Chapter 39

39

P eople respond to fear in different ways. Some hunker down and hide, waiting for the storm to pass, while others get out and live every day like it may very well be their last. With the threat of the hunters weighing heavily on us all, I'm not sure how many are holed up in their homes tonight- but it feels like everyone in the latter camp has flocked to the Stillwater Tap to drink and dance their worries away.

This place is more packed than I've ever seen it. There's a swarm of people around the bar, the staff looking exhausted as they try to keep up with the demand for drinks, and the dance floor is crowded with sweaty bodies bumping and grinding against one another, fueled by the heavy beat of club music rattling through the speakers and vibrating the floorboards. Even the air feels like it's charged with chaotic energy as we make our way toward the back of the room, a group of guys immediately offering up their table to us when they see Andie Raines. It pays to be friends with the princess of the Stillwater pack.

A tray of lemon drop shots arrives the moment we sit down, compliments of the bartender who makes moon eyes at Andie every time we're in here, and I deliver one of my usual raunchy toasts before we toss them back, then order a round of cocktails. I'm already rolling on a solid buzz, but even if I wasn't, the atmosphere alone is intoxicating. I survey the crowd, aiming to pick out the cutest boys to dance with, but despite the staggering number of potential partners, none of them seem to do it for me.

It's not that they aren't attractive. The issue is that I find myself comparing each and every one of them to Cam, and they all come up short. Their builds aren't quite as large; their eyes not nearly as dark and intense. They're all lacking that magnetic pull that I feel whenever I lay eyes on my warden, and that's when I realize just how deeply he's gotten beneath my skin.

Ace Conway tosses me a flirty wave from the DJ booth, but not even the prospect of getting sandwiched between him and Seb on the dance floor appeals to me tonight. I just keep my ass planted on my barstool, nursing a vodka cranberry and cursing fate for making my life so damn complicated. The thump of the music and the roar of the crowd make it difficult to carry a conversation, but my girls and I try our best, shouting to be heard over it. This is definitely a departure from the relaxed vibe of the hot springs.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Lo comments while watching a cocktail waitress fight her way through the crowd to deliver drinks, liquor sloshing from the tops of the glasses each time someone bumps into her. Which is a lot .

"Or it's the best idea," Andie counters, grinning as she gestures around her. "This place is lit! Can you imagine if we'd missed out?"

"I'm just saying, it has to be a fire hazard or something to have this many people jammed in here," Lo points out. "It's way over capacity."

Andie waves her off with an exaggerated eyeroll, turning to glance in the direction of the bar. "Oh look, my brother's here!" she exclaims, throwing up a hand to call him over .

I follow her gaze, and despite how thick the crowd is, Ares Raines' distinctive red hair is easy to spot weaving through the masses. He's pushing our way with several drinks in his hands, holding them up over his head to prevent them from spilling as he threads his way through the swarm of bodies.

"Well look who it is," I purr when he finally reaches our table, batting my lashes up at him. "Big surprise that you're here on ladies night, Raines."

"This place is an absolute madhouse, you'd think the world was ending," he pants as he lowers the drinks to the table, wiping a forearm across his sweaty brow. Safe bet that he's already put in some solid time with the she-wolves on the dance floor tonight.

"Are these for us?" Sloane asks sweetly, green eyes bouncing hopefully between Ares' face and the glasses he just set on the table.

He jerks a nod. "The bar is crazy, so I offered to bring these over for you guys."

"Aw, you work here now?" I tease, cocking my head to the side. "Couldn't hack squad life after all, huh?"

Ares turns his gaze on me, narrowing his eyes. "Does Madd know you're out?"

I roll my own as I toss my hair over a shoulder. "Be cool, Ares."

"I'm just lookin' out for you, babe," he comments, winking.

"I can look out for myself, thank you very much," I tut, snatching up the glass in front of him with red-tinted liquid inside. I assume based on the color alone that it's the vodka cranberry I ordered, and one sip confirms my assumption is correct.

"Thought you girls were doing a spa day or some shit?" Ares says, sweeping his suspicious gaze around the table as my friends reach in for their drinks.

"Oh we did," Andie supplies, swapping out her empty glass for a full one and twirling the swizzle straw between her fingers. "Just took a little detour after to keep our buzz going."

"We aren't staying long," Lo adds.

Andie nudges her with an elbow, laughing. "Speak for yourself, girl! I've got a dance floor to destroy." She waggles her brows, raising her drink to her lips and taking a sip.

Sloane picks up her own glass, but she falters as she raises it, hissing in a breath through her teeth. "Shit, our guys are here."

I turn at the waist to glance toward the entrance, heart stuttering in my chest when I lay eyes on the four large men pushing their way through the crowd.

I'm not surprised to see my brother- I swear he's got Sloane chipped or something- nor am I shocked to see Javi and Nash flanking him. It's the sight of Cam that catches me off guard, because he's the last person I expected to see wander into the Stillwater tap tonight, and one glance is all it takes for my hibernating libido to suddenly roar back to life.

The crowd parts for the guys to get through, enough Alpha energy rolling off them to fucking suffocate the place, and I don't miss the curious stares pointed in Cam's direction as he passes by. The way the she-wolves instantly start drooling over him makes me want to rip their eyes out of their sockets, my inner wolf's possessive nature rising to the surface in a blinding rage.

No rage can quite match my brother's, though. Ares wisely hightails it outta there as Madd storms up to our table, pointing an icy glare toward his mate. "So you don't answer your phone now?"

Sloane's brow creases as she reaches for her phone on the table in front of her, flipping it over to look at the screen. "Shit, it must've died. I didn't even realize…"

"What's your excuse?" he snarls, turning his glare on me.

I reach down to pat the pockets of my little white sundress, shrugging. "Must've left it in my bag in Sloane's car," I reply dismissively. "What's the problem?"

"Other than the fact that you were supposed to be home hours ago?"

"Yeah, what of it?" I challenge, my hackles raising. "I went out for a drink, not to rob a bank. Chill out, bro."

He slaps a palm against the table, leaning in to get in my face. "Are you forgetting what happened the last time you went missing?"

"I'm not missing!"

Madd balls his fists and Cam advances, golden flecks glimmering in his dark irises. He attempts to shoulder his way in front of me in some reckless attempt at being protective, but with my brother on the warpath, he's only putting himself in the line of fire. "Hey, don't…"

"Stay out of this, hunter ," Madd snaps, elbowing him away.

I jolt to my feet, putting my body between them before a fight breaks out. "Enough!" I shout, staring my brother down with a hard look that tells him I mean business. "If you wanna fight about this, we can do it later, but I'm not gonna have you charging in here just to ruin my night. I'm sorry I didn't answer my phone, okay? It was an honest mistake. But I'm right here, and I'm fine . So fucking cool it."

Madd folds his thick arms across his chest, his frown deepening as he stares back at me. The look in them tells me this isn't over, but he also doesn't snap back at me, which means I'm off the hook at least temporarily.

"Babe, chill, we were just having fun," Sloane reassures, coming around the table and reaching out to set a hand on his arm. Some of the tension drains from his shoulders the moment she makes contact and he swivels to face her, his jaw ticking. "Like Aves said, everybody's fine. We didn't mean to worry you, we just came for a quick drink. "

His posture deflates with a heavy sigh. "Yeah, well finish it up then and let's go," he grumbles.

She sticks out her lower lip in a pout, giving his arm a little squeeze. "But I haven't even gotten to dance yet…"

" Dutch ," he growls in warning.

She holds up a finger, a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. "One dance and you can take me home, Duke."

"Fine," he breathes, reaching across the table to pick up her drink. He throws back the rest of it, wipes his mouth off on a tattooed forearm, and slams the glass back down before winding an arm around her waist and yanking her into his side. "Let's dance, then."

Sloane grins victoriously as he steers her toward the dance floor, and I mouth ‘thank you' as she peeks back at me over her shoulder, tossing me a wink.

"I'm gonna head out, too," Lo announces, sliding off her stool and under Javi's waiting arm. "See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, yeah, go get some," I laugh, waving her off.

A blush rises to her cheeks, but she doesn't bother denying that's exactly what she's headed off to do. I swear the quiet ones are always freaks in the sheets.

"Another one bites the dust," Andie comments, sipping on her drink as she beckons Nash closer with a flick of her head. He prowls up behind her, setting his large hands on her shoulders and compelling her to tilt her head back to look up at him.

"What are the chances you'll call it an early night?" he asks, gazing down into her eyes.

Her lips pull into a grin. "Slim to none."

"Figured as much," he grumbles, sidestepping to take the stool next to her. His ass has barely hit the seat when the song changes and Andie jumps up with a squeal, grabbing for his hand. She doesn't have to say a word for him to understand her directive. Nash eases off the stool, allowing his mate to pull him in the direction of the dance floor .

"You good?" Andie asks, glancing my way as she scoots by.

"Yeah, do your thing," I call back, blowing her a kiss as I drop back down onto my stool. I sweep my gaze around all the empty seats at the table before turning to Cam, still standing stoically at my side. "Did Madd give you orders to haul me outta here, or are you gonna sit down and join me?" I ask.

A glimmer of amusement sparks in his gaze as he sidesteps to ease down onto the stool beside me, sliding a shot glass out of the way and resting his corded forearms against the lacquered tabletop. "No orders, he just didn't trust leaving me alone in the packhouse," Cam murmurs, his gaze flickering over the interior of the bar. "Though I wasn't expecting him to bring me to a rager."

"It's ladies' night," I say, shifting my weight on my stool as I eye those thick, inked forearms and fight the urge to climb onto his lap. I lift my glass, tipping it to him in indication. "Girls drink for free."

He furrows his brow in confusion. "Then why are there so many dudes here?"

"That's kinda the point," I laugh. "Girls come to drink for free, guys pay a twenty dollar cover to come to try and get laid."

He shrugs a shoulder, fingering a coaster. "Makes sense. We didn't pay a cover, though."

"That's because you rolled in with the big dogs," I snicker, cupping a hand around my mouth and howling. A chorus of howls echo back to me a I toss back the rest of my vodka cranberry, adding my glass to the pile of empties in the center of the table. "Want a drink?"

"Sure, I'd take a beer," he replies, snaking a hand under the table to subtly adjust himself in his jeans.

Shit, did someone just crank the temperature up in here? I throw up a hand to flag down a nearby cocktail waitress, ordering a beer for Cam and a water for myself, since I obviously need to cool off .

She scurries off to get our drinks and the two of us sit in awkward silence for a few moments. Well, the term silence is relative, since the music is loud enough to blow the doors off this place. I'm still buzzed, but the heat coursing through my veins has nothing to do with the alcohol. I'm flustered by Cam's proximity; distracted by the way I keep catching girls leering in his direction and whispering to their friends. I need to steer this train back on the tracks, and fast.

"How was your day with my brother?" I ask casually, angling my body toward Cam's. Not only because our bond instinctively draws me closer, but also as a signal to the other bitches in here that he's not up for grabs.

"Fine," he mutters in response. "We just kinda avoided each other."

The corner of my mouth ticks up. "And here I thought you'd be bonding over my bad behavior."

He rakes a hand through his curly hair, barking a laugh. "Definitely enough there to bond over, but I don't think we're quite there yet."

"Too bad," I pout. "I swear Madd's a good time when he loosens up."

"Oh yeah, and when does he do that?"

"Never," Ares laughs as he approaches our table from my other side, sliding two bottles of beer and a cup of water onto the surface in front of me.

I turn to face him, squinting suspiciously. "You sure you don't work here?"

He rolls his eyes, dropping down onto the stool beside me. Then he helps himself to one of the beers, clearing his throat as he twists off the cap and flickering Cam a glance. "Cam, right?" he asks. "I'm Ares. Think we might've got off on the wrong foot…"

"You mean when you shoved a bag over my head and stuffed me into a cell?" Cam deadpans, grabbing for the other bottle of beer .

Ares chuckles uncomfortably, taking a swig from his own and wiping his mouth off on a wrist. "No hard feelings, man. I'm just protective of my girl here." He tips his head toward me in indication and Cam visibly tenses.

"Your girl?" he repeats, arching a dubious brow. He twists the cap off his beer, raising the rim to his lips nonchalantly. "From what I hear, you're just friends."

" Close friends," Ares clarifies suggestively as he slides an arm around my shoulders.

Cam lowers his beer to the table with a thud, his wolf pushing forward threateningly in his irises as I shrug Ares' arm off with a groan.

"Okay, you two can stop with the dick measuring contest already," I sigh, throwing a thumb toward Cam as I turn to face Ares. "Trust me, you don't wanna get into one with this guy."

Ares puffs out his chest, scoffing, "Wanna bet?"

"Dude, it's never gonna happen," I cluck, shaking my head. "Even if I didn't have six years on you, we're friends . And as for you," I say, swinging my gaze back to Cam, "get your wolf in check before he busts out and causes a scene, huh?"

Cam flinches back, his brows drawing together. "How did you…?"

"Your eyes."

He drops his gaze to the tabletop, rubbing his fingers against his temple and muttering something under his breath that I can't make out over the thump of the music.

Ares takes his beer and gets to his feet, winking at me, and I flip him the bird as I scowl back. His responding laugh cuts through the noise while he retreats to the bar. I turn back to Cam, reaching out to set a hand on his arm, and he lets out a puff of breath, shoulders relaxing from my touch.

"You alright?" I ask.

He lifts his head, nodding, and I'm relieved to see that he's successfully tucked his wolf away. Those dark eyes meet mine, clear of any glimmers of gold, though the set of his jaw is still tense.

"Ares is an idiot," I sigh, retracting my hand and picking up my water cup. "You'll learn to love him eventually."

"We'll see about that," Cam mutters before taking another pull from his beer bottle. His Adam's apple bobs as he swallows it down, his gaze flickering past me. "Were you planning on staying here for a while?"

"Dunno, why?"

He nods in indication, eyes still fixed behind me. "Because there goes our ride."

I turn to follow his gaze, spotting Sloane clinging to Madd like a koala as he carries her toward the exit, her curls bouncing and the crowd parting to let them through. I roll my lower lip between my teeth, turning back to Cam. "Tell me he left you his keys?"

He snorts a laugh, shaking his head. "He didn't trust me in the house by myself, you really think he'd give me his car keys?"

"Maybe we can catch up," I say, setting my cup down on the table and sliding off my stool. I grab for Cam's hand, butterflies taking flight in my belly as sparks ignite between our skin. "On second thought, I've got another idea," I say slyly as he eases to his feet.

He narrows his eyes on me suspiciously. "What are you up to, beastie?"

My lips spread into a grin as I start pulling him toward the door. "Just trust me. C'mon."