Ramon went to tell his mom he was leaving the party then headed out, hoping he could get there and get the boys out before anyone at the party realized who they were and really did declare war.
Chapter Two
Saffy
Seraphina Brown looked around at the excitable young shifters and fought to hide her scowl. It was her sister’s sweet sixteenth and she’d never have heard the end of it if she didn’t show, but that didn’t make it any more bearable. All around her, relationships were being formed and broken, couples held hands and made out, then argued and broke up, moving onto someone new before the DJ had started playing the next tune.
How could a bunch of teenagers have a better dating life than she had at twenty-six? She just couldn’t understand it. She heaved a sigh. Actually, shecouldunderstand it. She knew the reason for her lack of romantic entanglements, of course she did. She’d had relationships in the past, but a shadow had hung over all of them, and whenever she’d started to really fall for them, she’d done the only sensible thing, and broken it off. It was better that way. Before anyone could get too attached, and too badly hurt.
She’d had to.
What would have happened if she’d found her mate? People could get destroyed. No relationship could ever hope to compete with the pull of the mate bond. No way, no how. And how was she supposed to live with herself if she spent years with someone, made a life with them, a home, and then broke it off with those four words that most shifters longed to say…I’ve met my mate.
No. She couldn’t put someone through that, and even if she never met her mate, she couldn’t spend every day looking at a man she loved, wondering if that would be the day some quirk of fate would strip everything away. It was better to call things off before she fell even deeper and spent years of her life with someone who was just a fill in until the real deal came along. That wouldn’t have been fair on either of them. And every breakup brokeherjust a little bit more, so that now any form of dating worried her, in case she fell that bit too hard.
Relationships were off the table for her, and it was better that way.
It kind of made sense, in her head at least, but her libido had other ideas. She wished she was the type of woman who could be content with anonymous hook-ups with strangers she met online, but she couldn’t go for that. She was too old-fashioned. She wanted hearts and flowers—romance, not a quick fumble in a car with some guy who had probably taken off his wedding ring five minutes before meeting with her. Men like that made her feel queasy—as did her brother’s friend Leon, who had been checking her out all night.
Yet another reason she wished she could be anywhere but here right now.
The salacious glances he kept throwing her way were enough to make her lose her dinner, but it had been even worse when he’d come to talk to her earlier. The lust he’d been throwing off in waves had tickled her nose and tested her gag reflex. Usually, scenting a shifter’s lust would be enough to make her inner cat purr, but with him, it had the opposite effect. It made her cat’s claws threaten to elongate and made the human side of her desperate to take a long, hot shower. The crazy thing was, he had no idea how repulsive she found him. No clue whatsoever. He thought he was God’s gift. She’d even seen him eying up some of her sister’s friends. They weresixteenyears old.
What the hell was wrong with him?
Saffy wasn’t keen on Jason, her brother’s other friend, either, but at least he didn’t try to get in her pants at every given opportunity. That had to count for something. Her brother, Jason, and Leon had been thick as thieves for as long as Saffy could remember, but it was only in recent years that Leon had taken such a shine to her, which had at least spared her a few years of his unwelcome interest, she supposed.
When she saw the man in question heading her way again, Saffy panicked, looking around for somewhere she could hide. In the end, she pretended her sister was calling her and hurried over to where Charlotte was standing around talking with a small group of her friends.
“Quick,” she muttered under her breath. “Hide me. If I have to talk to Leon again, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
Her sister wrinkled her nose. “Do you mean Mason’s friend? Yeah, he’s gross.”
Charlotte’s friends all nodded and muttered their agreement, and Saffy’s eyes narrowed.
“He hasn’t tried anything on with any of you, has he?” she asked. If he’d said so much as a single inappropriate word to any of them, she’d have his head, and to hell with the consequences.
“No,” Charlotte replied. “But he looks at us like we’re a piece of meat.”
“Stay away from him,” Saffy warned. “I don’t even know what he’s doing here.”
“Blame Mom. She said that you and Mason had to chaperone tonight, and Mason told her he wouldn’t do it unless he could bring his two partners in crime.”
“Huh, figures. Seems like they’re all joined at the hip lately, even more so than usual.” She shook her head and forced a bright smile. This was supposed to be a birthday celebration, after all. “Anyway, are you enjoying the party?”
A tentative smile slid over Charlotte’s lips. “Yeah, it’s cool, but I hate that everyone keeps staring at me.”
“It’s because you look so hot,” Saffy said, causing her sister and her friends to break out into a round of giggles.
Saffy wasn’t surprised her sister was uncomfortable. Charlotte had always been a shy, quiet child. She was reserved and introverted, often preferring to be in her own company rather than be around a group of people. She’d never liked being the center of attention, so being the star of a sweet sixteenth had to be hell for her. Charlotte hadn’t even wanted the party, but their mom had insisted. She’d said it was a rite of passage, but Saffy knew the real reason was so she could show off to the rest of the pride.
“Is he gone?” Saffy asked.
Charlotte looked covertly over Saffy’s shoulder, then nodded. “Yeah, he’s with Mason again. He’s not looking over here.”
Saffy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank God for that. So, you got your eye on anyone here?”
Saffy shook her head, but one of her friends ratted her out. “She likes Ethan Johnson.”
