Instead, I was trapped by social rules, forced to stay still as his eyes tracked up and down my body. I couldn’t think of anything to say, couldn’t think of anything, except how much I hated this.
His face split into a smile as his eyes met mine again, and I had to fight not to let the spike of fear leak into my scent. “Look at that,” he said, his fingers touching my shoulder.
I looked down, his fingers resting over one of the faintly throbbing welts my father had given me. I’d covered it in concealer, but its effectiveness was fading, especially as it was slightly raised.
I cried out as he scraped his nail roughly over the wound, shearing more of the makeup off and revealing the deep purple underneath.
“Do you take pain well, little one?” His scent deepened. “I?—”
He was cut off as something slammed into him.
EIGHTEEN
OCEAN
It had been torture sitting at this table with Jag. I was supposed to be focused on our discussion, learning the details of my next job and further cementing my place here. Jag had even hinted I might be introduced to Thaddeus himself if I did a good job. The man was in the suite with us, but it would be foolish to approach him without a proper invitation.
But I kept getting distracted by her. Had she been so touchy with everyone yesterday like she was today? Every time I looked, her hand was on someone’s shoulder or around their waist. She stroked arms and even sat in people’s laps.
Rationally, I knew it was why alphas came here. Touching a duchess was a powerful way to balance your aura if you didn’t have an omega of your own. But irrationally, I wanted to tear everyone in this room apart for tainting her beautiful scent.
She wouldn’t look at me properly when she came over, her eyes not making contact with mine. And after witnessingher blush in an oversized hoodie with no shoes last night, seeing her like this felt so wrong.
Was I the only one who could detect how her scent was off? It had a bite to it here, a sharpness that was putting me on edge. I wanted to watch her, but I had to keep talking with Jag.
Finally, the fights ended, and Jag downed the last of his whiskey. “You all set for tomorrow, then?” he asked, and I grinned.
“Have I ever let you down?”
“Not yet,” he said with a laugh, and I watched as he left.
Finally, I might have a chance to talk to her. I was supposed to leave her be, but I had to at least tell her that, right?
I couldn’t spot her at first, winding my way through the pillars and crimson curtains. I rounded a corner and froze. A giant alpha was crowding her against one of the pillars. My lips curled as I moved closer, trying to see if she was in trouble.
Did she do this every night? Put herself in the arms of these dangerous alphas? Some omegas would thrive in this position, but the cracks in Laurel’s mask showed discomfort. Finch and Kaos weren’t convinced, but I believed there was more to her than the Crimson Duchess.
“Ocean.” Finch’s voice sounded in my ear. Apparently, his message was important enough to risk speaking directly. “Stand down. You need to?—”
The rest was drowned out as I heard her cry out in pain.
No.
Protect her.
My aura split the air as I surged toward them.
NINETEEN
FINCH
I was standing, my knuckles white as I gripped the desk. I couldn’t try talking again, not with him this close to other people. Not that it would have worked, anyway.
His tiny camera jostled as he moved. I could feel the rage burning through him, his aura surely out as he pushed between the alpha and the duchess. The camera was pointed directly at her face, her blue eyes blinking up at Ocean in bewilderment. Her red lips were slightly open, and I saw her nostrils flare and a flush spread over her cheeks.
“Are you okay?” Ocean asked, his voice soft.
Her face shifted, the surprise giving way to a flicker of horror before it went blank.
