“Alynna!” Cady called out as she came near to them. “Guess who I found lurking here?”
The guy beside Cady and Joseph turned around. Alynna stopped, her heart jumping into her throat. Of course. Just her luck. “Hello Alex,” she greeted weakly. She really wished she could have a drink right now.
Alex gave her a nod. He leaned back against the bar, taking a sip of his beer.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, babe!” a perky voice from behind chirped. Alynna turned around. It was the haughty blonde Lycan from the bathroom. “Had to go powder my nose!” The tall, sleek blonde snaked her arm around Alex’s neck and pushed her body against his possessively. Alex said nothing, though he put a hand around her waist. She ignored the rest of them, focusing her gaze up at Alex instead.
“A glass of red, please,” Alynna said to Sean. Fuck this sickness, she needed alcohol now. Something seethed and raged inside of her, and she struggled to keep it under wraps. She didn’t know what it was, but it made her want claw the other woman’s eyes out and rip her hair out of her scalp. She had to calm down.
“How was your trip to Chicago, Alex?” Cady asked, breaking the silence.
“It was ok, thanks for asking, Cady.”
The blonde seemed to perk up when she heard the name. She finally looked away from Alex, her head turning towards Cady. “Oh my! You’re…the Regal’s…” she cleared her throat. “I’m Jenna,” she said, her eyes directed at Cady. “I work down on the 20th floor. Ms. Gray, it’s finally nice to meet you,” she crooned, her voice sweet as sugar.
“Oh, uhm,” Cady mumbled, a little embarrassed. “Yes, uhm, nice to meet you Jenna!”
“Alex told me he worked closely with you. And the Regal of course,” she looked up at Alex, her eyes devouring him. Alynna gagged mentally, then swallowed half the glass of wine Sean put in front of her. It wasn’t as bad as hard liquor, but drinking it quickly, before she could smell or taste it, helped.
“This is Joseph,” Cady nodded towards the man beside her. “And uh, Alynna.”
“Yup, still here,” Alynna snarked. “The reports about my disappearance have been greatly exaggerated.” She downed the rest of the glass and motioned to Sean for another.
Jenna looked down at her as if she wanted her to disappear. Her eyes flashed recognition for a second, taking a shallow breath as if to sniff our her scent. “Alynna…I’ve never seen you around here before…” she looked at Joseph for a brief moment, assessing if he was human or Lycan. “Did you….transfer or are you just visiting?”
Alynna laughed. “I guess a little bit of both,” she winked at Cady . No one was supposed to know about her existence yet, at least not before the ball.
“She’s a consultant for Fenrir,” Cady explained. “Brought in by…the team to help with a special project.”
“Oh, how nice,” she said, then turned back to fawning over Alex.
Sean returned with another beer for Alex and Alynna’s wine.. “Why don’t we move over there?” Jenna suggested. “It’s getting a little…crowded over here,” she said, her eyes flickering to Alynna briefly.
Alex picked up his beer. “Cady, Joseph,” he turned around. “Alynna.”
Alynna gave a noncommittal sound, instead taking another sip of her second glass of wine. “Jerk,” she said under her breath. When both Alex and Jenna were out of sight, she breathed a sigh.
“Are you alright?” Joseph asked. “You should….slow down maybe? That’s your second glass in ten minutes.”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, sipping her wine. “I had a lot of food.”
Cady looked at her with concern in her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Uhm, maybe you’d like to come out for a smoke,” Joseph took some cigarettes out of his pocket. “Or fresh air for you girls, if you don’t smoke?”
“No, you guys go,” Alynna said, motioning to Cady. “I’m gonna stay here for a bit.”
Cady hopped off the bar and followed Joseph out of the bar. Alynna did her best to stop herself from looking across the room, but it was like her eyes were drawn towards Alex and Jenna. They were talking (or at least Jenna was), with her whispering and giggling into his ear while his hand rubbed her lower back.
Alynna watched them from another minute, her blood boiling as she watched, the tall, svelte Lycan tugged at his arm, signaling for them to leave. Alex drank the rest of his drink, then followed Jenna as she led him towards the exit.
She threw her head back and took the rest of the wine in one gulp. As soon as she put the glass down, she instantly regretted it. “Oh fuck!” The world began to spin and she held onto the counter for support.
“Alynna, are you ok?” Sean asked. Alynna looked at him, his voice seemed to be drowned out by the loud thrumming in her brain.
“I…I…” she felt nauseous. “I need…” she spun around, placing her hands on her mouth to try and stop herself from vomiting all over the floor. She ran across the room, bumping into other patrons. She didn’t care, pushing past them as fast as she could. She barely made it to the last stall, as she lost her dinner and drinks right into the ceramic bowl.
She knelt on the floor, her stomach rolling as it emptied its contents. Finally, when she was dry heaving into the bowl, she stood up weakly, grabbing a few to wash her mouth.
“Ms. Chase! Ms. Chase!” a voice outside said with alarm.
Heath! She thought. She almost forgot about him. Damn. “I’m ok! No worries.”
“Are you sure?”
She turned on the sink and scooped up some water to wash out the acidic taste in her mouth. “Mmm-hmmm!” She spit out the water, then wet some more tissues to wipe up her face. What a mess, she thought as she looked at her face. “I just want to go home,” she said softly, placing her head on sink.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have left.”
Alynna nearly jumped out of her skin at the voice. She turned and saw Nick Vrost standing at the doorway. “I’m not a prisoner, I can go where I want and Heath was with me. And so was Cady.”
A brief, inscrutable look passed on his face. “Cady? I wasn’t told she was here.”
“Do you know whenever I pee too?” Alynna asked sarcastically as she threw the wet tissues into the trashcan.
“I review all the report logs every few hours,” Nick said nonchalantly. “I saw that you had left to go to Blood Moon and I was concerned as you didn’t mention anything.”
“I can go where I want,” she said petulantly. “As long as I have my security with me.”
“And Cady?”
“Oh shit.” Alynna said the words before she could stop them. Cady was probably somewhere making out with Joseph and with Nick’s weird vibe around Cady, she wasn’t sure how he’d react to that.
Nick suddenly came up to her, grabbing her arm firmly. “Is she ok? Has she been hurt?” His eyes literally glowed at her, his face a mask of restrained concern.
“Jeeze, Nicky boy, tone down the whole protective Lycan thing, ok?” she jerked her arm back. “She’s fine, I’m pretty sure. She might be a little tipsy, but she’s ok.”
Nick straightened his posture, smoothing down his jacket. “I think it’s time we go home. And maybe we can go find Ms. Gray and take her home too.”
I bet you do, she said to herself. She hoped they wouldn’t run into Joseph and Cady in some…compromising position, as she wasn’t sure what Nick’s reaction would be. She followed him out of the bathroom and nodded to Heath who was keeping guard.
As they were walking towards the door, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Cady enter the bar. That relief was short-lived however, when she saw Joseph following closely behind her. The handsome man grabbed her hand and whispered something in her ear that made her blush prettily.
“Ms. Gray,” Nick said they approached the couple.
Cady’s eyes grew wide at the sight of Nick Vrost. “Mr. Vrost! What are you…I mean…” She slurred her words slightly, unable to complete the re
st of her sentence.
“I was passing by and I saw Ms. Chase,” Nick said coolly, his eyes raking over her appearance. Cady’s usually immaculate hair was mussed and her lips were pink and swollen, her lipstick practically gone. She blushed heatedly at Nick’s appraisal. “She was sick. In the bathroom.” His voice was cold and almost accusing.
“Alynna!” Cady exclaimed, going to the younger girl’s side. “Are you alright? You should have told me! Let’s get you home.”
“Perhaps you should go home as well, Ms. Gray,” Nick observed. “Don’t you have the early meeting tomorrow?”
Cady shot him back an angry look. “Mr. Vrost, I-”
“You should stay,” Alynna said, glancing at Joseph, who seemed confused at what was happening. “Fenrir doesn’t own you,” she said, emphasizing ‘own’. “You can do what you want on your off time, without having bullheaded men pushing you around.”
The redhead looked torn, glancing at Joseph and then Alynna, while Nick continued to give her a steely stare. “Will you wait for me? I’ll settle my bill with Sean and be right out, ok?” The younger woman nodded, then walked outside, Nick and Heath hot on her heels.
As soon as they were outside, Alynna breathed in the fresh, cool air into her lungs. She was already feeling better, getting out of the hot, stuffy bar. Cady didn’t take too long and soon joined them.
“Glad you could join us, Ms. Gray,” Nick said icily.
“Mr. Vrost, I assure you that Alynna was in no danger at any point. Heath was with her the entire time,” Cady explained.
“And you? Were you with her the whole night or just with your…friend?” he sneered.
Cady was obviously stung at the acidity dripping from his voice. Alynna had just about had enough. “Whoa, Nicky-boy, calm yo tits, will ya?” she said, poking him in the chest. Nick whipped his head towards her, his steely gaze holding her. “So I threw up a little in the bathroom! I just drank a little too much wine and I think the cheese on those nachos were old or something. Cady’s not to blame, it’s all me!”
The redhead looked at her gratefully and cleared her throat. “Thank you Alynna. I didn’t mean to leave her and she was fine when I, uh, went out for some fresh air,” Cady explained. “Now, maybe you should go and get some rest? I’ll take you home.”
“No,” Nick interjected. “Heath will take her home. Cady, you can ride with me back to The Enclave.”
“I can take a cab,” Cady said brusquely.
“I insist,” Nick said, grabbing her arm. He clearly was not taking no for an answer.
“Cady…”Alynna began.
“I…I’ll be fine Alynna,” Cady said, straightening her shoulders. “Mr. Vrost and I are headed to the same place anyway.”
“Fine, but if he….” Alynna wasn’t sure. Nick looked like he had murder in his eyes, but she doubted it has for the lovely redhead, but rather, directed to her handsome companion from earlier. Hmmm…this was definitely interesting. Too bad Joseph seemed to have disappeared.
“Alright,” she looked at Heath. “Let’s go back to The Hamilton.” Alynna walked by Nick, giving him the stink eye, and Heath trailed behind her.
***
Alex took a deep breath as they exited Blood Moon, the cool, evening air clearing his senses. A vice-like grip constricted around his chest when he thought of Alynna. What the heck was I thinking, bringing Jenna here?
The blonde Lycan had been flirting mercilessly with him every since he transferred to New York, though he had always rebuffed her advances. As he was walking out of Fenrir that night, Jenna had cornered him in the elevator, begging him to come for a drink. She said some regular at Blood Moon had been stalking her for the last couple of weeks - could he do her a solid and just pretend to be her date for one night to help send a message to the guy? She also offered to pay for his drinks. He could hardly turn away such a request - free beer just for cozying up to an attractive female.
He had expected Alynna to be holed up at the hotel, not out and about with Cady. He immediately regretted his decision as soon as she saw her. Of course, Jenna kept up appearances (though the mysterious stalker hadn’t shown up). After a few beers, he just couldn’t stand being there, being around Alynna and not being able to talk to her or touch her. It was a good thing Jenna said she wanted to leave Blood Moon right away and he was eager to get home and try to get some sleep.
They split a cab and arrived the front door of the main building that was at the center of The Enclave. He opened the door for her, greeted the security guard at the front desk and headed to the elevators, then pressed the “up” button.
“So, Alex” Jenna drawled in low voice. “Thanks for keeping me company tonight.”
“Uh, sure,” he shrugged. “Too bad that guy didn’t show up.” He looked up at the numbers on the floor display above the elevator door as they began to descend.
“Yeah too bad,” Jenna put her hand on his arm, giving his bicep a light squeeze. “So, how about a nightcap at my place?”
Alex shook his head. “Sorry, I need to get some sleep, I’ve got an early day.”
Jenna pouted. “Just one drink, please?” She batted her eyelashes at him, and moved closer, brushing the curve of her breasts against his arm.
Alex mentally recoiled at her touch. “Uhm, I’m on duty with the Alpha tomorrow,” he lied. “Have to be on full alert.”
Jenna sighed. “Alright, well…” She was interrupted by the ding of the elevator. The doors opened and she stepped in. “Are you coming?”
He shook his head. “Actually, you go ahead. I’ve got to talk to Chris,” he motioned to the guard. “Something the Alpha wanted me to check for him.”
The blonde shrugged. “Well, ok. Goodnight then, but if you change you mind, you know where I am,” she said saucily, and gave him a wink.
Alex let out a deep breath as soon as the elevator doors closed. He watched the numbers go up, and then stop at Jenna’s floor before he pressed the up button again. When the doors dinged and opened, he gave a last wave to the guard and headed into the mercifully empty elevator.
***
Cady watched Heath and Alynna walk away. Letting out a breath, she turned around. “Well, I suppose we should get going.”
“Not going to stay with your boyfriend?” Nick’s tone was cutting, with little emotion.
“He’s not…I mean I just met him and we…ugh!” she turned around and began walking the opposite direction. She was not in the mood to duke it out with Nick Vrost tonight.
Cady was surprised, if not confused by his actions. Yes, she and Nick sometimes clashed on certain issues, especially when it came to Grant, but he had never been so…mean to her. She sighed. Nick was usually indifferent to Cady, not exactly ignoring her, but always keeping a respectable distance. She was confused as to why he’d been acting so strange for the past few weeks.
“Taxi!” she called out to a passing yellow cab. It stopped a few feet from her and she chased it.
“Cady…” Nick called out. “I have a car, we don’t need a cab.”
“You don’t need a cab,” she sneered. “I do.” She grabbed the door and yanked it open.
Nick slammed his palm on the door and shut it. “Stop it, Cady.”
“I’m not one of your Lycan employees, Mr. Vrost,” she said icily.
“No, you are not,” he said in a frustrated voice. He ran his fingers through his hair. “Look, stop being ridiculous and just come with me. There’s no need to waste money on a cab when I have a car and we’re headed the same way.”
“Hey lady,” the cab driver called from inside. “Are you comin’ in or not?”
Cady sighed, too tired to argue. “Sorry,” she shrugged. The cab drove off and Cady stared after it, wondering if she would regret her choice.
“Let’s go.” She said, walking towards Blood Moon’s parking lot, where she knew he would be parked. Nick followed beside her, not saying a word.
Cady walked over to his sleek, black Mercedes and to
her surprise, Nick opened the door for her. She stepped in without another word, settling herself into the passenger seat. Nick walked to the driver’s side, climbed in smoothly.
Cady opened her mouth, but suddenly froze when Nick leaned over to her side, his body practically covering hers. The spicy smell of his cologne filled her nostrils, a scent that wasn’t unpleasant. That scent…it seemed familiar, but not. She felt a slight shiver as the warmth of his body seemed to radiate and overwhelm her. She could have sworn she felt the lightest touch of his breath and lips over her neck.
“Mr. Vrost, what are you—“
A loud click interrupted her and she felt the seatbelt tighten across her lap and chest.
“Don’t want you to get hurt, now do we?” Nick asked as leaned back into his seat and started the engine.
Cady wrinkled her nose. “I—thank you Mr. Vrost. As was I saying earlier, there’s really no need for your concern. Alynna was in no trouble—“
“And you would know because you were with her the whole time?” Nick interjected, this voice dripping with accusation.
“It’s not my job to keep an eye on Alynna, that’s why we have security on her,” Cady countered. “I was there with her as as friend. After office hours. She was lonely and going stir-crazy trapped in that hotel room. She wanted company and to get out.”
Nick kept his eyes on the road. “And you let her leave?”
“She’s not a prisoner, Grant himself said that.” Cady stated matter-of-factly.
The Lycan remained silent, but Cady could feel the tension radiating off him, filling the car, and making the air between them thick enough to cut with a knife. Mercifully, they pulled in to The Enclave’s private garage.
She unbuckled her seat belt and grabbed the door handle to let herself out.
“Ms. Gray…” Nick called, his voice low and hoarse.
Cady froze, her fingers remaining still. She turned her head. “What is it?” she asked in an impatient voice.
Nick’s ice blue eyes stared back at her. For a moment, she thought he looked almost hesitant, very un-Nick, who was always sure of himself, each gesture and movement efficient and well-executed.
Fated Mates: Book 1 of the True Mates Series Page 13
