Page 147 of Pretty When She Breaks

“Come on.” Jade dragged me toward the elevator. “Let’s go fix you up.” Jade

“Thanks,” I told Janna as we walked away. “See you later.”

She gave me a wave as Jade and I stepped through the elevator doors.

Jade took me all the way to my empty suite. She clicked the lights on, and I looked up at the tall ceiling and chandeliers.

“This place is so ridiculous,” I said, shaking my head.

Jade raised an eyebrow. “You think?” She looked so unimpressed that I burst out laughing, and a weight lifted from my chest as she joined in.

“Oh god, I don’t think I want to see anything red again in my life once I’m done here,” I said, wiping my eyes. “I’ll tell everyone I’m allergic to the color.”

I took off my heels, and Jade followed suit, even though I warned her about how cold the marble floor was. It took seconds to fix up my makeup, and we walked back outside, but I stopped by the bar, sighing.

“I don’t want to go back,” I said, thinking of Vivienne and Angela, of the Lucas pack circling around me like wolves.

“Then don’t,” Jade replied, hopping up onto the counter. “We’ll have our own party up here.”

I chewed my lip, then shot her a smile. “Fuck it. I’ve done all the stuff I needed to be there for. I’m not going back.”

With that, I went behind the bar and poured us some drinks.

We ended up on the balcony, looking down at the levels of the Blood Well beneath us, lit by the glowing emergency lights.

“We’ll get your alpha out, don’t worry,” Jade said as I stared down at the Sink. “He cares about you a lot, you know. Kept grilling me about you, so don’t be freaked out when he knows your favourite ice cream flavour.”

“He’s my scent match,” I told her with a smile. “I met him up here, and he stepped in when Madison was hurting me. Father was going to kill him, and the only thing I could think of to save him was putting him in the fights.”

Jade leaned over and squeezed my hand. “So you’re matched with all of them? Grumpy Clark Kent and Skeleton boy, too?”

I snorted out a laugh. “Yeah.”

“You lied to me when you said you didn’t have a thing with him!” she said, poking me in the stomach and causing me to squeak. “I knew it!”

“Well, I’d only just met him,” I protested. “We didn’t have a thing then.”

“And now? You gonna elope with them after?”

I hesitated, chewing my lip. “Yeah, I think so. Kaos is actually really sweet. And Finch apologized for being a jerk, but I don’t know if I’m ready for a thing with him.”

“Well, if he’s apologized, he’s already in a completely different league than the Lucas assholes,” she said, her voice hardening.

“Let’s get another drink.” I stood and went to pour us a round of shots. How long had it been since I’d enjoyed myself like this? It was still nice to drink together, to talk of nothing. To put on music and dance, then stagger around and explore.

We turned into a mess of giggles again when I showed her my supplies for my favour baskets, putting one together and presenting it to her.

“It’s good for the brand,” I wheezed as Jade cackled, pulling out the risqué photo of me. “I swear I had nothing to do with it.”

“Is this a blindfold?” asked Jade, plucking out the ribbon.

I pulled in my lips, trying to suppress a smile. “I scent-mark those,” I confessed.

Her mouth dropped open and we dissolved into laughter.

*

Jade and I stood outside the Securement Wing, banging on the glass of the guard station.