Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
“Who is this?” Timothy asked, eyeing Maddie calculatingly, his eyes looking her up and down. “Is this your youngest?” he added, turning to look at Dad.
“Maddie, go back downstairs,” he told her, ignoring Timothy’s question.
“Wait,” Timothy said, holding his hands up, his eyes now holding a slight glint of excitement. “Wait, this could work.”
“What could work?” I asked, my brow furrowing as I watched him look at Ben and then back at Maddie.
“No,” Reid growled, standing up straight from where he leaned against the wall, his arms uncrossing as he clenched his hands into fists at his side.
“You have a daughter, and I have a son,” Timothy continued, ignoring Reid. “There’s no reason to cancel this mating ceremony. We’ll have Maddie and Ben mate instead of Nicole and Wes.”
The growls and roars that filled the room at his words echoed so loudly that it was likely the entire pack heard us from the lawn outside. I saw red, and my lycan snapped and snarled in my head, my claws shooting out without warning.
Timothy just kept talking, his volume rising to be heard over the din. “The contract can still stand! We can still have our alliance, and your daughter will be a luna and still be close—“
“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Ben roared, his eyes almost bulging, his face as red as his father’s had been earlier. “She is a CHILD!”
“Let’s go, Maddie,” Reid muttered, moving forward and weaving around everyone to reach her.
The volume of the shouts and voices in the room kept rising to where I couldn’t hear what anyone said as everyone spoke at once. Reid grabbed Maddie’s hand and pulled her out of the room. Ben was up in his dad’s face, spittle flying as he continued to say Goddess only knew what to him, my dad holding him back from launching himself onto Timothy.
My lycan paced again, more agitated than ever. Growls and snarls fell out of his mouth, adding to the noise echoing in my head.
I moved forward to help Dad keep Ben at bay when a mindlink came through from Sebastian.
“You need to come help me. Now.”
My response was instant and urgent, my feet moving me through the room before my mind could catch up and before Seb could even respond, before I knew where to find him. My heart thudded against my ribs as I feared the worst.
“Why? What’s going on?”
He hesitated for only a moment, then replied, “It’s Haven.”
HAVEN
“Are you sure about this?” I asked Imogen as I stood in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom of her penthouse apartment.
“About what?” she replied, leaning closer to the mirror to put on her red lipstick.
“All of it?” I answered. “The hair, the outfit, the shoes… it’s just… Well, it’s not really me.”
“What are you talking about? You look hot. Own it!” Ramón yelled from where he lounged on Imogen’s bed, sipping a glass of red wine.
“He’s right, you look hot,” Imogen agreed. “Wesley is an idiot,” she added.
My lips twitched halfheartedly, but I said nothing in response to her words.
“I TOLD YOU, WE BANNED THAT NAME FOR TONIGHT, IMMY!” Ramón yelled from the bedroom. “That’s another shot for you!”
Imogen just shrugged and turned away from the mirror. “Maybe I said it on purpose. Maybe I wanted to take an extra shot,” she said with a wink at me.
I laughed a little again, turning back to the mirror to put on my own lipstick. Then, I stepped back to give myself a final once over.
Imogen had straightened my hair and pulled it up into a sleek, high ponytail. She’d drawn dark eyeliner on my eyelash line and added mascara onto my long lashes. It drew focus to my big blue eyes, she’d said.
I tugged on the straps of the black spaghetti strap bodysuit, pulling it up so the neckline lay higher on my chest. Not that there was much to spill out or be exposed, but it was still a lower neckline than I was used to, and the champagne-colored sequined skirt was shorter than I usually wore. And paired with the strappy black heels Imogen insisted I wear, I felt out of my element for sure.
But Ramón and Imogen both said I looked great, so I was going to go with it and make the most of this night out.
Imogen was right. I needed it. Needed a distraction, and needed fun. And needed to work on my friendships with my fellow dancers.
“Wesley who?” I muttered under my breath, standing up straighter and tossing the end of my ponytail over my shoulder.
His cold shoulder—a real one, this time—was hurtful, and it stung, but I wouldn’t let it bring me down. I would have fun with my friends, and then, over the weekend, I would drive to Crescent Lake again and confront him. I had been too timid to follow through with that idea, but no more. He would get a piece of my mind.
“That’s one shot for you too!” Ramón called to me, and I laughed as I walked out of the bathroom to join them.
We made our way out of Imogen’s building and down the street to the club. The others from the company who were coming would meet us there. Imogen linked her arm through mine, the long sleeves of her glittery silver dress scratching my skin slightly.
Ramón linked with my other arm, his leather jacket cool against my skin. I was grateful for his presence because, one, Imogen and I would stand no chance against any men on our own, and two, because I hated the feel of eyes on me, especially when I wore something as revealing as I was wearing to go to the club.
“Don’t we need to wait in line?” I asked as Imogen bypassed the people waiting outside and walked straight to the door.
“Nope,” she said. “We’re on the list.”
The bouncer at the door nodded at us, not even asking for ID, and stepped aside so we could enter.
As soon as we were through the door, the thumping of the bass greeted us. It vibrated from the floor up through my feet and made the air itself tremble.
The sound resonated in my chest, and my heart worked to match the beat. The flashing lights of the neon signs and the spotlights above the dance floor cut through the otherwise dark club, casting an otherworldly glow over all the occupants.
Imogen led us straight to the bar, moving through the crowd with ease, like she’d been there hundreds of times. She shouldered her way to the edge of the backlit counter, squeezing in between a tall blonde man and a shorter, dark-haired female with full lips.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?