Page 71 of Second Chance Mates

Lucy shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter. They have a screen with lyrics!”

Phia bounces towards us with bloodshot eyes and smudged lipstick. “Who the hell have you been kissing?” Lucy quirks an impressed brow.

“The bartender.” She throws her thumb over her shoulder. “He’s pretty sexy.”

I grin. “Good kisser?”

“Oh, he was divine. He did this crazy thing with his tongue. I’ll be going back for seconds later.”

Lucy presses a hand to her forehead but cannot fight a smile. “Wow, I already know this night is going to end up in pure chaos.”

Phia shrugs. “If you’re getting married, then I’m allowed to have a cheeky fling with the hot guy at the bar. It’s only fair.”

“I guess so.” Lucy chuckles. “Right, we’ve got to decide what song we want to sing. All of us on stage together!”

“Shot, shots, shots!” Grace’s voice booms over ours as she walks towards us with a tray in hand.

The alcohol sitting in my stomach does a sudden flip. I know this shot will tip me over the edge, but another part of me wants to have a “screw it” moment. I know I’m in safe hands. All I want is to have fun, and I’m having tonnes of it.

“Ava,” Grace beckons to the tray. “Take one.”

I take a tiny plastic shot glass and analyse the neon-green liquid. Oh, boy.

“Speech!” Phia screams.

Then all the girls erupt into a loud chant which makes Lucy beam with a smile until she waves a hand to quiet them all down. “Okay, okay,” she shouts. “I just want to say thank you for coming tonight to celebrate. I love you all. But here’s to falling in love, having the best friends ever, and getting shitfaced!”

Our arms extend to clink our glasses, and I push back the funny-coloured liquid. The taste of sour apple rolls down my throat, and I pull a face, swallowing and sticking out my tongue. Lucy’s expression morphs the same before we both laugh.

“Lucy’s Bride Tribe,” the guy on stage calls into a microphone. “It’s your turn to hit the stage.”

My stomach warms from the shot I took. I follow the girls with a huge smile. I don’t want this night to end. If this is life…I want to continue living it.

25

JAXON

It’s late. I know that much. But when my ears prick at the sound of the front door opening, I immediately stand. I purposely kept my office door open for this exact reason. I’m trying my damn hardest to not be overbearing, but I was counting down the seconds until they got home.

I tidy away the notes on my desk before heading downstairs into my private kitchen to find Lucy and a few of the other girls. All of them are chatting away like it isn’t the middle of the night. The smell of alcohol wafts from them like they’ve been out for the past five days. Holy hell. How much did they drink?

My eyes scan the room, but Ava is nowhere to be seen. The hairs on the back of my neck stand in her absence, but I know she’s here. My wolf is happily rested but eager to see her.

“Alpha Jaxon!” Phia shouts—or slurs—to get my attention. All of them are grinning ear to ear, swaying slightly.

“Where’s Ava?” I ask.

“She’s getting changed in her room,” Lucy responds.

“Fun night, girls?” I quirk a brow.

“Look what we learnt tonight!” Grace shouts across the space, even though I’m merely a few feet from her. I study her movements as few of the other girls hoist Phia up and hold her by her legs. She’s in the air, I’ll give them that. Did they accidentally fall into an acrobatics class?

Their laughter erupts, and the next thing I know, they’re all tumbling to the floor in a messy heap, all cackling like witches you see in movies. I jump back with a concerned expression.

Oh, Goddess. These girls are a nightmare.

“Ava taught us some tricks!” Grace shouts from the floor.

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