Ocean wasn’t here tonight.
I was supposed to reject him, clean up this mess, and wrap it in a shiny bow.
But he hadn’t shown yet, and we were halfway through the fights.
The Lucas pack had cornered me again, Prince barely letting me leave his sight. It had been impossible to do my job, and even though some of my guests looked put out, my father wasn’t stepping in.
“What do you think, Duchess?” Dax turned to me, and I tuned back in to their conversation with a jolt.
“Back East, we’d spice things up once in a while and throw a gold pack omega in with the dogs. Think New Oxford has the appetite for that?”
Dax’s eyes met mine, and I felt an icy sensation crawl over my skin as shock abruptly brought Laurel into the driver’s seat. Dax looked perfectly conversational, as if he hadn’t just suggested letting feral alphas at a helpless omega.
My eyes went to Prince, hoping for him to object or declare it a poor joke. Instead, I found him looking thoughtful. Madison was grinning.
I struggled to find a response.
“That’s a rather different kind of show.” I turned back to the fight, trying to look but not see. “Unprecedented. We do well enough. Why fix what isn’t broken?”
Madison muttered something low that I couldn’t hear, but he looked pissed.
Prince rolled his eyes.
“Hang on, big guy, that’s not a no,” Dax said. “We should talk to Thaddeus about it. I’m sure we can convince him by showing him our numbers.”
“I’ll have to ask Uncle Valentino next time he comes by. If anyone can get us a gold pack, it’s him,” Prince added.
Well, actually, Valentino usually dealt with the family through his son, Caius, nowadays, but I didn’t really feel like sharing that piece of information with Prince. I definitely wasn’t going to help themgeta gold pack omega. Gold pack omegas may be outcasts in our society, but I had nothing against them personally.
It was hard enough to have to watch the fights as they were, let alone with someone helpless in the mix.
I finally managed to excuse myself to do a round with my guests and felt a sense of relief when I spotted Ocean, sitting in the same separated corner he had last night. He wasn’t alone, though, and I gritted my teeth as I saw Jag talking to him. Which meant I needed to act completely normal right now. I went through my regular routine, stopping by each group of guests, flirting, and setting people at ease.
Ocean’s table was last, as it was right at the back. I stopped, trailing a finger along Jag’s shoulder. I could feel Ocean’s eyes fixated on the contact, but he didn’t react. So, hewasn’t about to announce our scent match to everyone or publicly try to claim me. Good.
“Jag,” I purred, slipping down beside him. I wound my hand through his arm, looking up at him. “I haven’t talked to you in forever. Have you been avoiding me?”
“I’m a busy person,” he said flatly, moving away from me. “I only come up here when I have to.”
“Such a shame,” I said, faking a pout. Jag was dangerous. If anyone could uncover the spying Iliked to do in my spare time, it would be him.
The information would be delivered to my father in the same flat, dispassionate way he shared all his reports. And I’d lose what little freedom I had. I’d figured out that I made him uncomfortable and always dialled it up for him, cementing my image as a harmless airhead while encouraging him to avoid me as much as possible.
I tilted my head toward Ocean, not quite meeting his eyes. “I hope our dear Jag isn’t boring youtoomuch. He doesn’t ever seem to stop working.”
“You leave the work to me, Duchess, and I’ll leave the playing to you,” Jag said, and I laughed, despite how much the comment drew my ire. I couldn’t tell if he was trying to piss me off or if he genuinely thought what I did up here wasplaying.
“Well, let me know if you need anything, all right?” I said, standing and accidentally catching Ocean’s eye before I could leave. My heart stuttered in my chest as I saw the concern painted on his face. I turned and walked away, pushing it from my mind as I returned to the Lucas pack.
Jag didn’t leave Ocean’s side for the rest of the fights, so I didn’t have a chance to talk to him, which left me no choice but to hunt him down later.
My mind was whirring as the last fight ended andpeople started filtering out. I was sore, my pain meds wearing off, and extremely glad this evening was finally over.
To my dismay, Madison stepped in front of me as I started toward the exit. He leaned down and breathed in my scent deeply, his pupils dilating. I couldn’t help smelling the scent of alcohol on his breath, mixing with his thick copper and smoke scent. I took a reflexive step back, only to find a cold marble pillar behind me. Madison crowded closer, and there was no way to slip past him without being rude.
How absurd.
I wished I could knee him in the balls and run.
