I stifled a sigh. “Seriously, I’m not a dancer.”
“Or I can stay up here and cry,” she said, her dark eyes yet again filling with tears.
“She’ll do it.” Nero chuckled from where he sat on the couch. “Don’t mess with the pregnant lady.”
“He’s right,” Allie said, her tears evaporating in front of me as her wobbling lower lip curved into a wicked grin.
I threw up my hands with a laugh. “Fine.”
Allie punched the air with a gleeful smile. “Yes!”
Shaking my head, I stood up and shrugged off my jacket, handing it to Remy.
He grinned at me. “Have fun.” Then his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “But not enough fun that I’ll have to come find you.”
I arched a brow. “Maybe I want you to come find me.”
His eyes turned molten as I winked and stepped back, letting Allie lead me to the stairs. I wondered for a second how she would navigate them with the heels she had strapped to her feet, but she easily descended like she lived in five inch stilettos.
Tate, Dante, and Griffin were coming up as we were coming down.
“We’re dancing,” Allie announced, reaching out for Tate with her other hand.
Tate shrugged and passed off the drink in her hand to Dante. “I’ll see you later.” She leaned in and gave him a quick, loud kiss before letting Allie lead us onto the dance floor.
Allie pulled us onto the floor as one song slid into another. The crowd around us cheered, clearly happy with the new song pumping through the speakers.
We were swallowed up by a sea of dancers.
I hesitated for a second, watching as Tate and Allie’s bodies started moving to the beat like they were connected to it on a soul-deep level.
“Just let go,” Tate yelled, watching me struggle for a second.
That had been Ainsley’s advice when she and Katy taught me how to dance. Closing my eyes, I let the music settle into my bones. I shoved away the stress of the day, hell, of the week. I bottled up the nerves fluttering around about my testimony tomorrow.
I was alive, with my friends and my mate, and in the moment, I could just be me.
Time ceased to exist as we danced together. One song melted into the next as we moved, dancing and laughing with each other.
At one point, I glanced up to see Remy, Nero, and Dante leaning against the railing, watching us. I grinned, hoping Remy would come down and join me, but he seemed content to be a voyeur.
“I need water!” Tate yelled after the sixth song, fanning her flushed face.
I nodded and glanced at Allie.
She gave us a grateful smile and turned on her heel, leading the way off the dance floor. We barely made it a few feet from the dancers when Allie paused, grabbing her side.
I touched her elbow. “You okay?”
Grimacing, she nodded. “I think I need the bathroom first. Morning sickness is a lie. It happens literally any time except the mornings.”
“Morning sickness?” Tate echoed, surprise on her face.
“Surprise,” Allie said, still making a face.
“Congratulations!”
“Thanks,” she wheezed out, grabbing my arm. She jerked her head to the side hallway with the restroom sign emblazoned over it. “We can hug it out after I throw up. Right now? Bathroom.”
Allie was pale by the time we made it to the bathroom. Thankfully there was a stall open. She slammed the door open, barely managing to kick it closed before she threw up.
Two girls at the sink turned, both of them wearing identical expressions of disgust.
“Your friend should lay off the bar, honey,” the taller of the two remarked, her lips pinched.
“She’s not drunk,” Tate snapped.
They exchanged a glance and started giggling.
Annoyance flared in me. “Do you have anything else to say?”
They paused mid-giggle to stare at me, almost looking astonished I had dared say anything.
Somewhere behind me, a toilet flushed.
I arched a brow, still waiting for the girls to reply. My gaze narrowed. “No, really. Tell me what’s so damn funny.”
They both dropped their eyes at the same time.
Huh. Shifters.
“Sorry,” the shorter girl muttered, grabbing her friend’s elbow and pulling her out the door.
Rolling my eyes, I turned and looked at Tate.
“What?” I finally asked when Tate wouldn’t stop looking at me.
She gave me a warm smile. “I’m just glad we’re friends.”
I rolled my eyes, stepping aside as someone exited the stall next to Allie and headed for the sink.
“Allie?” I called over the roar of the hand dryer. “You okay?”
Silence.
The door to the bathroom opened again. The girl washing her hands left, and another came in, slipping past us and heading into the vacant stall.
Tate tapped on Allie’s door. “Allie?”
The door cracked open, and Allie’s face looked a little green as she leaned heavily against the door.
My eyes went wide. “Can we help?”
“Can one of you get me some water? Or maybe tell Nero we need to go?” Her eyes closed. “He’s going to be pissed. He told me to stay in and take it easy. I probably shouldn’t have danced that much.”
“I’ll go get him,” I said quickly, already taking a step back. I looked at Tate. “Stay with her?”
Tate nodded, her eyes fixed on Allie. “I got this. Go get Nero.”
I spun and shoved through the door, nearly knocking over two girls who were trying to come into the bathroom.
“Shit, sorry,” I apologized, moving around them and crashing into another body in the hallway.
“Sorry,” I said again, turning to the person I had almost body checked.
A hand closed around my bicep, the touch bruising with intensity.
“You should really watch where you’re going, Skye,” Preston said darkly. “Especially when it seems like your mate is nowhere to be found.”
I tried to jerk away. “Let go. Now.”
“No,” he snarled, his grip tightening to the point of pain.
I looked around, my eyes wide.
No one else was in the hallway.
I could scream and Tate would come running. Maybe even more people.
“Nope. We need to have a little chat.”
Preston spun me around and slapped a hand over my mouth, pulling me deeper into the hallway and out of the side door.
33
The door to the club closing shoved an extra burst of panic fueled adrenaline through my veins. I wrenched my body away from Preston, remembering a move Remy had taught when we first started sparring.
I hooked my leg behind his ankle, letting the momentum of my body twisting away from him send him off balance.
Preston let me go to catch himself on the brick of the wall.
It gave me enough time to put a couple feet between us. Enough time to look around and realize we were tucked behind the dumpsters. The small alley dead-ended a few feet to my right, and the opening with almost a hundred yards to my left. Even if I turned and ran, Preston was fast. He could catch me.
I could scream, but who knew what type of attention that would bring? The last thing I needed was a human stepping in the middle of a shifter fight.
Pale yellow light glowed from the lights on the side of the building as he glared at me, but for the first time in possibly my entire life, I wasn’t scared of Preston Loomis.
I was fucking furious.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, every muscle in my body drawing tight and readying for a brawl.
His eyes narrowed. “I told you. I wanted to talk. Without your shadow around.”
Remy.
He was going to lose his mind.
“There’s absolutely nothing left for you to say to me,” I spat, my wolf alert and begging to be unleashed.
“Oh, come on, Skye
-baby.”
I hated that nickname. His dad had always used it when he saw me.
“Don’t,” I growled, my hands curling into fists.
“Or what?” His grin grew, his eyes lit with perverse joy as he taunted me.
My glare turned feral. “Why don’t you ask your brother or what?”
He froze, shock glazing his eyes and slackening his jaw for a split second before the sparks of fury caught fire and ignited.
“You stupid little bitch,” he hissed. “I was going to offer you a chance to make this right.”
“Make what right?” I snapped.
He took a menacing step forward. “Take back your claims. Get your ass back to Long Mesa and maybe your uncle will be lenient. Maybe he won’t eviscerate your boyfriend and his family before dragging your mom and the others back home where you belong.”
I choked on a laugh. “Are you out of your mind? Not a chance in hell, Preston.” I lifted my chin a notch. “And I’m pretty sure my mate can take care of himself.”
“Don’t be stupid, Skye. A lot of people are going to get hurt if you don’t shut your mouth and act like a good little wolf.”
“A lot of people have already been hurt!” I retorted. “My mom? Bella? Maisie?”
He licked his lips. “And how is little Bella doing?”
I shrugged, not taking the bait. “Great. Loves her new pack. You know, less psychos and rapists in Blackwater.”
The cruelty in his smile was breathtaking. “I can’t wait to have her back. She was so pretty when she cried. Almost as pretty as you, but she broke too fast, too soon. I love a girl with fight. Pity we had to let her go.”
“Let her go?” I laughed, the sound caustic and bitter. “She escaped, same as me.”
He smirked at me. “Escaped? You think we didn’t lock shit down after you and your mommy ran? Bella and her cunt of a mother only got out because we said so.”
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, cautiously keeping a healthy distance between us.
He angled his head, his eyes almost glittering with energy. It rolled off of him in manic, cloying waves. “Your uncle was getting a little too full of himself. Dad had to remind of who was in charge. We knew fucking with Bella would set Zara off. She ran right up to her little sister … and you.”
“That’s why Cassian gave her that message,” I murmured. Remy had wondered why Bella had been relaying a message to me. There was no way she could have known she would see me.
Unless they planned it.
Something he said bugged me. “What do you mean my uncle was full of himself? He’s your Alpha, right? Isn’t being an entitled asshole part of the Long Mesa Alpha package?”
Another smirk. “God, you’re so fucking stupid it’s almost cute.”
I growled.
His smile widened as he watched me. “You really think the Markham’s are in charge of Long Mesa? My dad has been handling everything for years. Your uncle is just a puppet. Jesus, even your grandpa contracted out your mom to be married to that prick from Stone Valley because everyone knew Linden Markham was too weak and short-sighted to be an Alpha. When that didn’t work? He started relying on my father to get shit done Linden was too weak to handle.”
“I never saw your dad challenge him for the pack,” I shot back.
Another amused snort escaped him. “My dad has zero interest in being controlled by the Council. A bunch of geriatric, impotent Alphas who lost their packs. Dad’s vision is a little too … hedonistic for their limited minds.” His teeth flashed as he smiled cruelly. “Dad and I are simply waiting for our time.”
“You’re disgusting,” I seethed, shaking my head. “I’m going to enjoy telling the Council every single thing you did to me.”
His teeth flashed as he sucked in a sharp breath. “And I’m really going to enjoy watching every single person in the pack welcome you and your whore of a mother home.” He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as his gaze swept down me.
I resisted the urge to shiver as it felt like bugs crawled across every inch of me he studied.
Preston licked his lips. “I like the weight you’ve put on. You were always too skinny.”
Oh, and whose fault was that? Starving hadn’t been something I signed up for.
“You’ve filled in a lot of places I can’t wait to put my teeth on.”
I would die before he put anything of his on me.
“Even Dad might give me some competition for you now that you look like your mom. My dad definitely misses her.”
The small control I had snapped. I stepped forward, my right arm swinging before I could think.
With a grin, Preston grabbed my wrist, anticipating the blow with a laugh.
He didn’t see my left hook coming.
I barely felt the pain as my knuckles collided with his jaw, snapping his head to the side.
Remy would’ve been proud.
With a roar, he spun me around, bending my wrist and hurling me against the brick. My back hit the unforgiving wall first, my head cracking against the brick hard enough that light flashes burst across my vision.
Any momentary joy I felt at landing a solid blow to his face was immediately replaced by terror when he raised a fist. I closed my eyes, bracing for the punch and praying I wouldn’t lose consciousness.
The blow never came.
I opened my eyes, gasping and blinking against blurry vision.
Preston was on the ground several feet from me, and someone was standing between us. His growl echoed in the alley.
I squinted, trying to focus my unsteady gaze on the newcomer as Preston started picking himself up off the ground. He swayed on his feet a second before spitting out a mouthful of blood between him and my savior.
“Get the fuck out of here,” a deep voice snarled.
Preston grinned, holding his hands up in surrender. Blood stained his teeth. “It’s all good, man. I was just catching up with a packmate. You know how it is.”
Another warning growl rumbled out of his chest.
Still smiling, Preston turned and sauntered away, whistling as he went.
“Are you okay?” The guy in front of me turned.
My eyes narrowed.
“Daniel?” I tested his name on my lips, my head still ringing.
“Yeah,” he said, grabbing my forearms and lowering his head to look me in the eye. “Jesus, Skye. What the hell happened?”
My thoughts were scrambled. “I don’t … What are you doing here?”
“Remy said you guys were heading here tonight, so I decided to come at the last minute. Where the hell is he?” Daniel looked around.
“Inside,” I muttered, reaching up to rub the back of my head. I winced when I felt the knot already forming at the base of my skull. “Ouch.”
Daniel’s eyes widened. “Okay, we need to get you insi—”
The side door slammed open before he could finish his sentence. Daniel was shoved aside and Remy was standing in front of me a second later, pulling me into his arms.
The small corner of the alley got even more crowded when Kace, Griffin, and Dante joined him.
Remy’s body vibrated with anger as he held me against him. “What the hell happened?”
My adrenaline started crashing, my entire body trembling. I could barely wrap my arms around Remy. “I … Preston was h-here.”
Why were my teeth chattering? It wasn’t even that cold.
“Shit, I think she’s going into shock,” Griffin murmured behind Remy.
Kace raked a hand through his hair, pale eyes wild. “I’m sorry, man. He shouldn’t have been able to get into the club at all.”
“Then how did he?” Dante demanded, his voice hard.
“The guy I had watching the security cameras is gone,” Kace snapped, jaw clenched. “He must have let him in. I don’t fucking know. Skye, I’m so sorry.”
“What the hell are you doing out here?” Griffin asked, stepping around Kace and glaring at Daniel.
“H
e helped me,” I said, my voice still wobbly. I cleared my throat and looked at Daniel. “Did I say thank you?”
“No need,” he replied, his brow creased with worry.
Remy leaned back, smoothing my hair away from my face so he could see my eyes. “Skye—”
“I’m okay,” I said softly, hating the spotlight on me. “He didn’t … I’m fine.”
“You might want to have her head checked,” Daniel added.
I tried to muster the energy to glare at him.
“He hit you?” Remy roared, eyes murderous.
“No,” I said, starting to shake my head. I stopped when pain lanced through my head. “I hit my head on the wall.”
“Yeah, that the asshole threw you into,” Daniel supplied with a snort.
“Not helping,” I snapped.
“Not trying to,” he retorted, green eyes flashing. “The only reason I didn’t rip him apart was there’s a line full of normals around the corner, and I don’t know the area well enough to bury a body.”
Remy’s eyes closed, and I got the distinct feeling he was a second from losing it.
I placed my hand on his cheek. “I’m really okay. I swear.”
His dark eyes opened, churning with intensity. Rage, fear, hate … He was a volatile molotov cocktail of emotions ready to explode.
“Can we just go?” I asked quietly. “Please? I’ll tell you everything that happened, but right now? I just want to go.”
His eyes searched mine before he gave a short nod.
“I’ll grab Tate and the car,” Dante said, waiting until Remy handed over the keys.
I dropped my head against Remy’s chest, my hand throbbing in time with my head. I flexed my finger, unable to stop a small hiss of pain from escaping my lips.
Remy caught my distress instantly, his eyes narrowing when he saw the way I was awkwardly holding my hand to my side. I was pretty sure it wasn’t broken, but I might have sprained it when I punched Preston’s stupid face.
Remy lifted my hand in his, his touch infinitely gentle.
“I punched Preston,” I admitted.
His gaze met mine, something that looked a lot like pride shining through.
Prey (Blackwater Pack Book 2) Page 30