“This isn’t real,” she says, so quietly I almost miss it beneath the roar. “It can’t be.”
“Scent match. Is it true?” I can’t stop myself from shaking her a little. I need to be closer, to be in her space. “You feel it too. You know it.”
She shakes her head, more frantically this time. Her eyes dart around the room, landing anywhere but on me. The crowd at the glass shifts and surges as another fight erupts on the ice. Someone drops a glass, the shattering sound is louder than it should be.
“I can’t—” She stops, her breathing changing. I see it happen, her chest rising faster, shallower. Her pupils dilate, cheeks flushing. Too much. It’s all too much.
Ash clamps her hands over her ears, eyes wide.
“I need to—” She gasps, each breath coming quicker than the last. She turns abruptly, pushing blindly toward the exit.
“Ash, wait.” I reach for her, fingers closing around her shoulders. She feels so fucking small. “Look at me.”
She doesn’t. She twists in my grip, trying to break free. Her panic is a tangible thing. I can taste it. I hold on tighter, trying to ground her.
“Breathe,” I tell her, bending to catch her eye. “Just breathe with me.”
But she’s beyond hearing. Her breathing has turned ragged, desperate. She pushes at my chest, nails digging into my shirt. I don’t let go. Every alpha instinct screams to keep her close, to shield her from the chaos around us.
“You’re safe,” I tell her, but the words don’t reach her. She’s drowning in her own fear, and I realize I’m only making it worse.
“Let her go.”
The voice comes from behind me, sharp with command. I glance over my shoulder. It’s the douchebag in a suit who called her cheap. His eyes flick from my hands on Ash’s shoulders to her panicked face.
“Mind your own fucking business,” I growl. “She’s with me.”
“Doesn’t look like she wants to be.” He reaches for my wrist. “I said, let her go.”
Something primal snaps inside me. This stranger is trying to take her from me, my omega. I don’t think. I just react. My fist connects with his jaw, the impact reverberating up my arm.
The moment my punch lands, the room explodes. Several alphas surge forward, shouting and shoving. Some try to pull me back, others pin the other guy. Bodies press in from all sides, the scent of aggression so thick I can taste it.
“Pierce!” Ash’s voice cuts through the chaos.
I try to reach her, but more bodies block my path. Someone’s elbow catches me in the ribs. I shove back, harder than necessary. The temperature in the room seems to spike ten degrees.
Sandra slides an arm around Ash’s shoulders, murmuring something in her ear.
I push forward, trying to get to them, but a wall of suits blocks my path. Someone shouts my name. I turn in time to see a fist coming at my face. I duck, the punch sailing over my head. Myanswering uppercut catches the guy under his chin, snapping his head back.
“Enough!” Alexei’s voice booms over the commotion.
The alpha I punched stumbles into Sandra, nearly knocking her down. Alexei’s roar could shake the foundations. He plows into the fray like a freight train, shoving alphas aside to reach his omega.
“Ash!” I shout, still fighting to reach her.
The door to the box bangs open. Security pours in. They scan the scene, immediately zeroing in on me.
“That one,” someone says, pointing at me. “He started it.”
Two guards grab my arms, their grip bruising. I struggle against them, still trying to track Ash through the crowd. Security has her by one arm, Sandra on the other, pulling her out of the suite.
“Let me go,” I snarl, twisting in their grip. “She needs me. ASH!”
She looks back at me, her arm stretching for me.
“Ash!”
