Chapter 31
Thirty-One
VIOLET
“ Y ou good?” Jasper asks. When I say that I’m fine, he nods and reaches behind him without looking. Dominic laces their hands together, his gaze neutral. I tighten my hold on the bag Rylan handed to me and ignore the gnawing in my stomach of his clear disinterest in me. He hasn’t outright glared or sneered at me, so I’m refusing to worry about it right now. If anyone is aware that most matches aren’t actually love matches, it’s me.
Rylan opens the door of the restaurant and guides us inside. He nods once toward the hostess, and she points toward the back corner where several people are already sitting around a large table. I smooth the front of my shirt where I have it tucked into the same black skirt I wore the last time we went out like this. Rylan raises an eyebrow, and I scrunch my nose.
No way is he about to call me out for being nervous. It’s been a long ass day already with navigating Dominic’s family this morning and the concert this afternoon. Not to mention the absolute marathon yesterday was.
At least my dads aren’t angry with the match anymore. Will Mom survive their ire? I’m not sure. And I don’t honestly think I care at this point.
“Don’t you dare,” I whisper, and Rylan laughs, shaking his head once before taking my hand and starting across the restaurant.
“Same as before,” he whispers, low enough I’m not sure even Jasper can hear him. “Squeeze my arm twice if you need a break or want to go.”
I murmur a soft agreement and then pick a seat at the large table. There’s a ton of us here. I fucking hate working large tables like this. I make sure to smile at both waitresses as they take our drink and first round of food orders.
Liz sits wedged between two of her Alphas, her eyes glassy no matter how many times she blinks. Huntley sits across from Jasper, a man I recognize from the concert next to her though I don’t know his name. He nods once and holds out his hand.
“I’m Owen,” he says, his voice a warm baritone. “Nice to finally meet you.”
Everyone dissolves into smaller conversations as the first round of food is brought out. Liz still seems on the verge of tears, but no one seems overly concerned, so I do my best to treat this like any other dinner event.
“All right,” Huntley says, just loud enough that the rest of the table quiets. “Let’s get to it.”
It’s like everyone was waiting for the phrase. Jasper grabs the bag I brought in from under his seat, pulling out two smaller wrapped presents and handing one to Rylan.
“We do a gift exchange at the end of every season,” Liz explains. Her voice doesn’t betray any of the tears, though her hands shake as she takes a small present from Zach. “We draw names at Christmas.”
Mason nods. “Gifts should be sweet and functional, though there’s always room for pranks. Huntley currently holds the title of Best Gifter.”
Huntley nods. “Damn right I do. Speaking of which, we got this for you.” She leans down and grabs a second present from under her seat, holding it out to me. “We wanted to make sure you felt welcomed since this time of year can be really overwhelming with us going on summer hiatus, especially with this being Liz’s last season with us.”
My hands tremble as I take the small package, though I can’t quite manage to keep the confusion off my face. Fuck, should I have gotten them something, too? I definitely should have. Why didn’t Rylan warn me? I’m sure my dads would have made sure I had enough to cover all of them even if Mom’s still got my trust locked down.
“No, don’t give me that look,” she says, shaking her head. “We all pooled together. It’s not a big deal.”
The package is small, fitting in the palm of my hands. It’s wrapped in a simple metallic blue paper that reflects the light with each small movement. It reminds me of the ocean, of all things. The table quiets as I slowly peel back the paper to reveal an unassuming jewelry box.
The necklace is small and simple where it sits cushioned against black velvet, a gold chain with a single pendant hanging from it. It’s a hollow heart made of small vines, four gemstones inside. I recognize my birthstone as well as Jasper’s. The other two must be for Rylan and Dominic.
A warmth spreads through my chest.
I blink away the tears that try to form. If Liz can keep it together, then goddamn it, so can I.
“Thank you,” I say, trying to get all the emotion into the small phrase. “It’s beautiful.”
Huntley nods, her gaze intense. Liz grins.
“You were right. Yellow gold is gorgeous against her skin.”
Rylan runs his hand down my arm. “You want to put it on? It’ll blend well with your other necklaces.”
The others start exchanging gifts as he helps set the hook, and I smooth my hair, messing with the heavy pendant as I adjust to its presence against my skin. Jasper’s laugh distracts me, and I focus on him. He holds up a large tote bag, the bottom and straps black while the main body a simple natural canvas. On the front, there’s a drawing of a cello made from a lemon, the word lemoncello next to it along with a social media handle.
Huntley smirks. “Looks like I’ve still got it.”
“Of course you do,” Mason jokes. “Where did you even find that?”
“An artist on Instagram. She posted it one night. I think it started as a joke, but I fell in love with it. It’s perfect for Jasper. So I reached out to her to see if she’d sell me a tote or the license to print my own. Totally worth the cost, by the way.”
Dominic smiles, just a quick curve of his lips, and my heart fucking stops. I shove the jealousy down until I can’t feel it, focusing on Rylan and Jasper’s warm bodies on either side of me.
“ è perfetto, Huntley,” Dominic murmurs.
She smirks and nods. Before anyone else can say anything, the food comes, and we all grow quiet as we focus on eating. I see flashes of the other gifts, small items that seem to hold some kind of emotional sentiment, like the lemon cello joke.
I realize with a bit of a start that I actually understood the cello joke. That insidious voice in my head grows quieter, and the thought I’ve been twisting over all weekend doesn’t seem quite so wild to me anymore.
“Let’s go get drinks,” Rylan murmurs, leaning down until his lips brush the shell of my ear. What little bit that didn’t do to my body, his voice does, the baritone, raspy feel of it sending heat straight down my spine and making my core clench. Holy hell, praise the scientists who made scent blockers a thing. Jasper reaches across the table, grabbing something out of Huntley’s hands.
“But I already have one, and this is dinner, not a bar.” I’m not quite sure why I’m fighting. If he wants to disappear into the bathroom and knot me, it’s not like I’m going to say no. I wore the damn skirt for a reason, after all. And especially with Dominic on the other side of Jasper, a wall of heat and coiled, restrained anger just waiting to strike.
“Just say yes,” he says, chuckling.
When I nod, he stands from the table. “I realized I left Liz’s gift in the car. We’ll be right back.”
He holds out his hand and helps me stand. Jasper raises an eyebrow but doesn’t disagree.
“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Liz says, but Rylan and Jasper both shake their heads.
Once Rylan has me outside, he pauses, pressing me against the Alfa Romeo and running his lips across my jaw.
“What has you looking like you’ve just seen God?”
I laugh, but it’s brittle. “I did not look that shell-shocked.”
He grunts and bites the small spot just under my ear. My knees buckle, and he pushes more insistently into me, keeping me from collapsing. It also lets me feel just how interested he is in me right now, his cock a hard line against my belly.
“Tell me,” he whispers. “Before I rip off your scent blockers.”
I force a deep breath. “You say that like I’ll be irritated by it.”
His chuckle is dark and breathless. “You will when you realize you won’t be able to go back inside.”
Fair enough .
“I was thinking that I feel like maybe I fit in here with you.”
He pulls away like I’ve struck him, his eyes wide as he focuses on me.
“You didn’t before?” he asks.
I shrug. “I wasn’t sure with Dominic.”
His lips tighten as he nods, palming my waist.
“So why the surprised look?” His voice is so low, it brushes over me.
“I think I want to quit and apply for grad school,” I admit in a whisper. The last week of not being at the restaurant has been amazing. And maybe my desire to study Omega designations isn’t out of reach even matched. “Even though I’m scared of being dependent.”
He nods and then his lips are on mine, and he’s guiding my legs around his waist.
The house is quiet as I pad down the hallway into the main room, intent on getting some kind of caffeine fix before brunch with Faedra’s family. It’s late for me, already past eight, but none of the guys seem to be awake. Rylan certainly wasn’t where he was stretched on the other side of my bed, his hair an unruly mess and his body beautiful enough to make me perfume.
Two hard knocks on the door pull me from the fridge before I can grab the cold brew I’d stashed the morning before. I adjust my hair and dress, making sure I look mostly presentable.
The man from the Council greets me, another unmarked envelope in his hands.
“Again?” I ask.
When he nods, I sigh. His voice is carefully neutral, his gaze growing worried. “Would you like to file a counter motion?”
A hand on my waist has me practically jumping out of my skin. I bite my lip to keep from actually shrieking. Bergamot surrounds me in a few heartbeats, and I relax into Rylan’s shirtless chest.
“Yes, I’d like to go ahead and do that,” I say to the councilman. He nods, handing me the envelope with instructions on how to fill out the motion. Rylan disappears from behind me, returning a moment later with a pen.
I sign the paperwork and hand it to the man.
“You shouldn’t hear any more from me,” he says as he takes it and tucks it into a new envelope. “But you still have Mary’s phone number in case something comes up, right?”
When I nod, he smiles and heads toward his car pulled in front of the house, his hands tucked into the pockets of his slacks.
Rylan kisses the sensitive spot where my shoulder meets my neck.
“Do I even want to know?” he asks.
I shake my head as I scan the new motion my mom has filed. It’s the same reason as before, though this time she’s added a bit about Dominic being linked to a place I’ve never heard of.
“The Tabernacle?” I ask. “What’s that?”
“How the fuck did she learn about that?” Rylan pulls away from me. “It’s a club. Mostly. But there’s a shit ton of other stuff that happens there that is definitely illegal. It’s Lorenzo’s favorite spot to hang out.”
I raise an eyebrow. “So on top of being the literal Italian mafia, Dominic’s involved with underground fighting?”
Rylan shrugs and takes the paper from me. “He’s not. His brothers are. Most Dom does is bet on the fights. I don’t think he’s even gone to one of them.”
“Oh,” I mutter.
Rylan chuckles and kisses my shoulder again. “I guess we should get ready and then extract Jasper from Dominic’s room. Don’t you have a hot brunch date in an hour?”
I glance at the clock and curse. “We’re going to be late.”
His smirk turns devious as he pulls me against him, his cock hard and heavy where it presses against my belly.
“Better make it worth it, then,” he says.