Page 19 of Clawless

And I had to admit, it was just about perfect, if I didn’t think beyond the immediate moment he took my hand, and led me out of the restroom. The first shock to the system was seeing his enforcer right outside the door, but they just shared a silent nod before he led us down the corridor. I wondered for an awful moment if it was a ruse, and they were going to deposit me back in the ballroom to stutter through some clueless speech, but they swung away and headed towards the elevator. We were about to step inside when the enforcer clicked his tongue and said, “Incoming, Alpha. Want me to deal with them?”

But Jasper was already turning towards the ballroom door. It flew open, and Reed quickly appeared, followed by his parents, and the two women who’d been glaring at me from the High Table. I was pretty sure the beautiful blonde was his mother, and when she looked at me like I was still wearing Pearl’s tag on my forehead, I shriveled up a little inside.

Reed reached me first, his eyes glued to our clasped hands. “What’s going on, Vail?”

The shriveling got a little worse, especially when Jasper said in his old cocky way, “She’s decided to spend some time with me.”

Mrs. Marshall stepped towards me, her kind face worried. “Are you unwell, dear?”

I tried to think of something to say, but Jasper just pulled me in under his arm. I wasn’t sure if it was the alpha power leaking out of him or my nerves, but my ribs were tingling, and gooseflesh shivered along my arms. Jasper, on the other hand, looked completely calm as he turned to Reed’s father. “Are you going to challenge me on this, Nathan?”

The whole group went dead silent. I could feel the steady thud of Jasper’s heart as I waited for someone to speak. Reed’s dad was watching us with his soft, pensive eyes, and I squirmed a little. He was my pack alpha, and even though I’d only just met him, I felt embarrassed to be putting him in this position. I wasn’t sure what the stand-off was about, but I knew Jasper was taking advantage of the moment. I tried to ease away a little, but his hand tightened on my shoulder, and when he glanced down at me, I saw the gold leaking across the blue. I froze, and Reed finally broke the tension by turning to his dad and demanding, “What’s he talking about?”

“Clan Alpha,” Jasper replied, and there was an edge to his voice that was as hard as the gleam in his eye. “As of this evening, I am ascending to Alpha of Hunter Moon Clan. The other pack leaders have already endorsed it.” As if to prove the point, the sharp-faced women who I figured was somehow related to Callum turned on her heel and headed back to the ballroom. The Marshalls went into a tight huddle and I caught a flash of Reed’s anger, before his parents quickly led him away. It left the blonde woman watching us like a raptor, her ice-blue eyes narrowed as she stared at her son.

“Clan Alpha?” She looked me over slowly, every inch of her perfect face reflecting her disdain. “Congratulations, Jay. Perhaps we should go back into the ballroom and announce this formally.”

Jasper just gave her a cocky grin. “I’m sure word will get around fast enough.” Tugging me gently back into the elevator, he added, “Right now, I’m going to a private celebration. But don’t let our absence stop you from enjoying the rest of the dance, Mother.”

Someone hit a button and as the doors closed on her cold face, the elevator music kicked in. I slumped back against the wall. The doors were mirrored, so I could see both my wiped-out expression, and the slight smirk on Jasper’s face as he lifted a brow at his bodyguard. “Too much?”

He wasn’t asking me, but I was damn well going to answer. “I have no clue, but that was awkward as hell, Jasper. Is a Clan Alpha what I think it is?” I suddenly noticed the pinging lights on the door panel. “Are we going up?”

Jasper’s smirk was now a full-on grin. He clearly had me – and everyone downstairs – exactly where he wanted us. “We’re celebrating,” he said again, as if I’d missed the bit about a private party, and then the door to the penthouse opened with a seductive hiss. I was a long way from feeling comfortable with any of this, but I slowly followed him into the enormous suite. The bodyguard went off to check under the beds, or whatever was in his job description, and I tried not to gawk at all the five-star splendor laid out before me. Until I’d come to the academy, the most glamorous place I’d seen was the Barakat’s deck with its fairy lights. But this was luxury on a whole other level.

Jasper seemed oblivious to the soaring ceilings and plush carpet, immediately pulling off his suit coat and tossing it on a chair in the sunken lounge. As he started on his tie, he said, “And yes, Clan Alpha means you’re now all my wolves. Arras, Sawyer and Marshall. Your alpha reports to me.”

I wasn’t sure what the edge in his voice meant, but I was frankly distracted by the sight of a disrobing Jasper Arras. Especially against the backdrop of a roaring fire. That gooseflesh on my arms became a wave of shivers, and I bypassed the lounge and headed straight over to the floor to ceiling windows. Huntington’s twinkling lights tried to work their magic on me, but I was completely unnerved by the presence at my back. Bracing my hands on the cold glass, I pressed my forehead against my arm. “Which makes you my boss’ boss, right?”

“Which puts me on par with your grandfather.”

I turned and frowned at him. He’d rolled up his shirtsleeves, and while the golden skin of his forearms was distracting, it wasn’t what made my heart skip. It was the image of two wolves – one gold, one with green eyes – tattooed there. He’d told me they’d fade with his shifts, but they were still as dark as they’d been on Hunter Moon. I dragged my gaze away, even as I felt hope bloom in my chest. But I needed to understand if this was all just part of some pissing contest with Jonathan Marrow. “Is that why you did it? So you’d be equal rank?”

He shrugged. “I did it for lots of reasons. Sawyer Pack needs more leadership. Marshall Pack needs to be brought into the game. And as Clan Alpha, no one else in Arras Pack will challenge me without thinking it through very carefully.” He walked over and took my hands. I knew mine were cold; whether from the icy window or from nerves, I wasn’t sure. But his hands were beautifully warm, and I had to stop my fingers from curling against his palms. “But the main reason is to make sure everyone in the clan in safe. That takes a united front.”

I wanted to be comforted by that, but something held me back. Maybe it was the fact I’d left my date to go off to a private party. Or the cold look in his mother’s eye when the elevator doors slid closed. “You think that scene downstairs was everyone getting along?”

He smirked and pulled me away from the window. “Well, I’ve only been the Clan Alpha for a day. It’s probably going to take some time before I hit my stride.”

He gave me a gentle tug and led me over to the kitchen. It had the kind of sleek, shiny appliances that deserved fancy food with French names, and I wasn’t really surprised when Jasper took a bottle of champagne and a platter of appetizers from the refrigerator. Handing me the platter, he grabbed two glasses and gestured towards the sunken lounge. My stomach was already eyeing up the food, so I went, but glanced over my shoulder as I stepped down into the plush carpet. “Were you planning on a party for one if I didn’t come up here?”

He grinned, popping the cork and filling the glasses. “Liam’s always around somewhere. Since I just promoted him to Clan Enforcer, he’d probably choke down a glass if pushed.”

I placed the food on the low glass table, but when he handed me the champagne, I just stared into the bubbles. “I’m really sorry about your dad, Jasper. I didn’t know you had to do that to become Pack Alpha. And I really hope it wasn’t because of me.”

He froze for a moment, then settled beside me on the sofa, watching over the rim of his glass as I scooted back an inch. “It was always going to happen. He was a hard male, and some of his decisions were dangerous. And like I said, safety is my first priority.”

When he clinked his glass against mine, I dropped my eyes and took a small sip. Instead of relaxing me, I instantly tensed up at the taste, and quickly set the glass aside. The urge to fidget was so strong, I tucked my fingers under my thighs. There was something I needed to say, and it would have been a hell of a lot easier with the old Jasper. The one with the sunshine smile and heated gaze. But this one – the Clan Alpha version – had me as nervous as a cat in a roomful of rocking chairs. In the end, I just blurted it out. “I also wanted to apologize for the Hunter Moon Formal. I’ve had plenty of time to come up with an excuse, but the truth is… I don’t have one.” He was frozen with the glass pressed to the edge of his mouth, but his fingers were white on the stem. “I didn’t do it on purpose. I took the drug, yes, but not because I was trying to seduce your friends. I thought it was something else.”

He continued to stare at me for a long moment, before he finally said, “That’s what Nadia believed. She didn’t know for sure, but she was certain it was a mix-up.” He twirled his glass, watching the bubbles move. “And the freshman, Jasmine, she tore the hide off Felix when he bad-mouthed you.” My eyes filled at the thought of my friends defending me, even when they didn’t have any proof of my innocence. But Jasper just sat back on his seat and sighed. “Do you think I should forgive you, Vail?”

I gulped. The air was suddenly thick between us, and I gripped the edge of the sofa. “I think you should act on how you feel. I can’t tell you what that is.”

“Well, you should know my wolf wants me to. He’s missed you, Vail.” I wanted to smile, but he was looking at me through his lashes and his gaze was all hard alpha gold. “But shifters have long memories. And we’re experts at holding grudges. We’re both going to need to be sure it won’t happen again.”

I felt pinned under that metallic stare. “What can I say? I really am sorry. And I’m planning to apologize to Baron and Felix as soon as I can…”

“Not more words, Vail. You need to back it up with your actions.”

---