap out the rofetamine that night?”
He held my gaze, his hand going dangerously near to my shoulder again.
“I think you like that alpha. Am I right?”
I held his gaze. I believed Kaos when he’d promised to come if I needed him. I’d seen what Kaos could do to people, and it meant I wasn’t afraid of Dax anymore. Dax thought he had me cornered, though, and I didn’t want to raise suspicion.
I let my face fall a bit, let some uncertainty bleed through. “Perhaps,” I said quietly.
A partial truth. One that he’d take as a victory and not press further on, I hoped.
Dax’s face split into a grin. “There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?” he said, removing his hand from my shoulder. “Since you’ve proved you can play nice, I’ve got a deal for you. Soon, you’re going to be mine. And I can promise you a lot more pain if I ever catch you lying to my face again.”
“Is that so?” I asked mildly.
“I’m sure Madison would be delighted to see that happen. But we’ll both have a lot more fun in this little game if you play by my rules.”
“So, you only call off your mutt if I’m a good little omega?”
“Oh, I can’t promise that, darling.” His smile grew. “But I can keep you high as a kite so you don’t feel a thing.”
I could sense Kaos’s anger and disgust mirroring my own but forced myself to calm. His threats weren’t worth a response—not tonight, anyway.
“Your choice, sweetheart,” Dax said, turning back to his drink.