All of us stop short. Devlin curses. My mouth dries as Harper elegantly makes her way downstairs.
She’s a fucking vision.
Her hair is braided back into a low crown, the intricate weaving dotted with small flowers. Red curls fall around her face, framing it perfectly, and she’s lined her eyes with black kohl, giving her a distinctively feline look. I inhale sharply as I take in her dress. Emerald green works perfectly with the fire in her hair, two large slits running up either side. It’s pretty clear that she’s not wearing any underwear.
Matching growls rumble through the pack as our agitation snaps the air with sharp scents. Devlin shoulders his way forward, scowling.
“You arenotwearing that,” he barks. When Harper takes a step back, responding to the dominance in his tone, we all turn our disapproval on him, and he crosses his arms defensively.
“I am not taking her into that wolves den wearingthat,” he hisses to us. “We’ll be fucking overrun before we even get to our table.”
Harper matches his firm expression, crossing her arms back and fixing him with a scowl.
“Ihaveto wear this,” she snaps. “It’s the dress provided by the compound. I’d draw far more attention if I didn’t wear it.”
Devlin’s shoulders slump, and he steps up to her. He holds out his arms and Harper darts into them, burrowing her face into his shirt.
“It’s just a few hours, Dev,” she whispers. “In and out, right?”
“I don’t like it,” he grumbles. “Something feels off.”
“Like what?” I ask. I’ve learned too many times not to doubt Devlin’s instincts.
“I don’t know, but it’s putting me on edge. We need to be tight and stay together.”
Rogue nods determinedly and extracts Harper, tucking her under his arm protectively.
“Let’s go over it one more time before we go. From the top.”
ChapterForty-One
Rogue
Istep out of the truck and throw my keys at the valet.
“We won’t be staying long,” I tell him, and he nods as the rest of the pack exits, slamming doors. Devlin moves past me, his vacant mask back in place as he pushes down the anger I can feel, swelling the bond from four directions. Popping open the boot, he helps Harper get out of her cage.
I press my lips together. We can’t afford for anything to go wrong tonight. All of us have to play our part.
And Harper has to play the biggest part of all.
She elegantly sinks to her knees at the end of the red carpet, arranging the slits in her emerald dress so she can move as much as she can. Reaching into my pocket, my hands grasp the chain tightly. Breathing in and out, I count to five and shove my feelings back down. It goes against every instinct I have to move over to her and clip the chain to her collar. She doesn’t look up at me, doesn’t speak, keeping her head down obediently. It grates at me, even though this is what we agreed.
One hour,I tell myself. Two, max. And then we can get her away from here.
Ace and Gabe move ahead of us. Gabe pauses, hesitation making him turn back before Ace grabs his hand and tows him forward.
I loop the leather strap around my wrist loosely as Dev takes up his position next to me. Glancing down at Harper, her vulnerable nape and scars revealed with her hair up, I clench my teeth.
“We can do this,” I whisper. Devlin nods next to me.
“Let’s get on with it.”
* * *
The ballroom is a heaving mass of activity. An orchestra plays an instrumental waltz from a raised platform. Only a handful of couples are on the dancefloor though. Tonight is about alliances, relationships, and power. The majority of guests flit from candlelit table to table, kissing cheeks perfunctorily and murmuring empty platitudes.
Ace and Gabe finish examining the table arrangements and head across the room, frustration lining their shoulders. I bite down a curse as Dev hisses.
