Page 11 of Pack’s Pledge
My body longed to press against his, to flatten myself against his firm chest and the hard bulge in his pants, to lose myself in his kisses once again. I wanted him, wanted Adrian, too. I hadn’t forgotten about his flirtation across the bartop, the casual way he’d flexed all those muscles, the tension in his strong forearms.
But then there was Conall, standing in the corner of the room, scowling. I couldn’t let myself get entangled with his pack, if he wasn’t interested in me. Or if he was interested in me, for that matter.
I couldn’t do a casual thing, not with him.
“Thanks,” I breathed. “I’m so, so, sorry. I just– I don’t think this is a good idea. I shouldn’t have– I’m sorry. I know you,” I could feel my face going hot, “you probably needed someone for tonight?” The end of my sentence tilted upwards, and I grimaced.
His hands squeezed mine, and he leaned toward me. I braced myself against his magnetism, but all I felt was the firm swipe of his thumbs across the backs of my hands in his. “Baby, Ihavesomeone for tonight,” he said, and I caught my breath at the look in his eyes, dark and wild. “Twosomeones,” he emphasized. “Don’t worry about it. Please. You’re too pretty to worry about a guy like–”
“Shit, Jax, you were right, itisan omega.”
The change that crept over Beau’s features was subtle. I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t been standing so close, focused so narrowly on his expression: all the softness melted away, leaving only the hard line of his set jaw, his furrowed brow, his stiff shoulders, not as broad as an alpha’s. He blinked, once.
“Hello, gentlemen,” he said, and turned, blocking my view of the man–men–alphas–that had approached us. The rest of his sentence I couldn’t hear: the band had started in on another song. I couldn’t see the alphas, either, not with the way Beau was unsubtly shielding me from them, but I could see when one of their large hands came to rest on his shoulder, and I could see how Beau’s shoulders rose, tense under their touch.
Where are Adrian and Conall?I thought, but the dance floor was packed. They couldn’t get to us without causing a scene–a fight, maybe–and although I didn’t know Beau that well, he didn’t seem like the kind of man who would want a fight to break out in a crowded room.What was going on?The music was too loud, the room suddenly too close.
The hand on Beau’s shoulder tightened in his shirt, then pulled it roughly to the side, and I suddenly understood:his mating mark.Was it there? I couldn’t remember if I’d seen it. I tried to remember my training–there were a few places you could mark an omega, the shoulder being the most common… Even if they didn’t see a claim, they could smell it, right? Even if I couldn’t–and fuck, I felt like I was missing something important–what was it, that they had told me, at Ardor, in my days and days of monotonous training–
At Ardor–
My mind cleared.
I squirmed around Beau’s side, opposite of the disembodied hand I could see on his shoulder.
“Hey,” I said, and three pairs of eyes swiveled to meet mine, three matching sneers on three alpha faces.
Beau was a rarity.
An alpha with aggression issues?
I saw those every. Fucking. Day.
“Hey,” I said again, my voice calm. Gentle. Non-threatening. “I see you’re interested in my friend here, but unfortunately, he’s taken.”
“By a beta?” the tallest man scoffed. From this angle, I could see the tight grip he had on Beau. “Yeah, sure.” He licked his lips, and looked back to Beau. “I don’t see a mark on him, do you? Looks like he’s here to play.”
“Smells like it, too, Roman,” the man to his his side. “He’s fuckingready.”
My heart thumped behind my ribs, and my glance shot to Beau. His chin was tilted up, his jaw closed tight, his fists twitching by his sides.
“No, not by a beta,” I said, fighting to keep the fury from my voice, to stay neutral. Better than these asshole deserved, but I didn’t know just how dangerous they might be, and I didn’t have club security to back me up here. “By his alphas. Not that it matters, but he’s marked. If you want to pick up omegas,” I said, leaning forward slightly toward the tallest man–the leader, because obviously the tallest alpha would be leader, obviously–and smiling suggestively, “I suggest Ardor. You’ve heard of it.”
“Yeah, right,” said the sidekick, “like we could affor–unf!”
The pack alpha shut him up with an unsubtle elbow to the gut. “You know someone who can get us in?”
“Sure, me. They only hire betas, right?” I winked. “If you want, let them know I sent you. Britney. Who knows… you may get invited into the back rooms, hmm? And the omegas there… I mean, they only go there for one reason.” I smirked.Omegas, right?
“You’re fucking right, they do.” He smiled back, all teeth. “Britney, right?” I nodded, and then he leaned in close, so that both Beau and I could hear him clearly over the music.
“You ever need a real alpha, you come to me, hmm, baby?” he hissed, his breath gusting across my neck and Beau’s, but then… he released Beau’s shirt, turned, and walked away.
“Fucking hell, where thefuckis Conall,” I said, unable to keep the whine from my voice.
“Here,” came a voice, and I flinched before recognizing the voice, the familiar feel of him…
Brushing past me, going to Beau.