Page 48 of Alpha Chase

“How long have you had this?” I ask, still holding her wrist in one hand and coasting the fingers of the other up her arm, tracing the delicate lines of black ink as tingly sparks ignite beneath my fingertips.

Vienna frowns, wrenching her wrist out of my grip and taking a small step back, just beyond my reach. “A few months,” she breathes, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face. A faint smile graces her lips as she glances down at the floral outline on her left upper arm thoughtfully. “My ex was really into tattoos, so I went with him once to see what all the fuss was about. Guess I caught the bug.”

I grunt, frowning. Must’ve been that tattooed fuck she showed up with at the Stillwater Tap. “Luke?” I ask, knowing full well that’s not his name.

“Logan,” Vienna corrects. She tosses the towel aside, stepping closer and resting her palms on the counter, staring into my eyes as her brow lifts again. “Why the sudden interest?”

I shrug as I lean back on my stool. “Been thinking about getting one. Maybe a sleeve or something.”

Vienna snorts, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

I narrow my eyes on her. “What?”

“I’d start small before going for the full sleeve. The silver hurts like a bitch.” Shifters don’t scar easily due to our rapid healing, so a small amount of liquid silver is mixed into the tattoo ink to make it permanent. Vienna lifts her hand to show me the inside of her wrist, the tiniest black heart inked into her skin. “This was my first. I damn near leapt out of the chair.”

I lift my chin in arrogance. “I’ve got a pretty high pain threshold.”

“Me too.” Vienna’s eyes flicker away for a moment, her steely expression faltering. “Anyways,” she sighs, running a hand through her hair. I know firsthand how soft that hair is.Fuck, I want to touch it.“There’s this guy Benji in Summervale, you should go see him if you’re serious about getting some ink. His designs are incredible.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say, lips spreading into an easy grin. This might be the first conversation I’ve had with Vienna where we aren’t sniping at one another. It has me unwittingly letting my guard down. “We’re throwing another party at the packhouse tomorrow night. You should come.”

“Levi already invited me.”

Annnnd it’s back up.My smile drops, jaw set tightly as I grind my molars. “Of course he did,” I mutter under my breath. “You still trying to get on his dick?”

Vienna frowns, pushing back off the bar and folding her arms across her chest. “Who says I ever was?”

My eyes bounce between her face and the swell of her tits beneath her white polo shirt. “Don’t play innocent, we both know you aren’t. Why else would you have wanted to partner up with him yesterday?”

The visceral reaction I had to seeing the two of them partnered up at the reserve squad’s monthly training session should’ve been enough warning for me to stay the fuck away from Vienna. I can’t chalk it up to the fact that we’ve slept together, because I walked in on Levi fucking Stasia recently and it didn’t even phase me. It’s different with Vienna for some reason, and that realization freaks me the fuck out, so much that I won’t even allow myself to think about it.

Seeing her kick Levi’s ass was pretty damn satisfying, though, and watching Vienna all feisty and confident like that made my dick hard. I’ll be the first to admit that I underestimated her capabilities.

Her arms fall, small hands curling into fists at her sides. “Careful, Alpha,” she warns, a mischievous gleam in her eye. “You’re starting to sound a little jealous.”

“Why would I be jealous?” I scoff.

“You tell me. Thought you didn’t do the whole…” she lifts her hands to make air quotes with her fingers, “boyfriend thing.”

I feel my jaw tick as I swallow hard. “I don’t.”

“Hm.” She smirks, so fucking smug that she thinks she’s called me out. I fucking hate the way it makes me feel, venom rising up in my throat as I straighten, poised to strike back.

“Guess I’m not surprised,” I growl, my lip curling back from my teeth. “Levi does love my sloppy seconds.”

Vienna shoots me a cutting glare, hair whipping behind her as she turns on a heel and stomps away, bound for the storage room.

“Hey, where are you going?” I chuckle cruelly, and she responds by lifting a hand and flipping me the bird over her shoulder.

Once again, message received.

I slide off my stool as Vienna disappears into the storage room, stalking around the bar to follow her retreat. She’s bent over, reaching to retrieve a case of beer from the floor, but when she catches me standing in the doorway out of the corner of her eye she bolts up, a little puff of air escaping her lips in surprise.

“What are you doing back here?” She points a finger at the door. “Employees only.”

I glance over at the placard on the door boasting those words, then back to her, shrugging as I take a step inside and kick it closed behind me. “You didn’t seem to have a problem dragging me back here the other day.”

Her irises ignite with bronze flecks, face twisting into a scowl. “That was a mistake,” she says, a slight waver in her voice. “One I don’t intend to repeat.”

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