Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Violet
I watch Cinnamon sniff around the base of an oak tree, her tail wagging lazily. The park is bathed in that blue-gray twilight I’ve always loved.
“Come on, girl,” I murmur, tugging gently on her leash. “Do your business so we can go home.”
She finally finds the perfect spot and squats near a cluster of saplings. I close my eyes and reach inward, searching for that presence I felt before. The wolf. My wolf. The one that stirred to life when Darius touched me, when his hands mapped my body like he was learning sacred territory.
Nothing.
Disappointed, I probe deeper, pushing past the familiar emptiness I’ve lived with my entire life. Still nothing. Just the hollow space where she should be.
Why can I only feel her when he’s touching me? When his mouth is on mine and his body is pressed against—
I pinch my arm hard enough to sting. “Stop it.” Cinnamon looks up at me, her head tilted. “Not you, girl. I’m talking to myself, like a crazy person.”
Despite the crisp evening air, heat crawls across my face.
I am not going to think about Darius. I am not going to think about his hands, or his mouth, or the way he looks at me like he wants to devour me whole.
I have plans tonight. Normal plans. Plans that don’t involve my stepbrother and this complicated mess we’ve tangled ourselves up in.
Anne and Sienna have invited me to dinner, and for the first time in my life, I actually have friends to go out with.
Real friends, who showed up first at my party and were the last to leave.
Who sit with me at lunch and make the office feel less like a battlefield and more like a place I actually want to be.
A smile tugs at my lips. It’s strange, having people who simply decided we’re friends now. No negotiation, no careful testing of boundaries. They just claimed me, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Having finished her business, Cinnamon tugs on the leash. We walk back to our building through the darkening streets, my excitement building with each step. I have plans with friends who want to spend time with me. The novelty still hasn’t worn off.
By the time we get home, it’s nearly eight o’clock. Fresh water goes into Cinnamon’s bowl, and I make sure her food dish is full. She curls up in her bed with a contented sigh, already half asleep.
“Sweet dreams, beautiful,” I whisper, scratching behind her ears.
The doorbell rings. My hand keeps petting Cinnamon’s soft fur.
The bell rings again, more insistent this time.
When I open the door, Anne and Sienna are standing there, grinning like they’re about to commit a felony. Anne holds a bulging plastic bag in one hand. They’re both wearing short, sparkly dresses.
“Ready for dinner?” Sienna asks, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
The bag gets a wary look from me. “What’s that?”
“Backups,” Anne says, pushing past me into the penthouse.
“Backups for what?”
Anne turns to me with a smile that makes my stomach drop. “You’ll find out. Now, what are you planning to wear?”
They follow me to my bedroom. A simple cream blouse and a knee-length navy skirt emerge from my closet. “I was thinking this?”
Anne and Sienna exchange a look. The kind of look that speaks volumes without a single word passing between them.
“Absolutely not,” Sienna says.
Before I can protest, Anne dumps the contents of the plastic bag onto my bed. Dresses spill across the comforter. Very small dresses. Tiny scraps of fabric in jewel tones and blacks, glittering under my bedroom light.
I dangle one dress between my fingers like it might bite me. “Aren’t these a little…skimpy?”
Anne grins. “They are perfectly appropriate for where we’re going.”
A pulse of anxiety hits. “I thought we were going out for dinner.”
Sienna laughs, the sound bright and unrepentant. “Yeah, at a bar. They have very good food there.”
“A bar?” The dress drops from my hand back onto the bed. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.”
“Oh, come on.” Anne starts rifling through the pile of dresses, holding them up against me one by one. “You need to let loose once in a while. Have some fun. Be a normal twenty-four-year-old for once.”
“I am normal,” I mutter, but even I don’t believe it.
“You work constantly, you barely talk to anyone, and you live in this gorgeous penthouse all alone except for your puppy.” Sienna’s voice is gentler now. “When was the last time you actually went out and enjoyed yourself?”
My mouth opens to answer, but I realize I can’t remember. Before the housewarming party, I spent most nights reading or training or trying to fill the silence with anything that wasn’t my own thoughts.
“Fine,” I say. “But nothing too crazy.”
Anne holds up a black dress that looks like it might cover the absolutely essential parts of my body and nothing more. “This one.”
“That’s basically lingerie.”
“That’s the point.” Sienna is already pulling off her jacket, revealing her own tiny dress underneath. “Trust us, you’re going to look amazing.”
Ten minutes later, the mirror shows me a stranger. The black dress clings to every curve, the hem hitting just below my butt. The neckline plunges low enough to make me nervous, held together with thin straps that feel like they might snap at any moment.
For the first time in my life, I don’t look broken. I look…powerful. Dangerous, even. Like someone worth wanting. The realization sends a thrill through me that I’m not quite ready to examine.
Sienna whistles low and appreciative. “Where have you been hiding that figure?”
Warmth floods my cheeks. “If anyone from the pack sees us, it’ll be a problem. My mother is very strict about public image.”
Anne nods and winks at me. “Don’t worry. We’re going to a human bar. We’ll be safe there. No one from the pack will see us.”
Relief floods through me immediately. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.” Anne links her arm through mine. “Now come on. We’re wasting prime drinking time.”
I wrap my long coat around myself like armor. Cinnamon lifts her head from her bed, watching us with sleepy eyes.
“Be good,” I tell her. “I’ll be back later.”
Anne and Sienna crowd around her, cooing and fussing over her like she’s the cutest thing they’ve ever seen. Which, to be fair, she probably is.
“Who’s driving?” I ask as we head out the door to the elevator.
“Nobody.” Sienna grins. “We’re taking a taxi because we plan to get a little drunk tonight. Can’t drive if we’re drinking.”
Anne pulls out her phone and taps the screen. “Calling for one now.”
We step outside. A few minutes later, headlights appear down the street, and a sedan pulls up to the curb. The three of us squeeze into the back seat, with me in the middle. The driver gives us an appreciative look in the rearview mirror that makes me fasten the top two buttons of my coat.
Not two minutes later, my tiny clutch buzzes in my lap. I ignore it.
It buzzes again.
All three of us see Darius’s name on the screen when I pull out my phone. My thumb hits the decline button.
The phone immediately starts ringing again.
“Darius really wants to talk to you,” Sienna observes.
“It might be important,” Anne says softly.
Sighing, I accept the call and press the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“Where are you?” Darius’s voice is tight, controlled in a way that makes my spine straighten. “I’m at your place. You’re not here.”
“That’s because I’m going out for dinner and drinks with Anne and Sienna.” My voice stays level, professional. Like he’s just another colleague and not the man who had me pinned to the floor altogether too recently.
“Violet, I need to talk to you. It’s important.”
“Send me an email.” I end the call before he can respond, adrenaline pulsing through my veins.
Sienna stares at me. “Send you an email? Wow, you two really don’t get along, do you?”
“He’s too involved in my business.” My phone disappears back into my clutch.
Anne’s expression turns thoughtful. “He sure does worry about you, though. That’s kind of sweet.”
“It’s annoying.”
Sienna grins. “I don’t know. The way he looks at you in the office? There’s definitely something there.”
“There’s nothing there.” The words come out too quickly, too defensive. “He’s my brother.”
“Stepbrother,” Sienna emphasizes, waggling her eyebrows at me. “Big difference.”
“Can we please talk about literally anything else?”
They exchange a look that clearly says this conversation isn’t over, but Anne takes mercy on me. “Fine. But only because we’re almost there, and I want you to actually enjoy yourself tonight.”
“That’s the plan,” Sienna agrees. “Good food, good drinks, good company. No work, no family drama, no stress.”
Despite my embarrassment, tension eases from my shoulders as they launch into an animated debate about what we should order first. Their chatter washes over me, and I let myself relax into it.
The taxi pulls up outside a building with a neon sign that reads “Havoc” in electric blue letters. Music pulses from inside, the bass line vibrating out to the street.
We pay the driver and head inside. The bouncer waves us through after a cursory check of our IDs, and suddenly we’re in a different world.
Low, moody lighting bathes everything. Colored spotlights sweep across the crowd.
People fill the space, some clustered around the bar, others partying on the dance floor.
The air smells like alcohol and perfume and sweat, and somehow, it’s intoxicating.
“This way,” Anne shouts over the music, leading us to a high table near the bar.
Food and drinks arrive quickly after we order. The cocktails come in tall glasses with fruit garnishes, sweet and strong enough to make my head spin after the first few sips. The food is surprisingly good—greasy and perfect for soaking up alcohol.
“So,” Sienna says after we’ve demolished a plate of loaded fries. She eyes me with curiosity. “How did you become such a good fighter? Taking down Rachel during that training exercise was insane.”