Page 86 of Queen Of Clubs

Since we’ve gotten back to the hotel, Everett and Griffin have been following me around, asking if I’m okay, and making sure I’m taken care of. Part of me loves it—I feel safe having them constantly around me.

I’m not going to lie, for the first time in a very long time, I’m shaken. I’ve dealt with creepy foster dads and overly flirty clients at the club, but never has anyone forced themselves on me or physically hurt me.

My head is still hurting, but the meds the guys’ doctor gave me started to kick in. He said I have a small concussion and a cut on the back of my head where it hit the brick, but apart from that I’m fine.

I am fine. I’m proud of myself for keeping calm, not letting my fear take control. There was a part of me that knew deep down that the guys would save me. And if they didn’t, I was ready to go down fighting. I’m not going to be anyone's willing victim. I refuse.

While Everett and Griffin can’t go without having one hand on me at all times, Zane has been distant.

I know he’s not mad at me, but mad at himself. He blames himself for not being there for me. He got into a fight on the phone with Calvin while I was in the shower, yelling that his eyes were on me one moment, and I was gone the next.

He said he was too distracted by whatever they were talking about and was partly blaming Calvin.

No one but the creeps who thought they had the right to put their hands on me are to blame here. I’m a grown woman, I don’t need to be babied. Yes, I’m an omega—but I’m not helpless. And yes, I know tonight shows what could happen to omegas who are unable to defend themselves if they go out alone, but it’s not going to stop me from living my life.

Zane might not see it now, but he saved me. I don’t blame him.

I’m wrapped up in a blanket, my hair still damp from my shower while sitting on Griffin’s lap. The TV is on but no one is fully watching it.

“I’m kind of surprised,” Everett muses softly.

“Surprised about what?” I ask, looking away from the TV and over to where he’s sitting next to us. My feet are on his lap and he is idly rubbing circles on my knee.

“That he’s still here,” Everett replies, his eyes never leaving Zane. Zane’s sitting on the window sill, watching the rain. He’s been there since I got out of the shower.

When he saw me wrapped in the towel, his eyes trailed over me intensely, like he was making sure I was in one piece before handing me the phone and letting me know Calvin wanted to talk to me.

He watched me as Calvin told me he wouldn’t be back tonight because he had to deal with what happened and keep it out of the media, but it was killing him that he couldn’t be here with me.

Then I gave the phone to the other two, where Calvin told them that he would kill them if they didn't keep me safe. He has nothing to worry about because I don’t think after tonight, any of them are going to let me out of their sights.

Normally, something like that would bother me. I’d tell them that I’m an adult, a grown woman and that I don’t need anyone to protect me.

But right now, the only thing I crave is the feeling of my alphas’ arms around me. The only thing that could make it better is if I could smell them, let their scents wash over me. I’m really going to have to get off these alpha blockers.

It’s never bothered me before, but the idea of not being able to smell Calvin and the guys doesn’t sit right with me. It feels like something is off, like it's wrong. I don’t like that I’ve lost that sense when it comes to them.

And yes, I know that if I go off them and get a hit of Calvin’s scent, the bond will click into place for me. But would that really be so bad?

I’m also aware that it’s only been a few days since the guys came back into my life and nothing has been easy.

But maybe I’ve been playing things too safe for too long. I need a little bit of excitement in my life. Just, maybe not like what happened tonight. That I could live without.

“Why wouldn’t he be here?” I ask, brows furrowing.

“If it was anything else, he would have left like he did the other night,” Griffin adds in. “The only reason he’s not drunk off his ass is because he can’t bring himself to be away from you.”

“I wouldn’t say he’s a full-blown alcoholic, but every day he was inching toward becoming one. Not a day went by without him having a drink. And on the stressful days, it was more than one,” Everett explains. “A lot of it had to do with needing to escape the pain of being away from you all these years.”

My heart sinks as I watch one of my oldest best friends looking wrecked. He was hurting, they all were. It wasn’t only me.

I want to take that pain away, to replace it with nothing but love. I’m proud of him, though, for choosing me instead of alcohol. He doesn’t know it, but by staying here, he’s showing me I can trust him to be there for me.

“We better get to sleep,” Zane says, looking away from the window as he stands up. “We have a long day tomorrow.”

Zane doesn’t look at us as he shuts the TV off on his way past us. He grabs the hem of his shirt and pulls it off, the low light of the bedside lamp showing off the tattoos on his toned body.

“Naughty little thing,” Griffin chuckles softly in my ear. “After everything that happened tonight, you're still getting turned on.”