42
Scarlett
“ F uck, where’s Kate?!” I hiss out, choking back the sob of pain when Lark crouches with me in the back hallway next to the stage. It’s the safest place for us right now, so he’s hesitant to move.
“Apollo grabbed her to get her off the dance floor the moment we saw the sight trained on you. Caito took off in the direction it originated from and I got to you on the stage. Fuck , Dream girl. You’re hit.
” He snarls, pulling me away from his chest long enough to glance at the blood soaking his Henley and leaking down my arm.
“I’m fine. It’s just a graze.” He growls to that, but I push away from him so I can get to my feet.
He reluctantly helps me stand, and I’m proud of myself when I barely sway.
“Tell me Caito will catch the fucker?” I demand, squeezing my eyes shut for a moment to help settle the dizziness trying to overtake me.
I just dodged a fucking bullet. Literally .
“He will. We have protocols for this type of thing. As soon as an alert is sent out from one of us or our bouncers. No one gets out until they are checked. That’s why we have so many bouncers posted throughout the club.
” He confirms, reaching up to rip the sleeve of his Henley off so he can wrap it around the wound on my left arm.
I swallow down a hiss of pain at the pressure, knowing it will only make him want to pull away to spare me.
He doesn’t miss my wince.
“This was a mistake.” I whisper through clenched teeth. “My foolishness got Ant…” I trail off, not able to finish that line of thought.
Lark steps close to me and trails his fingers gently over my cheek. I reach up and yank the mask off my face, not wanting it to cover my eyes anymore when I look into his gaze. There is sympathy there, and for once it doesn’t set me off into a rage like it usually does.
“I’d rather it be him than you, love.” Apollo’s sudden voice startles me, and I press myself against Lark momentarily when we turn to see him emerging from the dark beyond with Kate.
My roommate is sobbing, and as soon as she sees me standing and alive, she hurls herself at me for a bone-crushing hug.
I catch her, and then I really do let a hiss of pain slip. Lark growls, and Kate yelps, jerking back just as quickly as she’d come at me. “Oh my God, Scar! You got shot!” Apollo hears this and then practically yanks my roommate out of the way to get to me.
“Where?” He snarls, and I hold my arm out so he can examine it. The bleeding has already stopped, thanks to Lark’s shirt wrapped around it. Apollo’s eyes flick to my other alpha at my back, and when he gets a good look at the front of his shirt, he pales a little. “Love…”
“I promise, I’m fine. It just grazed me. I’ll probably just need some stitches. We need to get someone here to look at Ant-”
“You fucking cunt! He’s dead because of you! That bullet was meant for you!” An alpha roar of fury cuts me off, coming from the stage at my back, but before Raven can reach us, Lark and Apollo are blocking her.
I twist, wrapping my good arm around Kate just in time to see her slam into the wall of alpha, stopping her from tearing my throat out.
There is a feral sort of animalistic rage sparking in the whites of her eyes when she looks at me over their shoulders, battering her fists against their chests, but they hold firm.
In the few times I’ve interacted with her, I’ve never seen her this furious.
“ Back the fuck off, Raven !” Apollo’s alpha bark rings out with so much dominance that my knees quake, and surprise ripples through me when he shoves her back hard enough to make her stumble a bit.
“How can you protect her?! Ant is fucking dead because someone wants her dead! Instead of being tucked away like she’s supposed to, she came out tonight and put everyone at risk!
This is all her fault!” Raven continues to rage, and that familiar sense of crippling guilt washes over me at her words.
I’m so consumed by it, I don’t even feel the moment Caito arrives in the hallway, but I sure feel it when he wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me into his hard, warm body.
Then, I am surrounded by the scents of three out of my four alphas, and my inner omega calms a little more.
“You two handle the situation on stage. I’m going to take our omega and Kate up to Wren’s office, where it’s safe until we can get the building cleared.
” His voice is a soothing rumble of alpha dominance, and I am so exhausted that I just sink into him.
His arm tightens around me as the adrenaline quickly fades, leaving me trembling.
Raven snarls and roars more insults my way, but my head buzzes while another wave of dizziness washes over me. Caito turns us with Kate clinging to my other side, and I barely register anything when we take our first steps away.
My world tilts, and blackness surges in to blot out my vision before I can make it too far. My consciousness slips out of my grasp, and then I am free falling into oblivion, hoping this will all have been a terrible nightmare when I awake again.