The absence of Dean's lips has me stopping.
I face him. I take his arm to steady myself. "What's wrong?"
He doesn't look at me, but at the people around us. Why isn't he looking at me? "This isn't right, Anna."
Of course it wasn't. His lips weren't on my neck anymore. The music continues to pulsate around us. A body jostles us.
"What are you talking about?"
He finally looks at me. "I'll be right back." He squeezes my hand and pushes himself through the crowd. I look after him before stumbling my way through the crowd. I stop at the bar and lean heavily on it.
Katie sits on my left. She stares at me but I pretend I don't see her. That is until I get a tap on my shoulder. "Where'd Dean go?"
I shrug. "Hell if I know." I lean over the bar and raise my finger at the bartender. I order another shot.
"Make that two," Katie says. She stands and leans against the counter with me. "How are you feeling Anna?"
I shrug again.
Two shots are set in front of me. Katie grabs one and I grab the other. We toast to the pounding silence and down them. Katie pats me on the back and leaves. I don't watch where she goes.
I turn my back to the bar and close my eyes as I let the alcohol take over my system. I learned in past experiences that I can take a lot of alcohol, but not as much as a full breed. It takes Sara twice as long as me to get drunk.
A presence to my right has me opening my eyes. Jessica. "Quite a spectacle."
"Yeah, the lights. They're flashing." I roll my eyes. I grip the bar to keep my balance.
"I meant you and Dean. I'd almost thought you two were a thing."
I shake my head and let out a laugh. "We don't need your approval, Jessica. Dean and I are mates, get over it and go back to California."
"You really have no respect for your superiors, do you?" She stands and towers over me. But for a reason that I blame on me being a half-breed, I'm not intimidated.
"I am a superior. If you forgot, the alphas mate is also an alpha. I suggest you go back to California before they get a new alpha." I match her stare.
"A mutt can't challenge an alpha, or become one." She pauses and leaves.
I order two more shots and stay by the bar. Dean shows up after a few minutes. "Do you wanna go?"
I nod. It's almost as if he could sense it on me.
I wake up with a headache. The headache isn't what woke me though, its my phone ringing. I end the call and roll on my side. But I can't fall asleep now. There's a shitty taste in my mouth, all I smell is alcohol, and my body aches. What the hell happened last night?
I stretch before sitting up and then I slide from my bed. Something hits the floor with a metallic ding. I pick it up.
It's Dean's ring.
And on the floor is Dean. Why is he on my floor? I grab a pillow and toss it at him. He jolts awake, looking confused for a second before pulling himself together. He throws the pillow back at me.
"Why are you in my room? If my aunts see..." He pushes himself off the floor.
"Relax, they've been out all night." He stretches. His shirt lifts up a little, revealing his 'Bad Wolf' tattoo. I avert my eyes.
I'm still in my Halloween costume from last night. And I remember everything. Dean. Dancing. His lips. Shit.
"So how come you slept on my floor?" I slide off my bed. His ring is still in my hand. I want to give it back to him but Jessica's words are still ringing in my head. I've never been called a mutt before.
"I wanted to make sure you didn't need help in the night."
"Oh." I set the ring on my side table.
"Sorry about last night." Dean's phone rings. He pulls it out and silences it.
"Why are you apologizing? There's no need."
"So we're okay? You're not mad about the whole mate thing or with—with last night?"
"No, really, it's okay."
He runs his hands through his hair. "That's a relief."
My phone rings again. "What the hell?" I grab my phone.
"You and Dean are wanted in the office." I look at Dean. He furrows his brows.
"Under who's request?"
"Katie's." The call ends. I stare at Dean. Katie is the beta. She has almost the same authority as Dean.
I toss my phone on the bed. "Why would Katie want us?"
Dean shrugs.
"Well I have to get changed so..."
Dean nods. "Yeah, same. I'll meet you there."
I change into some shorts and a tank top. I brush my teeth, tie my hair in a bun and grab my phone. My aunts aren't home when I leave. Where are they?
Sara, Katie, Darryl, and Daphne are in the office when I enter. Dean enters shortly after me. I sit at one of the chairs. I wait for Dean's uncles but Katie starts the meeting without them.
Everyone takes a seat. Sara sits across from me. Dean sits a few chairs from me and Katie sits across from him. "Last night. Let's talk about last night, Dean."
"What was the damage?"
Katie looks at me and then Dean.
"That's not what we'll be talking about." I look at Dean. He stares at Katie. They better not be speaking wolf again. Katie opens her mouth when the door opens. Bennett walks in with half a donut hanging from his mouth. He sits next to me.
"What'd I miss?"
I shrug.
"Wolves want to know why you're keeping things from them. As the alpha, you should let the pack know when you've found your mate, Dean."
"They watched us?"
"You're the leader of the pack, even at a party your whereabouts need to be known."
Dean stands. "Need to be known? Maybe my whereabouts do, but my private life, no."
"Dean," I say.
Katie stands. "You have to let the pack know you have a mate."
Dean looks at me. "No I don't."
Bennett nudges me. "You want the rest?" He offers me the donut.
"Dean, you're the alpha—"
"Exactly. I'll run this pack my way."
"Dean." I touch his elbow. He needs to calm down.
"Don't act like a child," Katie says.
"Then don't act like my mother." He grabs my wrist and pulls me out of the office. We don't speak until we're outside. I struggle to match his pace.
"I'm sorry, Anna."
"What are you sorry about this time?" I stop walking. Dean pulls me along. He doesn't answer until we're in his house and sitting in the living room.
"I just keep dragging you further and further into this mess. Now the pack knows and there's really no going back."
"We can take it day by day. We can tell the pack that it was a false alarm. We can say that what we thought was instinct was actually lust. There's a thin line between the two." I squeeze Dean's knee.
"That could work. You're a fucking genius." He grabs my head and kisses my cheek.
Blood rushes to my cheeks. I look away. "Yeah, I don't get straight A's for nothing."
Dean sits back. I become strangely aware of his body next to me. It's almost as if my senses have become heightened even more.
The front door opens. Sara walks in and she doesn't smell angry. She comes into the living room. "Anna, can you help me with my homework?"
"Yeah." I follow Sara upstairs to her room.
She opens up her laptop and plays music, turning up the volume until I can't hear myself think.
"We need to talk, but not here."
"Okay."
"Let's go for lunch." She pauses the music. "I'm gonna change first."
"I'll wait downstairs."
I find Dean in the downstairs bathroom. His back faces the mirror and he tries to look over his shoulder at his back. His 'Bad Wolf' tattoo peaks from his pants. I pry my eyes away.
"Your shoulder is looking good." More than just his shoulder.
"Yeah, Holland is a miracle."
"Let me look." Dean turns. He leans his hands on the counter, causing his shoulder blades to shift. I bite my cheek. "Do you know where my aunts are?"
I glide my finger over the shallow ridges. He can probably shift again. "No. They might've left a note."
His spine is set deep. I fight the urge to run my fingers down it.
"Yeah." I clear my throat. "Where were your uncles?"
Dean's reflection rolls his eyes. Shit, I forgot he could see me.
"They're doing something. They won't tell me what. I have them being followed though." He faces me.
I take a few steps back. The heat from his body still reaches me. I keep my eyes to the floor. I don't want to look into his solid blue eyes.
Where's Sara?
"We can finally take those pictures you wanted." Dean takes a step toward me. I have no choice but to look up so I do. He stands close to me.
I glance at his lips as he wets them. "I already submitted my portfolio."
"What happens if you win?"
My heart is in my throat. He looks down at me. I take another step away but my back hits the wall. "Bragging rights," I say. How will I ever tell him what will really happen if I win?
"Anna, you ready?" I push Dean away, leaving my hand a second too long on his chest.
I clear my throat. "Yeah."
We walk out of the house, only to be stopped. Bennett licks his fingers. "You guys are gonna help me clean up, right?" He smells like donuts. How many has he eaten?
Sara and I share a look.
"Yeah," I say.
We walk down to the cafeteria and it's a mess when we walk in. There are cups and paper everywhere. The streamers have been pulled down and crumpled up. There's scattered glass. I don't even want to know what the bathrooms look like.
We work in separate areas but after an hour without making a dent, we work in one area together. So far I've found a used condom and several small bags. It held weed. I wonder if Dean wants to know.
"Last night," Sara says.
"Yeah, last night," Bennett says, nudging me.
"How do you feel about the whole thing?" Sara asks.
I pick up a plastic cup and toss it into the trash. I shrug. "I keep getting asked that. It's just a job. When Jessica goes everything will be back to normal."
Bennett tosses a wad of paper towels into the bin. "Kobe," he says.
"The whole pack saw it, Anna."
"Dean and I already figured out a plan." I toss Bennett some trash. He tosses it into the bin, saying 'Kobe' again.
"Which is?"
"We're blaming it on hormones. You know how rare it is to find it mate this young."
"I wish I can find my mate already."
Bennett and I stop. "Why?" we say in unison.
Sara blushes and picks up some trash. "Because you're your strongest with your mate. And everything just makes sense when you found them."
"I think you're forgetting that you become submissive and subservient."
Bennett nods. "And I don't even know what the subservient means."
"It'd be a burden to be tuned in with someone so strongly that if they die, you die. It's a curse." I help Bennett pick up more trash.
"What, so you're going to be like Bennett your whole life? Sleeping around?"
"Hey."
"No offense."
Bennett shrugs.
"Maybe not sleeping around. But I'm definitely not going to look for my mate like you want to. And if I do find him, I'll probably run away."
"C'mon, Anna, you'll feel that magnetic pull and won't be able to run away."
"I think that'll make me run away faster." Bennett puts his hand up. I stare at it. "I'm not giving you a high-five."
"Anna."
"Mates aren't for me. I don't date. Romance shit makes me sick. You like going on dates, but I don't."
"You were pretty comfortable with Dean."
"Could you please—I was drunk." I drop some trash on the floor. "Let's please just clean this up."
Sara puts her hands up. "Okay, okay."