Page 24 of Toxic Revenge, Part Two (Mafia Omegas #2)

Chapter

Twenty-Two

TALIA

Maybe I couldn’t handle attention after all.

My heartbeat thumped in my chest, the organ threatening to burst out of me. The Victorian-style mansion stretched up high, imposing, and grand. It was a symbol of a life I’d never wanted.

A life of extravagance and luxury; people-pleasing and pandering.

This was what it would’ve been like if Benjamin and I were together. If our bond was real and not a bastardization of what a mate bond should be, I would have been here with him tonight.

He would have kept me on his arm and shown me off, played up our relationship as perfect. It was a contest to see who was the most put-together bonded pair or pack of everyone present.

If we played the part well, Benjamin would have gotten the chance to suck up to the richer men. He’d inch ever closer to his goal of becoming a partner and hoarding wealth to give himself a leg up in the world.

I smoothed down my dress nervously. My short flared heels pinched my feet, and the updo was already causing my head to throb slightly. It had been an hours-long task to get here—with Benjamin, I would have been coming to these every weekend.

How had I not seen that the path I was on led to this?

Everything I never wanted?

If things had been a little bit different, I would’ve been miserable for the rest of my life.

I still might be, but honestly, this misery was preferable to the image in my head. At least now I had my pack to dull the toxicity of Benjamin’s bond. If I’d never caught my scent match cheating, I would have been stuck with him, with nothing to help me manage his horrible emotions.

That impromptu visit to his apartment, the chain of events that led to meeting Mercer, Conrad, and West, was the best thing to ever happen to me.

I had to hold onto that thought above all else tonight.

Maybe I would have made different choices if I could go back in time, but what if making different choices didn’t lead to them? The pain was worth it if it meant I had them in the end.

The bite mark on my neck ached, as if trying to remind me of that pain. I brought a hand up to cover it, wishing it wasn’t on display to the world. Having it exposed was a necessary part of the plan, though. No happy omega would cover her bondmark.

And for the next hour, I had to pretend to be happy. With Benjamin.

I swallowed hard.

My pack was willing to fight for me, so I had to breathe through the anxiety and break free of the depression to fight for them too.

Glancing at the neighbouring mansions, I found most of them were dark but for the exterior lights casting a glow on their pristine gardens.

In the backyards of those far-too-expensive houses, my mates were waiting in the wings.

They couldn’t do what I had to do, but they were all waiting to play their part in my investigation.

Silent sentries in the moonlit evening, guarding my body, heart, and soul.

This hour of acting was going to be the theatrical performance of my life.

To avoid rousing suspicions, I had to make the ruling elite of Banfield believe that I was the perfect little omega. Not capable of anything more than looking pretty and making small talk.

I squared my shoulders, forming my lips into a polite smile. The wind brushed against the skin exposed by the satin dress, the chill much appreciated with the nerves making my body hot.

It was time to go in.

The butler led me through the grand entryway into the main ballroom. The ceiling stretched up far above the party-goers, creating an echo of the polite conversations all melded together. I held my purse in my hands, a prop to give my hands something to do.

“Please enjoy the refreshments at your leisure, Miss.” The butler bowed before leaving me standing beneath the arched doorway.

Waiters mingled among the guests, trays of champagne in their hands. I plucked a glass for myself, but I wouldn’t be drinking it. The crystal clear glass with gently bubbling liquid helped me fit in among the crowd, though.

There was minimal security presence in the ballroom itself, likely so as to not make the guests uncomfortable. A few uniformed guards stood at hallway entrances.

I’d have to sneak past them, but Mercer and Emilia wouldn’t be ready yet. We’d set ‘go time’ at 8pm, an hour after I arrived. Until then, I would have to mingle.

I took a deep breath, scanning the ballroom to find someone I could talk to without having to explain too much about myself. No one looked friendly—not in the traditional sense.

Yeah, they wore polite smiles and greeted long-time acquaintances with cheek kisses, but there were nefarious undercurrents. The occasional smirk when their conversation partner wasn’t looking. Clipped conversations when they went off to chat with someone more prominent.

I wandered over to a table full of desserts, snatching a finger cake with a strawberry and some white chocolate curls resting on top.

I did my best to quell the urge to shift from side to side, not wanting the other guests to see my nerves and latch on. It was impossible. I swayed as I took delicate nibbles of my cake, the stem of my champagne glass clutched in my other hand.

A few guests were sneaking glances at me, the awkward woman who’d come alone and didn’t have the guts to talk with anyone. If they got too suspicious, I’d never be able to sneak away and let Mercer in through the side window.

I needed to…

A man approached me, and I took a deep breath to stave off the panic spiral.

“Need a conversation partner?”

He was vaguely familiar. Around Benjamin’s age, maybe a little younger. He wore an expensive suit, but shoes that hadn’t been recently polished. His alpha scent wafted toward me, a mixture of sea breeze and smoke—but unlike West’s soothing woolen smoke, this man’s scent reminded me of cigarettes.

“How could you tell?” I asked jokingly.

The step he took toward me felt predatory. I couldn’t avoid wrinkling my nose.

“A pretty lady left alone in a corner is always in need of something.”

His gaze scanned me, and I suppressed the urge to shudder. Where did I know this man from? If he was this lecherous, it couldn’t be someone I’d met with my fathers.

“My bondmate couldn’t make it.” I tilted my head to the side, subtly showcasing the mark on my neck. It made my chest tighten uncomfortably, showing it off like this, but I had to use it where I could. Being bonded was a small protection against alphas like him.

As he eyed the mark with disappointment, it clicked where I knew him from.

He was a lawyer at Benjamin’s firm. Maybe the closest thing my scent match had to a friend, even. They had a mutual interest in climbing the ladder and were happy to use each other to do it.

They would have stabbed each other in the back at the first sign of it being convenient, of course.

But as far as I knew, that hadn’t been done yet.

“You’re Trent, right?” I asked. “You worked with Benjamin.”

“Ah, you’re Benjamin’s girl. I knew I recognized you from somewhere. That’s right. Poor sucker got fired, I heard. Are you here trying to fish up a new job for him?”

I clenched my fists, resisting the urge to deny belonging to my bondmate in any way. Being called ‘Benjamin’s girl’ made my stomach turn, and I regretted my little cake.

“Something like that,” I said.

“This is the place to do it. Shame he couldn’t come himself, but I’m happy to accompany you.”

I glanced at the huge grandfather clock beside the dessert table.

Only half an hour had passed. If I fled the party now, there was no guarantee Mercer would be ready at the window.

I might also end up caught on camera—Emilia couldn’t take control of the high-tech security system, but she could make them go dark for a short period of time.

I couldn’t be early. There was still time to kill.

“I couldn’t steal you away from all the networking opportunities.” Time to kill or not, Trent was giving me creepy vibes.

He chuckled, reaching out to place a hand on my arm. The touch almost made me retreat, but I fought the sick sensation in my stomach.

It wasn’t Benjamin.

Trent was flirting despite my bond, definitely, but he wasn’t the man who’d ruined my life. He wouldn’t be able to do a single thing to me when my true pack was waiting outside.

“Oh, it’s no trouble to spend some time with a gorgeous woman. Let me introduce you to some people.”

I was scared that if I spoke, I’d say something offensive. So I only nodded, my head rushing to determine how I could ditch him as soon as possible. Trent linked our arms together, leading me through the ballroom and engaging in small, empty conversations.

He kept trying to get closer to me, but I discreetly rebuffed every attempt while speaking as little as possible. I could sense his irritation over it, but I saw an opportunity there.

Trent wanted a woman on his arm who would make him look good. I wasn’t the only woman here. I only had to find him a replacement, and then I could escape right on time for the plan.

With the vultures circling, it was easier than I’d thought.

A pretty young woman in a show-stopping gold dress came up to chat with one of the older lawyers Trent had worked with. It was as simple as shaking her hand and then placing it on Trent’s arm, like he’d done with mine.

She gave him a calculating look, he gave her the same lecherous once-over he’d given me, and I was free to excuse myself to use the washroom.

They’d spend the rest of their night figuring out whether or not the other was worth their time. I’d spend the rest of mine sneaking through off-limits areas of the mansion.

Down a long hallway were the washrooms, where women fixed their makeup in the gold-framed mirrors.

I used a stall, sliding a single scent-blocking pill from my handbag and swallowing it.

Then I stepped back out into the hall, but didn’t go back the way I’d come.

I continued down until I reached a door with a sign labelled ‘Staff Only.’

I had a lockpicking kit strapped to my inner thigh, but luckily the knob turned without complaint. Checking over my shoulder for anyone watching, I slid through the employee door and quickly closed it behind me.

In the back hallways meant for employees to wander out of view, I should be able to sneak my way to the window Mercer waited by.

Then I wouldn’t have to face the rest of this cold mansion alone.