Page 24 of For What It's Worth

With more and more people entering the club, I scented the air, trying to hide the obvious action since most betas didn’t scent a lot. Alphas filled most of the space, covering up any inkling of a beta scent and even overwhelming the alcohol. Hannah’s omega scent was growing stronger, but I doubted any alphas actually scented her besides her own.

Sudden warmth at my back let me know I’d been crowded in. I tried moving away from the body at my back, but hands wrapped around my waist, holding me still. Usually, I would’ve had better control over my instincts, but it was either my inner omega having mixed with alcohol or the comfort I felt being near Aidan, but it made me instantly territorial.

I set down my drink, grabbing the fingers touching me, and tried prying them off my body, growling at the owner, baring my teeth as if I was trying to appear stronger than I actually was. The male, probably a beta based on the fact he touched me without allowing me to scent approve him first, seemed shocked by my reaction, which allowed me to break his grip and shove him away. Turning around, I made sure my back wasn’t to him anymore, but my inner omega was on edge, frantically looking around to make sure I wasn’t touched again.

The shove must have set his thoughts back on track, because the beta recovered and replaced his shock with anger and arrogance. “What the hell’s your problem, babe?”

His words hit me like adding oxygen to a fire. My inner omega felt like she already had an alpha—three to be specific—and being touched by another male not only made her angry but disappointed that her alphas hadn’t protected her. I could almost hear her pettiness saying if I wore their mark, this wouldn’t have happened, as if a mark would’ve done anything to ward off assholes.

The complexity of emotions mixed with alcohol had me ready to fight the beta. On a normal day, I’d probably lose, but with my current rage level, all inhibitions went out the door, and the bet was on.

I’d never actually been in a fight before, but I lunged for the beta, arms stretched out to claw at his face with my stressed, bitten down nails. Before I made contact, a new pair of arms banded around my stomach. Only this time my inner omega didn’t give the newcomer any attention. My sights had zeroed in on the beta who dared to touch me without permission. Who insulted me. Who called me ‘babe’ as if I belonged to him.

Ignoring whoever held me back, I clawed at the air, trying to reach the beta. When the male stepped back, my inner omega smirked at her display of aggression. At least until the aggressive rumbling against my back reminded me I wasn’t alone in my attack.

Whatever. Win was a win.

“She’s not your babe,” a familiar accent growled.

I looked down at the brown hands, verifying the owner of the Italian accent. If I could’ve, I’d have roll my eyes at my inner omega. No wonder she didn’t feel restrained by Lorenzo holding me back—she liked him.

“I suggest you move along.”

Agreeing with Lorenzo didn’t bug me like I wanted it too, so I focused my attention on the male in front of me.

He looked angrier than I would expect in the face of an aggressive omega and alpha, but it wasn’t uncommon for betas to lack an understanding of alpha-omega relations. When the beta looked at me like he wanted to say something else, Lorenzo spoke again, letting his alpha command infuse his tone.

“Leave.” It came out like a grunt, as if he couldn’t be bothered to form a full sentence for the beta. Lorenzo pulled me tighter to his body when I growled at the beta, but when the jerk finally decided to get lost, I was still being held.

“You can probably let go of me now,” I grumbled. I watched the beta walk away with his friends before they left the club. I didn’t think Lorenzo meant to kick the beta out of the club, but I wasn’t going to correct the beta’s assumption.

My attention was pulled to the side of my head where Lorenzo’s lips grazed my ear. Holding my breath, I waited for him to say something, wondering how his breathing could be fucking erotic.

“Enzo?” Was that my breathless voice?

“Yes, Orsetta?”

“What?” I turn around in Enzo’s arms, officially confused, but when I set my eyes on him, all my questions got stuck in my throat. Just like Aidan, Enzo was dressed up. His hair was slicked back on the top, making him hit his Italian stereotype hard. His suit was a light blue color with a black shirt underneath, which should’ve looked bad but somehow found the perfect mix of attractive and professional. It was hard to take him all in when we were so close, and I had to crane my neck to look up at him, but the neckache was totally worth it.

“What did you call me?” I asked.

Enzo didn’t explain.

Instead, he looked in the direction the beta and his friends went before saying, “Let’s find Aidan. I don’t want you sitting alone.”

I grabbed my drink as Lorenzo walked behind me. His hands wrapped around my waist as I led, his body so close I could almost feel every breath he took. “I’m not.”

He stopped at my comment, forcing me to stop too, but didn’t let me go. His grip tightened around me, and his lips lowered to my ear again. I shivered when he asked, “Who did you come with?”

I parted my lips to tell him I hadn’t come with anyone, but Jenson popped up in front of me, distracting me. His face showed shock from seeing me, which meant he was probably looking for Enzo. Why did that disappoint me? At least once the shock wore off, he appeared happy to see me, even if he did give the way Enzo’s hands wrapped around me a curious look.

Jenson was dressed just as nice as his packmates in a dark brown suit and a darker orange undershirt that should’ve looked tacky but didn’t. Even though Jenson looked plenty attractive, I was familiar with his perfect style, so he didn’t strike me dumb like Aidan and Lorenzo did.

“What are you doing here, Koda?” Jenson asked.

“I was trying to enjoy a night out,” I said, and his already serious face seemed to darken.

“Aidan’s here. You can sit with him.”

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