Chapter 17
Seventeen
VIOLET
J asper leads us into the bar as Rylan laces his fingers with mine, walking close enough to me that my shoulder brushes with his biceps every few steps. The place is dark and yet bright, neon lights from over twenty different pinball tables casting odd shadows on everything in the large room. The bar sits in the middle of the room, chairs lining three sides of it, and there are a few round tables tucked into one of the sides as well.
Jasper walks toward one of those, not saying a word to me or Rylan, his hands shoved into his pockets. It’s frustrating how good he looks in the black t-shirt and light blue jeans. Rylan grunts beside me before taking my hand.
“Those jeans look good on his ass,” he mutters after a moment. Citrus surrounds us, Rylan’s attraction obvious to anyone who’s paying attention.
The truth falls from me before I can pull it back. “Yeah, they do.”
“Rylan, I swear to God, if you keep her sequestered at the bar, we will riot.” A woman with brown hair calls from the group along the wall, her hands cupped over her mouth so her voice carries over the din of the games.
“That,” Rylan says, voice dry, “is Huntley.”
He doesn’t make any move to encourage us toward the table of people. After a minute, the woman jumps up, climbing over another guy at the table, and closes the distance between us.
“Hi, I’m Huntley,” she says, holding out her hand. When I take it, she smiles. “We’ve been trying to get the guys to bring you around all week. We were starting to think maybe we imagined the councilwoman dropping off the packet. Jasper hasn’t shown us a picture or anything.”
She’s quick and to the point, her words almost running over top of each other without quite managing. Her gaze is shrewd as she looks over Rylan, her eyebrow slowly rising in offended question. Rylan’s warning of not telling her what he said makes sense.
I already like her.
Hasn’t shown us a picture .
I tense, not able to control the stab that sentence causes to my heart. He’s still not interested in me. Whatever has happened over the last four years, his thinking I’m not enough for him still exists. Rylan growls, low in his throat, reacting to my sudden change in demeanor, but Huntley doesn’t seem to hear it.
Another of the group closes the distance, his smile easy. He slings a hand over Huntley’s shoulders.
“To be fair, you practically ripped Jasper’s phone out of his hand in September when he hesitated in showing you a picture of Dominic,” he says.
Huntley rolls her eyes. Something untangles just a fraction at that bit of information.
The man holds out his hand, and I take it the same way I did Huntley’s.
“I’m Mason. You want something to drink?”
Rylan’s growl this time is loud enough for both of the others to notice.
“Mason, honestly, you should know better than to say something like that to a claimed Omega.” Yet another person joins us.
This woman is short, just an inch taller than me, though she’s also sprightly. Her dark hair looks black in the light and falls to her hips, her brown eyes large. Her smile is wide as she approaches me. A bond scar reflects in the neon lights, highlighting where it sits in the crevice where her shoulder meets her neck.
I offer up my hand, prepped for the greeting this time, but she ignores it. Instead, she wraps her arms around my waist in a quick hug that feels both too intimate and too informal for someone I’ve just met. “Hi, I’m Liz. My shadow is Zach.” The man behind her scowls and doesn’t offer his hand. “He’s in a bad mood tonight because he’d rather keep me at home. Just ignore him.”
Liz leans toward me and puts a hand to her mouth, like what she’s saying is a secret. The effect is lost, though, since I’m pretty sure everyone in the bar can hear her. It’s not like with Eric on campus, where he was intentionally trying to draw attention so I couldn’t just slip away. Liz just seems to be a loud person who doesn’t quite realize it.
“He’s feeling extra possessive since we just bonded,” she says, still in that too-loud voice.
Rylan’s growl chokes off. “That’s not really something we need to know, Liz.”
She shrugs before giggling. “It’s not like the scars aren’t obvious.”
“Scars?” Huntley asks. Liz turns her neck, the scar I’d noticed becoming more obvious as she pulls her hair away. Mason gasps, and Huntley’s eyes widen.
“Not the point,” Rylan sighs. Liz rolls her eyes.
“Wait, you noticed it?” Mason turns back toward us. Zach’s growl gets louder.
“It’s something that we’re wired to notice,” I offer even as Rylan steps between me and the other Alpha, adjusting so that he holds my other hand, and I’m pressed against his opposite side. “I saw it as soon as she approached us.”
Mason makes a surprised sound in his throat. “I wonder how many I’ve not noticed, then.” He turns back toward the other Omega. “Can I touch it?”
Zach steps between him and Liz, his growl now practically a snarl. Mason and Huntley back off, their arms raised. After a moment, everyone heads back toward the tables.
“Let’s go get drinks,” Rylan murmurs.
Neither of us bring up the bond scar as I order my comfort Old Fashioned and he gets a soda. He pays with cash, declining change, and then guides me toward the tables where everyone else has been sitting. Liz is wedged between two men, their large frames dwarfing her, while Huntley and Mason sit on either side of Jasper. They’re chatting, smiles on their faces, as Rylan pulls two chairs up to the edge of the table and signals for me to sit at one.
Huntley chugs the rest of her drink before turning toward me.
“So where are you from?” she asks, talking over the two conversations actively happening within the group. “How was your move?”
“I actually live here,” I say after a minute, forcing myself to ignore where Jasper leans back against the booth, his arm sprawled out behind Huntley. “I’m graduating from UCLA this weekend.”
Rylan grunts. “Don’t sell yourself short, Violet.”
“Hard to avoid when I already am,” I say, trying humor again to see what he’ll do.
His lips tip up, and he drapes his arm over my shoulders. I’ll count that as a good reaction, then.
“She’s graduating Summa Cum Laude,” he says. “And top of her major.”
A round of congratulations ensues.
“What’s your major?” Mason asks, sipping on a drink that’s bright pink and frozen.
When I tell him, Huntley’s eyes widen, and I swear surprise flashes across Jasper’s face. I steer the conversation away from me, trying to just settle into the background and figure out if I can fit into this group.
After a while, I murmur, “I’ll be back.”
Rylan nods, moving so I can more easily get up from my chair. I pull my skirt down, adjusting it as I turn around.
Jasper jumps up as I stand, “I’m going to grab a drink. Anyone want something?”
Huntley and Liz both take him up on the offer. Anxiety tightens my throat, but I breathe through it, keeping my face blank. Rylan grabs my hand, pulling me back toward him, his eyebrows lowered. It’s clear what he’s asking me, though I’m not sure why he knows that any kind of interaction with Jasper has my stomach in knots. I haven’t told him about the break up. Did Jasper? Is that why Rylan has been so careful in his interactions since the video call?
Oh, fuck, Jasper probably did tell him.
No wonder he asked me all those questions about my family and history. He was probably trying to decide if petitioning for reassignment—or, worse, annulling the match—was worth the hassle. His demeanor completely changed when I confirmed that my dad is Johnathan Fallon.
Fuck . The last thing I ever wanted was a convenience match, something like what my parents have. I wasn’t so naive to think that I’d end up being in a pack that completely loved me. But I had hoped that we could at least figure out some sort of middle ground or mutual respect.
I continue past the bar, trying to not run to the safety that the bathroom provides. The hall is dark, only a couple small wall sconces offering light. A hand closes around my elbow, and my heart freezes, my breath catching in my throat.
“Violet,” Jasper murmurs, his voice low enough that it sends a fucking shiver through my body. “We need to talk.”
I keep my face as neutral as I can manage as I turn around. His eyes are intent on me, his jaw clenched.
“What happened in Seattle?—”
Oh God. He cannot be trying to bring up Seattle in a hallway where there’s no other witnesses. Has he already signed the annulment request? Is that why he’s back here with me? My stomach turns, and I can’t hide the panic that must shoot across my face. I push the door to the bathroom open and flee inside. I stand at the counter, staring at my reflection, trying to figure out what to do, breathing through my nose to keep from being sick.
My hands shake as I pull out my phone.
This is me squeezing your arm twice.
Be there in a sec.
Rylan’s knock is soft, and I keep my head down as we leave the back hallway. The group of friends wave, a chorus of goodbyes following us out the door. The blade twists again as I see Jasper take up the seat between his friends again, not even looking back toward me.