24

Word Count: 2815

~Dove

I could listen to Deven sing forever.

His rich, melodic voice drifts through the cramped bar, fighting for notoriety against the murmuring wave of voices. Tonight he only sings, but he is an equally talented dancer.

The sound of the battering rain outside only accents his voice. Still, I hear a few wavering notes that betray is wariness.

He hates performing in old bars like these. The crowd is entirely uninterested in his half naked form, glittering attire and bold coloured hair. He feels insecure standing atop a stack of pallets they are calling a stage, even though he's the most talented person to ever step foot in this place.

I lean back against the bar, shifting uncomfortably on the solid seat while I sip from my foamy beverage.

Dev wraps up his song, blotting his sweat prickled hairline with a hand towel as he bounds off the pallets. Resting my drink down, I clap for him as he wades through the half drunken crowd, drawing a tentative smile to his lips.

His chest is heaving and his cheeks are flushed as he reaches me.

"Water." I hand him the glass that has been waiting for him, the ice dancing together against the edge. "You sound incredible."

"No one is listening," he mutters, casting his stare out across the distracted crowd as he drains the glass of water.

"They are, don't worry," I assure him. "You're so talented, it blows my mind."

He scrubs the top of my head with his hand, sporting a loose smile, sending my hair into disarray. "Thanks Lovey Dovey Ding Dong."

I roll my eyes, shoving at his shoulder. "I hate that nickname."

Dev slides into the barstool next to me while I take another sip of my cheap beer. The sweat has plastered red strands of hair to his forehead, his lips mouthing inaudible words to a song being performed by another artist.

"So, who should I take home tonight?" He asks, pointing at a few attractive people scattered about the room that he must have been eyeing.

"None, please," I groan. "Seriously, I have work tomorrow and I don't want to be up all night listening to your headboard hitting the wall near my head."

I haven't gotten laid in far too long. Varian's mark has cemented my celibacy by no choice of my own, as my pants seem to come off in bed, only for my potential lovers to scramble out of the room in fear.

He's not even their Alpha and they are scared of him...

I still deeply resent him for he did. He was right about Matthias being an unpredictable, hot headed mess who could have flipped and killed me the moment he scented his enemy on my skin, but I would have appreciated the warning.

Now I have no idea what he is up to. I avoid newspapers so I don't see his face or Matthias', so frightened of retreating into old memories that I have to avert eyes from news stands on my daily commute.

It makes studying politics almost impossible...

"You haven't had a day off in three weeks," Dev points out solemnly.

I shrug. "School is expensive."

A lot of my money is stored away, ready to be spent on a procedure to have my mark removed. I accumulated the funds months ago...I'm not sure what I am holding out for. I need to do it, to sever my connection with Varian once and for all.

"You have a lifetime of experience with politics." Dev takes my beer, stealing a sip before returning it in front of me. "Fuck school."

"Employers don't care about my father's experience, they care about mine," I remind him bluntly. "If I tell them I worked for Matthias, I would have to tell them I was just a maid, regardless of any help I gave my father."

It's not as if I can secure a testimony from either of them since I've cut them off anyway.

"Fuck them. Seriously," Dev mutters.

Fuck them indeed.

My attention strays down to the foamy surface of my drink. It only lingers there for a moment before Dev grabs my forearm, his nails digging painfully into my flesh.

"Holy shit," he curses, giving me a little shake.

"What?" I grumble, stifling a yawn.

"This is going to sound insane, but Claude Ambrose just walked in."

My gaze snaps upward, following his.

That is a name even Matthias' pack members are familiar with. A name that immediately cools my blood.

Sure enough, Claude swaggers into the room, all loose and confident despite not belonging in this pack at all. He stands in stark contrast to the other patrons with his buzzed silver hair and obnoxiously blue jacket dotted with rain that has started to fall outside.

He pays no mind to the hungry eyes that stalk him through the room. I wouldn't be surprised if people started tearing the expensive jewellery he adorns so confidently right off his body.

All I can think of when I see him is what he enjoys behind closed doors. I think of the fork I sunk into his thigh over a year ago, and how he insisted I owe him.

Shit.

"You can't be serious," I hiss under my breath, turning around to face the counter, bowing my head in hopes he doesn't see me.

I doubt he would recognise me. It's been so long and life moves quickly for people like him in that pack. I'm sure I'm a distant memory, long forgotten. Even Varian has probably lost interest in my existence by now.

Just in case, though, I wont take the risk.

Dev leans his elbows back against the bar, his lids heavy and his smirk sultry as he regards Claude. "He's as hot as he was last party. Wow."

I risk a glance over my shoulder. What is he even doing in this pack, let alone this bar? Sure, it's popular at this time of night, but nobles like Claude don't just stumble into places like this.

People watch him warily. They all back off to give him room as he makes his way toward the bar.

And for the briefest moment, his uncanny blue eyes meet mine, and his lips curve upward.

Alright, he definitely recognises me.

"Oh fuck." I scramble for my purse, ready to launch myself from this building. "I have to go."

I feel him before I see him. The moment I turn to hop off my seat, Claude is there, grinning at me. This richness of his cologne and the luxury of his outfit reminds me exactly where he comes from, and I have every right to be afraid of him.

"Dove," he purrs. "Look at you."

His lazy assessment of me follows every line of my body, as if an inch missed will lead him to miss something.

"Claude," I greet stiffly. "I must be going."

Dev grabs my arm before I can slip from my chair, his brows pulled together in concern. "Woah, Dove?"

He wants to know why I'm running, and how I know Claude in the first place. But that requires answering questions I can yet...not without telling him everything.

"Lovely dress, as usual," Claude compliments smoothly.

"Thanks," Dev and I say at the same time. We exchange awkward glances, remembering who made the dress versus who is wearing it.

Claude frowns a touch before shaking his head to expel his confusion. "I was wondering if I'd ever see you again."

I was personally hoping not. I thought here, in this pack, memories of Varian and Claude could stay safely far away. Instead the latter is standing right in front of me, with half a bar's worth of people staring at him.

Dev's hand slides between us, looking for Claude to shake it.

"I'm Deven, Dove's hot, jaw dropping love interest who she regularly sleeps with—"

"Deven!" I snap, giving him a half hearted shove.

He holds his hands up defensively. "Okay, okay."

Claude is staring at him, arctic blue eyes narrowed. I don't like that look, especially when it's directed at my clueless friend who thinks he is funnier than he actually is.

Mercifully, a woman in a black shirt rushes up next to him. "Deven, you're on again."

He looks between the stage and me, indecision playing on his features.

"You good?"

"I'm fine. I'll see you at home," I encourage, waving him off. Better he be up there than under Claude's scrutiny.

The less of my life he's exposed to, the better. Chances are, it will get back to Varian otherwise.

"Be safe." He looks between Claude and I one last time before slipping away into the crowd.

I blow out a breath of relief, but it's short lived as Claude slides into the seat next to me.

"Boyfriend?" He queries, an uncanny tilt to his lips as if he can't decide whether he should be amused or irritated.

"Not even slightly." I pin him with a look. "He's just a friend."

The bartender immediately rushes over, taking the order Claude mentions flippantly. People would lay down the shirts off their back if it meant he could avoid stepping into a puddle.

"What a relief." He shrugs off his jacket, dumping it onto the bench next to him with no care if anyone steals it.

I eye his sleeves that are rolled up to his elbows, and the snake tattoo weaving around his forearm to his hand. On his finger, sits the same back and green signet ring I remember from the party.

"Why?" I ask warily.

"I've come to flirt with you, of course." He languid stare considers me, taunting me.

My lips curl into a sneer. "I don't want you to bleed me out while you sleep with me, Claude. That doesn't do it for me."

Images of stabbing the fork into his thigh flash unbidden into his mind. I truly hope he's forgotten about that. I have to stretch my fingers out to expel the phantom feeling.

"Ah, well I can make an exception and have vanilla sex for you," he says, as if his offer is supposed to be construed and chivalrous.

"What are you even doing in this pack?" I question, looking back at the front door.

I'm paranoid that the man that marked me is going to stroll in here shortly after. Then I'll really need to make a run for it.

"Diplomatic visit. Varian and Matthias are attempting to smooth over relations after Varian plundered his borders," Claude explains, taking the short glass of whisky the bartender slides over to him. "Our accomodation is in the area and I needed something to drink."

I'm not sure I can believe that Claude happened to stumble into his bar while I'm here. It seems too much of a coincidence when this pack is so large.

"Varian find his brother?" I ask. I never thought the pair of Alpha's would ever open up for talks, but a lot changes in a year.

Either this is part of Varian's plan for information, or his brother has returned to him.

Claude downs the entirety of his glass in one go before snapping his fingers, signalling for another. He takes his time wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, sighing contently.

Something lurks beneath the surface of that sequence of actions. He's going to avoid my question.

He doesn't trust me.

"What have you been up to these days?" He gestures around. "Hanging around in cramped old bars your new thing?"

The swift topic change is jarring, but what can I expect? I bet him and Varian still maintain I'm a spy, despite everything.

"It could have been my old thing. You don't know me at all," I retort bluntly.

"I suppose I don't." He shrugs loosely, turning in his seat so he can survey the crowd, and my friend just starting to sing on stage. "You didn't seem like the kind of girl to cut off relations with her sister."

I scowl. "That was before she took Varian's side after he forcibly marked me."

Not that it's any of his business. I hate that they are friends, that my sister probably trusts him more than me. The thought disturbs me.

His gaze dips to my thigh. "So you haven't had it removed?"

My jaw tightens. As if he cannot scent it.

I know he can't see, but I pull my skirt a little further down my thigh anyway. I've gotten used to the mark, even if I try to avoid looking at it as much as possible.

"Removal process is painful and expensive. I can't afford it." I adjust my hair, feeling sweat gathering in my hairline. I shouldn't be entertaining this conversation anyway, but I can't help myself.

There is something magnetic about Claude, even if I hate to admit it.

"Ah." He wipes his mouth to hide his smile, but it's painfully transparent. "How do your lovers take to it?"

"They attempt to seduce me, realise who the mark was made by and run for their lives," I admit irritably.

I had a guy transfer out of my class before, and rumour had it, he moved to another pack entirely. Varian's name inspires fear here, and seeing his claim to me panics even the most confident of males.

"At least you cannot fault your beauty or seductive techniques." His fingers smooth along his buzzed scalp. "Varian would have the head of anyone who put their hands on you. He wouldn't admit it, but I know it's true."

I'm grinding my teeth so hard they feel close to fracturing. Varian probably doesn't remember me, let alone care who I'm sleeping with. Claude is only trying to instigate something.

"Well my life isn't anything to do with him."

He sighs roughly, watching me for a long moment.

"Eden misses you dearly," he says softly. "She chose to stay in Varian's pack because she loves her mate, and couldn't bear to return somewhere she didn't feel like she belonged. She gave Varian hell for what he did to you, and he took every bit of it and then some."

I swallow thickly. I've come to terms with what Eden did, and I don't resent her for it anymore. I'm glad she makes Varian suffer for imprisoning and marking us, but it doesn't change how I feel about him.

"So?"

"So, Eden wants you at her wedding."

I pull a face. "You two close or something?"

"She's our friend, Dove." He drums the fingers of his left hand on the bar top. "Our circle has an opening for you, of course."

Being in that pack, near all of them feels like a faraway concept. That life is so different to mine, and although I envy their friendships with one another, I don't want any part of it.

"Go back to your Alpha and leave me alone. I beg of you." I rub a hand down my face tiredly.

And to think, all of this could have been avoided if I had just stayed home as I intended to.

Claude doesn't look convinced by my dismissal. He clearly wants to say more - I can practically see the tumultuous thoughts unspooling on the tip of his tongue.

"The jaded look is kind of sexy, but I miss the hopeful girl who caught a glimpse of a life meant for her." His serious tone makes me shift uncomfortably in my seat. "Come to the wedding."

"I'll be there. But not because of you." I down the rest of my drink, hoping a slight buzz will put me to sleep without endless hours of staring up listlessly at the ceiling.

"As long as you're there." His eyes lighten again at my confirmation. "Varian will be too—"

I him with a reproachful glare. "Don't mention him."

"He thinks about you a lot. He punishes himself for what he did, for the ultimatum he gave your father," Claude admits lowly. "A year later and you plague his thoughts. Mine too."

That is...surprising. I didn't know Alpha's felt guilty or regretful. I'm sure Claude is talking it up so the wedding goes smoothly. I doubt Varian gives me much thought, let alone the mark.

"I'm going home. I have a headache." I slide off the seat, needing to put space me and Claude.

He leans over. "Let my transport take you."

"And have you know where I live? I'd rather not," I snap back.

He shrugs as if to say 'fair enough'

"I'll see you at the wedding, Dove." He winks. "It will be much harder to run from us then."

🩷••🩷

As always, you can read this book 16 chapters ahead on Inkitt and 10 chapters ahead on Radish!

Your support means a lot to me!

~Midika 🐈‍⬛💜