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“Ash,” I ground out, already moving, pushing through the dancers. Behind me, I heard him swear. The people didn’t know why I was shoving through them, but I needed to get to her. They weren’t moving out of the way quickly enough.
He reached out and touched her. She smiled, relaxing into his touch because she didn’t know it wasn’t one of us. Petra saw. She called out. I was almost there. Almost there.
Sloane turned. The terror on her face tinted the world red. She lunged away, and he caught her by the arm, pulling her back. I shouldered my way through the last of the crowd, and didn’t hesitate. My hand came down on his arm and I punched him in the jaw before I’d made the conscious decision to do so.
Shoving Sloane behind me, people screamed as Craig fell back, recovering before he hit the ground. I followed him, getting in one more hit, my knuckles splitting against his jaw. And then Ash was there, grabbing him by the collar and putting his face into Craig’s. “If youevertouch my Omega again, I willkill you. Do you understand? I will. Kill. You.”
Ash came from abuse. He learned to defend himself the only way he could and had every ounce of rage and skill to follow through on the threat.
“Get the fuck off me. You’re the dead one. Keep thinking she’s yours. You’ll see. Try me, pretty boy.” Craig shoved him and Ash didn’t move, staring him in the face. Their heights were equal.
Gabriel, Jace, and the others reached us a second later. Harrison and Cole stepped up behind him. “If I’m not mistaken, you’ve been informed that this woman has a restraining order against you.” It was a good thing he was here, because none of us could be so calm.
Jack—one of Eva’s Alphas—held a hand up in the air, and her security swarmed from the door, meeting us as the crowd backed up, forming a circle to watch what was happening.
There weren’t any words in my head. Nothing but pure instinct. I backed up, making sure Craig couldn’t see any part of my firefly.
She was in the center of her girls, Omega rage nearly matching that of the Alphas, and even the Betas around us. Jace stood with me, shoulder to shoulder, Gabriel with Harrison, holding Craig back from lunging at Ash. “You want to kill me? Go ahead,” he taunted. “You’ll never be able to touch me, and restraining orders don’t mean shit. You’re still mine, Sloane.”
“Go thefuck away, Craig,” she shouted. “Just leave us alone. You lost whatever… game you’re playing. Leave me alone.”
The club was near silent now, security having cut the music so things could be taken care of. “You owe me, Sloane. You owe me.” He shouted the words as security dragged him out of the club. “Don’t forget it.I’ll get what I’m owed.”
Everyone watched him get dragged away, Craig staring down Ash like he was throwing poison from his eyes. The smile on that Alpha’s face spoke of nothing but unhinged anger and revenge.
“Call the police,” Harrison instructed security. “I’ll speak to them, along with the Alphas involved. Make sure they know he’s in violation of a restraining order.”
That was one good thing. In situations where there was a crime against an Omega, they weren’t required to speak to the police in the immediate aftermath. It could come later when they were calmer, and both they and their Alphas knew they were safe.
As soon as he was outside the music started again, but people didn’t immediately start dancing. Sloane pushed her way to me, and I lifted her off the ground. Everything in me needed to touch her. If he’d done more than what he had, I would be out of my fucking mind. As it was, anger seethed beneath my skin. “I thought he was you. I thought he was you.” She spoke into my neck.
Ash stood guard like a lion, pacing back and forth and watching the door like he expected Craig to burst in again at any second.
“Can he press charges against Roman?” Gabriel asked. “For hitting him?”
“He can try,” Harrison said. “But considering you already have the restraining order, and he was touching your Omega without consent, I doubt it will stand. Still, we should probably head it off at the pass with a report.”
“And I should look at Roman’s hand,” Jace said.
My hand was fine. There was no way for me to say that at the moment, but it was. Even if it wasn’t, feeling the hits and watching him fly backwards was the most satisfying thing I’d felt in a long time.
Worth the ache in my knuckles and blood on my skin.
Jace put his hands on Sloane’s shoulders, smoothing them over her glittery skin. “Are you okay, baby girl?”
“Physically? Yes. Otherwise? I’m fucking pissed. And sad.”
The packs had drawn into their groups with their Omegas at the center, except for Harrison standing with us. Eva’s security formed a bubble around all of us, and one of them whispered in Harrison’s ear. He glanced around. “Let’s go back to the VIP area,” he said. “Regroup. The manager has offered us a space that’s more private.”
Following security, I carried Sloane up the stairs, her fingers bunched in my shirt, and when I set her down, Ash was on the other side of her so she sat wedged between the two of us. She didn’t complain. Jace knelt in front of her, hands gliding up the tops of her thighs. He was making sure she was all right as subtly as he could while offering her touch.
Gabriel and Harrison stood close, blocking out everything else.
This was further back in the club, through a hallway to a large room that looked like it could be used for private parties. It was still decorated like the rest of the club, but there were poles and a stage, lights, and what looked like a karaoke machine along with the lush curtains and couches. It was empty, and most importantly, it was much quieter, though the bass of the club still thumped through the walls.
Everyone filed in, and though I wanted Sloane to be with her friends, I couldn’t quite let her go. The other girls’ packs seemed the same. A large, redheaded Alpha held Esme on his lap, and Petra was wrapped up in the arms of a blonde man.
“Did I put all my friends in danger?” Sloane asked, looking at Harrison. She sounded miserable. I hated that. But there were still no real words in my brain. I couldn’t tell her otherwise, so I took her hand, wove our fingers together, and squeezed.
