by A Lonergan
Tracey jumped from the bed and squealed. “This is gonna be the best night ever!”
Tornado Tracey touched down in my room approximately five minutes after that. She left clothes, shoes, and makeup in her wake. When she grabbed my shoulders and shoved me back into my chair, I started to worry about the monster I had unleashed upon myself. There was a little black dress draped across the bed in front of me and some strappy red heels on the floor. Tracey yanked my hair this way and that way and I had zero say in what was happening to my body. What was wrong with me?
By the time she was finished with my hair, my scalp was sore and I could feel tears building behind my eyes. I had never been considered tender-headed but she had delivered pain I wasn’t expecting. When she turned me around to face the mirror behind my desk, I gasped. She hadn’t put much makeup on me but what she did put made my green eyes glow. My hair was curled around my head in loose waves. I didn’t even recognize myself. When was the last time I had actually fixed my hair and makeup? I couldn’t remember the last time. I felt like a new person.
I took a deep breath as I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Maybe I was a new person now and this new person needed to grow a pair. My mom answered on the first ring.
“Hey! How’s Knox doing?”
I groaned. “I am not answering that question.”
“Good because I would rather talk about anything but the men in your life. At one point, you always promised I would be the only man in your life,” my father’s voice took over the phone.
“That sounds really lonely dad,” I didn’t mean for it to sound as harsh as it came out. “I have news though and I couldn’t wait to share it will you both.”
“If this is a preg-”
I pressed my palms into my eyes. “Don’t even finish the sentence.”
“Out with it!” Mom’s voice went excited really quick.
“I was offered a job with the Crimson family as an accountant.” My mom let out a squeal and my father let out some relief in a heavy sigh.
“What does this mean?” The seriousness has come back.
“Well, I figured it was time for me to start looking for a big girl job and possibly even getting my own place to live.”
My mom gasped and my dad remained quiet. “Have we done something?”
“No, I just feel like it’s time I grow up. I’ll be graduating soon and I need some experience under my belt. I had originally only been looking for internships but Alice Crimson saw something in me.”
Something like pride rang through my father’s voice. “I like the Crimson’s and I think this will be a good opportunity for you. I am so proud of you.”
Tracey mouthed for me to hang up. She was right, if this phone call got any mushier, I was going to ruin my makeup. I always knew my parents were proud of me, but hearing it changed everything.
Chapter 52
Jade Rivers
Tracey informed me in the car that the boys would be going with us. I didn’t worry about asking which boys because I knew we would be tailed by the Guardians and I was too worried that the list would include Rafe. I didn’t really look forward to seeing him again after leaving the pack lands.
Surprisingly, we arrived at the little bar before the boys did. It gave me the chance to take a deep breath and focus on our surroundings. The bar was owned by someone in the pack and most everyone that frequented it was of supernatural origins. I didn’t know how I felt about possibly coming face to face with a vampire, but we would cross that bridge when we got there.
Tracey chose a corner booth before she went to order a drink at the bar. I asked for a water before she disappeared. I checked my phone for a call from my parents before I tucked it into the pocket of my dress, right beside my ID. Even though Tracey had informed me I didn’t need it, I felt more comfortable having it with me.
Knox was the first one to walk through the entrance and when I caught sight of what he was wearing I about fell over. His red hair was slicked back and he wore a Hawaiian button-down shirt. But those things weren’t what had me falling over. It was the jorts. The jean shorts that were cut off more than six inches above his knees. There was something sexy but also hilarious about them. The shorts showed off his muscular thighs and my mouth went dry. Was there a dress code that we missed?
Mav came in next with a swagger in his step. He leaned to the side and swung his body around as he walked right through the door. He was also wearing the ridiculous getup that Knox had on. Knox met Tracey at the bar and I watched as his eyes looked her up and down before he smirked. I raised my eyebrows and watched their flirty banter unfold. Tracey smacked him on the arm before she marched back to our spot.
Tonight her tight curls were pulled back into a bun on the top of her head and massive gold hoops swung from her ears. She wore a bodysuit that hugged all of her curves wonderfully. The army green color of it made her skin tone glow. Knox’s tongue ran across his top lip as he watched her go.
“I think he baited you on purpose,” I smirked as she slid into the booth beside me. “He wanted to see you walk away.”
She rolled her light eyes. “He’s just a flirt. He loves a good chase. If I chased back he would get scared.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that,” Mav leaned against the top of the booth and threw us both a show-stopping smile.
Tracey pouted. “I hope he heard it. He wouldn’t be able to handle a strong woman even if he wanted to.”
My eyes stayed glued to the door as the other Guardians filed into the bar. Archer, Duncan, and Gabriel all wore the same thing as the other Guardians. They each had on a different colored shirt though. It looked like a cult gone wrong. Was Rafe going to be matching with them? I doubted it. He didn’t seem like the type. Archer stopped at the door and pushed it back open before he peered out. His hair was the color of midnight and was cropped close to his scalp. It was a stark contrast to his pale skin. He reached out the door and grabbed a hold of something.
It took me a second to realize it was Rafe. I snorted and about fell right out of the booth. He was matching the other guys. What had they done to get him into his jorts?
My eyes followed the line of muscle up his thick, bronzed thighs and I wasn’t mad at all about it. His green shirt with pink flowers was tucked into the worn cut-offs and every worry I had about seeing him went flying out the window. His jaw was clenched as he looked over the dimly lit room. He looked everywhere but our table.
A hand seized my wrist and yanked me over. Mav whistled low. “Damn girl, I need to see the whole outfit.”
My teeth worried my bottom lip as I let the Guardian pull me from the booth and spin me around. He whistled again and I couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped my lips. He knew how to flatter a girl, that was for sure. My eyes left the hulking man in front of me and searched out the Alpha. He was at the bar, gulping down the contents of his drink, all the while his eyes followed the curves of my body. My eyes strayed to the column of his throat and I felt hot desire pool low in my belly.
Mav took a step closer to me and wrapped one of my curls around his finger. His breath tickled the outside of my ear as he whispered. “Eventually, you’re going to have to give in.”
My eyes flicked up to his in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He licked his bottom lip. “Keep telling yourself that. Are you going to be disappointed when he doesn’t come over here?”
A frown pulled at my lips. “Why wouldn’t he?”
Knox’s breath washed over the back of my neck. “Because he would rather not be seen with us when we get rowdy.”
I snorted. “Too bad that he’s matching all of you. He can’t get out of this that easy.”
Knox’s hands found my waist and in a panic I looked over at Tracey. She leaned back in the booth and held her glass up in salute. Play along. She mouthed.
I didn’t know what I was doing but I let my head fall back and rest on Knox’s shoulder while Mav pulled us both to the dan
ce floor. I didn’t know what they had planned but I wasn’t going to complain. Being sandwiched between two hot men wasn’t a bad thing. But judging by the hairs standing up on the back of my neck, it wasn’t a good thing either. I wanted to look over my shoulder and see if he was watching like I knew he was, but I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.
The game I was playing turned sour really quick. I was pressed between two hotties but before I knew it I was on the karaoke stage with a microphone in my hand. I shook my head as I tried to give the damned thing back to Mav but all he did was grab one for himself and pick a song on the laptop perched on a barstool. This was very bad. Tracey held her glass up again from across the room and I hoped my look was enough to scare her. Judging by her laugh, it wasn’t.
Chapter 53
Jade Rivers
“I don’t even do this when I’m drunk. I haven’t even had a taste of alcohol yet.” My protesting bounced off of them.
Mav waggled his finger at me. “We have to have fun and the only way we can do that is if we get Alpha drunk enough. Seeing you up here in this tight little number will do him in. Now let’s just hope you can actually sing.”
I swallowed hard. The only singing I did was in the shower. This was going to go south, and fast.
Knox grinned as he sat down beside the stage. I wondered if he was preparing himself to either catch me or run after me when I bolted from this stupid stage. My eyes shot daggers at Tracey again and all she did was laugh as Archer slid into the booth next to her and whispered something into her ear.
My anger somewhat fizzled out. Was that why she was putting off flirting with Knox? Was it Archer that held her captivated?
The music started up and my heart stopped. Mav started to bob his head to the beat and I could feel my face getting hot already. There weren’t very many people in the bar yet but I could feel Rafe’s eyes on me as I took a deep breath.
Mav started us off. “You are my fire,”
My turn. “My one desire,”
I didn’t know why I was so afraid. This was my song growing up. I had spent countless sleepovers belting this out on the edge of a twin mattress. The few friends I had growing up would blast this while we laid on their carpeted floor and did our nails. It wasn’t very many times but the song brought me joy. When it was my turn again, I closed my eyes and leaned forward with the lyrics. I couldn’t help myself. The song was a winner. Mav was killing it with backup vocals and when the song came to an end and we were both breathing hard, I couldn’t help but grin at him. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.
Tracey let out a cheer and stood up from the table. It was her turn. She chose “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. She belted out the lyrics like she was getting over a bad breakup. She closed her eyes and put her all into it. Every single emotion. She had me feeling things I wasn’t ready to feel. She made me want to dance and she made me want to cry, all at the same time. Knox looked pained from the side of the stage but she wasn’t a bad singer. In fact, she was an incredible singer. Her voice was full of soul and it made me envious for a minute. I could listen to her sing all night. Her number ended far too quickly. I cheered with everything in me. I was a proud best friend. But I wasn’t disappointed when Mav, Knox, and Gabriel got on the stage.
Tracey grinned from beside me. “This is gonna be good.”
“Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide
No escape from reality” Gabriel started us off strong with the one song that I knew everyone would all be singing together by the end of it. His voice wrapped around me like a symphony. His brown skin glimmered in the stage lighting and his tight curls on his head bounced as he leaned into the mic. They each took turns singing the long song as Tracey and I belted out the lyrics with them. They each had their arms wrapped around each other as they sang. I couldn’t believe how good they were at this. Were all werewolves just naturally good at everything they did? When the guitar solo came around they each played guitar like their lives depended on it. Knox and Mav pressed their backs together as they got down with the music. Sweat was beading on Knox’s brow and I was entirely too shocked. He didn’t break a sweat when jogging twelve miles, but he was breaking a sweat getting into a fake guitar solo? The men were committed. My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard and by the time the song was over, I had worked up enough courage to look at Rafe.
His yellow eyes were boring into mine. Was there a man behind the wolf? What color eyes did he have when his wolf wasn’t at the surface? Was his wolf always at the surface? All these questions were on the tip of my tongue and they were about to spill forward until Knox hopped on stage to do a solo. His eyes left mine and all the wondering in my head went silent.
Why did it matter anyway?
Knox grinned from behind the mic as he pointed to Tracey beside me. She was nursing her third drink and I could smell the wolfsbane on her skin. Her face was composed except for one eyebrow that rose up on her forehead. “This is for you babe!”
She rolled her eyes at that then flipped him off. It only made him smile bigger, which I hadn’t thought was possible.
“Mirror, mirror on the wall
Don't say it, 'cause I know I'm cute
Louis down to my drawers
LV all on my shoes.”
I couldn’t help myself. This was a good song. Before I knew it, I was dancing along to Knox’s subpar singing and laughing as Tracey twirled me around. She placed her cup on the bar and marched me out to the dance floor. She couldn’t help but be pulled in by the beat too. We danced against each other and laughed as the boys whistled across the room. I was going to have permanent wrinkles on my cheeks from this and I didn’t mind one bit. Joy overflowed from me as we moved around the dance floor. Yes, the men that had started to flood the bar were hot as sin but it was the last thing I was worried about. For too long I had been worried about the opposite sex. I had chased after it. I had craved it, but tonight I realized that all I needed was me. I could be happy without the bad boy. I could be happy with myself. I didn’t need anything else but maybe my best friend and these rowdy Guardians. I didn’t need the sex or the alcohol. All I needed was me.
Chapter 54
Jade Rivers
The boys took a break from the karaoke and we all sat at the bar as more people milled in. Tracey pointed out each of the supernatural races while we sat there and she ordered another drink. She pointed to a pale couple in the back. Their eyes flashed red before they blinked back to a dark color. “Those are vampires.”
I could have guessed that one. Then there was the group of grunge men and women. They had piercings in their faces and tattoos covering their skin where their leather and fishnets weren’t. They had intimidating hair cuts and from what I could see, most of the men wore eyeliner. Tracey held her glass up to one of the girls in greeting and they smiled. Their teeth were sharpened into points. “Those are witches.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “They are?”
Tracey shrugged. “Not all supernaturals are the same. There are different kinds of witches. I think those are bone witches. They use bones and hag stones to predict the future, or versions of it.”
“What about everyone else?” I whispered before I took a sip of my water.
Tracey leaned back against the bar and rested her elbow on it. “Wolves. Some are rogues, some are from neighboring packs, and the rest are from the Crimson Pack.”
“What happened to the lockdown?” I couldn’t help but ask. It must have taken a lot to get Rafe to come off of it.
Tracey chewed on her lip as she looked at Rafe over my shoulder. As soon as we had made our way to the bar, he had abandoned his post and went to the other side of the room. He was such a party pooper. “It’s still in place. We have a few of the Guardians here and that’s the only reason it was permitted. Plus Mav has a soft spot for you and he told Rafe he was going to initiate kidnapping you if he didn’t let us go out. We all needed this. You especially.”
Another good song blasted through the speakers and I found my body moving to the beat. Tracey put her hand in mine and yanked me right back to the dance floor. The lyrics wrapped around me and my body kept to the beat. Growing up, I had always watched the dancers and wished my parents had put me into some kind of class. I had watched countless music videos and YouTube videos to learn as much as I could growing up. I was glad I had because I knew Rafe was watching as I rolled my hips and dropped to the floor. I rolled my neck and threw my hair and when I looked up, he was right there. I swallowed hard but kept to the beat as his hands found my hips and he pulled me to him. I didn’t know what had changed. I didn’t know what I did to get him on the floor but I wasn’t mad about it.
Yes, I was perfectly okay with making myself happy and doing things for myself. But a small thrill still went through me at the spicy scent that washed over me. The scent of whiskey was stronger than usual, but the pine had something else wrapped around it. Something sensual that was fueling me on.
Sweat rolled down the side of my face as I flicked my head back and rolled my body down Rafe’s. His fingers trailed up my arm as he kept up to the beat with his dancing against my back. The trail of his fingers up my arm was intoxicating. But there was nothing like the feeling when those fingers ran across my collarbone and up my neck. The callused joints wrapped around my neck and my knees went weak. But it was his breath on my ear that was my undoing.
“I don’t know why I’m here, but I couldn’t stay away. You make it impossible for me to keep my hands to myself.” His voice sounded strained, tortured. When I looked up at him, I could have sworn his eyes were no longer yellow, but instead a light brown. But it could have been a trick of the light when he blinked and they went back to yellow.
