41
Scarlett
“ I really shouldn’t have let you drag me out tonight!” I have to practically yell over the thrum of the bass shaking the floor beneath our feet. Someone steps on my foot, and I snarl, whipping around to flay them alive, but the drunk alpha is already stumbling away.
“We’re not drinking! We’re just dancing!
The alphas will be fine!” I glance over my shoulder at her words, but my gaze is drawn to Apollo keeping watch over us by the side of the bar.
We aren’t that far away from each other, but I shiver at the feel of his gaze laser focused on me.
She follows my gaze and sighs. “You deserve to have a little fun before they lock you away in a tower, Scar!”
“It’s not like that! I told you everything!
It’s for my own safety, as well as the baby!
” Thankfully, the anti-nausea meds Kars prescribed have been helping me keep my insides in place, but I still haven’t wanted to eat much.
Plus, I have been a bit upset at the prospect of being locked up in the pack’s penthouse for the foreseeable future.
So when Kate practically begged me to come out tonight for one last hoorah, I hadn’t wanted to say no. Armed with puppy dog eyes and a lot of begging, Apollo never stood a chance.
“One more hour, Kate!” I yell over the music, and she waves me off, getting back to swinging her hips and losing herself in the beat pulsing through our bodies. I start to follow, trying to let loose, but a hand lands on my shoulder, and my adrenaline spikes to dangerous levels.
I whirl around again, ready to pummel whoever has touched me now, but the face I see beneath the flashing overhead lights makes me pause.
Ant—the alpha electric guitarist I’d met during my working interview—is giving me a massive smile that makes it hard to hold back a cringe.
I still don’t like how happy he seems to be all the time.
I also don’t like the way his eyes are sparkling behind his gray mask.
Thank fuck I’d decided to take a suppressant before leaving.
It’s the only way Apollo agreed to let me come tonight.
“Fancy seeing you here! I spotted you before I headed backstage! Thought I’d see if you wanted to play a set with us tonight?! It’s a special night tonight!” He gestures around to all the people dressed to the nines and sporting masks like I didn’t know the theme of the club tonight.
“Who’s this?!” Kate notices my company quickly and joins me, calling the question loud enough for me to hear.
“This is Ant! He’s with the band! He wants to know if I’ll sing a set tonight!” Ant turns his attention to the beautiful, dark-haired omega beside me, and I watch his nostrils flare. She didn’t take my advice and hide her scent. Now I really don’t like the way his smile stretches even wider.
I want to get him the hell away from her. My skeeve meter is going off the rails right now.
“Oh, fuck yes! You should definitely sing! I’ve only ever heard you in the shower, but you sound amazing!” Kate beams at me, and I feel my resolve starting to crumble. I did kind of miss singing. This might be the only opportunity I have for a while to show off my skills.
“One set!” I hold up a single finger to Ant, and when I look over my shoulder to see Apollo talking with Caito and Lark, I know my time to slip away is dwindling. “Let the alphas know I’m heading to help the band!” I relay this to Kate, and she nods eagerly.
I turn back to Ant, but he’s still got his attention focused on my roommate. I grit my teeth, then wave a hand in front of him to draw his focus back to me. “Lead the way!” The sooner I get him away from Kate, the better.
Ant quickly leads me through the crowd to the tiny hallway behind the stage. Vivianna, Rocky, and Raven are fiddling with their instruments when we approach. I get greetings from Vi and Rocky, but as soon as my eyes connect with Wren’s bitchy alpha sister, her glacial glare freezes me in place.
“What the fuck are you doing here? Polluting my stage with your presence. Does my brother know you’re here?” She practically snarls the demanding questions, but I don’t flinch away. She can act any way she wants. She doesn’t scare me. I’ve dealt with far worse alphas than her in my lifetime.
“We may be scent matches, but your brother doesn’t get to tell me how I live my life.” I lift my chin, making sure my words are loud enough to be heard. Her icy eyes narrow on me, but before she can spew more venom, Ant steps between us.
“She’s just going to sing a set with us, Raven. Get your thong out of its knot in your ass.” He pulls out a piece of paper and hands it over to me. “This is the list of songs.”
I take the paper and scan it over quickly. I nod before handing it back. “I know them.”
“Great. Curtain’s about to open. Mic is all set for you.
” He gestures to the mic front and center stage, and I ignore Raven’s lingering glower of hatred before heading towards it.
I only have a minute to get my shit together, and then the curtain is indeed opening.
The lights dim above the crowded dance floor, and I close my eyes so I don’t have to look out over the mass of bodies.
The band strums its first chords behind me, and words flow free from me like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
My heartbeat thumps in time with the beat of the drums, and I lose myself to the music.
I sing, and the crowd vibrates with awe and excitement.
I don’t open my eyes to see it, but I can feel it deep in the marrow of my bones.
I know how talented I am. Singing was one thing that my father and Erossi used me for when I became useless in everything else.
One song bleeds into the other, and I sing like this might very well be the last time.
Half-way through the fourth song, I finally open my eyes to look out over the mass of writhing bodies.
There are no protests or jeers. Everyone is swaying and grinding in time with the music that pours free from me, boosted by the band at my back.
By the fifth song, my eyes finally find my alphas standing in the crowd.
They aren’t dancing, but I can feel their gazes piercing through me like the sharp tip of an arrow.
My heart skips a beat, and I barely stop my breath from hitching in my throat.
Just having their attention focused on me makes my mouth go dry and makes it hard to focus.
Something flashes in front of me, almost too quick for me to notice, and I’m momentarily distracted. I glance down where I thought I saw the flash go, and then my eyes widen. My name is a roar of panic from Caito’s lips, shattering the moment of peace I’d been in while I’d been singing.
Pure survival instincts kick my body into motion, and I throw myself to the side just as the deafening crack of a gunshot shatters the vibe of the club, throwing everything into chaos.
I know I hadn’t been fast enough when pain slices through my left arm, making fire erupt at the spot where I’d been hit.
Lark is already at the front of the stage, vaulting up the incredible height of it until he lands on his knees beside where I’m now sprawled out.
Screaming and pandemonium ensues, but Lark ignores it all.
I’m in shock when he scoops me up into his arms and darts towards the back of the stage and the little hallway there.
He tries to keep my head tucked against his chest, but it’s not enough to stop me from catching a glimpse of Raven hovering over Ant lying on the ground.
“Lark!” I’m screaming, but he doesn’t stop.
It’s already too late. The image of blood pooling rapidly beneath the alpha with a bullet in his chest is already searing itself into my vault of horror memories, never to be erased again.
Someone just tried to kill me. Someone did kill Ant.