29. Harper
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
harper
The estate's food court looked like a much smaller version of the one in the tower. There were only two shops, rather than half a dozen.
At the moment, both hosted makeshift bars with five or six werewolves acting as bartenders and goofing off at each one.
It looked like fun.
The food was laid out buffet-style around the room, forming piles of snacks, treats, and full-on meals.
There were oversized buckets of beverages on ice staggered throughout the massive, open space.
The colored lights that flashed and rolled through the dim room made the ice glitter every time they hit it.
The music was deafening, but no one seemed to care. The majority of people were moving on the dance floor, but from the place I stood, I could see a few couples fucking up against the walls, on oversized lounge chairs, and even just on the tile floors.
Rhone was right about the PDA.
We were only fifteen minutes late, so I assumed the amount of public sex would increase as the alcohol continued flowing.
"Wow," Bloom called out, her eyebrows high as she looked around the room before turning toward me. "I think this is one of those college parties we never went to."
"No kidding."
She waved for me to follow, and led Maverick toward the drinks.
A few people tried to chat with the Alpha, but he waved them away with a call of, "I'm off duty for a few hours."
Rhone looked extremely unenthusiastic, but I pulled him in the same direction Bloom was going. People made space for him as we passed.
When we reached one of the makeshift bars, Bloom studied the drinks that had already been made and were sitting in a row, clearly trying to decide between them.
Maverick grabbed a bunch of different options and put one in her hand, before placing a palm on her lower back. I caught a glimpse of her smile as he guided her toward an empty couch that was only a few dozen feet away from the makeshift bar.
"Are you drinking?" I asked Rhone, raising my voice.
He grimaced, but didn't answer.
He wasn't reaching for a drink, though.
"He likes spicy alcohol!" one of the women behind the bar called out, gesturing toward a section of drinks that did look a little spicy. I grabbed two of those, put them in Rhone's hands, and picked up a sweet-looking drink for me too.
Just one, because I was slightly worried the alcohol would make me bloodthirsty.
Rhone grabbed my hip and steered me toward the same couch Bloom and Maverick had claimed.
"Just so we're clear, I'm ready to leave as soon as you are," he said into my mind.
"Noted."
We sat down next to Bloom and Maverick. There wasn't quite enough space. Bloom and I were squashed together in the middle of the couch, as well as being squished between our mates.
It didn't matter, because Mav dragged Bloom onto his lap about thirty seconds after we sat down.
When I looked sideways, I realized Rhone had already drained one of his drinks. He nestled his empty cup beneath the full one, so he wouldn't have to hold two.
"Are you going to get tipsy for me?" I called out.
"I don't think you want me tipsy."
"Why not?"
"It's breeding season. The more alcohol I drink, the hornier I'll get," he said into my mind. "And the less sense I'll have to remind myself why I need to stay in control."
"Why do you need to stay in control?"
"You're tiny. Fragile."
"I'm not tiny or fragile."
He gave me a look.
"Fine, I'm tiny next to you. I think I've established that I can handle you at your roughest, though. Haven't I?"
His gaze dragged down to my tits. He didn't care that they were smaller than they'd been before I turned. The man had made it clear he was still obsessed.
"Yeah, Trouble. You've proven it."
"Then don't worry about it. Drink if you want to drink."
Nolan and Oren came jogging over. Nolan wore a wild grin, with his shirt missing as usual, and his jeans unbuttoned.
Oren's hair was a mess, but he didn't seem quite as drunk as his mate.
Nolan flung his arms around Maverick, squashing Bloom against his shoulder and making her laugh. Mav was grinning too as he maneuvered his Omega's body away from my best friend's face.
Nolan's voice slurred as he exclaimed about the fight, and Oren plopped down between me and Maverick.
Rhone pulled me up onto his lap before the other vampire's side collided with mine.
"You okay?" I asked Oren.
"I'm good. I get bloodthirsty with this many people around, but the booze helps. Do you mind?" He reached for my drink. I'd only taken a sip, so I handed it over.
Rhone tried to give me his second drink, but it was almost gone. I didn't like spicy alcohol anyway, so I didn't take it.
He drained his cup and set me down on the couch next to Oren before striding back to the bar.
"I can't believe he let go of you," Oren said.
"Same."
He took a long drink. It was almost gone when he pulled the cup away from his lips and slouched back against the couch. "Breeding season treating you well?"
I raised my eyebrows. "You're really drunk if you're asking about my sex life."
"Nah. Rhone's just... Rhone. No one really knows what he does for breeding season. People get curious."
"Then yes, breeding season is treating me well. I'm not sure how I'm going to manage a few days full of sex, but I guess we'll figure it out."
"The wolves get really enthusiastic. It's fun. If he's decent in bed, you'll like it."
"What if something happens with the investment company while everyone's out of commission for a few days? It hasn't been that long since Ozzy was killed."
Oren shrugged. "I'm sure Mav and Rhone figured something out already. We all know when it's coming. The date's not a secret."
"Do the vampires know when it's coming?"
"Dunno. Never asked. I was never tight with any vampires."
My forehead creased.
Rhone picked me up and sat back down beneath me. He had two more drinks for himself, one for me, and another one for Oren. I murmured a thank you when I took mine, and Oren exclaimed his thanks loudly.
Sutton came strolling over with a beaming vampire at her side.
Riley was almost as small as I was, with thick, dark hair that fell to her waist in waves, olive skin, and bright red eyes.
Her cutoff shorts and t-shirt were similar to Sutton's, and she looked a hell of a lot happier and healthier than I'd been since I turned.
"Hey!" Sutton called out, as she approached.
"Hey!" Oren called back, and he and I waved together.
Sutton ignored Rhone, which didn't surprise me in the slightest. He didn't react to her appearance in any way, either.
She was holding a canned vodka drink, and Riley held a bottle of water.
"Does the alcohol make you bloodthirsty?" she asked me, way too cheerfully.
"Not if I drink it slow."
She looked like she was considering it.
I offered her my cup, and Rhone growled quietly.
Technically, he'd gotten it for me. Werewolves had a weird thing about sharing food one of them had given you.
"I can get one." Riley flashed me a smile before basically bouncing away.
Nolan plopped down on Oren, and Oren laughed, trying to shove his mate off him. Nolan spun around on his lap, hugging his vampire close and resting his chin on the smaller man's head.
"Have you figured anything out about the murders?" Bloom called out to Sutton.
Sutton grimaced "No. I told everyone from the beginning that an assassin and a detective aren't the same thing. Have you gotten all the paperwork done yet so we can call in someone who knows what they're doing?"
Bloom made a face. "Not yet, but we're getting close. A few more weeks, and we'll be there."
"Harper was asking if the vampires know about breeding season," Oren said, his voice muffled by Nolan's neck and shoulder.
Everyone looked at me.
"I asked him what would happen if the vampires killed someone else at the investment company during breeding season," I explained. "He said Rhone and Maverick probably had a plan because everyone knows when breeding season will happen. I asked if the vampires also knew. He wasn't sure."
"The Guild has a few vampires old enough to know about it," Maverick said. "Bloom's sisters asked her how breeding season went."
I looked at Bloom, and she scrunched her nose. "It was a really uncomfortable conversation."
"I know you didn't not warn me about knotting and give all the details to Whimsy and Mouse," I said, my eyes narrowing.
"I didn't give them any details. They're pissed about it. You can ask."
That satisfied me a little.
"Harper has a point," Sutton admitted. "If the Guild knows about breeding season, we need to be prepared for them to make their biggest move against us when it hits."
"Or we need to make a bigger move before it hits," Maverick countered.
I didn't see a drink in his hand, even though Bloom was on her second or third. She was blushing a little, the way she always did when she started getting tipsy.
"No," Rhone said flatly. "We're not doing your plan."
I looked at him.
Everyone else did too.
"You don't know what he's going to say," Nolan protested, lifting his face from Oren's hair.
"God, you are so drunk," Sutton murmured.
"I know exactly what he's going to say," Rhone stated. "We're out of options. We don't know how to investigate threats; we just end them. There's only one move left, and my answer is no."
"It's not your answer to give," Maverick said bluntly.
"Like hell it isn't."
"I'm confused," Bloom remarked.
"Same," Sutton agreed.
Riley came bouncing back with a glass of alcohol. "What's going on?"
Everyone went silent.
We all exchanged looks.
She had already been way too involved in the situation. Especially considering her brother's role.
She hadn't mentioned him, but everyone in our office knew how close they had been, and how devastated he was when she got sick. She was either suppressing her trauma deeply, or doing extremely well in therapy.
I was going to guess the first one. Mostly because the werewolves didn't seem big on therapy.
But I was also a professional at failing to suppress my trauma, so I was biased.
Nolan held a hand out toward her without turning away from his mate. "I need someone to dance with me. Not Oren. I'm just going to fuck him."
"I wouldn't complain," Oren muttered.
"Alright, let's dance." Riley took his hand, wearing a bright smile as she glanced at Sutton.
Sutton gave her an encouraging smile in return, and Riley bounced off to the dance floor with him.
"Someone, please explain what the pack's biggest assholes are talking about," Sutton said.
"I'm going to take that as a compliment," Mav decided.
"Don't," Rhone said flatly.
"Neve is our only real option left," Maverick announced.
I took a long sip of my drink.
"No," Rhone growled.
"Yeah. She's the leader of the Guild, and we know she's behind at least some of the shit that's been going down.
There's no way she knows that we can stabilize turned vampires, so she must assume Harper is either dead or devolved and in chains.
If we let her talk to Harper and see that she's stable now, Neve will probably take our side. "
I took another long sip.
"Harper is not meeting with Neve. There's nothing to talk about," Rhone said bluntly.
"Neve can be difficult, but I could be there too. We could explain what happened, and—" Bloom began.
"No." Rhone basically snarled the word. His free hand was creeping up my stomach, like he needed to touch more of me.
"He looked like that right before he made a big, public scene about me being wrong for the guy I was dating," Sutton said, gesturing toward my mate.
Rhone's entire body went still.
"He was trying to protect Mav then, and he's trying to protect me now. He went about it the wrong way, but his heart is usually in the right place," I said loudly.
Literally everyone around us looked taken aback. I didn't have to glance backward to know that Rhone probably looked the same way.
"I shouldn't have been as harsh as I was," Rhone admitted. "It didn't need to be public, either."
"Is that an apology?" Sutton asked.
"In Rhone speak, yes," I said.
"I guess I accept."
"Maybe you guys can stop hating each other now." I pulled my phone out of my pocket. When I lifted it and snapped a quick picture of me smiling and giving the camera a thumbs-up, Rhone plucked the device away quickly.
I took it back. "I can handle a few messages and potentially a meeting with her to prevent any more of my ex-coworkers from dying. I didn't like Steven, or Arthur, or Celeste, but I liked Ozzy. We were friends. He didn't deserve what happened to him."
"I don't want you hurting because of her."
"You can lick it better."
The hand he had on my hip, digging into my skin lightly, pressed a little harder.
I sent the picture to Neve along with a message.
Me
We need to talk
When the message said it was delivered, I drained the rest of my cup, then rose to my feet and slipped my phone back into my pocket.
Looking at Bloom, I held a hand out. "I think I need to dance. Are you in?"
She smiled.
Before she could get up, Rhone had already stolen my hand and was towing me toward the dance floor.
I didn't have to look over my shoulder to see if everyone was gaping, but I did. And they were.
Except Maverick.
He was just grinning.