Page 31 of A Female Alpha for the Lycan Prince

Marcel flushes. “She’s my sister; I have to protect her.”

“Yes, of course,” Elias mutters in annoyance. He seems to be questioning his life choices right now. “Meanwhile, you can party here.”

Once Garret returns with our drinks, Elias’ expression darkens a bit. “There are only alcoholic cocktails. I’m driving, Garret.”

“Oh right,” Garret blinks. “I forgot. I’ll get you something else.”

“You don’t need to. I’ll head out and go to the sushi restaurant around the corner while you guys party,” Elias offers.

“No way,” Garret makes huge puppy eyes at him. “You need to dance with me here at least once.”

“Good grief,” Elias groans.

“So, who’s here?” Marcel asks curiously, skillfully shifting the topic.

I take a sip of my Mai Tai while I consider. Wow, that’s strong. “There’s wolves, obviously, and a bunch of witches. Pretty sure I also saw some Fae.”

“Everyone together in one place?”

“Yes,” I nod. “This is neutral territory. Vampires can visit too.”

“You’re kidding me!? Years upon years of treaty discussions, meanwhile, there’s a club where everyone can come and go freely, and no one bothers anyone else?”

“Life’s weird like that,” Harmony chuckles. She salutes me with her drink before taking a sip. During the next couple of hours, we down a few rounds of drinks, with Garret and Marcel ensuring that our glasses stay full. It takes a lot for me to get drunk, being an alpha. Harmony, Marcel, and I hit the dance floor, using each other as a buffer against unwanted attention. Eventually, Garret manages to convince Elias to dance with him. Elias indulges him, but looks noticeably relieved when Garret lets him go off to sit next door and have sushi.

“Don’t drink too much, please, Garret,” Elias begs before he leaves. “Promise me?”

Garret nods. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

Harmony and Marcel tease him a little, but as usual, Garret is so good-natured toward his friends that he just laughs it off. I let my eyes wander the room casually. Suddenly, I can feel Danica stirring in my mind.

No way… it’s not possible…

I smell him before I see him. Of all the places in town, he has to come here… it seems like the Moon Goddess is really playing with us. I went years without ever meeting my mate, and now that I know who he is, he’s everywhere. He has this intoxicating scent of coffee, sandalwood, and ginger. It’s musky yet fresh at the same time.

Once I’ve seen him, I can barely move my eyes away. Even if we weren’t mates, I would consider him beautiful. Despite being an alpha, he’s built more beautifully and lean than bulky and rugged. He has soft, even features and long hair that he always ties back in a bun. It’s a look I normally don’t find attractive, but boy, does he pull it off. He’s also sporting a beard tonight, perfectly trimmed, and it makes him look even hotter. He’s wearing tight black jeans and a plain white, long-sleeved shirt. The outfit is simple but effective.

He’s with Aryanna, Liam’s beta. She immediately heads toward a group of girls she must know, while Marius mingles in the crowd. I can see a few girls instantly approaching him, giggling, and flirting. He’s friendly with them, all smiles and flirty glances. He must have said something funny because they all laugh. My chest hurts so much seeing him smile at the girls. I can barely breathe.

Why is it that he can be so nice to others but doesn’t have even one ounce of love for me?

Battle of Mates

*MARIUS*

IfollowAryannaintothe club downstairs. She’s wearing jeans, and her top looks like a glitter bomb exploded on it. Once downstairs, I head to the bar to order our drinks while Aryana targets a group of young women and heads over their way. They all laugh and hug like they are best friends. I can see her pulling one girl towards the dance floor, they seem to be pretty close and a bit flirty. I know Ari doesn’t date seriously, she’s waiting for her destined mate and doesn’t want her future mate to feel like there is too much burnt ground to walk on.

I’m here for a reason too. Aryanna wants me to mingle with the crowd a bit and gather any intel on a witch possibly going astray, someone rumored to be working with a shady group. I will down my dislike of crowds, trying to ignore those attempting to grope and touch me, and head towards a group of witches that I know are checking me out.

I ignore the rising disgust at having them too close to me, rubbing their bodies against me or touching me in any way. Ugh.

This is important. For once, I need to focus and do the job I came here for.

I flirt with the witches, making them feel like they have my undivided attention. I’m actually a bit surprised how little effort it took to get them talking.

Things are going well, but then I feel it.

Cyrus starts stirring in my mind, his senses on alert suddenly. There is only one thing that can trigger his response like that.