Chapter 55 Alaric
Alaric
Why had I come with the group? I’d planned to stay away from my witch, but something insidious had pushed me toward her and insisted I remain close.
I rubbed my temple and then my chest. Ever since my return to school, I’d felt off, and I wasn’t sure why. The dinner party had been boring, like always. Dad had talked too much, and Petronella’s mindless chatter was like listening to nails scratch on a chalkboard.
I remembered trying to visit my mother, but Dad caught me before I reached the basement door. After that, things were blurry. Probably because I’d drunk too much. Ugh.
Unwilling to accept that perhaps drinking to the point of memory loss was a bad sign, I ordered a second glass of elkwine and then moved to a shadowy corner to watch the witch.
She danced like she did most things: with much enthusiasm and a willful disregard for social norms. When the dance track ended and the DJ switched to a slower song, Raven carried on swaying her hips, but Glynda shook her head and made her way off the crowded dance floor, probably in search of another drink. Not that I cared.
The only female other than my mother I gave a shit about was less than ten feet away, surrounded by males with bad intentions.
A shifter edged closer as she moved to the music, oblivious to his leering. When his hand reached out to grope her ass, the incubus blinked into view, grabbed it, and twisted. I heard a muffled scream, and then the shifter vanished.
The vampire shot away from his spot by the bar, closely followed by the bear. The pair of them sandwiched my witch between them, letting her dance happily, safe in a protective bubble.
Hot jealousy snaked through me.
It should be me dancing with her. Me holding her hips as her curvy little ass rubbed against my dick.
I swallowed the rest of my drink and slammed the glass down on a nearby table. Two witches jumped and scrambled away. They must have recognized me and decided I was in danger of frying a bitch.
The slow track switched to a more upbeat song, which had people crowding back onto the dance floor. The vampire danced with surprising grace. For an ancient dead dude, he had moves. The bear had given up dancing. He just stood and glared at any male who came within two feet of my witch.
Goddess save me, I needed another drink. Something to take the edge off the pounding inside my skull. When I shoved my way back to the bar, the mousy witch had vanished. Part of me wondered whether I ought to go looking for her, but then I decided she wasn’t my problem.
A female server with fluttery gossamer wings, doe eyes, and bouncy breasts sidled up and took my order. She batted her eyelashes, hinting that more than a drink was on offer, but I ignored her advances.
With a disappointed sigh, she slid a glass of fae wine across the bar, along with her phone number scrawled on a napkin. I took the glass and discarded the napkin, heading back to my spot once again.
The ridiculously potent wine went down a treat, successfully clouding my thoughts and making it easier to ignore the pain.
By the time Raven left the dance floor with the vampire and the bear protecting her from unwanted attention, I was well on my way to being utterly hammered. But the moment she passed me, something inside me snapped.
What the fuck was I doing?
I’d told her I wanted her, so why was I still hesitating?
“Raven,” I called, loud enough for her to hear me above the heavy beat of the music.
She stopped dead and cocked her head in my direction, a small smirk curving her pink lips.
“Yes, Alaric?”
“Can we talk?”
A frown wrinkled her brow as if my request for a conversation had come as a surprise. The bear whispered something while glaring at me. If he was warning her to ignore me, I’d fucking zap his hairy ass into the fucking fae realm.
The soft smile she gave him triggered a fresh wave of jealousy. I wanted her to smile like that at me. Not that I fucking deserved it.
“You better play nicely with my pet.” Zane’s voice in my ear made me jump so hard I nearly dropped my glass. The bastard needed a collar with a bell on it.
“I can’t hurt her,” I huffed. The vamp smirked in my direction and flashed his fangs in warning, and then the bear kissed Raven and pushed her toward me.
“There’s a quiet lounge on the next level; you can talk there.” I rolled my eyes. Did the stupid incubus not realize I’d been to this club many times before?
“I’ll be watching, Fritz.”
“Fuck off with the dumbass nickname, or I’ll zap you.”
But the incubus just laughed.