Of the same station and level of wealth.
“I didn’t wait for a scent match either,” I said.
He glanced between Leighton and I, but I couldn’t figure out his opinion on our dark bond. Did he find it disgusting? Intriguing? There was nothing, not even a twitch of his shoulder. He had an impeccable handle on himself.
“You two seem like a perfect match regardless,” he complimented, “so I doubt you’re missing out.”
“We’re not missing out,” Leighton said.
A brief stab of guilt ran through me, because I’d taken that from her. The ability to have a scent match. Had she even wanted one, though? She hadn’t been in a pack, or registered as silver status, so she wasn’t able to find one as it was.
“Kiara is a stunning bondmate. The best one I could have possibly asked for.”
I flushed at the praise from Leighton, placing my hand on her thigh in hopes it would steady my pounding pulse.
She took over the conversation from there, leaving me able to stay blissfully silent. I watched our companions, noting everything I could about how they acted. Cordian spoke for them, Hideki was the most antagonistic—though not openly—and Noel was hard to pin. Something akin to guilt crossed his features every once in a while.
“Would you be upset if we ended the evening here, ladies?” Cordian said after a painful amount of small talk.
There were no clocks in the club, but I had to guess we’d been here for hours already. I tried not to show how excited I was to be leaving. Unfortunately, I wasn’t Cordian or Leighton. There was no hiding my smile.
“Not at all,” Leighton said, sweeping onto her feet.
She helped me out of the booth next. The Ashby pack were just as quick to vacate. None of them made an attempt at a hug or even a handshake. They were almost averse to touching me. I was grateful. My skin was covered in Leighton and Dash’s scents. They would only mar that.
“I’ll reach out to set up a second date,” Cordian said. He offered a hand to Leighton. She grasped it for a mere second before releasing. “Have a wonderful night.”
They left before we did.
Dash had made it back to the couch he’d been occupying. He tried to stand when we were left alone, but Mercury forced him back into place.
“Let’s go,” Leighton murmured. “They’ll meet us at home. They’ve made it their home too, at this point.”
Her words weren’t really bitter—just enough that she could pretend she wasn’t pleased to have them there. I didn’t call her out on it, nodding and letting her lead me through the busy lounge and back out into the night.
* * *
“Mercury is usually better at keeping a handle on Dash,” Ambrose grumbled.
He’d greeted us with a snack when we walked in. Something more substantial than the chicken and salad Leighton had gotten to refuel me at the club: ice cream. The snack of dreams, one I hadn’t been allowed much of when I lived with my father.
“I do think he was trying to get rid of the beta woman,” Leighton said.
She didn’t sound a hundred percent convinced.
I was confident he was trying to remove her, but that wasn’t enough. He was mine, and someone else had touched him. I wished my mark had been on display, because the bitch might have thought twice.
The rational part of my brain understood why he’d covered it, but the feral part that ran on instinct was furious he had. I’d bitten himfor a reason. So no one else would dare to stake a claim. He’d disrespected the bonds by covering them up.
Which was why I’d been forced to give him two more.
“He shouldn’t have gone at all, but none of us could have stopped that,” Ambrose said with a sigh. “Hopefully, your mother isn’t too furious.”
“She will be.” Leighton sighed, running her hands through her hair. “I’m tired, dove. Do you want to go to sleep?”
I shrugged, glancing back toward the door. Dash and Mercury had yet to arrive. I wouldn’t be able to sleep until they did. They needed to be here, where there were no betas to try and claim them behind my back.
“I’d like to shower first,” I said.
