Page 121 of UNAwere

No.

‘Briggs,’ Warner says lightly. ‘What’s the matter?’

Jude throws his napkin onto his plate. His face is stormy, jaw hard.

‘Jude…’ Hannah warns softly.

‘Excuse me,’ Jude says, voice tight. ‘I’m suddenly not feeling very well.’

‘You’re not excused from the table, Briggs,’ Warner says. ‘Sit back down.’

The room falls into silence. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears, my chest hitching as I hold my breath.

Jude meets Warner’s gaze across the table. His nostrils flare. ‘Alpha.’

‘Jude,’ Lucas says from his end of the table. ‘Why don’t you come help me with the drinks—?’

‘No,’ Warner says, throwing a heated glare Lucas’s way. ‘Briggs is going to sit back down and finish his meal.’

‘Layton,’ Hannah says, her face hardening. ‘What are you doing?’

‘What am I doing, Sybil?’ Warner asks, pulling me against his side.

I stutter, my tongue heavy. ‘Oh, um, I don’t—’

He catches my jaw in his hand and raises my face to his. I can feel everyone’s eyes on us, but I’m forced to stare at him, my head at an awkward angle. He smells like the wine he’s been drinking, his pupils blown.

This act of dominance he’s displaying is something I’ve never really seen. Nolan is an alpha, but he’s never been like this. It makes me wonder whether he actually knows that Jude is my mate or not. Whether he cares.

‘We just want everyone to have a nice dinner, don’t we, Sybil?’

‘Um…’ I can feel Jude’s eyes on me, and my heart is still stuttering in my chest. ‘Yep?’

‘Is she capable of speaking a full sentence?’ one of Warner’s guests asks, smirking behind their wineglass. The others laugh. My cheeks flame, tears scratching at my throat.

Jude turns his gaze onto them. Slow. Predatory.

‘I’ll put you in a fucking body bag if you say one more word,’ he growls.

‘No, you won’t,’ Warner says, keeping his eyes on me. His hold on my jaw tightens, and I wince.

‘Jude, sit down,’ I hear Hannah whisper. ‘Please.’

Jude’s chair scrapes across the floorboards. Warner doesn’t take his eyes off my face, and I close mine. When I feel the alpha’s lips against mine again, it takes everything within me not to pull away.

Warner makes a small, amused noise in his chest when he’s done, and he finally releases me. I sit back in my chair, teeth clenched. Jude’s visibly shaking in his chair, Hannah’s hand weighing on his shoulder.

I force myself to breathe normally, pressing my lips to keep back the sobs in my chest.

Eventually, the chatter resumes, and I stay seated, my head bowed slightly, trying not to look at Jude. And it feels like an eternity before coffee is served and there’s a piece of cake sitting in front of me.

It’s chocolate – my favourite – but I don’t have the heart or the appetite to eat it.

Warner gets distracted by something one of his other trusted is saying, and I take the opportunity to get up and leave when I see Lucas do the same. Hannah and Jude rise not too long after me, and I’m halfway out the door when I hear Warner ask Jude to stay.

‘He’ll be okay,’ Hannah says when she catches me in the hall. She walks me briskly in the direction of my room, her arm around my shoulders. ‘You did well.’

‘What’s happening?’ I murmur. ‘Why is Jude risking things by behaving like that?’