Hunter's Alpha (gxg) ✓

23. Calm

As soon as he is unconscious, slumped against the counter, I grin with satisfaction.

The crowd is staring at me, gaping━shock, disbelief, flitting across their faces. But no one steps forward to help Reid, and I know that without a doubt, they will not interfere.

He deserved this one. Now, if only I knew where Derek was━but that's a different story. If I'm going to leave this place, I better go out in style.

"A drink," I tell the bartender, and I smudge the blood off my upper lip. Casual. As though I beat up people every day.

He slides a glass of tequila my way, and I swallow it whole.

I wish I could say getting black-out drunk was on my bucket list, but my twelve-year-old self never thought of it.

Hey, I'm making up for it now.

The music is loud, drumming against my temples, and I sway back into the rhythm of the loud lights and the twisting of hips and chests and sweat-slick silk.

Two shots down. I can feel a buzz, and my fingertips beat against the countertop. I want to dance.

Five more glasses. I stumble off the stool, making my way through the writhing, twisting crowd. I breathe in the scent of heat and sweat and sex, a tangible breath in the air, and I let myself get carried away in the flow of movement.

I don't let any thought of my mom, or Hunter, or Emilie touch me.

I just dance.

And if you hadn't put it together, karate makes for excellent coordination. So forgive me if I'm a little biased, but I'm an excellent dancer. Or, rather━an attractive one.

I feel strong, large hands planted on my hips, and instead of leaning out of the touch, I move into it. I want to feel alive. I want to feel something that isn't anger. And what's better than desire?

I don't need Hunter. I don't need her mouth or her fingers or━

I stop thinking before I can ruin what I'm doing now.

A male chest is behind me, and I curve myself into it, letting my arms sling back over his neck. Hooking him closer to me.

His deep, rough laugh ignites me. I don't know who he is━can't see his face. And so what if I'm not attracted to men? I can pretend.

I grind my ass back against him. The crowd is one tense, tangled swarm of heat and fire and tongues. Lips touch. Hands roam.

How long do I dance for? I don't know. I let myself get lost in the beat and the hum of the world. Lights explode into colour. Sensation swirls into agony. The heat between my legs pulses, but it's not the man behind me I want, it's her. Goddamn.

For a moment, the feel of his warm, strong chest behind me disappears.

The absence is like an ache, but in a matter of seconds, it is replaced.

"Hey, where'd you go?" I whisper, as his hands snake around my hips, cupping me to him.

Around us, I see men and women locked together, heat and need and craving, tensed into a palpable cloud of smoke and colour. I see a flash of familiar black hair━Mikayla━and a tall man, his hands beneath her shirt, his thumb circling her nipple.