Page 79 of Brutal Reign
I’m pretty sure every one of our fellow recruits is here at the bar tonight. The cut list was posted this morning, and it’s no wonder that it took the squad leaders the whole day yesterday to assemble it, because they’ve culled half our ranks. Only twenty-six of us remain, which means we’re getting down to the nitty gritty and the stakes just got a whole lot higher. Monday’s rankings are gonna be a wakeup call for the bottom half. Beau and Eli had better get more serious about training camp if they want to stay.
Some of the other recruits are clustered around River and her friends on the dance floor, and I watch intently as Nate Hines slides up behind her, getting much too close for my liking. Riv doesn’t seem to notice at first. She’s still dancing with Hayden, one arm dangling around her neck as she rolls her body to the beat. Nate presses in closer behind River, his hands landing onher hips, and she glances back at him over her shoulder with a flirty smile.
Seb snaps his head in my direction, the gold shimmers of his wolf swirling in his irises.
“Go get her,” I sigh.
His face lights up like a kid on Christmas. He probably had his doubts over whether I’d allow her up here in the booth, but the more I think about it, the less of a question it becomes. River’s my girl.Ourgirl. Of course she’s got a spot up here, and it’s about time she claimed it.
Seb’s lips curve into a menacing grin as he pivots for the doorway of the booth, heading down into the fray. Rather than fighting his way through the crowd, he skirts around the dance floor, snatching a bottle of whiskey off the bar as he passes by. The bartender who was about to pour shots from it looks like she wants to object, but evidently thinks better of it when she realizes who swiped the bottle. Seb can get away with all kinds of shit thanks to his position as a future Alpha.
He doesn’t even pause as he continues to thread his way alongside the dance floor, gripping the neck of the bottle and tipping it to his lips as he swivels to enter the crowd. I watch with amusement as it parts, people instinctively skittering out of his way once they get a whiff of the energy rolling off him. The only one who doesn’t seem to notice is River. Her friends try to nudge her in warning as he stalks up behind her, but by the time she heeds it and swings around, it’s too late. Seb stoops down, grabs her around the waist, and tosses her over his shoulder.
River kicks and flails, punching her fists against his back in objection as he casually pivots around to head back the way he came, keeping her securely in place with one arm while raising the bottle to his lips with the other. He takes a swig of whiskey, completely unfazed by the fight she’s putting up, and once again, a path is cleared for him as people shrink back on instinct.
Well, noteveryone.I spot Chandler in the crowd, glaring daggers into Seb’s back as he stalks toward the DJ booth with his prize. We’re going to have to do something about her. She’s still so desperate for Seb’s dick that she offered to suck mine if I put in a good word for her with him. I declined, but Beau took her up on it. Wonder when she’ll realize it was all for nothing.Probably right about now, judging by the look on her face.
Riv’s still putting up a fuss as Seb enters the booth with her slung over his shoulder, and I quickly set a playlist before turning my attention their way, sliding my headphones down off my ears as he kicks the door closed behind them. He carries her over to the chair he usually occupies, dumping her onto it unceremoniously. Her hat was lost somewhere along the way, and she sweeps her hair out of her face angrily, huffing out a breath as she scowls up at Seb.
“What the hell?” River demands.
“Exactly,” he deadpans, folding his arms over his chest. “Dance with another guy like that and I’ll fuckin’ castrate him.”
She pushes up to her feet, snorting a wry laugh. “Guess I’d better go dance with Jake then.”
Seb arches a dubious brow. “You giving me the green light to pound his face in?”
River frowns, snatching the whiskey bottle from his grip and dropping back down into the chair. She brings the rim to her lips, tipping it back and taking a big swallow before lowering it and wiping her mouth off on a wrist. Then she turns my way, thrusting the liquor in my direction. “Were you in on this kidnapping?” she asks suspiciously.
I smirk as I lean forward to take the bottle from her.As if I’m not always the mastermind.
Winking, I raise it to my lips, tasting a hint of her strawberry chapstick on the rim as I tip it back. It’s a tease that only leaves me wanting the real thing, and suddenly I can’t focus onanything but her plush lips as I swallow down the liquor and lower the bottle.
“I shouldn’t be up here with you guys,” she mutters, crossing her arms and slumping back against the chair. “People are gonna talk.”
“Let ‘em talk,” Seb scoffs. “They don’t know what this is.”
“Wedon’t even know what this is,” she grumbles.
“Exactly, so shouldn’t we spend time together so we can figure that out?” I drawl, her hazel-eyed gaze returning to mine. “We’re kinda on a time clock here, babygirl. Three weeks ‘til the next full moon.”
She wrinkles her nose, leaning over and reaching out an arm to snag the whiskey back from me. “Can you even seal more than one bond?”
“Guess we’ll have to find out,” Seb snickers, stealing the bottle from her grasp before she has a chance to take a sip.
She whips her head in his direction, scowling. “You say that like it’s already a done deal.”
“What can I say?” he muses as he brings it to his lips. “I trust fate.”
“Since when?” she snorts.
He shrugs, grinning around the rim of the whiskey bottle as he takes a sip.
River steals it back from him the moment he lowers it from his mouth, frowning as she swings her gaze between the two of us. “So what are we supposed to tell people, that we rekindled our friendship and now I’m suddenly dating both of you?”
“You’ll have to give us the chance to take you out on an actual date for that to be true,” I point out, the corner of my mouth lifting.
I haven’t told her yet, but I’ve got a line on tickets to that sold-out show in Boulder she mentioned a couple weeks back. I’m hoping the guy selling them comes through, because a nightaway from this place could be exactly what we need to help us remember how we used to be when we were young; back when it was the three of us against the world.