“Keep doing that, and you’ll get yourself in trouble, beta,” I say right against his ear.
He spins around to face me. “Maybe I—” He cuts off suddenly, gaze locked on something behind me.
I turn and seeher. Raven.
She’s standing near the bar, looking a little out of place, eyes wide, gripping a nearly empty glass of one of those fru-fru drinks women like, the kind with an umbrella in it. Her other hand is curled into her skirt. The soft, silk fabric falls lightly over her hips, perfectly matching the revealing crop top she’s got on. A heavy coat is slung over one arm, like a security blanket.
I’m moving before I can think, but I grab Rhodes’ hand and pull him with me. Tanner and Orion aren’t where they were before, and I search the crowd as I walk. They should be here, too. This is our chance. Raven hasn’tspotted us, and when she does, I want all of us together. She needs to know we’reallsorry, that weallwant her.
I don’t need to worry, though, because our other packmates make it to Raven just before we do. She’s staring at them like she’s seeing a ghost or a nightmare. Her pretty little mouth hangs open, eyes bugging out like a scared animal. Well, I guess that answers my question about whether she knew we were here. Which means she clearly doesn’t know I’m the one who sent her all that stuff, either.
“The gifts were from me,” I blurt out the moment I’m close enough for her to hear me.
“What? That was you?” She shakes her head, brows pinching together. “Of course it was you. I should have known.” She mutters the last part, barely loud enough to be heard over the music.
“It was the first stop on my apology tour.” I grin and bounce on my toes. “Did you like it? The teddy bear was my favorite. But I bet you liked the butterscotch candies.” I wink at her, and step closer, hoping she can smell me. It’s crowded, though, and with so many sweaty people—most of them athletic alphas—the scents are pretty overwhelming.
Raven takes a step back, cowering, and I realize we’ve all surrounded her in a tight semicircle. A wall of alphas can be pretty intimidating, especially for an omega. Her hand is gripping her glass so hard her knuckles are white.
“Give her some space.” I throw an arm across Tanner’s chest, and try to push him back since he’s the closest one to her. Orion is beside him, and Rhodes stays behind me.
Orion takes a step back as he gives Raven his most stunning smile. Damn. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how hot my packmates are since I see them every day, and beingaround them is so normal. But when Orion turns on the charm and hands out that panty-melting grin, it’s enough to set even my blood thrumming.
“Hi, Raven,” he says cautiously. “It’s good to see you again.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t say the same.” She downs the last bit of her drink and shoulders past Orion, heading toward the bar.
I follow, hot on her heels. I’m not about to let this woman go again. “Can we buy you a drink? What would you like? Another one of those?”
“I can get my own.” She speeds up, slipping between people and shimmying away from me. Man, she has a nice ass, though I’d prefer it wasn’t running from me.
“Wait up!” I catch up with her just as she reaches the bar, my packmates right behind me.
Tanner holds back, staring at Raven like he isn’t sure if she’s real. Rhodes wears a neutral expression, as reserved as ever, but there’s a curious tilt to his head that I know means he’s intrigued. Good. I really want him to like her.
“Let us buy you a drink, snowflake,” Orion says, stepping up to her other side. “It’s the least we can do.”
Raven casts him a narrow glare, her pert little nose curling into the air, as if to say,‘It certainly is.’
I grin. She’s got more fire in her than she did in high school. Or maybe she just didn’t let us see it then. She crosses her arms. “What do you want?”
I expect our pack lead to answer, to kick start this apology, but he just stands there with his mouth hanging open. Fine, if he won’t step up, I will.
“We want to apologize.” I try to take her hand, but she rips it away from me.
“You want to apologize? Now? For making my life a living hell years ago?” Raven says, giving me her back and facing the bar. “Just leave me alone.”
“No can do.” I bump my shoulder against hers, the action sends her other shoulder into Orion’s. “Haven’t you realized it yet?” I shove my wrist in front of her nose. She recoils, but not before I see her nostrils flare and her pupils dilate. Her wide-eyed gaze meets mine, but it’s not eager excitement I see mirrored back at me. It’s horror. Shit. Tanner was right, she’s never gonna forgive us.
Rhodes grabs my shoulders and tugs me back. “We’re sorry about him. I’m Rhodes, by the way.”
Raven gives him a tight nod, then turns away to wave down a bartender. The woman keeps mixing drinks as she chats with a group of athletes wearing pretentious button-downs and charming smiles. She doesn’t even glance at Raven.
Orion steps up to the bar and immediately catches the woman’s eye. The bartender holds up one finger. She hands a few people their drinks, then heads our way.
“Thanks,” Raven mutters, clearly disgruntled. She’s so damn cute.
“What’ll it be?” The bartender asks Orion.
