I used the passive tone of voice I knew to use with my father. If I spoke too loudly or with too much force, he would tell me off.‘Women are supposed to be quiet and listen,’he said. But when I’d grown into my designation, he’d amended his statement to say that was what omegas were supposed to do.
I’d believed him, to an extent. His beliefs were extreme—it was impossible not to know, even considering my minimal exposure to the outside world. I’d assumed that they had a basis in reality.
From my time outside my family home, I’d now learned that was untrue.
Very few people thought like he did. At least, very few people I’d met. I might have been lucky in my real world experiences.
“A pleasure indeed,” Cordian said when his pack didn’t give an acknowledgment. He didn’t sound as if he thought this was a pleasure.
We stared at each other without talking for far too long. The silence had me uncomfortable, fidgeting in my seat. I played with the frills and layers of my dress, turning my gaze out to the club. It had dance floors, but wasn’t what I’d expected a club to be like.
Then again, it was high end. Expensive.
Exactly the kind of place Tobias would spend his time. I visibly shuddered, leaning into Leighton. It might be better if I didn’t observe everyone coming and going through the club. I’d grow more and more paranoid about the next person being my brother, no matter how unlikely.
Leighton’s hand came down to rest on my thigh, squeezing. “Why don’t we chat business?” she suggested. “Something to break the ice.”
Cordian gave a sharp nod. Neither party wanted to break the ice—and I had to wonder why. They were wanting to bond me as a mate. Did they simply not care about what we had to say, and were only doing the date for appearances? Or was there something deeper than I could see?
“You have a storied career,” he started.
I tuned out the conversation, catching bits and pieces about things Leighton had done. She saved reputations, some that didn’t necessarily deserve to be saved, and stopped corporate chaos before it hit the news. She worked behind the scenes, preventing the public from seeing the bad side of alphas and omegas with money.
Most people would have been jaded and cruel in her position, but she wasn’t. I respected that a lot.
They luckily hadn’t included me in the conversation, leaving me to listen and nod along. Although, inevitably, my attention wandered. As minutes ticked by, the club was filling up.
There were plenty of booths like the one we were in, plus small circles of couches. A dance floor and lit up bar was in the middle of this room—but there were multiple areas. Plus, hallways off the main area looked like they led to private rooms, with bouncers guarding the entrances.
I curled closer to Leighton’s side, inhaling a deep breath of vanilla cream. Dash’s scent was layered over it, and if he were here the Ashby pack would know exactly which pack we wanted to go home with.
A head of blonde hair, casually styled, appeared in my line of vision.
I blinked a few times, wondering if sucking in his scent had conjured him.
But, no.
Dash was striding across the dance floor with Mercury on his heels. Both were wearing scowls, though Dash’s was out of character for him. He spotted us and a grin slipped onto his face, but Mercury stopped him from coming over and interrupting our date. They instead settled on a couch within sight of our booth.
Their presence was like a comforting blanket. Leighton shot Dash a glare, but I was glad he’d come. I could focus on him when I got distracted, and I didn’t have to worry about looking around and seeing something that I really didn’t want to see.
My brother couldn’t touch me. Not even a little bit. Not when I had so many layers of protection.
THIRTY-SIX
DASH
My pack tried to stop me, but it wasn’t going to happen.
Not after I felt her through our tenuous bond. Pure terror had filled it for a couple of tense minutes.
It was an alpha’s job to comfort an omega through that, and I hadn’t been there. Leighton had been, but was one enough when the terror was that acute? Kiara deserved a full pack of alphas doting over her and comforting her.
“Don’t rub your neck,” Mercury hissed at me.
I removed my hand, the tips of my fingers coming back covered in concealer.
They’d gotten me to cover up my marks before leaving the condo, but that was all I’d let them sway me on. This club was my domain. I had every right to be here. Maybe it was more suspicious when I wasn’t. Every weekend for the past couple of years had been spent bathed in wine and rum and betas.