Chapter 196: Forget About The Party

"Just a minute!" Brittney shouted when the doorbell rang for the second time.

Dimitri was here.

"How did we even end up this late?" she demanded, looking around at the disaster they had made of the room like the answer wasn’t scattered across every surface.

And yeah, they were late because somewhere along the way, getting ready for the party had turned into a party of its own. Valerie and Variant had even brought their outfits along so they could change with everyone else when the time came.

There had been drinks too, although Aria and the other humans had chosen soft drinks instead. Showing up drunk to a party filled with predators seemed like a spectacularly stupid idea, especially when the beasts could drink twice as much and burn through the alcohol far quicker than any human could. Valerie and Variant, on the other hand, had been knocking theirs back without the slightest concern.

And of course, there had been gossip. Lots of it.

Valerie and Variant had spent a good portion of the day telling them who was fucking who, who had been caught fucking someone they definitely shouldn’t have been fucking, and which relationships were currently hanging by a thread because of it.

Apparently, the beast world wasn’t so different from the human one after all. There were cheaters here too, although things seemed considerably messier when powerful predators naturally attracted more attention and most females were more than willing to compete for it.

It turned out the women fought over men too. Except in a world where an argument could involve claws, venom, fire or a mouthful of very sharp teeth, those fights had a tendency to become far more brutal than pulling hair in a nightclub bathroom. Aria supposed it didn’t matter what species they were or what kind of skin they wore. Men were still men, and women were still willing to fight over them.

For a moment, Aria had been tempted to tell Valerie and Variant about her mate bond with Maverick and perhaps ask some of the questions that had been circling her mind since she’d agreed to give him a chance. But as much as she liked the girls, she’d only known them for a short time, and after hearing just how much gossip they knew about everyone else, telling them her biggest secret suddenly seemed like a terrible idea. Maybe later.

And now here they were.

"We’re done!" Valerie and Variant announced almost simultaneously as they dusted the last bit of powder across their faces and tossed their brushes onto the vanity.

And yes, they were dressed identically as usual.

Both wore matching strapless bandeau tops in deep forest green that barely covered their breasts, paired with ridiculously short black pleated skirts sitting low on their hips. The only obvious difference was in their accessories: Valerie had chosen gold hoops and stacked bracelets, while Variant wore silver rings and a thin chain around her waist.

Aria glanced down at her own mini skirt and almost laughed. Standing beside those two, she looked downright conservative.

They must have been impervious to the cold because neither of them had bothered with so much as a jacket.

"All right, this is how we’re going to do it." Aria lowered her voice, painfully aware that shifters had ridiculously good hearing and Dimitri was already standing on the other side of the door.

She quickly laid out the plan.

"Brittney will open the door while Alek hides in my room. The rest of you will stay in here and act as if nothing unusual is happening. Dimitri will inevitably start looking around for Alek, and once he’s sufficiently confused about where his mate is, Alek will make her grand entrance."

Aria smiled, already picturing it. "She’ll step out in that black strapless dress, and I’m willing to bet Dimitri will be left speechless."

"Oh, he will," Brittney whispered, practically vibrating with excitement.

The others snickered at the thought, while even Alek couldn’t hide her smile. She ran her hands down the sides of her dress one last time, trying to act unaffected, but the anticipation written across her face gave her away completely.

Then they moved.

Brittney hurried to the door while the other girls scattered around the living room and did their best to look innocent. Alek slipped into Aria’s bedroom and quietly closed the door behind her.

Brittney opened the front door with a bright smile. "Sorry we’re late. But we’re done now. Come on in."

Dimitri nodded as he stepped inside, his eyes briefly sweeping over Brittney.

"You look good."

"Well, thank you," Brittney replied politely, although the innocent act almost slipped when she noticed his attention immediately dart toward Alek’s bedroom door before sweeping across the living room.

Dimitri took in Aria, Trisha, Valerie and Variant, then glanced around again, this time more deliberately. Brittney had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. He had been inside for barely five seconds, and already he was looking for his mate.

In his haste to find Alek, Dimitri hadn’t paid much attention to what Aria was wearing. But when his eyes eventually strayed back to her, he paused, one brow slowly lifting as he took in the short black skirt, fitted top and pale-grey fur wrapped around her.

"You are definitely asking for trouble with that outfit, Aria," he said with amusement. He could already imagine Maverick’s reaction when he saw his mate dressed like that. The poor bastard had been struggling to keep his hands off her as it was. Tonight, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

Aria shrugged, completely unfazed. "I can handle that kind of trouble."

Dimitri scoffed. Easy for her to say when she had absolutely no idea what it took to keep up with a werewolf in bed. If Maverick ever stopped restraining himself long enough to show her, she might reconsider that confidence.

Then his thoughts returned to the person he’d come here for in the first place. "Where is my girl?"

"About that..." Brittney trailed off, managing to hold his attention for another second.

Then Aria’s bedroom door opened, and Dimitri’s head turned toward the sound. His eyes found Alek and stayed there.

Alek walked toward him with all the confidence she’d managed to gather before stepping out of the room, but Dimitri wasn’t making it easy. His eyes moved slowly over her, taking in the dress fitted to her body before returning to her face. The intensity of his stare made her heart race, and despite her determination to remain composed, her breathing became shallower with every step she took toward him.

It was by sheer luck that Alek made it all the way to him without stumbling over her own feet. She stopped directly in front of Dimitri, lifted her chin and gave him a smile that was far more confident than the pounding of her heart suggested.

"I’m here now, handsome."

For several seconds, Dimitri didn’t say a word. He simply gawked at her, his eyes roaming over the black dress again before settling on her face. Then, without taking his eyes off his mate, he addressed the others.

"Would any of you mind if I forgot about this party and took Alek back to my room instead?"

At once, every girl screamed in unison.

"No!"