Something that dangerously felt like hope fluttered in my chest. “We could find them all.”
“Exactly,” she said, leaning back in triumph.
“You’re freakishly good at this,” Larkin said, looking at Katy.
Katy actually looked down, suddenly almost shy. “I’m thinking about majoring in pre-law next year,” she replied.
“You should,” Larkin and I said together.
“I want to.” Her expression clouded. “But I can’t focus on school until I know what happened to Maren.”
“I know,” I replied softly. “I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will,” Katy replied, smiling slightly at me.
A text message notification at the top of the screen snagged my attention.
“Hang on,” I said, opening it and pausing the video chat.
TATE: Get ready. We’re going out tonight when the afternoon session is done.
I typed back a quick reply as Larkin and Katy kept talking.
ME: Where?
Text bubbles danced on my screen for several seconds before her reply came through.
TATE: There’s a club about an hour away owned by a shifter the guys know. It’s safe. Remy said we could use a night of fun.
I closed out the text messages and clicked back onto the video chat.
“Everything okay?” Larkin asked.
“It was Tate,” I replied, still a little confused. “She said we’re all going out tonight, so to get ready.”
“Going where?” Katy asked as I got off the couch and started for the stairs.
“A club?” I shrugged.
“Did you even bring any club clothes?” Katy demanded.
I made a face as I reached the top step. “What are club clothes?”
She groaned loudly. “Show me what we’re working with.”
It took Katy almost thirty minutes to decide I should wear a pair of dark skinny jeans and a black tank top. It took another fifteen minutes for her to walk me through how I should style my hair, even going as far as to use Larkin as a hair model for what was to be a simple, but sexy, braided bun.
In the end, I showered and bit the bullet, using the obnoxiously loud hair dryer in the bathroom on my dark hair. After several braid attempts, I gave up and let my hair hang down my back. I shoved an elastic in my pocket in case I wanted to pull it up later.
I opted for the jeans and tank top, tugging on a black leather jacket Zoe and Michael had given me for Christmas. I had started pulling on my boots when I heard the front door open and close.
A few seconds later I heard footsteps on the stairs and then Remy was walking through the door.
He paused as I finished zipping up the inside of my last boot, looking up at him. My lips curved into a happy grin.
I stood up, but even with the added inches of the heel on my boots, Remy was still several inches taller.
“Is this okay?” I asked, not sure I was wearing appropriate club attire.
His gaze heated and he licked his lips. “You look hot.”
A warm sensation licked through my veins.
“New plan,” he said softly, coming into the room and snaking an arm around my waist. He nuzzled his nose against my throat, his teeth nipping my collarbone. “Let’s stay in.”
I wound my arms around his neck, tilting my head back to give him unfettered access to any part of me his lips wanted to touch.
“I like that plan,” I conceded easily.
A notification chimed on his phone and he groaned, his forehead dropping to my shoulder.
“I told everyone I would drive,” he muttered, reaching into his pocket for his phone.
My arms fell to my sides. I sat back down on the bed as he stepped away, typing out a message before putting his phone on the dresser.
“Who’s going?” I asked, trying not to stare when he grabbed his shirt behind his head and pulled it off in one fluid move. He turned and pulled a clean shirt from a drawer. The tattoo that matched my necklace rippled over the muscles of his shoulder as he moved to put the new shirt on, effectively blocking my watch party.
“Tate, Dante, and Griffin,” he replied. “A friend of Griffin’s owns a club about an hour away. Dante and I have gone with him the last few years. It’s safe. Nero and Allie might meet us there later.”
“Griffin’s the guy you met with when we arrived, right?” I asked, trying to remember when Remy went to meet him. “And Allie is Nero’s wife? The tan wolf from yesterday?”
He nodded at me and glanced at his watch. “I said we would meet them at the car.”
“Your dad isn’t coming?”
He gave me a wry smile, heading into the bathroom. “He and Luke are going to stay here and meet with some of the other Alphas.”
I waited until he came back out from the bathroom before getting up.
He hesitated in the doorway, leaning against the frame and watching me with serious eyes. “The Council approached us earlier this afternoon. They scheduled your hearing for tomorrow afternoon.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, the unexpected news hitting me like a lead blanket.
“Hey, come here,” he said, crossing the room and pulling me against his chest.
My arms slowly lifted and went around his waist. I squeezed my eyes shut and held on.
“You’re going to be fine,” he vowed quietly, his hand smoothing down my back.
“Are you going to be there?” I asked, blinking up at him.
His mouth twisted into a frown. “No. It will be you, a couple members from the Council, and Linden.”
“Great,” I muttered, ducking my head back down.
“If you want to stay in, we can,” he said quietly, his lips brushing my forehead. “I just thought you might like a night out to get away. We can go out and celebrate your birthday.”
My birthday.
I had forgotten tomorrow was the day I turned eighteen. The day I was supposed to become an omega.
I supposed there was some sort of poetic justice that it would be the day I told my uncle to go to hell.
“We can do whatever you want.”
I considered what he was offering. No matter how tomorrow went, odds were I wouldn’t feel much like celebrating by the time I got done facing off with Linden.
“A night away from here sounds good,” I answered finally.
32
“Solum?” I slowly spoke the name of the club that was emblazoned in neon lights on the brick front of the building. A line started at the front door and snaked around the corner, disappearing into the night as people waited to get inside.
Remy grinned at me from the driver’s seat as he pulled the SUV into a reserved spot.
“It means ‘alone’ in latin,” Griffin supplied from the passenger seat beside him. His blue eyes sparkled as he spoke. When Remy had introduced us, there was something about him that instantly put me at ease.
“Kace, the friend who owns this place, was always a lone wolf. Said it was a fitting name for a club for how he spent his life,” he added, raking a hand through his sandy blonde hair.
“Line looks long,” Tate remarked, angling her head to see where it ended.
“We’ll use the side entrance.” Griffin turned and winked at her. “VIP experience.” He opened the door and climbed out.
Tate and I opened the side doors and got out, Dante climbing out from the backseat.
Once my feet were on solid ground, Remy grabbed my hand and pulled me close. I leaned against his arm, soaking in his warmth. The night air had turned cold once the sun set.
We all headed towards the side of the building towards a nondescript steel door with a man leaning against it.
He looked up, his expression bored as he looked at us until his gaze landed on Griffin. A grin split his face and he extended a hand.
“Griff,” he greeted. “It’s been too long.”
“Kace has you pulling security detail now, Felix?” Griffin smirked at him, shaking his head.
> “Only when he’s not doing it himself,” Felix replied, pulling the door open for us. His eyes scanned us as we walked in. “Man can’t stop micromanaging every little detail.”
“Someone has to keep you fuckers in line,” a deeper voice said from inside the doorway.
The newcomer stepped into the doorway, nearly filling it with his size. He was one of the tallest people I had ever seen and built like a mountain. His pale gray eyes were almost translucent, and a long scar ran from his brow down the left side of his face, disappearing into the open neck of his black shirt. He would have been absolutely terrifying if not for the warm grin on his face.
“Kace,” Griffin said, shaking his hand while he stepped inside. “You remember Remy and Dante.”
Kace shook each of their hands and we all stepped inside the back room of the club, the door swinging shut. I could hear the steady thump of a bass from music playing, but the sounds were muffled back here.
Kace welcomed Remy and Dante before looking past them. The smile on his face grew exponentially as he looked at Tate.
“Tatum,” he said warmly, his eyes practically sparkling, “Good to see you again.”
She stepped around Dante and hugged him.
“You two know each other?” I couldn’t help the question that slipped out.
Tate grinned up at him. “Kace and I go way back.”
“You must be Skye,” Kace said. He didn’t hold out a hand to me. Instead he turned his smile to Remy. “She’s too pretty for you.”
Remy smirked. “I’m well aware.”
Still grinning, Kace looked at me with a wink. “If you’re ever in the mood to trade up, Skye, let me know.”
It was said in joking, and everyone laughed, but it soured something in me. The thought of someone other than Remy touching me was repulsive. Everything in me rejected it to the point that my wolf was snarling.
That unease must have been displayed on my face because Kace’s smile melted away. He held up his hands, taking a step back.
“Shit, I’m sorry,” he apologized, his gaze turning serious. “I was just teasing.”
Remy’s hand tightened around mine, tugging me back to his side.
“It’s fine,” I said, forcing myself to let it go and offer a small smile at him. I pulled on politeness like a too-tight pair of jeans.
“Mate bonds are no joke,” he murmured, his gaze still wary. “Congrats to both of you.”
“Thanks,” Remy answered for us, his easy smile back.
Kace hooked a thumb behind him. “I set you guys up in the VIP section. Nero and Allie got here a few minutes ago.”
We followed him through the stockroom, past an office, and through a plain door that required a thumbprint to open.
The door opened and the sound of the music overwhelmed my senses, the bass throbbing in my bones as I stepped through the doorway and onto a loft that overlooked a dancefloor of writhing bodies.
A DJ was set apart on a platform in the center, a bar ran the length of the far wall with several people working it and ten times as many crowded around it, vying for attention. The space had an open, industrial feel. The lights pulsing to the beat of the music pulled me in, hypnotizing.
Kace led the others off to the side, but I lingered and slowly walked to the railing that lined the upper level, needing a better look.
“Whoa,” I murmured, pausing at the iron railing overlooking the main floor and letting my eyes wander across the room.
I inhaled through my nose, and immediately regretted it. The potent scent of shifters, sweat, and hormones was overpowering and slightly intoxicating.
Remy came up behind me, bracing a hand on either side of the railing and boxing me in. I leaned back into the protective cage of his arms.
“What do you think?” The deep timbre of his voice elicited a cascade of shivers in my nervous system.
“It’s unreal,” I replied, a little in awe. “There’s normals down there, too?”
Remy nodded, his cheek brushing the side of my head. He swept my hair aside before putting his hand back on the rail and lowering his chin to my shoulder.
“The majority of the people down there are normals,” he replied. “Some of the staff, too.”
“How does that work?” I asked curiously.
It had been drilled in my head since birth that shifters didn’t mix with normals. The risk of exposure was too great.
Not that I was ever allowed outside the compound walls in Long Mesa.
Blackwater was different, but I still had minimal exposure to the normal humans who had no clue we existed in their world.
“A lot of the staff Kace uses are lone wolves,” Remy explained, “but there’s some humans, too.”
“Do they know about us?” Curiosity warred with the small spiral of panic I felt pressing in.
“I don’t know,” he answered. “They shouldn’t, but Kace does his own thing. Always has. Humans aren’t supposed to know we exist, but Kace has a thing for strays. Wolf, human … Solum has been a safe place for them.”
I turned, putting my back to the room as I faced Remy. His hands moved from the railing to my hips.
“We can go dance if you want.” He jerked a chin at the dancefloor below me.
My cheeks heated, remembering in vivid detail the last time we had danced together. My body remembered the feel of his hands on me, the way his body aligned just right with mine.
It was also the night Maren had been taken.
“Maybe later?”
He nodded and kissed me once before grabbing my hand and pulling me along the wall until it opened up into a private space where the others were gathered. The VIP section clearly had room for easily another thirty people, but we were the only ones using it. A private staircase led down to the main floor.
“We’re going down to get drinks,” Tate said, standing by the stairs with Griffin and Dante. “You guys want anything?”
“Water?” I asked.
“Whatever you’re having,” Remy said with a shrug.
“Thanks,” I called as they headed down the stairs. I looked back at the two people left in the room.
Nero and Allie were curled together on one of the dark sofas, and both watching us curiously.
Allie’s dark eyes glittered as she smiled at us. “There you two are.”
“Allie thought Remy might be trying to keep Skye to himself,” Nero added, his white teeth flashing against dark skin.
Allie slapped his stomach playfully, rolling her eyes. “Oh, shut it.” She smiled at me. “It’s nice to officially meet you, Skye.”
“You, too,” I said, sitting down across from them beside Remy.
“We didn’t really have a chance to talk yesterday.” She reached for a glass of water on the table in front of her.
“Uh, no,” I replied, unable to stop from glancing at Remy.
He was smiling ruefully. “Guess that’s my fault.”
Nero took a sip of an amber liquid in a tumbler. “Yeah, you planning on telling us what happened?”
Remy hesitated, his gaze lingering on me for a second.
“Leave them alone,” Allie shushed him, resting a hand on his thigh. Her long, pink nails traced out a pattern on the denim of his jeans. “Obviously it’s mate business.”
“It’s still hard to believe you guys are mates,” Nero said, shaking his head.
“Because we’re so young?” I guessed, a little tired of hearing how young we were.
Nero gave me a rueful smile. “Guess you hear that a lot?”
“Only daily,” I said, trying to smile and laugh it off.
“Well, I think it’s amazing,” Allie said firmly. “Life would be a lot easier if we could all find our mate when we were still in high school.”
Nero gave her a strange look. “You’ve known me since I was eight.”
Allie snorted and tossed an unimpressed look at him. “You’re right. I’ve known you for almost two decades. That’s why I didn’t agree to marry y
ou until two years ago.”
“Are you two…” I trailed off, not sure what their relationship was.
“We’re not bonded,” Allie told me. “We got married last year, and this year…” She shared a secret grin with Nero before covering her stomach with her hand.
She was pregnant. I knew it.
“When are you due?” I leaned forward, happy for them.
“Congrats, man,” Remy said, standing up to shake Nero’s hand.
“I’m only a few weeks long,” Allie said, her face glowing as she smiled. “Nero didn’t like the idea of me being so far away while he was here, so I came with him.”
Nero sat back down, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. His lips pressed into a thin line. “It’s too volatile right now. Until we figure out who is taking these missing girls, I’m not letting you out of my sight, sweetheart.”
Allie curled into his side, her head leaning against his shoulder. “I know.”
“I still can’t believe they closed the school,” Nero continued, shifting his attention to Remy. “And you know one of the girls who disappeared, right? The one from Dante’s pack?”
“Maren,” Remy said quietly. “She’s my sister’s girlfriend.”
Allie’s dark eyes filled with tears. “That’s so awful.” She wiped at her eyes. “Shit, I’m sorry. Hormones are the worst.”
She stood up swiftly, blinking fast as she looked up at the ceiling. “I’m not ruining my makeup again with baby tears.” She looked down, fixing her gaze on me. “Let’s dance.”
“Oh, um …” I tried to come up with an excuse, but Allie grabbed my hand and started pulling me up.
I gave Remy a helpless look, but he was smiling.
“Go have fun,” he said, his dark eyes dancing in a way I hadn’t seen much lately.
I looked back at Allie. “I don’t really dance.”
She waved a dismissive hand, tugging down the bottom of her dress. “So? In that crowd, the most we’ll be able to do is shuffle side to side. That’s not really dancing.”
I made a face. “No, really, I don’t—”
“You’re too hot for that body not to be noticed,” she declared, then winced when Remy stiffened beside me. She waved a dismissive hand. “I won’t let anyone touch your girl. I’ll go all mama bear on their asses.”
Prey (Blackwater Pack Book 2) Page 29
