Page 46 of Clawless

He paused, his shirt half-way over his head, so I got one last good look at all those pretty muscles. “Then let’s go out. We can eat in Huntington.”

I perked up. The thought of getting off campus for a couple hours was so tempting, I was already on my feet. “But aren’t off-campus privileges revoked?”

He jerked his shirt down, his lips thinning in the mirror. “I think we can consider it payback for that tracker. And we’ll take extra security. Not even the paranoid assholes can say no to that.” He looked me over with a small, calculating smile. “And maybe we swing past the dining hall on the way out. Flash your best dress, and make sure they all know we’re on a date.”

The dining hall drive-by proved to be unnecessary, because by the time I was dressed to Penny’s satisfaction, the seniors had finished eating and were milling around the dorms. Pearl and her minions were in the foyer, and since that was where we were meeting the security, there was no way to avoid them. I tried to tell myself this was what we wanted, but their attention felt like claws down my spine as they looked me over with curled lips. Dana, the freshman who’d been an unpleasant addition to our party for the Hunter Moon Formal, muttered something about dog-shit dressed up as sirloin and I felt Reed go still under my hand. When we continued to the door, I thought he was going to ignore it, until Pink-Tips gave a brittle laugh and fake-whispered, “Talk about a Fire Sale. Who knew alphas were into shopping in the dig bins?”

It was no different to all the other shade they’d thrown my way – most of which had been in his presence – but Reed looked pissed as he turned towards the group. He pointed a finger at Dana, then Pink-Tips, and I could feel the alpha power rolling off him as he said, “Shut your traps. Or it’s suds and duds duty for both of you.”

If he’d been wanting to get attention, the threat of subjecting two of the most powerful she-wolves in the school to dud punishment was the way to go. Ripples of speculation swept the foyer, but Pearl merely gave me a cutting look and waggled her finger back at him. Like it was all just fun and games. “Have a nice evening, you two! Oh, and just keep in mind what happens at midnight, Marrow. You wouldn’t want a repeat of last time you wore someone else’s shoes.”

Reed didn’t say anything until we were down the steps and in the back seat of a service car. “Those bitches will apologize tomorrow.”

“That’s not necessary,” I muttered as I arranged my dress over my knees. The insults weren’t new, but some of the pleasure I’d taken from walking down the stairs on his arm dimmed as I studied my reflection in the car window. Penny had cut the tag off the dress in front of me, so I knew it was both new and designer, but Pearl wasn’t wrong about the shoes. I’d had to borrow them from one of Penny’s friends. And the whole midnight reference was just a repeat of what she’d told me on Hunter Moon. That the illusion eventually shatters, and I shift back into being a No Chance dud.

“You look beautiful,” Reed said, his hand covering mine which was still fiddling with the hem on my knees. “Truth is, you can wear anything and still out-shine them. Why do you think they try so hard to drag you down?” It was the first real compliment he’d given me, and the surprise on my face made him wince a little. He ran a thumb over the back of my hand and I decided I’d focus on that, instead of the sting of the girls’ catty remarks. Reed must have agreed, because he said, “I’m just glad we’re out of there for a while. You up for pretending we’re just two random people out on a date, eating good food and making bad small talk?”

I laughed. “I can probably guarantee the last one,” I told him. “This is my first real date, so most the time I’ll probably be trying to work out which fork to use.”

He just squeezed my hand. “That’s the thing about shining so bright, Vail. It’s power. And powerful people can get away with just about anything.”

Thirty-Two - Vail

I thought about that for the rest of the drive into Huntington. Not correct table manners, but a power that gave you so much freedom, you could pretty much do as you pleased. I was fairly certain Reed was just being a polite date, since I was literally wearing my punishment around my neck, even if it was covered in a fancy chiffon scarf. And right now, I was probably a little green dot moving across half a dozen security screens. I wasn’t sure if Jasper was aware of our date, but I suspected Reed had to get some kind of pass before he took me off-campus. At the very least, both the driver and the guy riding shotgun were security, and I was pretty sure there was another car tailing us.

Reed definitely seemed more relaxed the further we got from school. But I sat up sharply as we drove into the basement of the hotel from the Alpha and Omega Dinner Dance. I looked at him with an uneasy expression. “Here? I thought we were going to a restaurant.”

“We are. This hotel has one of the best in town.” A dark flush stained his neck, and he admitted, “It was the only way I could get us a pass. It was here, or nowhere.”

Really? My stomach clenched as the security guard came round to get the door and I tried not to draw some unpleasant conclusions. Did he mean Jasper had insisted on this hotel for our date? And if so, what message was he trying to send? This was the place he’d taken me off Reed’s arm and collared me, after all. I palmed my stomach, my appetite shriveling. We’d just agreed to put the school behind us, but I was kidding myself. How could I escape the Hunter Moon Academy when the Clan Alpha controlled my every move?

I wasn’t very good at hiding my discomfort, and even though Reed was wearing his blank expression, I knew he was picking up on my vibe. We didn’t speak until we’d reached the foyer, and the security were leading us past the fountain – minus the ice wolves - to the restaurant door. “Huntington is Marshall land,” he told me, as the guards went ahead to talk to a pretty woman in a fancy black suit who was hovering near the door. “The other packs come here, but this is where our family’s from originally.”

I just nodded, because the woman was hurrying forward, her face lit up as she gushed, “Alphason, it’s such a pleasure to host you and your lovely date tonight. We have the private dining room set aside, or perhaps you’d like your usual booth?”

Reed looked at me, but I had no clue what was going on and just shrugged. “The booth sounds fine.” He nodded and the woman gave me a pleased smile, like I’d just passed some sort of test. The restaurant was busy, every table taken, and heads turned to watch us cross the room. I was glad for Penny’s dress – because despite what those bitches said about dig bins, it held its own in this crowd – and I made sure I kept my chin up. I only faltered a little when I realized our booth was right next to the one Jasper’s mom was seated at, a beautiful man in his early twenties sitting at her side.

Reed gave them a nod, but didn’t speak as he helped me slide into the booth. I ended up facing them, which was better than having Jay’s mom inches from my neck, but not by much. After one long look she ignored me, but her date stared at me so hard, I had to stop myself from slinking behind Reed’s bulky frame. The problem was, he was just as impossible to look away from, the way breathtakingly beautiful people are. With hair the color of a raven’s wing and skin so pale it looked like porcelain, he could have been a Hollywood sex symbol from another era. But his gaze was so probing, I found myself frowning back until he looked away. Reed didn’t miss the brief interaction. “That’s Theo. He’s Callum’s cousin.” I just nodded and focused on my menu, rather than asking why Jay’s mom was with a Sawyer guy half her age. “He’s an omega, if you didn’t guess.”

I didn’t, but now I knew, it made sense. The male omegas I’d met had an ethereal beauty, like they belonged to another time. I immediately thought of Mr. Wentworth and bit my lip, but the gushing waitress was back to take our orders and I put it out of my mind. We’re just two random people on a date, I reminded myself. Not an alpha and an omega, or a Marshall and a Marrow. For the moment, I was just a girl enjoying her first meal in a fancy restaurant, and I felt myself relax as Reed proved he was actually pretty good at the whole small talk thing.

When I went to use the bathroom later in the night, my head was full of his stories. He’d told me about growing up in a pack where he went from the smallest wolf to one of the largest in a matter of months. There was a note of glee in his voice as he recounted some of his acts of revenge on the pack bullies, which included shaved tails and a dog bath full of pink hair dye. It was also a playful side to him I’d never seen before, and as I washed my hands, I rolled my eyes at the goofy look on my face. I was actually having a great time.

Which should have alerted me to the fact I was due for an ambush.

As I opened the bathroom door, Jasper’s mom was on me in a blur of golden hair and cold blue eyes. I had a moment to think she really was one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen, before her hand connected with my face. The slap was so hard, it knocked my right back onto the bathroom floor. She loomed over me, so furious she was shaking. “Next time you put one of my children in harm’s way, it will be my claw, not my hand. Do you understand, Omega?”

I nodded, but kept my eyes lowered as she stormed off. Because she was right in a way. Trey had only been there because of me.

“You should put some cold water on that.” As I gathered myself from the floor, I grimaced at the girl watching me from the doorway. Even with blurry vision, I recognized the blonde fauxhawk and shit-eating grin. When I’d regained my feet, Sin hitched her hip on the marble vanity beside me, and ran a paper towel under the faucet. She clicked her tongue as I plastered it to my red cheek. “Knew you were a badass, little Marrow.”

“In case you missed it, I wasn’t the one doing the slapping.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you doing here, Sin?”

“I told you I’d check in on you, didn’t I?”

I studied her for a moment, remembering what my dad – or Gabriel Michaels - had said about not trusting her. There was the same almost manic energy coming off her as I remembered from the Horn, but she didn’t seem threatening. If anything, she was looking at me with a touch of pity. I was about to tell her I didn’t need her watching out for me, when she lowered her voice and said, “Remember I told you I was looking for something? Well, I found it. And I’ve brought you a message from your cousin.”

I rolled my eyes and tossed the paper towel in the trash. The red mark was fading, but I could do without Jay’s mom smirking at me through the rest of dinner and rummaged in my purse for some of the face powder Jasmine had given me. “I’m an orphan outcast, Sin.” I quickly swiped the powder over both cheeks, then frowned at the chalky result. “I don’t have any cousins.”

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