I shook my head, grabbing her hips and pressing myself into her chest. Her arms came around me, one hand cupping the back of my neck.
“I trust you, but I’m still scared. Tobias… he told me he comes to places like this. What if he’s here?”
A purr rumbled through her, soothing something in the deepest recesses of my mind. I relaxed, almost slumping against her.
“He won’t be. They wouldn’t dare risk someone realizing the two of you are related.”
It was a good point. Tobias and I had the same eyes. Anyone who’d met our father would know his were the same shade as well. It was easy to see when we were side by side, but harder to pinpoint when we were apart.
“And if he was, dove, I wouldn’t let him stay.”
“But your mother wouldn’t like that.”
She chuckled darkly. “I’m discovering there are plenty of things I would do for you that my mother wouldn’t like.”
I wanted to ask about her brother—what happened if he was brought into it? If the blackmail was dangled over her head again. I kept my mouth shut, because I wasn’t sure I was ready for the answer. She wouldn’t choose me. We’d known each other a mere blink of time, and her brother was family.
I didn’t mean anything in the face of that.
“Are you ready to go find them?” she asked.
Fear still swirled in my head, but my response was far less visceral. I could call this about as ready as I would ever be. My feet were willing to move—an overall improvement.
I nodded and she led the way through a maze of tables and dance floors. My attire drew attention. We’d expected it would. Wanted it to, even, because people would be more likely to snap a few pics and make this a page in the gossip column. At least, that’s how Leighton had explained it to me.
I was sure I’d heard a few shutter clicks when we found a table of three men seated on the far end of the lounge.
They were objectively handsome. All wore suits in plain colours, looking about as generic as they could get. Only one stood up when we approached, clearly familiar with my bonded.
“Leighton Winston,” he said, extending a hand out. “A pleasure. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
His attention flicked to me, gaze catching on the dark bond on my neck. I wore it proudly, though many would try to hide it. They were considered poisoned bonds, but not by me. Not when it was given by Leighton, at least.
“Same to you,” Leighton said. There was an air of professionalism about her. Shoulders pulled back, expression flat with a pacifying smile. “This is my bonded mate, Kiara.”
She didn’t give my last name—all the better, I never wanted to hear it again.
I didn’t extend a hand, only nodding. The Ashby pack member didn’t seem keen to shake mine either. He gestured into the booth and I slid in first, followed by my mate. He sat on the other side, alongside his pack.
“My name is Cordian Ashby,” he said. “Pack lead.”
I could have guessed, considering he was doing the talking for his pack. His expression was as blank as Leighton’s, but his packmates gave more away.
“These are my packmates Hideki Kimura and Noel Smith.”
The one he pointed to as Noel was dainty in his beauty. He had a face like the men in the fashion magazines my mother kept around the house. His lips kept twitching, threatening to pull up into a sneer.
Hideki was bulkier, taking up the most room on their side of the bench. The plain suit was bulging at the arms, far too small for him. I had to wonder if it was what he usually wore or something pulled from the depths of his closet specifically for the occasion. He had one hand in a fist on the table, clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. His expressive brown eyes were focused in a glare.
There was hatred boiling in their depths.At me?It was me he was glaring at.
I pressed closer to Leighton, placing a hand on Nyla at my hip. I wanted to stab the dislike right off their faces, replacing it with fear. I had a feeling I would enjoy it again, unlike the sick feeling I’d gotten when I’d stabbed Ambrose.
But I wasn’t allowed.
Best behaviour, or she was going to command me to behave anyway.
“It’s a pleasure,” I said quietly.
