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“Let’s go order some drinks,” said Luke, curling his hand around Blair’s arm.
Gerard gave her a small salute as they approached the bar. “Well if it isn’t our new Beta female,” he said, approval and acceptance radiating from him. He eyed Luke. “Man, you seem tense. It’s that dress she’s wearing, ain’t it? It’s giving you all sorts of ideas—none of which you can currently do anything about.”
Luke narrowed his eyes at the male’s teasing tone. “Don’t make me hurt you, Gerard.”
The guy chuckled and set his fists on the bar. “Well, what are you drinking? Lucky for you, Blair, you’re not subject to human laws so I can serve you alcohol even though you’re not yet twenty-one.”
“I’ll have a beer,” said Luke.
“Shot of whiskey, please,” she said.
Hearing the creak of hinges, Luke turned to see the Alphas stride into the Tavern with Bailey, Aspen, and Camden close behind. All five crossed to the bar. Hellos were quickly exchanged, and then the group ordered drinks of their own.
Tate’s gaze darted from Luke to Blair. “You both ready for this?”
She nodded. “I can’t lie, I’ll be glad when the greeting part is over. There’s only so many ways you can say ‘hi, nice to see you again’ before you simply sound repetitive.”
Gerard slid Luke’s beer and Blair’s whiskey across the scarred surface of the bar.
Luke handed her the glass. “Here.”
She knocked the contents back, downing it all in one gulp. “Much obliged.”
Havana’s brows inched up. “You can handle your whiskey.”
Blair shrugged. “My mother had a way of driving me to drink.”
Tate snickered. “I can imagine.”
Luke had no sooner finished his beer than the guests began to arrive. He and Blair took up a position near the door as planned. There were nods, handshakes, hugs, and cheek-kisses. Aside from a stiff and awkward Finley, they were all friendly toward his mate. Some were a touch reserved, though. He made a mental note of who they were, intending to keep an eye on the situation.
If it wouldn’t undermine her strength, he’d do more than monitor things. He’d fight every battle for her. Then again … she’d likely throat punch him for that, so maybe not.
The evening quickly turned rowdy as drinks flowed and the DJ took things up a notch. People danced, laughed, mingled, and descended on the buffet.
He and Blair ended up gathering near the long bar with the Alphas, Aspen, Bailey, Camden, Deke, and Elle.
At one point, Blair leaned into Luke and said, “Damian’s girlfriend is so cute. They look good together. And very loved up.”
Luke settled his hand in the crook of her neck. “I think it’s more serious than they let on,” he said, swiping his thumb over the petal soft skin of her nape.
“Which is a problem,” Elle commented with a sigh.
Blair frowned. “Why?”
“Mating him would only lead to her doom.” Elle scratched her temple. “I don’t know how to break it to her that she’s dating the Antichrist.”
Luke shook his head. “You’ve got to drop that sometime and learn to get along with him.”
Elle did a slow blink. “I’m supposed to get along with the bringer of the apocalypse? The instrument of our destruction? The creature who feeds on my pain and anguish?”
“Well, yeah,” said Tate. “Luke fed on mine, but I made my peace with him.”
Luke’s brow knitted. “Are you shitting me?”
Tate cocked his head. “Did you not repeatedly injure, scar, and attempt to kill me when we were kids?”
“It was a two-way street,” Luke insisted. “You were far more of a bastard to me than I was to you. Remember the time you tried to make me drink turpentine?”
“You shoved me in front of a bus.”
“It was idling at the curb. And I only did that because—”
“Hey, isn’t that Mitch and his mate?” asked Elle.
Blair tracked the redhead’s gaze, and she felt a smile split her lips. “It is.” She hadn’t been so sure they’d come, suspecting that Noelle might make them feel guilty for doing so. “You’re here,” she said as the two bush dogs approached.
Mitch’s brow creased. “Of course we’re here. We told you we would be.”
Delighted, she hugged them both. They said their hellos to Luke, who then introduced them to the others. Greetings were exchanged, and drinks for the newcomers were ordered.
“Wow,” said Kiesha, scanning the space. “The pride’s bigger than I thought.”
“It’s predominantly made up of pallas cats,” said Blair. “But there’s a small bunch of other breeds.”
Mitch put his hand on Blair’s shoulder. “They’re being good to you, right?” His scowl made it clear that he’d cut a bitch up if the answer was no.
“They are,” Blair assured him, deciding that Finley simply didn’t count. “Luke would tolerate nothing else.”
“Pool,” Bailey suddenly declared. “We should play pool. Who’s up for it?”
Several were, including Luke, so they all migrated to one of the pool tables. Blair was happily ogling her mate’s ass as he bent over to aim his cue when Kiesha leaned into her.
