32. Chapter Thirty-Two

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

MICAI'S POV

M y drink arrives, a bright blue concoction in a thin fancy glass topped with light frosty foam that fades instantly on the first sip. It tastes like a mix of a raspberry slushy and a bubble-gum ice-cream, with an even heavier dose of sugar added. It's aptly named the ‘Sweet Savoy', and screams of tooth decay.

I order another drink, asking for a less sweet recommendation, and the bartender suggests an ‘Apple Pop'. He raises a hand, his shaker appearing between his fingers as ingredients begin to float around him. The colourful liquids flow like water, mixing and swirling together until he flicks his wrist, and they pour into the glass he's placed in front of me.

The soft-green concoction swirls around the glass, forming a pearlescent bubble on the top.

I glance toward the bartender, who gives me a small smile and nods. Leaning in toward the drink, the bubble suddenly pops, little sparks softly grazing against my cheeks as the smell of fresh green apples hits my nose.

I smile before taking a sip, and the refreshing and sweet flavours are an instant hit with my taste buds. It has a subtle sweetness, like a delicate apple flavour with a tart edge. It was a flavour that had you wanting more and going in for a second and third sip almost immediately.

"You look like you're here for a fun night." The chair beside me is pulled out, a mousy-haired man taking a seat as a greasy smirk laces his lips. His gaze trails down my dress, his beady eyes staring too long at my chest. "That's a pretty dress you're wearing…" He leans in closer, the heavy stench of spirits seeping from his lips. "I bet you would look even better with it off." He wriggles his fuzzy, thick brows, and a tiny bit of bile rises to my throat.

Who does this gross little troll think he is? You would think, with how he's acting, that he looks like Ryan Gosling. Only he looked more like that creature from ‘The Leprechaun'.

A shiver rolls down my spine with the thought.

"I'm Marl," he says, oblivious to my disgust. "Let me get you another drink." He waves to the bartender serving a group beside us.

"Not interested." I twist away, sipping my delicious green concoction as Marl places his order .

The bartender whips it up, and Marl pushes a large pink frothy drink toward me. "These are the expensive ones. A few sips of this, and you'll be floating all night." He pushes it in front of me, an expression on his face like I've already gratefully accepted his expensive offering.

Expensive, my damn ass.

As if I would accept a drink from some random sleaze-ball with clear intentions. I had learnt my lesson with Adam.

I push the drink back toward him, his eyes narrowing at the pink glass as I finish my delicious green beverage and stand up.

I glance toward the door, needing a little fresh air. The room feels a little warm and slightly smaller with all the new people that have joined over the past few minutes.

The music roars around me, a new sound blasting from the enormous speakers throughout the space and pulling everyone up toward the dancefloor.

I push through them, heading for the door, as a hand grabs me from behind.

"Where do you think you're going?" The Leprechaun-lookalike scowls, his meaty fingers tightening on my wrist. "I bought you a drink, the least you can do is thank me."

I wonder if the guys would be pissed if I flung this guy through the air like a pi?ata. It would attract some attention, but the asshole wholly deserved a good beating.

I pull my hand back, shaking his grip away and ready to grab him and snap the hand holding me, when a figure from behind suddenly pulls the prick away. He stumbles back before tumbling to the floor, a few dancers falling back as he hits into them.

I glance over at the new figure, a guy with soft chestnut hair and brown eyes that quickly turn my way.

"He seemed like he was getting aggressive and didn't seem like someone you knew." He brushes a hand through his hair, slight flecks of red strands glimmering from the lights as a gentle look takes over his features. "I'm sorry if I intervened unnecessarily, but I didn't like how he was looking at you. I have a younger sister and would hope someone would help if she needed it in a similar situation."

I didn't really need the help. If anything, he saved Marl from a few broken or fractured bones. But his words seem genuine enough.

I give him a small nod. "Thanks. He was persistent ."

I glance back at where Marl had fallen. The space now filled with grinding bodies swaying back and forth to the music blaring around us.

Two turquoise eyes catch my gaze from the crowd, followed quickly by a pair of grey-blue eyes and a set of piercing blue ones.

Ezra, Mallyn, and Annex make their way through the crowd and hordes of sweaty bodies and head my way.

A small grin tilts my lips as I watch Annex push a couple grinding beside him out of his way.

Ezra's smile widens as I watch them before his warm expression quickly falls. He talks hurriedly to Annex and Mallyn before moving toward a scuffle that was breaking out in the area between us.

A fight seemed to be brewing; three men— all with glowing gold eyes —were slowly circling each other. Their gazes are narrowed, teeth gritted, as they flick their eyes back and forth between themselves. A busty brunette is standing just a few feet from them and seems to be the reason for their little showdown.

One of the men partially shifts, his hands drawing claws as he lunges toward the nearest one. The crowd then covers my view, pushing and shoving me out of the way. Some are trying to get away from the fight, and others are trying to move toward it to get a better view.

I'm jostled side to side and shoved back and forth by sweaty bodies until I'm standing near the abattoir's entrance. And the only clear space.

I look back at the horde of people, some of whom ignore the shifters fighting to continue dancing or chatting amongst themselves.

I see Mallyn's white hair, followed by Annex's and Ezra's, as they place themselves in the midst of the fight.

I can't see much else from this distance, but I'm sure things will get bloody if Annex gets involved. Feeling a cold breeze drift across my neck, I approach the open abattoir door behind me. I make my way out, happy for the fresh air and lack of heaving sweaty bodies.

The boys could find me after they deal with the stupid shifters starting shit at their party.

The car park was packed with rows upon rows of fancy cars lined up beside one another, each one looking more luxurious than the next.

I lean against a silver car, sitting the closest to the abattoir, taking in the cold crisp air and quiet of being outside. I glance back toward the slightly ajar door.

I can see a slight view of grinding bodies as I roll my shoulders and close my eyes, but footsteps have me opening them quickly again.

The chestnut-haired helper from moments ago makes his way out of the abattoir, his attire and hair a little more disheveled than before.

He glances back at the door, his gaze narrowed in slight annoyance, before fixing his clothes and hair.

He hears me move and freezes but instantly relaxes upon seeing me.

"Ah, you're…" A small smile tilts his lips. "I just came to get some fresh air. It's a bit hectic in there at the moment. A fight broke out, but it's being handled." His face slightly scrunches up with some memory, glancing back at the abattoir's doors. "I'm sure it will all work out."

He turns back toward me.

"I'm Nathan, by the way." He shifts in closer, extending his hand before stopping in the space between us. "I promise I'm not some creep or suspicious person."

"That's exactly what someone suspicious would say." I raise a brow as he smirks, shaking his head.

"I guess you're right." His hand falls softly to his side, his grin growing wider as he watches me. "I'm only here because my sister insisted on coming." He rolls his eyes playfully, sighing as he walks over to the car nearest me and leans against it, still keeping a slight distance as I peer toward the abattoir.

"She's got a thing going on with the guys who run these," he continues, and my gaze quickly flits back toward him, my eyes instantly narrowing. He couldn't mean my guys, could he?

They would never do anything like that to me.

He looks my way. "You've heard of the Infernal Four, right? They go to Wensridge Academy and run this place."

I nod, my mind jumping back and forth as he continues.

"She's with Creed. He especially invited her." He brushes a hand through his hair. "They're all over each other in there…" His face slightly scrunches up, glancing back toward the party. "I needed a minute away from it. And them ." A little grin traces his lips. "She's agreed to accept the rest of his group too."

My eyes widen with the implication. That some random chick who Creed's shacked up with a few times has decided to claim my guys.

As if they would want her.

"And who said they would want that? Or her?" I state, pulling myself straighter as I stare him down. His tone and implications were beginning to irritate me. He didn't know Annex, Ezra, and Mallyn as I did.

And his sister certainly never would.

He scoffs, a strange chuckle leaving his lips as he glances my way, a condescending look taking over his gaze.

"Of course they would. She has everything they could possibly want or need from a partner: looks, power, status…" His eyes trail down my front before meeting my narrowed gaze. "And a family that would bow to no other…even the Banes."

My eyes widen. How does this asshole know who I am?

Did he follow me out here with the intention of cornering me? He was messing with the wrong one if that's what he planned.

His ‘gentle' fa?ade falls entirely, his smile gone as he straightens himself.

"Let's be realistic, Micai. You're not fit to stand beside the Infernal Four. They have power and a reputation to keep…and you don't quite meet the cut." He raises a brow smugly at me as he continues to spew nonsense. "Veronica is the best choice for them. With her and our family, their hands could reach even further, growing and expanding like never before."

How could I have missed this? Taken him for a ‘nice guy' and not seen past his exterior, or the ulterior motives underneath those darkening eyes? I should have known better with my track record of drawing in assholes.

"It's best if you cut ties now," he states, fixing the cuffs of his sleeve and the tiny emeralds there. "It would be less painful and humiliating for you, and less of a bother for them. You should let them go and walk away while you still have some self-respect left. Veronica can do more for them than you ever will." He glances my way, his pompous look beginning to irk me even more. "It's known how little influence you carry in your clan. You would only drag them down and impede their work."

A sinister, humourless chuckle escapes my lips. "Are you done?"

I raise a brow, a dull grin stretching my lips. "Your little rant was amusing for maybe the first minute or so. And then I got bored."

His eyes narrow, annoyance laced in his gaze as I continue.

"Ezra, Annex, Mallyn, and even Creed are big boys. They can make up their minds on who they want to be with themselves. They also won't take too kindly to you trying to play cupid or match-maker between them and your sister."

He scoffs, opening his mouth, but I cut him off before he starts.

"And on another note…" My tone darkens, my voice falling to a low growl. "Who you are, or what family you came from means nothing to me. And my status or place isn't your concern. I also couldn't give a fuck about you, Veronica, or your little delusions." I feel my features fall, a darker atmosphere taking over as I glare at the bastard. "Me and the boys…we chose each other. And not you or your beloved sister can come between us."

His lip curls up, anger swirling in his dull brown eyes as a slow grin spreads on my lips. "Not that I would let anyone take what's mine from me anyway."

I was confident with how Ezra, Annex and Mallyn had been treating me that they wouldn't choose another woman so easily. We had a connection between us that made me feel secure enough to brush this bastard's drivel off of me like water off a duck's back.

But that didn't mean he wasn't pissing me off.

His eyes narrow, another scoff leaving his lips as his features darken.

"I had hoped you would be smarter than this. But being patient and polite doesn't seem to be working."

Which part of all that bullshit was polite ?

He takes a step toward me as I clench my fists, waiting for him to make a move so I can put the dog down.

"You're too dense to understand. So let me spell it out for you." His pompous smirk returns. "You were only something to pass the time with. Something for them to enjoy when they were bored…" He slowly rakes his gaze up my front, spending far too long on my legs and chest. "I guess I could see some of the appeal."

I want to gouge his eyes out with the look he's giving me and join Annex in starting my own collection for all these slimy sleaze balls that target me.

His eyes suddenly widen, mirroring the grin now stretching his lips, some pathetic thought flitting through his mind as he stares at me.

"How about this?" He takes a step closer. "You can come with me, and I'll take care of you. If they have kept you around for a while, then you must be good at something." His eyes grow more lecherous, tracing the gold zip down my body as my frustration and anger build to a new level.

Even so, he continues, oblivious to my growing rage.

"Sooner rather than later, they will get bored with you, especially with Veronica around. So why not come to me?" He takes yet another step, standing now only a foot from me. "I'll take much better care of you anyway. With the connections I have, you'll lack nothing." He leans down closer, his voice whispering as his eyes latch onto my chest again. The stench of his breath brushes past me, making me feel ill. "You only have to smile and open your legs like you hav—"

His words throw me over the edge, bringing my anger to its boiling point before it bursts out and explodes toward him. My fist connects with his torso, cutting him off as all of my rage channels itself into the hit. He tumbles backward with the brute force of it, smacking into the abattoir's wall before sinking to the ground below.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Bellows Creed, his face like thunder as he stands at the entrance, his gaze flickering between me and the dickhead on the ground.

Nathan clutches his stomach, his fa?ade back in place as he shakily looks at Creed. "I was only trying to help her. But she lashed out like that for no good reason."

"That's bullshit. He—"

"I don't give a fuck!" Creed's dark glare turns toward me, anger twisting his expression as he watches me. "I told you to behave. I told you the guests I had coming were important. And this is how you act?!"

Nathan gets up slowly and stands behind Creed, a small grin tracing his lips and mocking me before his fa?ade falls back in place again.

"It's okay, Creed. I'll be fine. This won't affect anything with the others."

"No." Creed shakes his head, his eyes turning cold and his features hardening as he stares at me. "I've already given you enough warnings." He points to the dark roads out past the carpark. "Leave."

He couldn't be serious…My brows scrunch together as my eyes flit between the two douchebags.

"Creed, I didn't do anything wrong. He—"

"I don't want to hear it. You've wasted enough of my brother's time. Get the fuck off my property before I personally pick you up and throw you out." The expression on his face holds no room for argument. He's serious. He was choosing his ‘ guest ' over me.

I knew he didn't like me. But I had hoped that some small part of me had grown on him. That maybe with a bit more time, he would accept me like the guys said. But the cold, dark look in his eyes tells me otherwise.

…He didn't want me here.

To him, I would never be one of them.

But why did that thought cause me so much pain? Why did I care?

My throat goes dry, and the fighting words I would usually throw back at him die on my lips as I look into his icy eyes.

Pain cuts through me, swirling inside me and twisting into anger as I gaze at Creed protecting the asshole behind him, not even trying to hear me out.

He probably knew full well what that asshole was capable of…he just didn't care. He wanted his information or whatever bit of power he could get. And nothing else mattered. He was just like the rest of them.

A scoff leaves my lips as I shake my head and stare at the two bastards in front of me. Maybe it would be better if I left? Staying meant having to see them for the rest of the night, and I don't know if I could keep calm with them around. Even if Annex, Mallyn, and Ezra get annoyed with me for leaving, I'm sure they will find me when the party is over.

"Even when you've treated me like shit, I always thought you were different from them. That you were someone who didn't bend or bow for a drop of more power…" I meet Creed's gaze, my voice falling to a low, empty tone.

" But I was wrong ."

His brows draw further together as an unreadable expression coats his face. But I turn away, making my way through the car park.

I ignore everything else as I leave them behind and head down the dark, winding road, my journey back to the academy longer than I'd like.

Except with the way I was feeling right now, maybe that's just what I need.