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Serena had told me that she needed time to think about it before giving me an answer. Which I’d respected. It is not a simple yes or no, as being a mate is a huge commitment. So I didn’t pressure her to give an answer. I wanted her to say yes because she wanted to say yes.
But that didn’t make the wait any less agonizing. Thank fuck I didn’t have a fight later. I would be in no shape. Serena was lucky that I felt the way I did about her. I’d never let anyone leave me waiting this long ever before.
“Jalik!” she yelled again. Her high heels clicked as she stormed down the hall towards me. “Did you not hear me? We’re going to be…”
Serena’s voice trailed off as she stepped into the bathroom. I turned to face her, and a huge smile was stuck on her face. Her eyes scanned me up and down.
“Fuck, you look handsome,” she said.
“And yet, I’m sure I look only a fraction as good as you.”
I looked her up and down, too. Serena wore a tight gray dress, to match my tracery, that glittered in the light. Every inch of her curves were on full display. She’d look so delicious on my arm. It took all my focus not to jump her, tear that dress off, and take her.
“Oh, no,” Serena scoffed. “I know that look. We don’t have time for any of that. Like I said, we’re going to be late.”
“We can’t be late. The party is honoring me, Serena. It starts when I get there.”
“Fine, if you insist. At least do something productive and borrow some of my concealer to cover up those bruises from the fights.”
I looked back in the mirror. Anyone else would look a lot worse after so many fights back-to-back. The healing did its job, but it could only do so much when you continued to throw abuse at the body. All things considered, my face was pretty presentable. A bruise on my cheek and a black eye was forming.
“No way,” I said with a laugh. “Can’t cover it up. This is what the people want to see. I’m already going to show up late, it’s the least I can do.”
“Asshole,” Serena laughed back.
Her face looked so beautiful when she laughed. Why couldn’t she be my mate already?
“Well,” she continued, “whenever you decide we’re the proper amount of late, I’ll be waiting at the door.”
For no reason other than not wanting to keep Serena waiting, I followed her out of the bathroom and out of the apartment. Everyone else waiting for us could get fucked. She was all that mattered.
But Serena would soon realize that these kinds of parties were hardly ever fun. They weren’t about me. They weren’t even really about the fights I won. They were about the high rollers and celebrating all the money they just spent and gambled away to us.
It was also about getting them to spend even more money. Serena and I, plus some other special guests, got in for free. But everyone else had to pay.
Then there was the scam of the buffet table. All-you-can-eat food! But the bar was a cash one. Pretty ingenious move by Draven. Those rich assholes wouldn’t even notice how much they spent.
By the time Serena and I got down there, I couldn’t imagine Draven would be mad about my lateness. With me not around to fawn over, it seemed like the guests had nothing to do but buy drink after drink.
“He’s here!” screamed a heavily intoxicated elderly Dargun woman wearing the finest silks as I walked in. Her arms shot up so fast that she sent her drink flying everywhere. “Show us some muscle!”
I did a small flex, and the woman screamed so loud that I thought she might have a heart attack. Part of me was worried about how Serena would react to all the attention I was about to get. But she simply laughed.
The whole party cheered for me at that point. Every eye was on me. I really wished that I never left my apartment. I just wanted to be with Serena.
Serena and I slowly tried to make our way deeper and deeper into the party. But every few steps, we were stopped by another fan. Most asked dumb questions or wanted me to pose with them for a picture.
After a while, I just tuned them all out and went through the motions. I just did enough to keep them happy, and nothing more.
All the while, I kept a hand on Serena to keep her close. A hand on the small of her back or gripped on her hip. And she, in turn, kept a hand on me. Resting on my shoulder or wrapped around my bicep, her touch reassured me of her presence and kept me as calm as ever.
After what felt like an eternity, Draven cut his way through the crowd to me. A drink was in his hand and a huge grin was on his face. It was the look of a man who was about to be very rich.
“There he is,” Draven boasted. “There he is! The Vinduthi of the hour!”
“How about I go get you a drink?” Serena whispered to me.
“Yes, something strong,” I responded.
