Page 93 of The Gamma's Second Chance

Benjamin sighs and shakes his head, taking a swig of the drink in his hand. “Not yet.” He takes another drink, then glances between Wesley and me. “It seems, in this, I am not as fortunate as the Crescent Lake males. Or my sisters.”

I smile down at Cassandra, who relaxes further into my touch at his public, verbal acknowledgment of her as his sister, turning closer to my side and resting her palm on my chest. “Not all the packs in attendance are admitted yet,” she says to Benjamin. “She could be waiting outside still.”

“Did Oliver found his mate?” Wesley asks, scanning the crowd with a furrowed brow.

“No idea.” Ben shrugs. “With my luck, he has.”

“He hasn’t,” Haven says, laughing a little.

Ben raises a brow at her. “How do you know?”

“He’s heading this way, and he’s alone.”

I glance over my shoulder, and sure enough, Oliver walks towards us with his hands in the pockets of his burgundy pants. There is a spring in his step, and his blond hair falls in his eyes a bit, almost hiding the glimmer of humor there.

“Still single then?” Oliver asks, quirking a brow at his brother when he reaches him. “Me too,” he says, speaking before Benjamin can answer him.

Benjamin sighs and gestures at Cassandra, changing the subject. “Oliver, this is Cassandra.”

Oliver whips his head around, and his blue eyes widen. He covers his heart with his hands, and with complete remorse and sincerity, he says, “I am so sorry”—he gestures over his shoulder with his thumb—“that you also have to live with this sorry bastard as your brother. But don’t worry. Nicole and I have a support group, and—”

Benjamin shoves him, and Oliver ducks out of his reach as Ben swings his fist towards him. Cassandra laughs, covering hermouth with her left hand. Her ring catches the light from the candles in the room, and my wolf and I both puff our chests up with pride at how perfect the glittering daisy looks on her finger.

“Asshole,” Benjamin says as he takes a sip of his drink, his lips twitching behind the glass.

“I don’t know about all of you,” Oliver says, glancing around at the rest of us, “but I have been looking forward to dessert all day, and it looks as if they’re beginning to serve it.” He nods towards a nearby table where guests are digging into enormous slices of cheesecake.

“Oh, I need one of those,” Haven says, grabbing Wesley’s hand and dragging him towards the closest empty table.

“Pregnancy cravings,” Wesley says over his shoulder as he follows her.

A laugh ripples among us as we, too, follow Haven to the table. “Are you all right?” Cassandra asks as we pause next to the table, her fingers slipping inside the top of my unbuttoned shirt to stroke my skin.

I hug her to me and lift her hand to my lips, kissing her ringed finger. “I am now. I have you.” She shakes her head at my cheesy statement but smiles. “And you?” I ask. “Are you all right?”

She pivots her head to where Oliver and Ben sit, Benjamin massaging his temples as Oliver gives him shit about something, as younger brothers tend to do, and her smile broadens. “I am.”

I kiss the top of her head and give her another squeeze, then guide her towards the two remaining chairs, keeping her in my arms like I promised.

When we reach the table, I pull out a chair, but before either of us can sit down, Prescott slides into the chair next to it. A triumphant smirk appears on his lips as he slings his arm over the back and gloats at me.

“Looks like there is only one seat left at the table, Cassandra,” he says, patting his thigh.

I growl, and my fingers dig into Cassandra’s hip, my other hand curling into a fist. I tense, ready to lunge for him, but her hand returns to my torso, playing with the undone buttons of my shirt and undoing another. She slides her palm up my chest to my shoulder, and my growl morphs into a withheld groan at the sensuous touch. “How convenient, since I won’t be leaving Nolan’s arms tonight, anyway.”

As soon as the words leave her mouth, I claim her lips with mine, my hands sliding all over the velvet bodice of her dress. I kick the chair further back from the table and sit in it, tugging Cassandra down onto my lap, my arm completely encircling her waist.

Prescott’s gloating expression switches to that of a petulant child not getting their way. He glares at us as the servers place cheesecake slices on the table, but neither of us care. Cassandra drapes her arm around my neck, still tracing my chest and jaw with her free hand, and I gaze at her heatedly.

Damn this ball. All I want is to be alone with her. My ring on her finger isn’t enough of a claim to calm my possessiveness and my anxiety.

But that will have to wait. I have a job to do here. Chaperoning our unmated pack members and protecting Haven.

I’m just glad I have Cassandra by my side, helping me.

The others eat their dessert, all semblance of making nice gone. No one speaks, our atmosphere of camaraderie broken by Prescott’s intrusion.

“No mates for you two, either?” Prescott says to Benjamin and Oliver, finally forcing the silence to end.

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