Chapter 28: Theo
“Oh, dear goddess,” Harmon muttered under his breath. I followed his gaze and realized he noticed the same thing I had. “What are the Neales doing here?”
“I have a feeling it’s to ambush you,” I replied.
“Ayla, my lovely,” my mother said as she pushed through the crowd. “Please forgive me, but I need to steal you away from Theo for a moment. Some friends are dying to meet you.”
‘Julia is coming this way,‘ I linked Ayla. ‘Don’t you dare leave me alone with that woman.‘
Before either of us could protest, Mom had Ayla’s arm, pulling her across the room. I stifled a frustrated huff.
“Harmon, my good man,” Malcolm’s voice approached. “It’s good to finally see you again.”
“Mr. Neale, Ms. Neale,” Harmon greeted through gritted teeth. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here this evening. I didn’t think you were particularly close with Beta Briggs.”
“What better time to remedy that?” Malcolm said coolly. “But since you’re here, I have some questions about the Arrowclaw contract.”
“With all due respect, Malcolm,” I interrupted, “this is a
celebration. None of our guests are here to do business tonight. Neither should you be.”
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“Oh, come now, Alpha,” Julia said, stepping in close to me. “This will only take a few minutes. But if all this work talk isn’t to your liking, why don’t you take me to the bar and get me a drink? Malcolm and Harmon can handle this.”
“I don’t thi…”
“It would be easier to get the clarifications now,” Malcolm said with a warning tone, “then wait for our uncle to contact you about them.”
I felt my temper rise at his dimly veiled threat. Part of the reason our orders had been decreasing was because we were trying to get out of our contract with the company. His uncle was well- established in the industry and could make business difficult if we broke the agreement on bad terms. Our green practices gave us a legitimate reason to decrease our business with them. Eventually making us not worth his time. But if Malcolm started making waves, we would be stuck in the deal for another five years, and his uncle could put extra pressure on my company.
“Alpha, I can handle this,” Harmon jumped in, trying to keep me calm as he began guiding Malcolm away from me. “Why don’t you go rejoin our beautiful Luna?”
“Oh, that can wait,” Julia said, looping her arm in mine and pushing me toward the bar. “First, you can get me that drink we mentioned.”
“You mentioned,” I clarified, removing her arm from mine.
“Alpha, you really aren’t any fun now that you have a mate,” she pouted, grabbing a glass of champagne from a tray.
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“How is that?” I asked. “Seeing as I’ve never shown any interest in having ‘fun‘ with you before? And I can guarantee you, I would always have infinitely more fun with my mate than with you.”
Anger flashed across her face. “You know, I did a little digging recently.” She stepped closer. “You may think your mate is someone special, but she’s nothing more than a low–bred country bumpkin with nothing to show for her life.”
“Ms. Neale” – Ayla suddenly appeared, forcing her way between us – “as lovely as it has been having you, I think it’s time you and your brother left. You do have a long trip home, after all.”
Ayla’s energy had pushed Julia back a few steps, but she was pressed against my chest. Holding me in place so I didn’t rip Julia’s tongue out.
“Everything okay, Alpha?” Jimmy asked as he approached with the rest of our friends.
“Gamma Jimmy, please have security escort Mr. and Ms. Neale out of the party,” I told him.
Julia looked appalled. “If you think my uncle will let you get away with insulting me over this tramp…”
She threw her drink at Ayla. Growls and snarls echoed loudly as everyone in earshot turned on her. The room got quiet as hands. gripped my shoulders to keep me from flying at Julia. Ayla jumped into action.
“Please, everyone,” she addressed the crowd with a smile, “don’t mind us. It was an accident. Just the result of a spirited conversation. Please, go back to celebrating.”
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She waved to the band, and they immediately started playing, switching to an upbeat song. When most of the room’s attention was off us, Ayla stepped close to Julia.
“You obviously didn’t learn your lesson about respecting me the first time we met,” she hissed. She had a fake smile and was using her b*dy to hide the hand gripping Julia’s arm firmly. “But if you think I would let you ruin my cousin’s mating ceremony, you’re even dumber than I thought. Now, I suggest you dig really deep for whatever sense you have buried in that bleached–out brain of yours and leave quietly.”
“You’ll be hearing from my uncle about this,” Julia taunted.
“Believe me, sweetheart, I can handle your uncle,” Ayla said with every ounce of confidence she deserved, adding a command at the end. “Get out.”
Malcolm finally rushed up to her side as the security guards came up behind Julia.
“What the hell did you just do?” he hissed under his breath, but Julia was already obeying the command and rushing from the
room.
Ayla grabbed a towel from the bar to wipe herself down. I brushed the hands still holding me off, taking her by the arm, pulling her into my arms, and k*ssing her firmly. After a second, she protested, pushing me away.
“Stop, you’re going to get your tux wet, too,” she insisted.
“Ayla,” Mina called as she stepped out of the crowd. “What was that all about?”
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“Nothing,” Ayla assured her. “I’m sorry. We didn’t mean to cause a scene. The last thing I want is to ruin your night.”
“Are you kidding?” Mina said with a smile. “That was prime entertainment.”
Ayla chuckled. “I’m afraid my dress didn’t make it through. I’m not sure I should be in the pictures.”
Mina waved her off. “That’s what editing is for. Besides, I’ll have a good story to tell about my awesome cousin saving the day.”
